Daily Market News 31 May 2011 Friday’s Market Movers There was no data for the UK on Friday. The only data for the Euro zone was the CPI figure for Germany which showed a slight decrease, in line with consensus, both MoM and YoY. This had little direct effect on the markets, however if we see a string of bad data for German then this could signal further problems for the already troubled Euro zone. Friday’s Market Movers There was no data for the UK on Friday. The only data for the Euro zone was the CPI figure for Germany which showed a slight decrease, in line with consensus, both MoM and YoY. This had little direct effect on the markets, however if we see a string of bad data for German then this could signal further problems for the already troubled Euro zone. There were a few minor pieces of data out in the US on Friday in the form of various personal income data but this mixed bag of results failed to have the impact that the Pending Home sales figure brought later in the afternoon. A drop of over 15% in Pending home sales, over 10% worse than was expected, saw a fundamental reaction as the USD weakened further against major counterparts. Yesterday’s Market Movers There was no data out yesterday in the Euro zone which resulted in a blank day as the UK and US markets were not open due to a Bank Holiday. Today’s Market Movers Today sees a return to action in the markets with retail sales figures from Germany looking to come in better than previously which puts a halt to the run of negative German figures and could start to see the Euro strengthen slightly. This is supported by an expected improvement in the German unemployment rate. EU CPI is expected to come in flat today and is unlikely to have a huge impact on the markets. US Chicago Purchasing Managers Index is expected to decrease in the US but this is conflicted with positive data expected in the form of Consumer confidence.