Weekend Reading
In case you missed it…
Our pick of industry shaping news from the past week within the financial space that we think you’ll love too from Rosely Group’s Global Head of Content, Liam Thompson.
Friday 8th September
What we are reading in the UK
Despite the weather looking up, the British economy has continued to creak this week with the sharpest fall in UK house prices in nearly a year, and the pound slumping against the dollar. GBP vs USD is as much a story about a resilient US economy as it is of a faltering UK one, but the signs will nevertheless weigh heavily on policy makers at the Bank of England.
https://www.marketpulse.com/fundamental/gbp-usd-extends-losses-after-weak-housing-data/kfisher
On the subject of which, the fall in the pound this week was preceded by an indication from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey indicating that inflation may have peaked in the UK. The news will be welcomed by homeowners with a mortgage across the country. The challenge for the embattled Bank of England now however, will be to ensure that deflation - if and when it comes - is managed more gently than inflation was.
On a global scale, much of the talk in economics this week has been about shock figures from China, which indicate that the country is moving into a period of deflation. Inflation has bitten across the western world and deflation might seem like a remote prospect, but Christine Lagard of the IMF has indicated that it may be too soon to begin cutting interest rates, which could potentially fuel any nascent deflationary cycle. This article from The Telegraph gives a good primer on the fears behind this thinking.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/06/08/forget-inflation-deflation-is-the-real-danger/
What we are reading about it the US
With positive news recently from the US economy, this article in CNN looks at the disparity between the positive economic data and the negative feelings about the economy out on the streets of the US. What is the root cause of this mismatch, and what impact could it have on politics in the US? Will the ongoing economic inequality between the prosperous coasts and ‘flyover country’ continue to drive the political partisanship that have rocked the US over the last few years?
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/07/business/us-economy-biden-approval/index.html
Back to China, where unexpected inflation combined with a stronger than expected US economy, have led some to suggest that, contrary to consensus opinion in recent years, the Chinese economy may never surpass that of the US. Combined with ongoing set-backs for Russia in its war against Ukraine, could it be the case that US hegemony is set to continue and the ‘multi-polar’ world so long predicted by international relations specialists never comes to pass?
For politics geeks looking for something to listen to over the weekend, this article from Politico is a great place to start. Politico asked all 2024 candidates to name their top 20 songs, in order to glean an insight into their soul. Not all responded, but the ones that did make for some interesting listening. As a thought experiment, which one would you vote for, based on music alone and disregarding politics? For me, Phil Collins is an instant vote loser!
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/06/top-20-songs-chris-christie-nikki-haley-will-hurd-cornel-west-00113795