Courteney Morrison

The more I thought about today’s session the less it seemed to matter as the countdown clock ticks ever closer to go time for the most anticipated (and arguably most important) set of numbers for the year? Yes Europe will be a little more sheltered given the lack of AI exposure but given the size of the implied move (c$300bn mkt cap swing in either direction) it will have a fairly significant impact on the next directional move for the whole Equity complex it feels. Ahead is a tricky seasonal…

Back from the Bank Holiday and Keir Starmer didn’t waste any time in warning us that the autumn Budget is going to be ‘painful’. Brilliant. BBQ’s are still warm, Notting Hill filled with debris from the Carnival and barely 10am before he dropped that gem. It probably shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given the recent chatter about public finances but it did sour the mood. Lifting the mood news that Oasis announced a reunion tour in the UK, I was asked ‘would I try buy tickets this weekend?’… I…

It’s very quiet out there and the first thing to note is we’re on track for the lowest volume week YTD and that won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s had the short straw at working this week! The Stoxx 600 ended the day up 35bps and resumed bumping higher without too many noticing. The Euro Stoxx 50 and Stoxx 600 are back above the 200dma which is encouraging and many once again will be hoping that the Japanese CPI, Ueda testimony and Powell’s Jackson Hole testimony all pass fairly smoothly…

There was barely more out today than yesterday to justify a Snapshot (executive decision taken) but with very little else to do with volumes collapsing into an August chasm I thought I’d use my time wisely. The low volume grind higher which has been ongoing with very little fanfare or excitement (and hardly any incoming) took a pause today as things ran out of steam a little with the Stoxx 600 ending the day -45bps. The S&P 500 would be up for the 9th day in a row if it were to close higher tod…

Judging by the YTD high responses to the Snapshot yesterday I would hazard a guess that people care more about Biscuit preferences than the markets right in this August tape. And rightly so – we had Choco Leibniz and Tim Tam’s thrown in the mix from our readers but sadly neither are readily available in the local Co-op, and we were really looking old fashioned classics! For those still caring about the markets the big data week came towards an end with some more reassuring tones struck from a w…

As things have quietened down from the not-so-August start to this month, and with us all waiting patiently for each daily dose of U.S. data we have used our time to go through some important testing. Currently we’re exploring – What is the Perfect biscuit? Not an easy question, a great way to put on some very unnecessary pounds in the summer months, have more cups of tea just to test dunkability and bring some nostalgia to the desk. Custard creams non-negotiable up near the top of the leader b…

So go on then, it isn’t the parallel bars or the pommel horse, probably not the marathon or the pole vault and definitely not the Golf – So based on a YouGov Poll ‘if started training today, what do 27% of Brits think they could qualify for the 2028 Olympics in? I was asked this last week and went with Rowing or Beach Volleyball but admit my competitive sport years are well and truly behind me. What currently seems behind us is the notion of a resilient and spending U.S. Consumer which dominate…

Right that is it….the world has gone mad…it is nigh on impossible to open a joint bank account. Impossible to do online. “Head to a branch” they say…well there isn’t a single one open in central London, and at my local one “Opening hours are 9-4”…Brilliant! I got absolutely nowhere with that then but it was encouraging to see the Banks leading the way today in Europe (clearly not for their new customer acquisition skills). For Europe to do well, banks need to do well and although the macro head…

Anyone else feeling a bit short changed this morning by the bounce that was looking so promising at 7am? There are LOTS of moving parts at the moment which could go a long way to explain the jitters: Geopolitical instability, Yen Carry trade implications, U.S Economic jitters, Mega cap tech wobbles, political instability/elections, seasonality…. The list goes on…. The bounce in Europe turned out to be short lived and turned into a fall at one stage, by no means what we’ve been used to the past…

It’s August, the third session and it’s already been a long month. Lots of people are away and there was no real need/desire to be a hero and that was fairly evident today from the offset. Walking into the Nikkei -12% doesn’t happen very often, not for 37 years as it happens and within the Japanese markets the real culprit emerged once again: The Yen. It strengthened by as much as 3% today, by 8% in the last 5 days and actually is near parity for the year vs the Dollar. The Carry Trade that has…