Tag Archives: U.S. Consumer Confidence

U.S. Consumers Most Confident Since 2007

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the financial markets:

Main Trading Event Of The Day: U.S. FOMC Statement @ 18.00 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

U.S. Consumers Most Confident Since 2007

Americans are more confident now about the economy than at any other time in the past seven years, according to the latest Conference Board survey. The consumer confidence index jumped to 90.9 in July from a revised 86.4 in June, the highest level since October 2007. Expectations had been for the index to slip to 85.0. Consumers are feeling more optimistic because of improved economic growth and a sharp upturn in hiring. Gross domestic product likely grew at a 3.2% pace in the spring after a 2.9% contraction in the first quarter according to projections. The preliminary GDP report will be issued Wednesday. The U.S. had also added at least 200,000 jobs a month for five straight months, one of the best stretches of hiring since the recession ended in mid-2009. Analysts predict another 200,000-plus gain for June when the monthly employment report is released on Friday. The improvement in consumer confidence suggests the recent strengthening in growth is likely to continue into the second half of this year and most economists predict the U.S. will expand by more than 3% in both the third and fourth quarters.

Consumers are still not as optimistic as they were in the years leading up to the 2007-2009 downturn when the consumer-confidence index averaged 103.4 in the seven years prior to the Great Recession. Nonetheless, confidence has rebounded sharply from a recession low of 25.3 in February 2009 which marked the lowest level ever in the history of the index dating to its origin in 1967.

Gold Dips Below $1,300 As Economic Data Eyed

Gold traded below $1,300 an ounce on today as investors nervously awaited the end of a Federal Reserve policy meeting to gauge the U.S. central bank’s view on the economy and monetary policy. The metal was pressured by the U.S. dollar, which held near a six-month high against a basket of major currencies on expectations of a hawkish tone from the Fed. Investors were reluctant to take big positions ahead of major U.S. economic data this week, including GDP on Wednesday and non-farm payrolls on Friday. Spot gold was flat at $1,299.54 an ounce after slipping 0.5 percent and breaking below the key $1,300 level in the previous session. Analysts saw little to support prices should the upcoming economic data give further confirmation that a recovery is underway. Recent strong economic data has prompted many to believe the U.S. central bank may raise rates sooner than expected. Higher rates would encourage investors to withdraw money from non-interest-bearing assets such as gold.

Europe Stocks Seen Lower Following Russia Sanctions

European shares are set for a lower open today after the United States and European Union expanded sanctions against Russia. The FTSE is called down 2 points at 6,805 while the German Dax is seen lower by 18 points at 9,635. The new sanctions drew increasing attention to an escalating geopolitical crisis which capped gains on Wall Street Tuesday. President Barack Obama said the United States was expanding on measures announced two weeks ago, targeting Russian energy, defense and financial sectors as Russia has continued to support separatists in eastern Ukraine, and was still building up forces on its own border with Ukraine. The sanctions are the toughest since the end of the cold war and come ahead of ahead of key risk events in the United States today and will put the ruble under severe pressure.

That sums up today’s highlights! We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

Just A Minute!

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the markets:

Main Trading Events Of The Day: USD PPI m/m @ 12.30 & USD Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment @ 13.55 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

Markets Await US PPI & Consumer Sentiment Reports

With U.S. PPI data due later today, the government will probably report that wholesale prices rose a mild 0.2% in February to match the increase in January. Wholesale prices reflect the costs that companies pay for raw or semi-finished products and services before they sell them to consumers. The government has revamped the produce price index to include the cost of services, government purchases, exports and construction. The old PPI only included wholesale goods and covered just a small portion of all goods and services produced in the United States. The first PPI compiled under the new formula showed basically no change in inflationary patterns in January. Wholesale prices have risen just 1.2% in the past 12 months.

Consumer sentiment forecasts reveal slight differences. According to a Thomson Reuters report, the consumer sentiment survey for March is forecast to fall slightly to 80.8 from 81.6 in February. Over the past year the survey has ranged from a high of 85.1 in July to a low of 73.2 in October. Another report predicts a rise of 0.4 points to 82.0, based on the fact that weekly consumer confidence indicators improved into March with the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index for the week ending March 2 showing its strongest level since the beginning of January. Higher gasoline prices may weigh on sentiment, but equity indices have moved higher since the end of February which likely boosted the consumer outlook at the beginning of the month.

USD PPI m/m @ 12.30 & USD Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment @ 13.55 GMT

Gold Hits Fresh Six-Month Highs On Ukraine/China Worries

Gold rose to fresh six-month highs on Friday heading for its biggest weekly gain in four weeks, supported by increasing tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine and worries over an economic slowdown in China. The metal has gained nearly 3 percent this week, marking its sixth straight weekly rise, as investors exited riskier assets such as equities. While money flowing into gold-backed exchange-traded funds has increased, reflecting confidence in the metal’s outlook, physical demand has slowed as higher prices put off buyers, making some cautious about how long the rally can last. Demand in China, the world’s biggest bullion consumer, has fallen with prices on the Shanghai Gold Exchange about $3 an ounce lower than London prices, compared with a premiums of over $20 earlier this year. Physical buying in other Asian regions has also slowed, with some selling to make a profit from rising prices. Gold is getting its biggest support from the crisis in Ukraine. Data on Thursday showed China’s economy slowed markedly in the first two months of the year, with growth in investment, retail sales and factory output all falling to multi-year lows.

