Trump continues criticism of Fed monetary policy

US DOLLAR After a soft start to last week, the US Dollar finished strongly with the Dollar Index hitting a one-week high on Friday at 96.55. Thursday’s stronger than expected GDP data was the main catalyst after the Greenback had shown little reaction to relatively mundane comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Comments from US…

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May delays meaningful vote until 12th March

US DOLLAR The Dollar Index edged lower last week, hitting a two-week low on Wednesday at 96.29 but has started this week around 96.4. There was some mild volatility after the FOMC minutes while a pretty dismal retail sales report provided a weight and prompted a number of banks to trim their Q1 GDP forecasts.…

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Trump comes up $4.3 billion short for wall funding

US DOLLAR The Dollar Index spent most of last week with a 97 handle but surrendered it before the weekend after US retail sales dropped the most since September 2009, prompting a flurry of growth downgrades for the coming quarters. Elsewhere, lawmakers appear to have avoided another government shutdown for the time being and more…

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US-China trade talks set to resume

STERLING The Pound hit its lowest level against the US Dollar in over two-weeks on Thursday at 1.2854 after the Bank of England voted 9-0 to leave the Bank Rate on hold at 0.75%. Growth forecast’s they predicted only three months ago were revised lower from 1.7% to 1.2%. The Pound strengthened during the press…

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‘Plan B?’

STERLING GBP/USD is nursing a small loss in Europe this morning having risen to a three-month high on Friday at 1.3214. Investors continue to fret around the risk of a no-deal Brexit with reports over the weekend suggesting Ireland have ruled out any changes to the backstop. Chairman of the 1922 committee, Graham Brady, has…

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’Meaningful vote’ to take place tomorrow

STERLING Sterling rose last week with GBP/USD topping out at a seven-week high on Friday at 1.2867. Gains on Friday were spurred by reports that cabinet ministers were looking to delay Brexit. Parliament are still scheduled to vote on Theresa May’s deal tomorrow with weekend press reports suggesting a Plan-B is being drawn up as…

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Happy New Year!

What a year 2018 was; the royal wedding, never-ending summer sunshine, England’s fantastic world cup run, Trump trade wars, the worst year for stock markets in a decade, Theresa May surviving a no-confidence vote along with hearing the word ‘Brexit’ every other day… It’s not all doom and gloom as many in the media (and…

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A vote for a vote for a vote

STERLING At 11:20am this morning, the Prime Ministers spokesperson confirmed the parliamentary vote was still going ahead tomorrow. Just thirteen minutes later, leaks from inside the government to the contrary had GBP selling off against all its major peers, currently down 1% against the US Dollar and 0.65% against the Euro for the day. To…

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3 French hens, 2 turtle doves and a Sign off on the Treaty?

STERLING Had edged higher this morning but then fell a cent against the US Dollar in two hours as Theresa May refused to rule out a second referendum and stated ‘’we can be better off without a deal’’. The Northern Irish DUP party threatened to withdraw their support for the Prime Minister in a confidence…

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