Weekly Briefing

Summary: Retail sales in the US surged 1.3% month-over-month in October of 2022, the strongest increase in eight months, after a flat reading in September and beating market forecasts of a 1% gain. Sales at motor vehicle dealers were up 1.3% as supply chain constraints have been easing while rising gasoline costs pushed sales at […]

Summary: This week’s highlights were the US midterm elections, the CPI report and the FTX crypto exchange bankruptcy. The annual inflation rate in the US slowed for a fourth month to 7.7% in October of 2022, the lowest since January, and below market forecasts of 8%. It compares with 8.2% in September. Compared to the

Summary: This was another exciting week, with the release of important numbers regarding the economic and financial situation. Monday and Tuesday everybody was awaiting for the FED decision (FOMC meeting) regarding the FED funds rate increase and, most importantly, the president speech and its tone regarding future monetary policy. The 0.75 % rate increase was

Summary: This week the UK gained (another!) new prime minister (let’s see how that goes), and Twitter (the bird) has been freed! In China, Xi has renewed his mandate, with key elements of the CCP on his side. Despite some of the bad news during this earnings season (META and Amazon, for example), the markets

Summary: Another agitated week! Liz Truss went away, together with her minibudget, due to lack of credibility. The bond markets are stressed, with real rates increasing around the world. The economic outlook for next year remains gloomy. China gets its own paragraph. The BIG CCP meeting has been ongoing, and we are waiting for a

  Summary: The week was agitated. The instability of the UK bond market and government, the still-hot inflation, the big market swings… What a week. We can only hope that after the next FED meeting (or the US elections) things get a bit clearer, because right now the markets seem range bound and with aggressive

Summary: The hot topics of this week included the reduction of the oil production target by OPEC+, the application of more sanctions on Russia by the EU, and the revelation of the U.S. unemployment rate and the non-farm payrolls for September. Although the unemployment rate remains at low levels, the payrolls showed signs of deceleration.

The past weeks in review: The FED raised rates by 0.75 %. No surprise. But the speech was very hawkish and the markets are expecting rates to continue rising until something breaks in the economy or the financial markets. Other central banks have the same stance: attacking high inflation with higher interest rates. The stock

The past week: The August consumer price index (CPI), a measure of price the inflation, has been released – higher that forecasted by the economists. This was the excuse for the end of the relief rally of the days 7-12 September. And the tumble was big (example: NASDAQ). The markets are negative and bearish. Everybody

A little perspective series trying to foresee the next 6-12 months. Video: Jeffrey Sachs: “We’re in a crisis and it will get worse in the coming months.” Channel: Prague Finance Institute Video: The Big Crash I Predicted Is Upon Us… But It’s Time to Get Rich: Robert Kiyosaki Channel: Stansberry Research Video: Economist: ‘The storm