This week is an important one for stock markets as meeting will take place will will indicate central banks willingness to act if need. A schedule of events below.
Tuesday August 20
Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte will address the country’s upper house of parliament on the government crisis on Tuesday, where he faces a no-confidence vote on the same day.
Wednesday August 21
The Fed’s minutes from its July policy meeting, set to arrive on August 21, will allow investors to dissect the deliberations inside the central bank as it moved towards its first rate cut since the 2008 financial crisis.
Thursday August 22
The ECB will publish an account of its July policy meeting on August 22 after adjusting its rate guidance to suggest that rates could be cut soon. Looser monetary policy has done little to calm investors’ nerves this month against the backdrop of escalating trade tensions between the US and China and a brief inversion of the 10- and 2-year yield curve, which is considered a sign that investors expect a recession.
Friday August 23
Leaders from the Fed and other major central banks will be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for a summit that will draw attention from investors looking for policy clues. The headliner will be Fed chair Jay Powell, who is scheduled to speak on August 23 at the Economic Policy Symposium.
All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell who will speak for the first time since bond markets hit the recession alarm bells. Powell soothed the Street in early January and June in opening remarks at events by signaling the Fed would act more accomodative. We hope that Powell does it again. It would be a big mistake for him to generically welcome attendees to the conference and avoid the market’s issues.
Last week’s stock market turmoil was in response to the 10-year Treasury yield breaking below the 2-year rate for the first time since 2007.
Sunday August 25
The next G7 summit will be held on August 25-27. The summit will provide Boris Johnson, the UK’s new prime minister, with his first run out under the global spotlight. Germany last week pointed to the likelihood of Mr Johnson using the summit for a “big moment” to announce either a breakthrough or breakdown in talks on Britain leaving the UK.
Disclaimer: This article was issued by Kristian Camenzuli, Investment Manager at Calamatta Cuschieri at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt . The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice.