A brief look at last week and the week ahead, the Weekly Review from IG Index.
Weekly Trading Report 28 June 2010 - Last Week's Trading Highlights
China’s decision to allow greater flexibility in the value of the Yuan kicked off a busy week for economic news and buoyed stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic.
The FTSE gained a shade under 50 points on Monday, its biggest rise in an otherwise downbeat week.
The other headline story was George Osborne’s emergency budget, which saw VAT rise from 17.5% to 20%, Capital Gains Tax increase to 28% for top rate taxpayers and a freeze on public sector pay. A new levy on UK banking operations is expected to raise over £2 billion in revenue a year.
Julia Gillard was this week sworn in as Australia’s first female Prime Minister and gave the nation’s mining firms a boost by agreeing to re-open negotiations over a controversial 40% tax on the industry.
In the US the Fed decided to keep interest rates at current near-zero levels, with all but one member of the board pledging rates would remain low for an ‘extended period’.
Earlier in the week, the US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned that the US economy was still in difficulty, but announced the recovery of over half the money invested in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Back in the UK, interest rates were also maintained at their current level of 0.5%, although the vote was not unanimous, with one dissenter suggesting a rise to 0.75% to help battle inflationary concerns.
This small hint at future change boosted Sterling, which rallied to a 19-month high against the Euro on Thursday.
It was a mixed week for UK companies as Comet reported a 14% increase in annual profit despite a 1.5% drop in like-for-like sales. However, beleaguered airline British Airways was in the news as the Unite union prepared to ballot cabin crew over further strikes.
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Weekly Trading Report 28 June 2010 - The Week Ahead
Indicators
The economic schedule is noticeably more crowded this week, with final Q1 GDP data mid-week and manufacturing PMI on Thursday forming the standout announcements at home.
Across the Atlantic, the key US Non Farm payroll figures on Friday are preceded by a number of important manufacturing surveys, including the Chicago PMI on Wednesday.
In the Eurozone, look out for Wednesday’s CPI inflation estimate, while the week is filled with consumer confidence figures from across the globe.
Company Results and Reports
Quarterly numbers on Monday from blue-chip bank Standard Chartered and mid-cap house builder Taylor Wimpey kick-start a relatively quiet week of company announcements.
Also keep an eye on annual figures from brewer Greene King on Thursday, while high street retailers HMV and Debenhams unveil full-year and quarterly data on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
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For previous weeks see below.
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'Financial Spread Betting 28 June 2010', Review by D. Jones, last update: 28-Jun-10
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