UK economy; could this be the worst year since the financial crisis? - EMEA Brief 08 Feb
- Bank of England believes the UK economy is set for the worst year since the financial crisis, as its growth forecasts for 2019 decline from 1.7 percent to 1.2 percent due to a slow economy and Brexit doubt
- Trump to sign order to ban Chinese telecommunication equipment from US wireless networks
- May travels to Dublin to discuss Brexit negotiations as she believes a deal could be agreed with Parliament if binding changes can be made to the backstop
- Asian stocks decline after concerns between the US and China trade war, as Trump refuses to meet Xi before the trade deadline. Hang Seng index fell 0.18 percent, Nikkei 225 by over 2 percent, and ASX 200 decreases by 0.34 percent
- Oil prices fell this morning; Brent crude futures declined 0.8 percent to $61.14 per barrel along with US Crude futures which slipped 0.85 percent to $52.19 per barrel
- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos accuses the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc, of blackmail, as they wanted Bezos to stop investigating how they gathered his private messages of an affair
- Thai King’s sister enters election as prime minister, breaking the tradition of Thai royalty staying out of politics
- Tata Motors shares plummet over 29 percent, lowering its current fiscal years profit margin guidance for JLR, following their biggest quarterly loss
- Sears saved as chairman Eddie Lampert buys the company for $5.2billion through an affiliate of his hedge fund ESL investments, saving around 45,000 jobs
- Senator Richard Shelby believes congressional negotiators will agree to a deal by Monday, avoiding another government shutdown
Asian overnight: Hopes over a positive conclusion to US-China trade talks were dashed when Donald Trump stated that he will not be meeting his Chinese counterpart before the 1 March deadline is reached. Unsurprisingly, the prospect of another ramp up in tariffs between the worlds two biggest countries significantly dented global market confidence, with Asian markets all trading in the red (China remains on a bank holiday). The Australian dollar suffered heavy losses overnight, as the country suffered the same fate as the UK and eurozone after the RBA wrote down growth forecasts thanks to poor prospects for a US-China breakthrough.
UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, a quiet economic calendar sees German trade balance and Canadian employment numbers take centre stage. Also keep an eye out for the latest Baker Hughes rig count.
Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in GMT)
Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
1.30pm – Canada employment data (January): 9300 jobs created last month. Unemployment rate expected to rise to 5.8% from 5.6%. Market to watch: CAD crosses
Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
- SSE has cut its earnings forecast due to a delay in receiving government support. Adjusted EPS for the year is now expected to fall 6% to 64-69p, from a previous 70-75p forecast
-
Shaftesbury said that footfall had been ‘robust’ in the run up to Christmas and over the festive period
Bankia upgraded to neutral at Credit Suisse
Orange Belgium upgraded to buy at ING
Travis Perkins upgraded to outperform at R
Thales upgraded to buy at Citi
Centrica downgraded to neutral at Citi
Gem Diamonds downgraded to underperform at BMO
Proximus downgraded to sell at ING
Unite Group downgraded to hold at Liberum
IGTV featured video
Information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
2 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now