Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 2nd April – 5th April 2024

Global Economy Earlier this week, we saw data from China detailing that services activity growth in the country accelerated in March 2024 as new business rose at the fastest pace in three months, a sign outlook was staging an imminent recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. The Caixin/S&P Global services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 25th March – 28th March 2024

Global Economy Earlier this week, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its third estimate of the US Q4:2023 and 2023FY GDP. According to the BEA, Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 3.4% YoY in Q4:2023 (vs 4.9% YoY in Q3:2023). Compared to Q3:2023, the deceleration in real GDP in Q4:2023 primarily reflected […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 18th March – 22nd March 2024

Global Economy Earlier this week, data from the office of National statistics showed the UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 3.4% YoY in February 2024, down from 4.0% YoY in January 2024. On a MoM basis, CPI rose by 0.6% in February 2024, compared with a rise of 1.1% MoM in February 2023. Core […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 11th March – 15th March 2024

  Global Economy Earlier this week, the US Census Bureau released retail trade data. According to the Census Bureau, advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February 2024, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were USD700.7bn, up 0.6% MoM from January 2024, and up […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 4th March – 8th March 2024

Global Economy Earlier this week, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Employment Situation data. According to the US BLS, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 275,000 in February 2024, and the unemployment rate increased by 20bps to 3.9%. Job increases took place in the sectors of health care, government, food and beverage […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 26th February – 1st March 2024

Global Economy Japan’s core consumer inflation decreased for a third consecutive month in January 2024, reaching 2.00% YoY, ahead of market estimates but remaining in line with the central bank’s 2% target, according to Japanese e-Stat earlier this week. The emergence of wage-driven inflation factors outweighing cost-push drivers of prices would further boost anticipation of […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 19th February – 23rd February 2024

Global Economy In February 2024, the headline S&P Global Flash US PMI Composite Output Index fell to 51.4 from 52.0 in January 2023, while staying in the expansion region. Nonetheless, the pace of expansion was the second-fastest since July 2023 as manufacturers and service providers recorded growth in output. US companies continued to report an […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 9th February – 16th February 2024

Global Economy In January 2024, headline inflation in the US saw a slight uptick, rising by 0.3% month-on-month (MoM), compared to December’s 0.2% MoM increase, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, year-on-year (YoY) inflation experienced a slight decrease, settling at 3.1%, down from December’s 3.4% YoY. The increase in inflation was primarily propelled […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 29th January – 2nd February 2024

Global Economy In a coordinated stand against inflation, both the UK’s Bank of England (BOE) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) held their key interest rates steady this week. While economic data showed some positive signs, the central banks emphasized their commitment to taming inflation pressures. The Fed opted to keep its federal funds rate […]

Weekly Commentary and Stock Recommendation: 22nd January – 26th January 2024

Global Economy S&P Global issued the US and UK Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data earlier this week. With a headline S&P Global Flash US PMI Composite Output Index of 52.3, it represented the fastest increase in business activity since June 2023, up from 50.9 in December 2023. The increase in output suggested a significant improvement […]