Optimates……is defined as the “nobility or aristocracy” who held power back in the Roman Empire times, aka patrician politicians, whereas the “Populares” were the people or the people’s party who favoured the cause of the plebeians (plebs or commoners) and in particularly the urban poor. The latter were in effect an opposition party which has […]
Impeachment…..Is defined as a charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office and they do not get any higher in the United States of America than the office of The President. The airwaves and financial talk-shops are abuzz today following the allegation that President “the Donald” Trump asked the former FBI Director […]
When Harold Wilson commenced his first stint as the British Labour Party Prime Minister in 1964, he inherited an unusually large external deficit on the balance of trade from the Conservative administration and despite fighting the markets for a couple of years, the inevitable devaluation of the £GBP came in 1967, when Wilson famously assured […]
“793”…… Global merger and acquisition (M&A) deals have been completed this year as of the end of April 2017, according to “dialogic” who collates the data involving publicly traded corporations. This is 20% lower than the comparable period of 2016 and is the lowest number since 1998, which given that stock and bond markets are […]
French voters face a stark choice in Sunday’s presidential election between joining the wave of populism that has swept across the European and American political landscape over the past year or an attempt to renew the governing principles that have guided their country for decades, albeit via a 39-year-former untested Socialist turned Centrist. With the […]
“3% annualised GDP”…… Is the expectation/hope/dream set out by the new US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin this week, as he and his fellow ex-Goldman Sachs colleague and now White House chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, set out “the biggest tax reform in American history.” Tax cuts, set to slash corporate rates from 35% to […]
“7th May 2020”…… was to be the date of the UK’s next General Election, in line with the fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. However, the British Prime Minister, Teresa May, called for an 8th June 2017 snap election this week and was backed by the two-thirds majority required from the 650 MPs in the House of […]
Just nine months after British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, following his failed “gamble” on calling a referendum on EU membership, his successor Teresa May announced a snap election decision this week, to be held on the 8th June 2017, mercifully only 7 short-weeks from today and despite her denying any plans for an early […]
“Liquidity”…… is defined as a measure or extent to which a person or organisation has cash to meet immediate and short-term obligations, or assets that can be quickly converted to cash to do this. Put another way, it’s the life-blood of the markets without which they cease-up. There are numerous clues to assist in […]
In the late February overview, “¥en, a Desire to Watch Closely,” the message was “if ever there is a time to keep a very close eye on the ¥en, or more importantly the $US/¥ cross-rate, it’s now.” At the time the cross rate was 112.5 with four charts outlining the close correlation of the $US/¥ […]
“Rock On”…… is a song written by British singer/songwriter David Essex and recorded in 1973 shortly before a UK referendum took the nation into the European Union. In the week when “Article 50,” the process by which member states may withdraw from the EU, was triggered by the British Prime Minister, “Rock,” hit the news […]
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Optimates……is defined as the “nobility or aristocracy” who held power back in the Roman Empire times, aka patrician politicians, whereas the “Populares” were the people or the people’s party who favoured the cause of the plebeians (plebs or commoners) and in particularly the urban poor. The latter were in effect an opposition party which has morphed into today’s Democrats or Labour parties, albeit that the modern day Optimates, the Republican and Conservatives would claim that they represent all parts of society. Either way, popular politics waxes and wanes dependent on the collective social mood, in particular rising during periods of negative social mood such as the mid-1800s, during the 1930s, and off and on since the early 2000s. It is no coincidence that they go hand-in-hand with the financial stress which follows a financial crisis, the aftermath of which tends to expose corruption among the establishment and political elites and a back-lash against cartels. The change doesn’t happen in a straight line, however, but is patterned akin the life’s “two steps forward and one back.” After the two great strides of last year, Brexit and Trump, this week saw a step-back for populism as a high turn-out Dutch electorate chose the incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals over the euro sceptic Freedom Party of Geert Wilders, who ran on a ticket of anti-immigration and to take the Netherlands out of the euro area and the EU. Wilder’s party did come second out of the 28 parties that competed and added five seats, whilst Rutte’s Liberals lost 8 seats from 2012 and it now has to enter into complex horse-trading to form a coalition government.
Market-wise it was a game of two halves as the pre-FOMC decision on Wednesday saw stocks and commodities lower with bond yields and the $US higher, only to all reverse trend after “official” interest rates were raised in the US and China. For an expansion on the rate increases plus other economic data released, all supported with interesting charts, read on:
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The G20, an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies, which collectively accounts for 85% of gross world product, two-thirds of the world population and 80% of world trade, held its annual finance ministers’ ……
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