What had been billed as the highlight of the week, in the end, turned out to be something of damp squib. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter-point, spoke at length on a troubling employment market and once again rammed home the notion that its membership would be unhurried in decision, and take each future one on the basis of contemporary data.
Oil prices are once again dominated by the Ukraine war. We touch on the struggles of the European Union’s application of tariffs and sanctions below, but instead of the hollow words of the protagonists who assure us that Russia’s oil supply will be dealt a blow financially, Ukraine has decided it would mete out a supply problem for its enemy, fundamentally. The continued pot shot use of drones on Russia’s refiners and now Crude export facilities is starting to bear fruit.
Not that stock market bulls needed any more encouragement, but the deal announced in Madrid by the US and China on TikTok’s US operations being taken under American ownership is a breakthrough which not only encourages ideas of further trade goodwill but gives yet another boost to US tech stock outlook. Given that this “framework” has been a real deal breaker for the US, for it fears national security intrusion from the popular app, Washington appears to be so cock-a-hoop that it readily announced a phone call would take place this Friday between Presidents Xi and Trump to finalise the barter.
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