Morning Report – Wednesday 14th October

Main Headlines

Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party has called for a national “circuit breaker” to add extra pressure onto the Prime Minister. It comes after a Government Scientific group (SAGE) recommended a two to three-week lockdown, but Boris Johnson said yesterday that he is against a national lockdown that wrecked businesses earlier this year.

The EU officially won WTO permission to put tariffs on approximately $4 billion of American goods as payback for illegal state aid given to Boeing. The bloc will likely hold off until after the US election on 3rd November to see if a possible deal with Democrats is forthcoming. The EU has already drawn up a list of politically important industries for President Trump and Republicans.

US equities fell late last night after rising steadily throughout the morning. The drop was mostly caused by the ongoing fiscal stimulus saga and the fact that there seems to be no end in sight. Markets were originally expecting a stimulus package before the election, but this is becoming more unlikely with each passing day. Nancy Pelosi demanded yesterday for the Trump administration to revamp its latest offer.

GBP

The pound fell against both the dollar and euro in early morning trading. Boris Johnson’s original Brexit deadline is tomorrow and there is no sign that a deal is close to being agreed which is worrying investors. The Prime Minister is also being attacked on the domestic front as many MPs have voiced concerns over what they believe are unnecessary restrictions on the north of England.

EUR

The euro is flat against the dollar and has appreciated against sterling in early morning trade. Eurozone industrial production figures are released today and will give an insight to the speed of the economic recovery in the continent. There are also a host of ECB members speaking later, including Chief Economist Lane and investors will be hoping there will not be any contradictory statements, which has plagued members in the past.

USD

The dollar is relatively flat against most major currencies today, including the Japanese Yen. Senate hearings for Amy Coney Barrett continue today after little progress yesterday, where Barrett refused to give her views on abortion, health care or electoral law. CPI year-on-year came in as expected at 1.4% yesterday, and now it is time for PPI inflation today.

Main Economic Data/Central Banks/Government (All times BST)

8:00 a.m.: Spain Sept. Final CPI
9:00 a.m.: ECB’s Lagarde speaks
10:00 a.m.: Euro-Area Aug. Industrial Production
12:00 p.m.: ECB’s Mersch speaks
1:00 p.m.: ECB’s Lane speaks
1:30 p.m.: US PPI inflation
1:35 p.m.: Fed’s Barkin speaks
2:00 p.m.: BOE’s Haldane speaks
2:00 p.m.: Fed’s Clarida speaks
3:00 p.m.: ECB’s Villeroy speaks
3:15 p.m.: ECB’s de Cos speaks
3:30 p.m.: Fed’s Quarles speaks
7:00 p.m.: Fed’s Barkin speaks
8:00 p.m.: Fed’s Kaplan, Quarles speak

IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings
IEA releases monthly report
Energy Intelligence Forum, Day 2