Will India land on the moon?

Good morning

EUR is a little softer this morning, some concerns over the PMI numbers due out this morning, EURUSD did hit 1.0835 yesterday afternoon but has clawed its way back up to 1.0865 as I type. GBPUSD did also slip back yesterday to 1.2720, now 1.2755 which puts GBPEUR higher at 1.1740. Otherwise its fair to say the currency markets are generally stable ahead of Jackson Hole.

The BRICS meeting will start tomorrow, it is already lining up to be a fairly interesting affair. China and Russia seem set to urge the BRICS group to move away from the US dollar, Putin said this process was irreversible and Brazil President Lula said that although they do not reject US dollar, BRICS should be able to trade in its own currency. Lula did add that BRICS should not attempt to oppose G7 or G20, as we know China would prefer the group to be a rival to those groups. There is some concern that if BRICS and OPEC nations club together, energy markets could be transformed very much to the detriment of the West.

Meanwhile US have asked China to be more transparent with economic data, so the rest of the world can make more informed decisions. Good luck with that! China once again fixed USDCNY just below 7.2000 when a more reasonable expectations was nearer 7.3000, PBoC quite openly controlling their currency. Still, some thinking that US-China trade relationship is improving as US commerce secretary Raimondo visits China on Sunday for a few days, the fourth cabinet-level official to visit since June.

Around midday today the Indian Vikram lander will do its best to land on the surface of the moon, this would make India just the fourth nation to accomplish this feat and the first to land near the moons south pole, if successful. There is a lot of uncertainty, craters and boulders make it difficult to find a suitable landing site, and the recent failure by Russia shows how difficult this can be. I’ll be watching with bated breath.

Just a final thought. If I asked you what you thought a full-time UPS drivers package added up to in the US, what would you think? $40,000? $60,000? Well it surprised me to discover it is in fact $170,000. This does include healthcare and other benefits, I’m not sure what the actual salary is, but that’s not a bad package. I’d expect we’ll see other firms now having to react. Who would want to be an Amazon driver if their UPS counterparts are getting that sort of deal?

Looks like another sunny day ahead, make the most of it if you can, the rest of the week doesn’t look quite so good.

- 09.00 EU S&P manufacturing, services PMI

- 09.30 UK S&P manufacturing, services PMI

- 13.30 CAD retail sales

- 14.45 US S&P manufacturing, services PMI

- 15.00 US new home sales

- 15.00 EU consumer confidence