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06/08/2018 - US Jobs Data SlowedUSD The U.S. dollar was steady against a basket of peers on Friday after data showed U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July, but tightening labour market conditions supported investors' expectations for two more interest rate hikes this year from the Federal Reserve. The dollar index, which measures the...Market news
01/08/2018 - Dollar Gains on Improved US...USD The Dollar gained yesterday after U.S. consumer confidence increased modestly in July as Americans grew more upbeat about the economy and labour market. Americans feel good this summer about the current state of the economy, but their optimism about the future remains in check. Figures from the New York-based...Market news
31/07/2018 - Market Awaits BoE Rate HikeGBP The pound rose on Monday but its modest gains reflected concern among investors about the currency’s prospects before a widely anticipated Bank of England interest rate hike this week. The Bank of England (BoE) looks set to pass a post-financial crisis milestone on Thursday by finally raising interest rates above...Market news
30/07/2018 - Austrian Chancellor Warns Of...GBP Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said it was important to avoid a “hard” or disorderly Brexit and he felt that negotiations about Britain’s exit from the European Union were going quite well. In meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Salzburg, Kurz said he hoped Austria and the EU were able to...Market news
27/07/2018 - Euro Suffers After ECB Signals...EUR The euro fell on Thursday as the European Central Bank clung to its easy monetary policy and signalled no change in its timetable to move away from its ultra-low rate policy and to end its asset bond purchase program. ECB President Mario Draghi said at a press conference following the ECB’s policy decision while...Market news
26/07/2018 - CBI Figures Show Increased...GBP According to industry data released on Wednesday British shoppers are spending strongly and more people are trying to buy homes. While most economists cautioned that the latest figures did not necessarily point to robust growth later in 2018, most still expect the BoE to raise interest rates next week for only the...Market news
24/07/2018 - Hunting For A DealGBP Yesterday new foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that without a "change in approach from the EU negotiators", there is now a "very real risk of a Brexit no deal by accident". Hunt called for "more flexibility and creativity" to secure a deal in a speech in Berlin. He said that "many" in the EU believed they just...Market news
23/07/2018 - Barnier Takes Apart Brexit...GBP Prospects for a Brexit deal were dealt a severe blow on Friday after the European Union’s chief negotiator took apart Theresa May’s latest proposals. Speaking in Brussels after a meeting with EU national ministers, chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier raised a wide variety of serious concerns about the Chequers...Market news
20/07/2018 - Pound Tumbles After Weak Retail...GBP The pound fell to a 10 month low against the Dollar during yesterday’s session after the Office for National Statistics revealed retail sales unexpectedly fell by 0.5% last month. Economists forecast a 0.2% rise however figures revealed that while the World Cup and hot weather helped barbecue, food and drink sales...Market news
19/07/2018 - Pound Falls as UK Inflation...GBP British inflation unexpectedly held steady last month, denting market confidence about a Bank of England interest rate hike in August and sending the pound to a 10-month low against the dollar. Despite motor fuel prices rising to their highest since 2014, annual consumer price inflation held in June at 2.4 percent...Market news
18/07/2018 - May Faces Fresh Challenge From...GBP Sterling had a volatile session yesterday after Theresa May faced another challenge to her leadership and a backlash from pro-EU rebels trying to overturn Custom Bill amendments forced through by Brexiteers. May faces a damaging defeat in the Commons after Labour confirmed it would back an amendment tabled by...Market news
17/07/2018 - May's Brexit Strategy in...GBP Yesterday UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy was shown to be in dissaray after she infuriated pro-European Tories by bowing to pressure from their euroskeptic colleagues to re-write her plans. May's majority was cut to just three votes after she adopted Brexiteer amendments to a key piece of customs...Market news
16/07/2018 - Survey Reveals Boost in UK...GBP Confidence from businesses in London and across the UK has hit its highest point since before the EU referendum two years ago, according to survey published today. A long-running index tracking the outlook of more than 1,500 firms from across the country rose further above the long-term average to a reading of 25...Market news
13/07/2018 - ECB Prepares to End QEEUR Yesterday afternoon the minutes from the European Central Bank’s June meeting showed that there was a broad agreement within the ECB to prepare for the end of Quantitative Easing, while keeping sufficient flexibility. The ECB guided markets for steady rates "through the summer" of 2019 at its meeting last month,...Market news
11/07/2018 - Heatwave Boosts British EconomyGBP The start of the summer heatwave has helped the British economy recover ground after grinding to a halt earlier this year, despite a severe downturn for the manufacturing industry in the three months to May. Presenting its first ever estimates for gross domestic product (GDP) on a monthly basis, the Office for...Market news
10/07/2018 - Pound Falls as Boris Johnson...GBP Sterling slid on Monday after the resignation of the British foreign minister placed further pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May, but its losses were expected to be contained unless a full-blown leadership challenge materialised. Johnson decided to walk just hours after May’s Brexit minister, David Davis, did...Market news
09/07/2018 - May Struggles To Unite...GBP Sterling rose to an eight-day high on Friday as traders awaited the outcome of last-ditch efforts by Prime Minister Theresa May to unite her government over plans for Britain’s future outside the European Union. The meeting at Chequers, May’s country residence, which is set to run late into the evening, will see...Market news
06/07/2018 - Merkel Not Convinced With UK...GBP A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday it was wrong to suggest that a new Brexit customs proposal would prevent Britain from striking a new trade deal with the United States. However German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is unconvinced by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s...