Ear to the Ground
To pivot or not to pivot, that was the question. This week we saw the meeting of the Bank of England, European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
Ear to the Ground
After the excitement of November we have seen a more sedate start to December.
Ear to the Ground
It will come as no surprise as to what the main topic of conversation is for this edition, and that of course is inflation.
Ear to the Ground
Stop, wait a minute…Not often you get to quote a lyric from a Mark Ronson song in market commentary, but it seemed quite apt this week.
Ear to the Ground
Welcome to what is the 100th edition of Ear to the Ground. Given this anniversary, I thought I would look back at that first edition, drawing from it where we were then to where we are now, covering any predictions which were being made at the time.
Ear to the Ground
It has been a week of mixed data for the UK. At the beginning of the week we saw the release of the latest average earnings data to August. This was weaker than the consensus forecast, coming in at 8.1% versus 8.3% including bonuses.
Ear to the Ground
A difficult market for assets this week, with particular pressure seen at the long end of yield curves, as they continued to steepen. With the Bank of England and US Federal Reserve having left base rates on hold at their last meetings, shorter term yields have remained relatively anchored.
Ear to the Ground
Eyes were focussed on the latest core PCE (personal consumption expenditures) data from the US, a figure seen as the preferred measure of inflation for the US Federal Reserve.
Ear to the Ground
Taking centre stage were again the central banks, in particular the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve.
Ear to the Ground
It was a busier week for economic data this week. Starting in Europe we had the European Central Bank (ECB) meet to set interest rate policy.
