US retail sales and continuing jobless claims beats forecasts
On July 16, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehThe Federal Reserve’s beige book (a report published eight times a year providing commentary on current and future economic conditions based on survey responses from key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources) set the tone for this week’s positive economic data out of the US. The report found activity had increased in each
Wells Fargo’s woes, J.P. Morgan’s jubilation
On July 15, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehWells Fargo and J.P. Morgan announced their second quarter results on Tuesday, which underwhelmed and overwhelmed investors, respectively. J.P. Morgan’s share price closed up 0.5% on Tuesday, after rising as much as 2% during Tuesday’s trading session, as the US’s largest bank reported forecast-beating results on its top and bottom line. Wells Fargo, on the
UK GDP grew just 1.8% in May as services remained weak
On July 14, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehGrowing just 1.8% on April, below consensus expectations for 5%, meant GDP in the three months to May remained a seismic 19.1% below the same three-month period last year. Services grew a meagre 0.9%, while industrial and construction output increased 6% and 8.2%, respectively. Services As lockdown restrictions were still largely in force throughout May,
Mask wearing and corporate earnings entice investors to add risk as FTSE rises 1.3%
On July 13, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehDonald Trump and Boris Johnson donned face masks in public for the first time since the pandemic began over the weekend, as Downing Street is expected to make an announcement over the next few days regarding whether it should be mandatory to wear masks in shops. If the UK government were to enact such a
Italian stocks lead Europe higher as industrial production rises 42%
On July 10, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehAt the time of writing, Italian stocks are leading European benchmarks higher rising by 1.1% to 19722.09, as industrial output came in well ahead of forecasts for the month of May rising by 42.1% versus consensus expectations for 22.8%. In April, Italian industrial output fell by 20.5% on the prior month, while in March the
Homebuilder heaven: Persimmon rises 6.4% on robust results
On July 9, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehUK homebuilders were on a high today following Rishi Sunak’s announcement that he would raise the threshold on paying stamp study from £125,000 to £500,000, as well as a strong trading update from Persimmon. Whilst the FTSE 100 declined by 1.73% today, Persimmon advanced 6.41% higher to £25.89 a share, as the company announced construction
FTSE declines for second day in a row as virus fears dampen Sunak’s splurge
On July 8, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehUK blue chips declined for the second day in a row, as daily coronavirus case numbers continue to set new records in the US, weighing on investor sentiment. This was despite UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announcing a raft of new fiscal measures to support the economy, which included a 15% VAT cut for the tourism
Gloomy European Commission drives European benchmarks lower
On July 7, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehEuropean Commission research published today warned of a ‘deep recession’ this year as a result of the pandemic, which led to impositions of movement restrictions across the continent beginning in February/March stifling economic activity. The FTSE 100 fell by 1.53% as investors digested a more dire assessment of growth prospects than initially predicted in the
Newly released survey data shows US economy in better shape than expected
On July 6, 2020 by Thomas BelaynehData released this afternoon gave credence to the notion that non-manufacturing economic activity is recovering in a V-shaped fashion. US equity indices are up by over 1% as investors jubilantly cheer the economic data in spite of record Covid-19 case rises over the weekend. IHS Markit’s US Services PMI for the month of June was