How will the US corporate bond market handle Fed tightening?

Dec 07, 2015 18:42 pm UTC| Commentary

It is tempting to think that the onset of tighter Fed policy will heap more misery on the US corporate bond market. But economists doubt that this will be the case, given the economic context in which it should be...

Russia’s economy preparing for takeoff

Dec 07, 2015 18:33 pm UTC| Commentary

The Russian economy continues to decline on an annual basis, falling 3.7% y/y in October and over January-October 2015, versus -4.1% y/y in Q3 15, as a continued weak oil price, the lagging effects of aggressive monetary...

Fed’s LMCI drifts higher in November

Dec 07, 2015 17:11 pm UTC| Commentary

The Federal Reserves Labor Market Conditions Index (LMCI) rose 0.5 points in November, the seventh consecutive monthly increase but a more modest pace of improvement than in recent months. The October LMCI increase was...

The US labour market is key to understanding why the Fed wants to hike

Dec 07, 2015 17:00 pm UTC| Commentary

The labour market is key to understanding why the Fed wants to hike As PCE core inflation is still subdued and below the FOMCs 2% target (1.3% y/y in October), the labour market is key to understanding why economists...

South Africa's is on the brink of "junk”-status

Dec 07, 2015 16:47 pm UTC| Commentary

Fitch cut its sovereign rating by one notch to BBB- with a stable outlook on Friday evening. Both Fitch and Standard Poors are now rating the sovereign just one notch above "junk"-status. A weak growth outlook and the...

Equity snapshot (indices)

Dec 07, 2015 15:30 pm UTC| Commentary

Equities are all mixed in todays trading. Kindly note all instruments mentioned here are CFDs, whose values might differ from cash or future traded. Performance this week at a glance in chart table - SP 500 - SP 500...

Currency snapshot (major pairs)

Dec 07, 2015 15:13 pm UTC| Commentary

Dollar index trading at 98.85 (+0.52%). Strength meter (today so far) - Euro -0.57%, Franc -0.74%, Yen -0.24%, GBP -0.21% Strength meter (since last week) - Euro -0.57%, Franc -0.74%, Yen -0.24%, GBP -0.21% EUR/USD...