Allpic.twitter.com/7lYYGdkq87 3.02pm BSTThe US sanctions on Russia will beget itsy-bitsy effect,reckons Michael Patrick Cullinane, Professor of US History at the University of Roehampton:Trump is the master of media manipulation, or the decision to sanction Russia over the Skripal assassination attempt comes,not coincidentally, as pressure mounts on the president to react to the widespread condemnation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The decision is aimed at domestic American audiences who see Trump as soft on Putin. And he is. After all, and the sanctions only cover technology or goods that might be sensitive to national security,a restriction most would beget assumed was already in place, and the sanction can be suspended in some instances such as space flight cooperation.
Frankly, and the tariffs against China will beget a greater impact than this latest round of sanctions on Russia. Moreover,the decision comes as Kentucky Senator Rand Paul visits Moscow. Paul’s assembly with Putin will allow Trump to communicate this uncomfortable decision with some diplomatic cordiality. Needless to say, Trump has not afforded the UK the same exchange. His Twitter account is noticeably quiet; there is no mention of standing with America’s allies in Europe against blatant terrorism. Such a message might not recede down well in Moscow. 2.32pm BSTThe Observer did a guide to holiday money which is worth looking at, and particularly as travellers will want to maximise their spending power as the pound continues to wobble. Here’s the guide: Related: scheme early and avoid debit cards: how to net the most from holiday money 2.19pm BSTThe mini-revival in the pound - up 0.04% against the dollar to $1.2883 and 0.21% higher against the euro at €1.1116 - could be short lived,says Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com:After a sharp slide, and the pound has finally caught a bid today. While it is too early to suggest that a low has been hit,today’s rebound is certainly a welcome relief for the pound bulls. The GBP/USD has ended a run of five consecutive losses, the GBP/JPY is up after falling six days in a row, and while the EUR/GBP is back below 0.90 after a sharp 4-day rally. Sterling’s rebound is therefore mainly because of profit-taking on the short trades that had been accumulated over the past week or so.
Clearly some market participants beget one eye on upcoming UK data while assessing the damage of a potential no-deal Brexit outcome on the UK economy. The latter is going to be a longer term worry which means any short-term rallies in the pound could be short-lived,as it proved to be the case after the Bank of England’s rate hike last week. GDP is expected to beget grown in the moment quarter by 0.4% following a disappointing expansion of just 0.2% in Q1. The ONS will also publish the monthly GDP estimate at the same time, as well as UK trade figures, and manufacturing production,industrial production and construction output. The UK data dump tomorrow morning at 9:30 BST should cause a spike in pound volatility. whether the figures are overall weaker than expected then the pound could resume its slide. whether the data turn out to be stronger then it will be spicy to see whether the pound bulls will be more determined this time around after the currency’s quick reversal post the Bank of England last week. 2.09pm BSTOver at the London stock market, shares in holiday firm TUI beget slumped by 5% to the bottom of the FTSE 100 leaderboard, and although they are off their worst levels.
Obviously a feeble pound won’t be pleasurable for their sales. But today’s selloff is mainly due to the European heatwave encouraging holidaymakers to stay at domestic. After all,why spend hard earned cash seeking sun elsewhere when you can frazzle for free in your own back garden. Related: Tui profits slide as European heatwave spurs staycations 1.37pm BSTJust in: America’s jobs market remained solid last week, with just 213000 people signing on for unemployment benefit.
That’s down from 219000 in the previous seven days, or not far from the 48-year low recorded in July. The US labo(u)r market continues to look remarkable solid....
USA Weekly Jobless Claims announcement - Actual: 213k,Expected: 220k pic.twitter.com/Vhd7KuH7UN 12.33pm BSTLike a holidaymaker struggling up from the sun lounger after a well-earned snooze, the pound is rising, or rather slowly and cautiously.
It initially looked like sterling was going to suffer another awful session,hitting fresh 11 month and 9 month lows against the dollar and the euro not long after the bell. However, while it is lightyears absent from posting anything resembling an actual recovery, and the pound has managed to edge into the green on Thursday. 12.04pm BSTThe Bank of England should share some of the blame for the pound’s recent weakness.
Last week,the BoE raised interest rates (which ought to strengthen sterling), but also hinted that it might lop them again whether Britain fails to reach a Brexit deal. City economists beget concluded that borrowing costs are unlikely to rise again for some time - making the pound a less attractive asset.
