• Asian equity markets began the week positively but with gains only marginal amid the mass closures in the region for the Lunar New Year
• UK PM May could be planning for a general election in June, according to reports; later downplayed
• The Tories’ fragile Brexit truce was dealt a blow yesterday after hardline Brexiteers ruled out two of May’s proposals for solving the Irish backstop issue
• Looking ahead, highlights...

• Terrible Italian Manufacturing PMI slams 10-yr BTP futures as growth concerns magnify
• Cable falls to weekly low as manufacturing survey reveals record high stockpiling due to Brexit
• Looking ahead, highlights include, US Jobs Report, ISM Manufacturing PMI, Fed’s Kaplan
• EARNINGS: Aon, Chevron, Dominion Energy, Exxon Mobil

• USTR Lighthizer said talks with China made substantial progress but there is still much work to do
• US President Trump stated that he could meet soon with Chinese President Xi in order to finalise a potential deal
• Asian equity markets traded cautiously as disappointing Chinese data clouded over the momentum from Wall St
• Looking ahead, highlights include, French, German, UK & EZ Manufacturing PMI, EZ CPI (Flash), US Jobs...

• Major European indices trimming earnings-fueled gains seen at the open [Euro stoxx 50 -0.3%]
• Dovish Fed coupled with some ‘strong’ sell signals for month end portfolio rebalancing saw the Buck slump to new recent lows vs G10 peers
• US President Trump will meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at 15:30 EST today
• Looking ahead, highlights include Canadian GDP, ECB’s Weidmann Speaking
• EARNINGS: Celgene, General Electric, Northrop Grumman, Altria Group,...

• Fed stood pat on rates whilst indicating a willingness to adjust the pace of the balance sheet run-off, the message of patience was reiterated, language on the balance of risks was dropped
• Asian stocks were mostly higher across the board as they took impetus from their counterparts in the US
• The EU stands ready to take Brexit to a last-minute summit rather than bend the knee to demands from UK PM May, according to diplomats citing the scheduled summit on...

• European equities are mixed [Euro Stoxx 50 U/C] taking lead from the indecisive trade seen overnight as earnings season kicks into gear
• DXY meanders between 95.875-682 while AUD and GBP outperform in the G10 space
• Looking ahead, highlights include National German CPI, US ADP, FOMC Rate Decision & Press Conference
• EARNINGS: AT&T, Boeing, Mcdonald’s, Microsoft, Facebook, Qualcomm, Paypal, Visa, Tesla

• Asian stocks traded indecisively following better than expected Apple results and ahead of US-China trade talks
• UK lawmakers accepted Brady's amendment for the backstop to be replaced with an alternative arrangement and accepted Spelman's amendment that expressed objection to a no-deal Brexit
• The EU remains adamant that the withdrawal agreement or backstop is not up for renegotiation
• Looking ahead, highlights include,...

• Major European indices nursed opening loses and extended on gains Euro Stoxx 50 +0.5%], outperformance is seen in the FTSE 100
• Sterling awaits the outcome of UK Parliament’s vote on Brexit Plan B alongside amendments, but the still trades weaker vs the Euro
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Consumer Confidence, UK Parliamentary vote on Brexit 'Plan B', BoE's Haldane Speaking, US 2yr FRN & 7yr Note Auction
• EARNINGS: Advanced Micro Devices, Amgen, Apple, Verizon...

• Asian equity markets traded lower for most the session as the region followed suit to the negativity on Wall St
• The DoJ’s announcement of charges against Huawei has raised concerns about the potential impact on US-China relations
• UK PM May is said to have urged Tory MPs to back the Brady amendment which would replace the backstop with alternative arrangements
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Consumer Confidence, UK...

• Major European equities are in the red [Euro Stoxx 50 -0.5%] following on from a negative end to Asia ahead of key risk events
• USD appears to have gleaned some traction in the run up to the FOMC, US-China trade talks and NFP, while GBP underperforms ahead of the Brexit “Plan B” vote
• Looking ahead, highlights include US National Activity Index, ECB’s Draghi, BoE’s Carney, Fed’s Mester, US 2yr and 5yr Auction
• EARNINGS: Caterpillar, T...

• Asian equity markets initially began the week mostly higher, however the region later failed to hold on to early gains
• Ireland said it will not accept changes to agreement aimed at avoiding a hard border, while UK PM May reportedly told cabinet ministers privately, she will not allow Britain to exit without a deal
• US ended the government shutdown after a tentative agreement was reached on a stopgap bill to fund the government till February 15th but President Trump said he will declare an emergency...

