Président Charles de Gaulle: Hard cheese.
Was he right? He blocked the UK’s first attempt to join the European Community in 1963. “Too maritime, too insular, too original in its traditions and too tied to its distant markets to become good Europeans.” Just to remind you he also explained his own domestic difficulties as follows: “How does one govern a country with 246 types of cheese?”
Commodities: Gold at $1318, WTI Oil at $59.04.
Currencies: GBP confused: NoDeal Brexit looming but GBP rallied late Friday and firmer especially against AUD and ZAR. Expect fluctuations this week. Already weaker this morning. EUR weaker at the end of last week on economic growth picture. USD stronger.
Equities: Bad day Friday: FTSE 7202, Dow 25,502
I0 year Govt Yields: US 2.44, Germany 0.015, UK 1.01, France 0.35, Italy 2.45, Japan -0.07. Last week’s Fed dovish stance has fed through to all global bond markets.
China set to lead the world in scientific research
In 2014, China awarded 34,000 PhDs in the natural sciences and engineering, as compared to 40,000 in the United States. Notably China awarded 1.4 million undergraduate degrees in the natural sciences and engineering, almost four times as many as the 377,000 awarded in the United States. In ten years, PhDs awarded in China have increased by 146 percent as compared to 55 percent in the United States. Extrapolating these numbers results in the conclusion that China will overtake the USA as the world’s leading country for scientific research and development-and soon.
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
Click Here to Subscribe to the SGM-FX Newsletter
Related Insights
Daily Brief – A rising tide lifts all boats
Charles Porter
Thu 16 Oct 2025
A rising tide lifts all boats As the Dollar continues to perform lacklustre oscillations, key pairs remain rangebound. The trend so far this week has been for a mildly weaker Dollar. Given that the Dollar is considered the primary counterparty for most currencies, this creates a rising tide effect across the rest of the market. […]
Daily Brief – Calling time on Swissy
Charles Porter
Tue 14 Oct 2025
Calling time on Swissy Switzerland’s Franc may be destined to faulter under its own weight. Despite rock bottom interest rates, the Swiss Franc has been a significant beneficiary of the post-Covid and Trump2 world. EURCHF, a key barometer of European risk, shows some 20-cents worth of Swiss rally post-Covid. The pair has dropped from well […]
Daily Brief – A look ahead
Charles Porter
Thu 9 Oct 2025
A look ahead The UK Pound continues to be influenced by the gilt market and fiscal concerns. Sterling has been a very expensive short this year, contributing to its relative outperformance. In fact, the few episodes of sustained weakness we have seen tended to have either coincided with a global risk-off turn or a sharp […]