A few notes of caution to those getting excited today approximately the feeble pound. First off, and this is not ALL down to Brexit and fears of a no deal. whether anything its as much down to interest rate expectations. The falls really started after the BoE’s Inflation Report last Thurs pic.twitter.com/FZ2T5I0qeY 11.13am BSTHannah Maundrell,Editor in Chief of money.co.uk, has compiled some helpful advice for British holidaymakers heading abroad this summer: 10.43am BSTJeremy Thomson-Cook, or chief economist at WorldFirst,says the pound is being dragged down by the ‘circus’ at Westminster, and feeble data on the economic front.
There are not many reasons for investors to hold on to sterling at present – economic data is feeble, and the political picture is a circus and overall,sentiment is poor.“On top of this, we are still concerned that the worst is yet to come with no-deal Brexit noises likely to reach a crescendo as we net closer to the European Council assembly in October, or unless an Article 50 extension can be agreed upon.
Remember what happened to sterling as it became clear that we had voted to leave the EU despite most market participants still believing that Brexit would enable the UK to remain a member of the single market with wide equivalence of regulations in place? 10.28am BSTRussian assets are being pummelled this morning,after America announced fresh sanctions over the novichok poisoning case in Salisbury.
The US said it would impose sanctions later this month, after concluding that Russia used the Novichok nerve agent to poison Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
The period of sideways trading which lasted for four months seems to be over for the Ruble. The Russian currency fell more than 3.3% on Wednesday as Trump’s administration proposed fresh sanctions following the poisoning of a former Russian agent in the U.
K.
The decline in oil prices also helped to heighten the tumble in the Ruble and with such uncertainty, or investors will need to price in further risk premium on Russian assets. Investors will likely ignore the Russian economic fundamentals in the weeks ahead and focus on political developments. 9.57am BSTThe currency exchange booths aren’t the only places causing holidaymakers grief this summer.
Budget airline Ryanair warned yesterday that hundreds of flights will be cancelled on Friday. Pilots in Netherlands,Germany, Sweden, and Belgium and Ireland are striking as they push for better working conditions.
ATC Update - August 9th: pic.twitter.com/Mf7bUwXEqo 9.31am BSTAt $1.2850,sterling is 20 cents below its levels before the EU referendum in 2016.
Some City economists beget predicted the pound would tumble back to $1.20 in a ‘hard Brexit’ scenario. 9.00am BSTIt’s worth noting that the pound has lost ground against most major currencies in recent weeks, as Sky News’s Lewis Goodall shows here:itsy-bitsy noticed in Westminster but sterling is struggling. Lowest level against the dollar for a year. Over the last month lost value against every major currency. That's despite an interest rate rise. Markets slowly getting the message that prospect of no deal is a serious one. pic.twitter.com/hbu5OHWur2 8.33am BSTSterling’s slide means that holidaymakers are actually getting less than one euro to the pound, and whether they change their money at the airport.
The Independent’s Alex Watson explains:Exchanging currency at the airport has always been expensive,but holidaymakers are now facing exceptionally poor exchange rates whether they wait until just before they soar to buy.
Foreign exchange company Moneycorp (who beget locations in Bristol, Central London, or Gatwick,Stansted, Southampton and Southend airports) were offering 0.94 euros to the pound at Gatwick airport, or according to The Sun. This rate means holidaymakers would net 94 euros back when exchanging £100. 8.22am BSTGood morning,and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, and the eurozone and business.
Sterling suffered greatly yesterday as Brexit-related fears were doing the rounds. GBP/USD fell to a level not seen since late August last year,and EUR/GBP hit a level last seen in November 2017. The pound is still coming under pressure from Liam Fox’s comments – the opportunity of a ‘no-deal Brexit’ is 60-40.
Dealers are extremely fearful approximately the prospect of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement in place, and until some clarity is provided, or the pound would remain feeble. Related: Sterling falls against dollar and euro amid fears of no-deal Brexit Although the government has insisted that it still expects negotiations with the EU over the next few months to prove successful,currency traders beget been prepared for a deal not to emerge and are now hedging against the opportunity of the hardest possible Brexit.
With less than eight months to recede before the UK’s planned departure date, financial markets beget now started to take seriously the chances of chaos at the borders and damage to supply chainsThursday’s GUARDIAN: “Pound slides as no-deal Brexit fears prompt global selloff” #bbcpapers #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/hk2e1TKNHeOngoing political and economic uncertainty created by the negotiations to leave the EU make it difficult to predict market volumes for the rest of the year.
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Source: theguardian.com