Next From Apple: A Pedometer That Never Misses Steps?

With a constant stream of innovative tech releases, it’s always interesting to keep any eye on Apple stocks. So, what’s next on Apple’s agenda? According to reports, the next big release that Apple has up its sleeve is a smart pedometer. Documents released Thursday at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that the company is working on a device to more accurately measure a person’s movement, presumably for a health-monitoring wearable device. Apple is expected to take the iWatch mainstream and expects it to reach the public later in 2014. The patent covers a smart wrist-mounted pedometer that can automatically determine its location on a user’s body and compensate for missed steps using advanced processing algorithms. Analysts are looking for the tech giant whose stock is down slightly from the beginning of the year to introduce new product categories to excite buyers again. Keep an eye on those Apple stocks!

That sums up today’s highlights! Don’t forget to keep up with all the latest market developments via our social media channels! We hope you have a profitable day on the markets and a great weekend - we’re back on Monday!

Just A Minute!

Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the markets:

Main Trading Events Of The Day: USD CB Consumer Confidence @ 15.00 GMT

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY

U.S. Consumer Confidence Expected To Remain Near Five-Month High

A gauge of confidence among consumers is expected to stay unchanged in February after hitting a five-month high in January, according to economists. The U.S. has recently seen both positive and negative economic developments - conflicting forces that may have largely offset each other when it comes to consumer confidence. Stocks that raced up this month probably perked up consumers. Economists expect the Conference Board to report that its gauge of consumer confidence slightly pulled back to 80.1 this month from 80.7 in January. Consumers are the backbone of the U.S. economy, and analysts watch confidence levels to get a feeling for the direction of spending.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar steadied against its rivals in Asian trade with major currency pairs sticking to tight ranges as traders await economic data for more clarity on the pace of the U.S. economic recovery. The immediate focus for the dollar is U.S. data later in the day, including house price index and consumer confidence. Over the past few weeks markets have had to contend with negative surprises on U.S. hiring, retail sales and housing. Traders will also be looking to Thursday, when Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks to the Senate Banking Committee in her semi-annual testimony about monetary policy. Yellen’s first few comments since replacing Ben Bernanke as Fed chief have largely supported the current pace of the stimulus-tapering, suggesting the recent weakness in the economy was merely a blip.

Eurozone Inflation In Biggest Monthly Fall In January

Eurozone consumer prices fell in January at their fastest ever pace on a monthly basis, dragged down by a slump in the cost of non-energy industrial goods. This has kept annual inflation well below the European Central Bank’s target. The inflation rate in the 18 countries sharing the euro dropped by 1.1 percent in January compared with December, keeping the annual inflation rate at 0.8 percent for a second month in a row. Economists expected consumer price inflation to accelerate slightly to 0.9 percent in January, a level that is still well below the ECB’s target of close to but below 2 percent. The annual rate was influenced by a 1.2 percent decline in the highly volatile prices of energy, while the monthly decline was hit by a 3.9 percent fall in prices of non-energy industrial goods and a 0.4 percent drop in the price of services.

In January, euro zone members Greece and Cyprus were stuck in deflation. Only Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia saw consumer prices rising month-on-month in January. Italy, the euro zone’s third largest economy, showed a 2.1 percent month-on-month decline, the biggest drop from among all euro zone members. In Germany, Europe’s largest economy, consumer prices fell by 0.7 percent on the month, keeping the annual inflation rate steady at 1.2 percent, with both figures coming below expectations.

Could WhatsApp Be Worth $100 Billion Once It Monetises?

Last week, Facebook Inc. made a huge decision to aquire WhatsApp, a mobile instant messaging app, for $19-billion which had industry observers questioning Mark Zuckerberg’s level of sanity and intelligence. But depending on what they do with the acquisition, it could prove to be a brilliant deal that completely redefines mobile communication and generates huge profits for Facebook. Perhaps this, after all, was a brilliant move on Mark Zuckerberg’s part as it becomes more apparent that he’s thinking about the next decade or more, while most short-term-minded investors suffer from tunnel vision locked onto today’s revenue.

In the next decade, it is likely that the majority of the world will stop using SMS and shift to data-oriented messaging programs on their smartphone. Facebook’s goal should be, and appears to be, to own this market. WhatsApp is huge. It has 450 million monthly active users, and are growing at one million new users per day. Can this be monetised? The possibilities are endless. The global SMS market brings in about $100-billion annually so it’s clear that there is money to be made here. People are not in the habit of using Facebook Messenger for real-time conversations and that’s where WhatsApp comes in. Facebook hasn’t just invested $19-billion to take over a popular instant messaging app. They’ve invested in the possibility of dominating mobile communication, using voice, video and text. The upside, should they execute well, is probably larger than most of us can imagine. We’re holding onto our shares!

That sums up Tuesday’s highlights! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for all the latest trading news and watch out for the all-important U.S. Consumer data later! We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.

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