• Major European indices are in the green [Euro Stoxx 50 +1.1%] following on yesterday’s ECB release and a strong performance Asia
• DXY has retraced a bulk of yesterday’s gains while the EUR stages a recovery
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Baker Hughes
• EARNINGS: Colgate-Palmolive, Nextera Energy, AbbVie

• An upbeat tone was observed across Asia-Pac majors heading into the weekend, which followed the mostly positive performance of their global peers
• DUP party is said to have privately agreed they will back PM May's Brexit deal when she toughens it up in terms of the backstop being specifically time limited
• US Senate blocked 2 competing proposals to end the government shutdown including one backed by US President Trump; as expected
...

• Major European equities are in the green [Euro Stoxx 50 +0.7%] with outperformance in Italian banks on ECB day
• DXY firmer this morning after EUR was dented by disappointing PMIs
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Flash PMI's, ECB Rate Decision, US Jobless Claims, BoE's Carney, Riksbank's Skingsley
• EARNINGS: American Electric Power Co, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Freeport-McMoRan, Intel, Norfolk Southern Co, Starbucks, Union Pacific, Western Digital, Discover Financial Services,...

• Most Asian bourses eventually followed suit to the gains stateside where the DJIA led the majors higher
• US President Trump said talks are going well with China but added that tariffs could increase if no deal is reached
• Nearly 20 UK ministers have reportedly been conducting a secret meeting in Parliament to discuss plans to avert a no-deal Brexit
• Looking ahead, highlights include French, German, EZ and US Flash PMI's, Norges...

• European equities nursed opening losses and moved into positive territory as risk sentiment improved
• DXY trades within a relatively tight range while GBP extends gains on hopes for an Article 50 extension
• Looking ahead, highlights include Canadian Retail Sales, EZ Consumer Confidence (flash) and weekly API inventories
• EARNINGS: Abbott Laboratories, Kimberly-Clark Corp, Procter & Gamble, Progressive, Texas Instruments, Ford Motor, Raytheon, Comcast...

• Expectations unanimously are set on an unchanged rate of 0.75%, with focus set on the accompanying statement
• HSBC cite lower global rate expectations as one of the major stumbling points for the Norges Bank’s rate path
• ING do not believe that this will be enough to stop the March hike amid recovering oil prices and the prosperous local economy.

• Asian equity markets were choppy as the region attempted to shrug off the headwinds from Wall St
• US reportedly turned down an offer by China for 2 vice-ministers to travel to the US for preparatory trade talks; later denied by Kudlow
• UK PM May is reportedly set to force ministers to keep a no deal Brexit on the table despite threats of ministerial resignations
• Looking ahead, highlights include Canadian Retail Sales, EZ Consumer...

• European equities are in the red [Euro Stoxx 50 -0.6%] as risk sentiment continues to deteriorate
• US-Sino tensions heighten as China vows to retaliate if Huawei Executive Meng is extradited
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Existing Homes Sales, New Zealand CPI
• Earnings: Capital One Financial, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Travelers Companies, United Technologies and Prologis

• Asian equity markets were negative as the region lacked impetus following the non-existent lead from the US
• UK Conservative Party lawmaker Rudd warned PM May she could face dozens of ministerial resignations next week if Tory MPs are banned from voting for a plan that helps stop a no-deal Brexit
• UK opposition Labour Party leader Corbyn has given in to pressure from party members and MPs by endorsing a plan to force a second EU referendum
...

• Asian equity markets began the week higher as the region followed suit to the optimism seen last Friday amongst the US majors
• Overnight data releases saw Chinese Q4 GDP print in-line with expectations, whilst retail sales and IP exceeded forecasts
• US Trade Representative Lighthizer said US and China are making little progress regarding intellectual property issues
• UK PM May halted the cross-party approach to Brexit last night as...

• Major European equities are firmly in the green amidst positive trade updates [Euro Stoxx 50 +1.6%] with the IT and financial sector outperforming
• Table turns for the Pound after yesterday’s climb as Cable straddles just below 1.2950
• Looking ahead, highlights include Canadian CPI, US industrial production and University of Michigan sentiment, weekly Baker Hughes rig count, Fed’s Williams and Harker
• EARNINGS: State Street

• Asian equity markets traded higher across the board as the region took impetus from Wall St where the major indices were lifted on hopes of easing trade tensions
• FX markets were relatively quiet with the DXY flat around the 96.00 level as its major counterparts consolidated, while antipodeans found some support from the heightened risk appetite
• Northern Irish DUP Party indicated that they would be open to a Norway-style deal if it removed the threat of a backstop
• Looking ahead,...

• European indices are mostly in the red, albeit off worst levels as risk sentiment soured following an indecisive Asia-Pac session
• Choppy DXY amid rising tensions between US and China regarding Huawei’s prosecution and chip sale ban
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Initial Jobless Claims & Philly Fed Business Index, BoE's Carney, Fed's Quarles Speaking, UK 2024 Gilt
• EARNINGS: American Express, Morgan Stanley, Netflix

Asian equity markets were choppy throughout the session but eventually followed suit to the gains on Wall St