Investment Markets Overview — W/E 19th May 2017

“Bread and circuses” was how the government kept the Roman populace happy by distributing free food and staging huge spectacles, whereas today’s equivalent is the welfare state and to bomb someone as a means of distraction during problematic periods. Well, stock-markets took a hit this week, following the release of a memo by former FBI Director James Comey which alleges an obstruction of justice by President Trump, the man who sacked Comey a week earlier. The airwaves and financial media were full of speculation over possible “impeachment proceedings” against “the Donald,”

when surprise, surprise the US administration decided to bomb Syria. They could have saved themselves and perhaps more importantly the lives of innocents who always end up as “collateral damage” by browsing our mid-week socionomic comment, “Impeachment? Wrong time, wrong mood!” Interestingly, this week also observed the President’s first overseas visit since taking office, to none other than Saudi Arabia, the number one arms buyer from the US, the Brits and the French. The Washington and its tribune “swamp(s)” appear to be getting murkier, albeit that the attack on Syria may have appeased “elite” Republican Trump critics like John McCain who has yet to name a country that he doesn’t wish to bomb.

Adding to the uncertainty this week was Brazil, where the Ibovespa stock-index tumbled by 8.8% and its currency, the real, by 7.3% on Thursday alone, as political crisis returned to the country despite last year’s impeachment process to clear its swamp. To continue reading the main economic and market events of the week, supported by interesting charts, please read on and for a limited time period non-subscriber’s can access the full report via the “at your discretion” pay what you think it’s worth offer:

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•Within the commodities complex . . .
•Economic data due next week includes . . .

 Returning to the “bread” analogy to today’s welfare state, this week also saw the release of the UK political parties’ election manifestos ……

Charts:
1.  Indices Weekly
2. US GDP & CPI V US Ave Weekly Wage
3. UK Retail Sales V UK Ave Wages
4. Japan GDP V Japan Deflator
5. Commodities Weekly

Table:

13 Indices, 11 columns of detailed information, for accurate analysis

                         “What goes up, invariably Falls at a quicker Pace” 

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