Europe

Authored by Mohamed El-Erian via Bloomberg.com,

From Bill Blain of Mint Partners.

Morning Porridge - July 3rd 2017

“If you can keep playing tennis when somebody is shooting a gun down the street, that’s concentration…”

* * *

Welcome to the second half of 2017. This week is likely to be thin - the first week of the great summer slowdown and Wimbledon, US holidays and payrolls on Friday.

But... what comes next?

FX Week Ahead, courtesy of Rajan Dhall from fxdaily.co.uk

Despite the NY market holiday over Independence day in the US, we have a number of notable data releases leading up to the main event next week in the May employment report (Friday). 

S&P500 futures have started the second half solidly in the green, up 0.3% to 2,429, tracking European markets broadly in the green, while Asian stocks fell slightly and crude oil is little changed. With US markets set to close at 1pm today trading volumes in many markets remain light before Tuesday’s July 4th holiday and as investors await Friday’s report on the American jobs market. Traders will be looking at key upcoming economic data for validation of the hawkish shift from central banks that roiled markets last week. 

Authored by Ahmed Chari via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

Qatar has been known for years as a small peninsula nation that punches far above its weight. Its immense oil wealth and enormous influence, through its English- and Arabic-language Al Jazeera channels, have given it diplomatic clout across the Arab world. Its soft power has been felt in negotiations in Darfur, Tripoli, Sanaa and elsewhere. Everywhere it has been either admired or envied.