 
                            Congressional Juggling:
The people of the United States have spoken! With both Trump’s Republican party and the Democrats claiming victory over the mid-term elections in the public eye, markets have been more decisive in the face of the ballot. The Republicans held control of the Senate, however, ceded power of the House of Representatives to the Democrats. Markets have interpreted the mid-term elections by undermining the value of the US Dollar, likely pricing in the increased degree of political gridlock that the United States will face in pursuing economic growth. For months, economists and strategists alike have been debating when will economic growth in the United States peak. Given Trump’s pro-market and pro-growth presidency, political headwinds prevent fiscally driven economic growth, increasing the impetus for Powell’s Federal Reserve to pause its interest rate hiking phase. Positively, with the House being controlled by the Democrats, Trump’s capacity to increase the United States’ extant burden of debt does limit the extent to which the White House could drift into fiscal profligacy. Italy’s spending plan remains in the foreground of the picture of Eurozone risk with signs of inflationary pressure in the Eurozone being overwhelmed by political instability. The Pound received a sustained yet light bid at market open as investors continue to orientate themselves towards a long-awaited Brexit deal.
Discussion and Analysis by Charles Porter

 
                    
        Two cuts down The Federal Reserve cut the target Fed funds rate by 25-basis points again last night. This brings the benchmark range down to a 3.75-4% banding. This move had been widely expected, but that does not mean it did not have any market impact. As of market open today, the dollar continues to […]
 
                    
        A glimmer of (European) hope The ECB has made significant progress in cutting rates towards an accommodative level. The Eurozone saw evidence of cooling inflation much sooner than many economies and has been able to respond accordingly, cutting the deposit rate to 2%. The ECB will meet again this Thursday to publish its latest monetary […]
 
                    
        Inflation’s peak? Yesterday’s publication of the latest UK inflation report will be welcomed by households and the government alike. The report released prior to the market open yesterday showed UK inflation to September remained stable month-on-month. That might not sound like a whole lot at face value, but it is in fact critical that headline […]
