Market Overview, August 21

The UK surprised the markets with a fast economic recovery, while Europe is facing new troubles.

Economic News
2020年8月21日

The day began with positive economic readings from the UK. Public borrowing in the United Kingdom was lower than expected at -25.9 billion pounds, while retail sales climbed to 1.4%, their highest since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. UK PMI reports were positive all across the board.

In Germany, the composite flash PMI dragged behind the forecast at 53.7, mostly held back by the services sector, which disappointed investors by being just 50.8, against a forecast of 55.1. The eurozone-wide PMI reports were also worse than expected, in large part because many countries in Europe have been implementing partial lockdown measures to keep Covid-19 outbreaks to the minimum.

These reports come on the back of news that the number of coronavirus cases in Europe is once more on the rise, with Spain and France suffering the biggest increases, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom.

News outlets in the United States are preoccupied with election coverage. This week the Democrat National Convention took place, where Joe Biden formally accepted the presidential nomination, and Kamala Harris accepted her VP spot.

Next week it will be President Donald Trump’s turn to get nominated by the Republican party and to give a speech of his own. As of now, the incumbent Trump is lagging behind in the polls, but with two months till the elections, anything is possible.

In other news, yesterday the markets took a hit as unemployment reports from the United States failed to deliver the desired results. The number of initial jobless claims jumped to 1.1 million after having dropped to 900k last week, with another decrease forecasted for yesterday’s report.

The continuing jobless claims report fared better than expected, but did little to soften the blow from the initial claims. The news that the US labor market might be recovering more slowly than desired hits especially hard considering the Federal Reserve did not promise any new stimulus in their most recent policy meeting.

Anna Sneider

Economic News

US Presidential Elections Looming Ever Closer

Biden has been formally confirmed as a presidential candidate, and Trump is expected to accept his nomination next week.

Anna Sneider
2020年8月21日

Economic News

Market Overview, August 20

The lack of stimulus in the United States remains a prominent issue today, especially as we expect new unemployment reports.

Anna Sneider
2020年8月20日

Economic News

Market Overview, August 19

Markets in Europe are recovering, while in the US there is finally hope for a stimulus package.

Anna Sneider
2020年8月19日