Weekly Briefing

Summary and Comment This was yet another calm week on the US markets, with no special economic highlights except for the preliminary estimate of building permits, which tumbled 8.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.413 million in March 2023. Over in China, the economy advanced 4.5% YoY in Q1 of 2023, accelerating […]

Summary and Comment Another calm week on the markets, with news of slowing CPI in the US (0.1% MoM) and US retail sales falling more than expected. The producer prices for final demand in the US (PPI) fell 0.5% MoM in March of 2023, the biggest decline since April of 2020. The economy is slowing,

 Summary and Comment This week was marked by a surprise announcement by OPEC+, stating that oil production would be cut by around 1.16 million barrels per day. Now we need to see if the cut is executed and how the balance of offer/demand evolves over the course of the year (China re-opening vs slowing economy).

 Summary and Comment   This week, no major news, except for the Donald Trump indictment in the US, which will most likely be favorable to him next year, when the run for office begins (he will be playing the role of the victim and underdog). In the US, PCE price index came out slightly lower

Summary and Commentary   Past Wednesday, March 22 2023, the FED raised interest rates another 0.25 %, and signaled that more rate hikes might not be required. We were assured the banking system is robust and deposits are kind of guaranteed… But you should decide who to trust. The markets have been swinging up and

Summary and Comment   The past two weeks were packed with information and hot news. First, the banking system failures and instability. On March 8, Silvergate Capital announced that it was going to wind down operations and liquidate its bank. Two days later, U.S. regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank after a bank run by customers.

The Week in Review Also available in video format:   Russia Suspends Participation in the “New START treaty” Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New START treaty, but not entirely withdrawing from the pact yet. New START’s official name is The Treaty between the United States of

The Week in Review Also available in video format: https://youtu.be/lFlEDmEs9ek Four UFOs (UAPs) Shot Down In the wake of four mysterious objects being shot down over North America, a member of NASA’s Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) panel—set up to study unexplained sightings in the sky—has weighed in on what these latest objects could be. The

The Week in Review  Also available in video format: https://youtu.be/UWHyTvt-sdY Earthquake in Turkey and Syria The week started with terrible news A massive, deadly earthquake struck southern Turkey before dawn local time on Monday. The 7.8-magnitude quake has killed thousands of people in Turkey and neighboring Syria. It also triggered dozens of destructive aftershocks. Turkey

The Week in Review   Also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/neqUxWXBRG4 This was a big week in the economic and financial fronts, hence this report might be a bit longer than usual. News Highlights Tensions in Iran                  Iran said one of its ammunition depots was attacked in a