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In the Markets – Week-Ending July 1

by Peter J. Creedon

Newsletter: In the Markets – Week-Ending July 1
Crystal Brook Advisors
We Make Financial Planning Crystal Clear™

United States: Consumer spending climbed 0.4% in May, suggesting a key pillar of the U.S. economy has bounced back after a lackluster start to the year.(1) Consumers were apparently riding high before news of the Brexit rocked the financial markets. Consumer confidence rose 7.6 points in June.(2)

Europe: Adding to political uncertainty in Europe, Spain’s weekend elections delivered a hung parliament for the second time in six months.(3) Global demand for safe assets pushed government bond yields down and prices up over the past month, increasing the total amount of debt with negative yields to $11.7 trillion.(4)

Asia: The Nikkei regained some lost ground overnight after Japanese PM Shinzo Abe instructed his finance minister to intervene in the currency markets if needed in the wake of Brexit the vote.(5) For the first time in at least a decade, the Shanghai Stock Exchange has lost its position at the top of turnover rankings for China’s four major trading venues.(6)

Monday 06/27

• A rout in shares deepened and the British pound fell to a three-decade low against the dollar as the aftershocks of the U.K.’s vote to leave the EU continued to ripple through financial markets.(7)
• Saudi Arabia has appointed JPMorgan, HSBC and Citi to arrange its debut international bond as the kingdom presses ahead with fundraising efforts amid an oil price slump.(8)

Tuesday 06/28

• U.S. stocks traded higher and the British pound rose as global markets showed signs of stabilizing following sharp falls after last week’s U.K. vote to leave the European Union.(9)
• Volkswagen’s price tag to settle lawsuits in the U.S. over its rigging of diesel emissions tests has jumped to more than $15B.(10)

Wednesday 06/29

• Global markets gained Wednesday, extending a broad rally as fears receded that the U.K.’s referendum vote last week to leave the European Union would disrupt the world economy.(11)
• Airbnb is in talks about a new round of investment that would value the company at about $30 billion.(12)

Thursday 06/30

• U.S. stock futures are pointing to a higher open as equities look to close out the second quarter by extending Tuesday’s big rally into the best three-day gain since February.(13)
• AB InBev’s roughly $108B takeover of SABMiller has been cleared by South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, leaving only two more approvals before the deal can close. To appease U.S. and Chinese regulators, AB InBev has agreed to sell SABM.(14)

Friday 07/01

• Sharp moves in government debt yields that pushed the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield to a new record low on Friday tell us as much about how investors are trading the market as they do about the economy.(15)
• Falling below expectations, total construction spending unexpectedly fell 0.8 percent in May.(16)
Market Close
(17)

Contributor: Oscar Xia

Sources:
(1) Source: Wall Street Journal
(2) Source: Wells Fargo Economics Group
(3) Source: Seeking Alpha
(4) Source: Wall Street Journal
(5) Source: Seeking Alpha
(6) Source: Wall Street Journal
(7) Source: Wall Street Journal
(8) Source: Seeking Alpha
(9) Source: Wall Street Journal
(10) Source: Seeking Alpha
(11) Source: Wall Street Journal
(12) Source: New York Times
(13) Source: Seeking Alpha
(14) Source: Seeking Alpha
(15) Source: Wall Street Journal
(16) Source: Wells Fargo Economics Group
(17) Source: MarketWatch

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