Geopolitical Events - Page 3 of 5

Trade Deadline Delayed – “Substantial Progress”

Monday started on a buoyant note as the weekend negotiations between the US and the Chinese officials on structural issues, including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture among others were productive which encouraged President Trump to extend the 1st March deadline. Asian stocks and trade-sensitive currencies l...

February 25, 2019

The Dalian Port – “China’s Coal Ban”

Wednesday was the bearer of bad news for Australia. Despite the buoyant employment report which briefly lifted its local currency, the Australian dollar plummeted on Westpac’s rate cut forecasts and the news of China’s Coal Ban. Simmering diplomatic tensions could be the trigger behind the ban. The news that the Dalian port in China has b...

February 21, 2019

A Busy End of the Month

US Government Shutdown President Trump has agreed to temporarily end the shutdown, putting an end to the most extended shutdown in US history. The three-week pause initially lifted investor sentiment and helped Asian stocks push higher on Monday’s open. It is reported that the shutdown cost the economy $11 billion, which includes approximatel...

January 29, 2019

World Economic Forum: Buzzword – Populism

The word Populism is probably the buzzword at the World Economic Forum this year. The headlines this week were heavily dominated by the concerns of the rise of populism around the globe. “Brazil’s Bolsonaro is the Face of Populism at the Davos Forum” “Merkel encourages multilateralism in the face of populism…” “Chrystia ...

January 25, 2019

International Monetary Fund (IMF): Growth Warnings

The World Economic Outlook has further shifted to the downside. The growth estimates for 2019 and 2020 were downgraded in October 2018 mainly due to trade tensions. The recent further downward revisions were the result of the weakening momentum in key industrialised economies. The table below depicts the “Weakening Global Expansion”: Th...

January 22, 2019

432-202 – Biggest Defeat in Modern Times

Theresa May suffered the worst defeat in recent times in British history. The House has spoken, and Theresa May stated that the government will listen. “It is clear that the House does not support this deal, but tonight’s vote tells us nothing about what it does support.” It will be a big challenge for her to negotiate a withdrawal agr...

January 16, 2019

Brexit- A Decisive Week

The Parliament Vote is the pivotal stage for Brexit. If the Brexit deal is accepted, Britain will exit the EU in an orderly way. However, if the proposed Brexit deal is rejected, there will be many uncertainties to follow. Market participants will have to wait and see how Brexit will unfold as and when more information or decisions will be ...

January 14, 2019

Main Macro Themes In 2019

After a stellar year in 2017, investors were taken aback by the massive swings in the markets in 2018. The turmoil in the financial markets has created an environment of panic and fears about a global recession. Even though the risk of a recession is not on the horizon yet, we do expect 2019 to remain volatile. Prudent investors will likely fa...

January 8, 2019

Canada – Taking A Look At The Loonie Economy

Canada News Flying Under The Radar Canada has been a predominant feature in financial news in the recent few months, with many discussions centered around the NAFTA and ‘new NAFTA’ agreement, the USMCA trade deal. But despite being such a significant story, it has arguably been overshadowed by the big moves in equity markets, Brexit negotiatio...

December 2, 2018

Brexit and Italy

As we head into the Thanksgiving holidays, the continuing factors dominating headlines remain Brexit and Italy. This Wednesday was an important day for Brexit and Italy, but the events unfolded without any major catalysts or breakthrough. Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker meeting in Brussels: It appears that some progress has been made. Th...

November 22, 2018

G20 Summit 10th Anniversary

In the wake of the global financial crisis, the G20 summit has become a popular forum of global governance and cooperation. In the heat of the disaster, G20 members came together to sustain global financial stability. The G20 has been a useful pool of information and decision making that have steered the global financial markets since 2008. G7 ...

November 16, 2018

Latest US Jobs Report

The Buraeu of Labor Statistics have released the latest jobs report for September. Let’s take a look at the latest numbers. The total non-farm payroll employment increased by 134,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today versus the forecast of 185,000. Biggest job gains were in professional and business services, in health care, an...

October 5, 2018

USMCA – NAFTA 2.0

The fourth quarter kicked off with some good news on trade with a last-minute agreement between US-Mexico- Canada just before the deadline. "America first" is the slogan by Trump and he managed to do just that at least when renaming NAFTA to USMCA. The new agreement came with rules for cars and trucks, labour, IP protections and dairy products....

October 3, 2018

Italy’s “First Budget” By the Populist Government

The newly-elected populist government in Italy will deliver its very first budget which will be pivotal to the Eurozone area. Italy has the second largest public government debt pile in Europe after the Greeks. The debt to equity ratio in Italy currently stands at 131.81% of its GDP, and market participants are questioning whether Italy will be a...

August 23, 2018

Greece’s Bailout Comes to an End – A Goodbye to the Troika

After eight long years of crisis whereby Greece endured stringent budget austerity programs, the country’s bailout will finally come to an end. Greece will therefore have to finance itself by borrowing on international bond markets. Before the bailout Greece was battling massive debt, loss of investment and huge unemployment. Nearly ‎€300b...

August 21, 2018