Chatter moving the markets

Last week was another heavy weak for reporting since it was the first week of the month of October. Below are the main events which influenced markets during the week:

Deutsche Bank Shares Rally

Shares in Deutsche Bank continued to rally from their lows after news came out that the U.S. Justice Department officials working on a mortgage securities investigation of Deutsche Bank AG expected the bank to settle the matter for $2 billion to $3 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

ECB Said to Build Tapering Consensus as QE Decision Time Nears

The European Central Bank will probably gradually wind down bond purchases before the conclusion of quantitative easing, and may do so in steps of 10 billion euros a month, according to euro-zone central-bank officials.

Less than six months before the program’s earliest end-date of March 2017, an informal consensus has built among policy makers in the past month that asset buying will have to be tapered, the officials said, asking not to be identified because their deliberations are confidential. They didn’t exclude that the program could still be extended at the full pace of 80 billion euros a month.

Gold tumbles on renewed Fed rate hike speculation

Prices for the yellow metal fell to their weakest level since the UK voted to leave the EU as investors ramped up bets that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as December.

Gold, which offers no yield, has benefited from the low rate environment and various bouts of volatility that has roiled markets this year. A Fed rate hike would reduce the attractiveness of the asset as it drives up the dollar and makes bonds a more attractive investment.

Pound at 31-year low as sell-off

The pound plunged to another multiyear low, pummelled again by market fears that the UK is heading for a hard Brexit and bound for further falls.

“Prime Minister May’s announcement that Article 50 will be triggered by March next year has changed all that and refocused markets on what we see as one of the cleanest macro trades out there,” Goldman said.

Payrolls in U.S. Rise by 156,000

Employers continued to add to payrolls in September as people streamed into the workforce and most found jobs amid record openings, indicating the U.S. labor market is settling into a pace that will support the economy.

While payroll additions have slowed from last year, they’re still above what economists say is needed to accommodate labor-force growth, as employers face a limited pool of available and qualified workers. Steady progress will underpin further wage gains and consumer spending, the main driver of U.S. expansion this year, and encourage Federal Reserve policy makers to follow through on their forecast for an interest-rate increase by the end of 2016.

Italian Referendum

Too close to call. That’s what opinion polls say about the Italian referendum, recalling another vote that confounded pollsters and markets alike: Brexit.

This time, though, investors shouldn’t be caught by surprise. A barometer of online chatter that correctly anticipated most Britons would opt to quit the European Union is now suggesting that Italians are so fed up with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi they are willing to vote on Dec. 4 against a slimmed-down legislature just to see him sent home.