The Australian dollar declined today after the RBA made its interest rates decision. The central bank left interest rates unchanged at 1.50% as expected. The bank has not changed rates since July 2016 when it lowered rates by 25 basis points to the current levels. This decision comes a month after the bank lowered its […]
This week, the biggest focus among the investing community was on the summit between North Korea and the United States. Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un and his delegation in Hanoi, Vietnam where the two were expected to discuss the denuclearization of the peninsula. After a successful first day of meetings, the two leaders […]
Israel is a small country of more than 8 million people and a GDP of more than $350 billion. The country is known for its close ties to the United States. It is also known as the only real-democratic country in the Middle East. It is regarded as a holy land by Christians, Muslims, and […]
Switzerland is a small European country of 8 million people and a GDP of more than $678 billion. The country is famed for its financial sector where the world’s wealthy store their funds. It is also known for its expertise in watch making and its industrial base. It is also known for its independence and […]
China is the world’s second-largest economy in the world with an annual GDP of more than $11 trillion. This is an impressive number for a country whose GDP was just $1 trillion in 2000. The country’s growth has been attributed to its robust manufacturing sector and better western education that has led to the growth […]
Crude oil has had an interesting week. On Monday, the price declined sharply after Donald Trump sent a tweet asking OPEC to increase production with the goal of reducing the prices. This came as the price of crude oil has gained by double digits this year. While OPEC did not respond to the president’s comments, […]
governs itself and has its own local currency known as Hong Kong dollar. The city’s economy is sustained mostly by the finance sector. Most international banks like Standard Chartered, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse have a large presence there. It is also home to many hedge funds and private equity firms. Other sectors that […]
North Korea is potentially one of the biggest geopolitical players of our lifetime. The country of more than 25 million people and a GDP surpassing $25 billion has become a thorn in the West’s side because of its insistence on developing nuclear weapons. Today, N. Korea is lagging behind its southern neighbor, South Korea which […]
Last week was an important week for the cryptocurrencies industry. This started after JP Morgan announced that it will be launching its own cryptocurrency. The currency will be used for international transactions, with the goal of reducing costs, improving efficiency, and improving the time it takes to make the transactions. This news was big for […]
Sterling has been a good performer this year even with the problems that the United Kingdom is facing. Recent data indicate that the economic growth for the country is softening, with the manufacturing indicators being a bit sluggish. This is an expected thing to happen at a time when there is an uncertainty about the […]
Gold mining is a labor-intensive business because most of the available gold resources are found deep inside the earth’s crust. In fact, the cost of mining an ounce of gold has continued to increase, with some companies spending more than $900. With prices of gold at $1330, that means that the margins are thin because […]
This was a busy weekend for the markets as investors focused on a number of issues like the Nigerian elections, political uncertainty in Venezuela, trade, and the Mueller probe. Nigerian Election This weekend, Nigerians went to the voting centers to cast their votes on the next leader. The election happened a week after it was […]
This week, traders will likely focus on the following issues. Nigerian Elections Today, the Nigeria’s electoral authority is expected to release the results of the general election that happened on Saturday. The presidential election were between the incumbent, Muhamadu Buhari and the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakah. On Sunday, it was reported that violence took […]
The focus among investors this week likely be on crude oil. Its price has been rallying since December and YTD, it has gained by double digits. There are a few reasons for this. First, in the annual meeting in December, OPEC members and Russia agreed to lower production. This was because the cartel believed that […]
This week, the focus among investors was on the ongoing trade talks, political issues, central bank minutes, and a couple of economic data. Politics In the United States, it was widely reported that special counsel Robert Mueller was in the final stages of his investigation of the Trump campaign and his decision to fire James […]
Today, traders will focus on key economic data from the European Union. This data will be very important because it will present a picture about the health of the European economy. In the morning, Germany will release the second reading of the fourth quarter GDP number. In the quarter, investors expect the economy to have […]
South Africa is the second largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of more than $345 billion. The country is also the most advanced in the continent, with its infrastructure being more advanced. The country has a diversified economy, with most Western countries having a base there. For example, South Africa is the biggest automobile […]
The biggest news expected today is from the Federal Reserve. The bank will release the minutes of the February meeting during the US trading session. This will be an important release that may lead to significant moves in the markets. In the previous meeting, the bank said that it was moving from an increasing hawkish […]
Copper is an important metal in the world. Every day, billions of people indirectly use products that are made with copper. For example, copper is found in automobiles and in electrical appliances. It is also used to power the national grids of all countries. This happens because of copper’s excellent conduction capabilities. As such, copper […]
The Australian dollar declined today after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released the monetary policy minutes for the past meeting. The minutes showed that the bank was increasingly concerned about the slowing global economy, the low rate of inflation, and the challenging real estate market. On the global economy, the growth in the main […]
The euro and European stocks are under pressure as attention on trade shifts to Europe. Late last week, the commerce department submitted a report on European autos to the White House. The report was commissioned by the president with the goal of investigating whether the European autos posed a national threat to the United States. […]
On Friday, Nasdaq exited the bear market that it entered in December. In December, the index fell to a low of $5817. This happened at a time when investors were increasingly worried about Fed rate hikes and the slowing down of the global economy. It also happened at a time when the fears of a […]
Over the weekend, investors continued to focus on the cryptocurrency world. On Friday, it was reported that JP Morgan was preparing to launch a cryptocurrency that will help it in foreign transfers. Each coin of JPM Coin will be valued at one dollar, which makes it a stablecoin. This was a big news for cryptocurrency […]
This week, investors may focus on a number of things. First, they will focus on trade as the March 1 deadline nears. The deadline was set in December during the G20 meeting in Argentina. In the statement, Donald Trump said that the country would increase the tariffs for Chinese goods to 25%. These tariffs may […]
The DAX 30 index is the Germany’s response to the United States’ Dow 30. The index is made up of the biggest companies in Germany. The companies are chosen in such a way that they represent how the economy is doing. The biggest company in the DAX index is SAP, which is valued at more […]
This week, the focus among traders was on the government shutdown and the ongoing trade negotiations between China and the United States. On trade, officials from the United States are visiting China, where they are holding the negotiations. The teams are being led by Robert Lighthizer and Steve Mnuchin and are expected to meet with […]
Singapore is a small Asian country with a population of more than 5 million people. The country has become a major force in the region, because of how it has transformed itself. Even with low mineral resources, the country has grown its GDP to more than $320 billion. This trade has enabled the country to […]
Yesterday, the Swedish Krone rose sharply against the USD after the Riksbank released a hawkish statement. The USD/SEK pair then pared most of those gains later in the day. The central bank concluded the monetary policy meeting yesterday and left interest rates unchanged at -0.25%. In the monetary policy statement, the bank said that while […]
known for its large debt, which stands at more than $10 trillion. Today, the country released the second reading of the economic growth. The number showed that the economy expanded by an annualized rate of 1.4%. This was in line with expectations and higher than the previous reading of -2.6%. On a QoQ basis, the […]
United States is the biggest economy in the world with a total GDP of almost $20 trillion and a population of more than 325 million people. It is followed by China and Japan, which have a GDP of $12.2 trillion and $4.8 trillion respectively. The US economy is well diverse, with many sectors contributing to […]
