Markit/CIPS UK Services PMI business activity rises at the fastest pace since May 1997. This is a strong figure, which builds upon recent data points from the UK. Following the release Sterling rallied in the FX market, with cable trading back above the 1.60 handle. Key points: -The backlog of work increased pushing employment payrolls higher -“Manufacturing, services and construction all continued to see very strong rates of expansion, pointing to an on-going broad-b…

On Monday, there was further good news for the UK economy, as the Construction PMI was released at the highest level since 2007. The British economy is beginning to see sustainable growth following the economic crisis that began over 5 years ago. The positive macro data adds further pressure on Carney, that the Bank of England will need to bring forward the tightening of monetary policy. UK #construction PMI highest since Sep'07, = c2.5% q/q growth rate for sector & big GD…

At 2pm ET (6pm London) the US Federal Reserve will release the interest decision and the FOMC releases its statement on monetary policy for October, following the conclusion of their two day meeting. In September the majority of market analysts had expected the Fed to begin to taper the current pace of bond purchases and beginning policy tightening. However the level of bond purchases was left unchanged, giving a bid to precious metals and a boost to equities in the US and Asia. It was…

The Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney spoke in Wales to discuss how he will attempt to address the regional economic imbalance. The issue has been a long standing problem, and following the collapse of the UK mining and manufacturing industries has only been exacerbated. Regional cities, which had grown on the basis of industry such as ship building, saw a rapid decline of living standards as the industries collapsed and unemployment took hold. In contrast the capital has a thrivin…

On Twitter I got involved in a conversation about the regional disparity in property prices, and where the crisis had started. This then highlighted the similarities of the US sub-prime crisis and the current housing market and policy in the UK. @dlknowles @chakrabortty crisis started in estate agents in the US giving mortgages to sub prime borrowers.. — Joe Bond (@Joe_Trading) October 24, 2013 The subprime crisis began with as the housing market in the US was bubb…

On Tuesday the US employment report, Non-Farm Payrolls was released for September. The highly anticipated number in September was released just over 2 weeks late. It still provided molality for traders, but the number perhaps didn’t have the same prowess as usual. Analysts were quick to highlight that it will be the October jobs report which should be affected by the government shutdown. The government shutdown began on October 1st so in theory, the September report shouldn&rsquo…

At the eleventh hour the US Senate compromised to pass a bill, raising the debt ceiling and re-opening the government. The raise of the debt ceiling until early next year is a short term fix, for a much larger issue. The US government spends more each month than it raises in taxes, with the difference funded through debt. The political stalemate has meant the US government has had to shut down some services, as it neared running out of cash and being unable to meet its debt requirement…

October 2013 Abshire-Smith the FCA regulated broker, located in the City of London, England announced today that they have integrated Moneybookers Skrill funding for its international client base. As a broker providing access to the global financial markets via 3 leading trading platforms, Abshire-Smith is committed to increasing the access for its retail client base to fund their trading accounts. Skrill offers a secure, compliant solution within controlled framework for the ben…

The US government has been in “shutdown” entering the 16th day, as the policitical stalemate continues. However late on Tuesday, it seems that an agreement had been made and the looming debt default will be avoided. Congress released an article on the 25th September that the US government would have exhausted their available cash, leaving approximately $30 billion as of roughly the 17th October. The CBO also stated that the government would be completely out of cash between…

Chancellor George Osborne is part of a UK trade delegation to China, attempting to increase the business and investment links between the two countries. The China has growth figures that western countries could only dream of at the moment, and the UK is attempting to benefit from this in different areas: -Chinese students coming to the UK for education -Shopping and leisure -Large-scale investment projects -Export of UK luxury items -Relaxation of UK visa rules…

President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday that he has officially nominated Janet Yellen to be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Current Chairman Ben Bernanke finishes his term on January 31st 2014, with the successor undertaking a tall order. Bernanke has focused on ultra-loose monetary policy to help boost the US economy with job creation being the catalyst to begin tapering. Yellen is seen by the market as Dovish and is expected that she will move forward in the same dire…

Today we enter the second week of the US government shutdown as the political stalemate continues, and the debt ceiling limit approaches. It is estimated that the US will be unable to meet their bills on roughly the 17th October, at which point, if the debt ceiling has not been increased, the US would default on their debt. The current debt ceiling is currently capped at $16.699 trillion, which the current Democrat government is attempting to raise. The Republican Party, (primarily the…

It may seem farfetched, but due to political deadlock in the US, the government has been unable to agree an increase to the debt ceiling, forcing the non-essential government employees to cease working. As the 3rd quarter begins, the US has been unable to agree an increase in the borrowing limit to fund the government’s expenditure. President Obama addressed the nation, making it clear than the government will not be held to ransom over Obamacare, and that these bills have been p…

The US government is nearly out of time to agree the necessary new spending bill before the financial year ends at midnight today on the final day of the 3rd Quarter. There is currently a political stalemate between the current government, the Democrats and the opposition the Republicans. It is hoped that a deal can be agreed as like in April 2011, following an 11th hour budget deal a government shutdown was avoided. President Obama has repeatedly stated that he will not compromise ove…

Sterling was given a boost in early trade as comments from the Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney. The Governor had been making visits to cities in the North of England and was interviewed by local newspapers Thursday, as these comments reached traders on Friday morning Sterling jumped against the greenback by 80 cent to a session high of 1.6132. Quantitative Easing Analysts and market commentators have been quick to criticise to the timescale of policy tightenin…