Daily Brief – French Parliament 

French Parliament 

Some more examination of President Macron’s appointment of Michel Barnier as his Prime Minister reveals more about the calculation behind the decision. Nothing to do with MB being known for being dull, nor for organising the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and not even for his more recent role as EU Brexit negotiator. It comes down to MB having the gravitas and experience to deal with and to keep Marine LePen on side which will be the decisive factor in turn to keep the Macronists and the Republicans in power and President Macron in the Elysee Palace. So the real winner in all this: Marine LePen as she knows that she can exploit the fact that the only barrier to keeping Jean Luc Melenchon and his Left Wing party at bay is her and her party. 

GBP/EUR 1.1830.

Grid Scale Storage

The next frontier for clean energy lies in battery storage and with lithium battery prices falling 40% between 2019 and 2023 the race is on. In 2023 $15 billion was the size of the market in storage; it is predicted that market will grow to $200 billion by 2030 and $1 trillion by 2040. The centre of battery innovation and production is China. Already battery technology is estimated to have advanced in 5 years what took solar energy 15 years.

EUR/USD 1.1085.

Back To Work

Some may say it’s been too long in coming but this week Big Four accounting firm PWC has informed all staff in a memo that they must spend a minimum of 3 days a week either in the office or with clients. Up until now the guidance has been 2-3 days and- shock horror- it has been if not flouted, certainly interpreted liberally. Now PWC is going one step further and will be policing attendance through phone location data. Never mind Big Four it’s a case of Big Brother. 

GBP/USD 1.3129.

Home Cooking

Billed as being the healthy option versus full fat cholesterol takeaway fast food, it turns out that home cooking is dangerous with 4 million premature deaths globally each year being directly attributable to toxic kitchen fumes. It transpires that this is the third highest contributor to premature deaths for women and children in the home after heart disease and strokes. Top countries suffering from this are North Korea, India and Indonesia.

USD/JPY 142.30.

Puppy Love

This day in 2008 Donny and Marie Osmond began a 6 week residency at Las Vegas’ Flamingo Hotel. Such was the outpouring of love for the sugar sweet Mormon brother and sister duo that that residency was extended…and extended for 11 years. This 1960 song was written by Paul Anka but Donny truly made it his own when he first sang it as a fourteen year old and he hasn’t stopped since. He’s now 66.

And they called it puppy love
Oh, I guess they’ll never know
How a young heart how it really feels
And why I love her so

And they called it puppy love
Just because we’re, we’re seventeen
Tell them all it’s
Please tell them it isn’t fair
To take away my only dream

I cry each night
My tears for you
My tears are all in vain
I hope and I’ll pray
That maybe someday
You’ll be back (you’ll be back) in my arms (in my arms)
Once again (you’ll be back in my arms once again)

Someone help me, help me
Help me, please
Is the answer up above?
How can I
Oh, how can I ever tell them?
This is not a puppy love
(This is not a puppy love)

Someone help me, help me
Help me, please
Is the answer up above?
How can I ever tell them?
This is not a puppy love

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

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