Holiday Snippets

Markets got off to a good start this week, as most global bourses finished Monday higher and kicked off to an even better start on Tuesday. Stocks rose and the S&P 500 regained a 7-month high after Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen delivered a broadly optimistic speech on the outlook for US interest rates. The US top central banker said that “positive forces have outweighed the negative”, and downplayed the risks surrounding the US economy, despite last Friday’s weak jobs report. Pricing now suggests a rate hike is on for next September.

In Europe the talk was mostly centered on new polls which seem to indicate a buildup behind the UK’s Leave campaign in the approaching Brexit vote. The pound sterling suffered heavy losses as a result. The referendum is scheduled for the 23rd of June. Banks such as JPMorgan and RBS have said they will be staffing their trading floors overnight as the Street braces for a boost in currency trading volumes.

Home soil advantage could be what will tip the scales in the forthcoming European football championships in France according to the economists at Goldman Sachs. According to their forecasts, Les Bleus have a 23% chance of winning the tournament, 3 basis points more than Germany. A similar model predicted that Brazil would win the last World Cup when they lost out to Germany by 7 goals to 1 in the semis – so this is one call you might want to hold off from making for now.