In my experience it is August each year when trading bosses are relaxing on the Algarve/ In the South of France/ In the Hamptons when newspapers and wire services desperate for stories and having found nothing of any possible interest to their readers from the seconds/thirds in command of trading desks turn to stories which belong more correctly in the bin.
Yesterday it seemed despite the grey skies, single digit Celsius temperatures and driving rain to be…well August and the story run by The Sun on line in case you missed it was…. Prince Charles had an illegitimate son with Camilla Parker Bowles 53 years ago when Prince Charles was 17 and Camilla was 18!! That son who styles himself “Prince Simon” is demanding a DNA test and confidently expects once the result is known to be embraced by the Royal Family and further claims that Princess Diana knew all about it!!
Meanwhile back in the real world, GBP weakened by half a cent, WTI oil was at $54.79 on the back of OPEC supply cuts and economic sanctions against Venezuela, FTSE closed a little higher at 7034 and Conservative MPs catchily styled as The Alternative Arrangements Working Group collected at Downing Street to debate something called The Malthouse Compromise on the Irish Backstop. If it wasn’t so desperate it would definitely qualify for entry to the Silly Season stories!
Have a great day!
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
Two tales of a weaker Dollar As the week that should decide the fortune of the US Dollar continues to unfold, this brief looks at the two very different legacies of a weaker Dollar. For emerging markets-EM and other high beta currency classes, a weaker Dollar can both act as a tail wind and a […]
The focus of next week’s Bank of England-BoE decision will not just be about benchmark interest rates. At a time when central bank meetings are most often scrutinised for clues regarding the outlook for domestic interest rates, this particular BoE meeting will have an important distraction. The next monetary policy decision is due next Thursday. […]
Enough Labour Already! And no, I’m not talking about UK politics here. Despite the new UK government attracting significant attention in markets and the press ahead of the awaited/feared Autumn budget, this briefing is about the labour market. This week holds in store a plethora of US labour market data which is likely the biggest […]