City A.M. TV: Daily Market Snapshot (video) February 22, 2021 After a false breakout to the upside in equity markets early last week, momentum has shifted sharply to the downside. With that, there has been further weakness in key equity index futures markets in Asian trading overnight. As a result, there are now two key factors that we are watching to judge when the downside has played out and, therefore, when to reinstate LONG positions. Those [...]
Are we heading into a new commodities ‘supercycle’? February 20, 2021 Since the beginning of the year commodity prices have been surging, leading a number of banks to declare the start of a new “supercycle” for the assets. Bankers at Goldman Sachs were the first off the line, declaring that the Covid-19 had created the right structural conditions for the same kind of multi-year price growth [...]
Wall Street indexes follow FTSE 100 rise to end week on a high February 19, 2021 Wall Street follows FTSE 100 rise to end week on a high
Sterling hits $1.40 for the first time in nearly three years February 19, 2021 Sterling hit $1.40 against the dollar for the first time in nearly three years this morning on vaccine optimism and better than expected PMI readings. The UK’s PMI reading during the third lockdown showed the downturn was less severe than anticipated, pushing cable above the $1.40 mark for the first time in 34 months. “Although [...]
UK PMIs: UK firms fare less badly than expected February 19, 2021 UK firms had a more positive February than anticipated so far, with firms eyeing growth prospects later in the year as the vaccine roll-out continues. The IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index (PMI) jumped to 49.8 in February from 41.2 in January, a far swifter improvement than what was originally feared. The index indicated some stabilisation [...]
Public sector borrowing hits £8.8bn in first January deficit for a decade February 19, 2021 Public sector net borrowing ballooned to £8.8bn last month, marking the first January deficit for a decade. The figure is £18.4bn more than in the same month last year and is the highest January borrowing amount since records began. Public sector borrowing is now estimated to have reached £270.6bn in the first 10 months of [...]
Speedy vaccinations give more UK SMEs hope of a revenue rebound in 2021 February 19, 2021 Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK have been offered a glimpse of hope this morning, as nearly a quarter have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels of output.
Pound sterling in touching distance of $1.40 as currencies enter ‘post-Covid world’ February 18, 2021 Pound sterling in touching distance of $1.40 as currencies enter 'post-Covid world'
Wall Street joins FTSE in the red following gloomy jobs data February 18, 2021 Wall Street faced a sea of red this morning as shares slid across the board after an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims highlighted the fragile labour market recovery. A report from the US Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits were 861,000 last week, compared with 848,000 in the prior week. The [...]
New US jobless claims rise unexpectedly by 861,000 February 18, 2021 US jobless claims rise unexpectedly to 861,000