Equities managed a respectable gain on Friday which left the market at the end of the week looking less shaken if not exactly stirred. Oil WTI at $54.90 after news that the Iranian tanker was being released by Gibraltar raised hopes for a de-escalation in the Gulf. Gold firm at $1523 reflecting political and economic tension. Currency markets quiet on the back of little economic news on Friday.
This is the market’s name for the USD/CAD rate. Readers will not be overly surprised that despite the market rate being USD 1 to CAD 1.32 at the time of writing the international hotel group where I have been staying offered a rate of 1.10 or a margin of 17%! Nice work if you can get it: plenty of small businesses out there that would love an additional margin of 17%! Meanwhile I was not left cross as I deployed the SGM-FX PrePaid Card thereby saving myself that margin much to the disappointment of the hotel receptionist!
We all need to know: tea+apples+broccoli +oranges+blueberries=flavonoids added to our diets will help prolong our lives. Sgm-Fx’s Richard was burning the midnight oil late last night working out a recipe to include all of them simultaneously for his next braai (BBQ). Just don’t be downwind…….!
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
USD 2 Trillion Trade Deals That is the total trade deal bag that POTUS Trump is credited admittedly by himself with snagging in his whirlwind Gulf trip this week. Many are puzzled and a few have attempted to tot up the value of the Saudi, UAE and Qatari deals, but no-one has succeeded in getting […]
UK Borrowing Another one for the pub quiz in case it comes up: UK government borrowing stands at £2.8 trillion or £2800 billion. While you digest that number over the chicken in the basket if indeed you are already in the pub, it will have increased by the time you get to the end of this […]
POTUS in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia As one of POTUS’ travelling companions on this week’s visit, Larry Fink of Blackrock represents everything that a US President might want to burnish his credentials in the desert kingdom: head of the largest asset manager on the planet, hugely influential and totally credible. Just a shame that he […]