Daily Brief – UK Statistics

UK Statistics

With wage growth at 4.8% higher year on year for the 3 months to the end of September and unemployment rising to 4.3% versus the expected 4.1% yesterday, the reasoning behind the thinly veiled warning from Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is that they were taking a measured approach to further interest rate cuts became all too clear. Despite a decrease of 35,000 vacancies, there are still 831,000 jobs open but the path that the Bank of England can take on rate cuts is getting narrower.

GBP/USD 1.2825

Don’t Tell Them Your Name, Pike

Following the collapse of the German coalition, the clever money was for a Vote of Confidence in January. With German politics moving fast yesterday, that clever money did not look so clever with the latest expectation for that Vote of Confidence to be brought forward to before Christmas when all good Germans will be tucking into their Roast Goose or possibly Pike. That vote will open the way to a snap election on February 23 with Chancellor Olaf Scholz bearing more than a passing resemblance to Dad’s Army’s Captain Mainwaring.

EUR/USD 1.0620.

Azerbaijan

With all eyes on Baku and the COP29 climate conference, Azerbaijan has taken the opportunity to remind the world that it has pretensions to attract skiers to its three ski resorts, Shahdag, Tufandag and Agbulag. Indeed Shahdag which is the largest of the three will host the Ski Mountaineering World Cup on January 11+12 next year. Just head north from Baku and set in the Caucasus mountains and you will find 17 lifts and thanks to snow cannons a year round ski experience in Shahdag.

EUR/JPY 163.56

Who can it Be Now?

Business as Usualwas of course Australian new wave pop rock band’s Men at Work’s first album that went to the very top of the Billboard 200 where it stayed for 15 consecutive weeks starting on this day in 1982 and this was the song that propelled it there.

Who can it be knocking at my door?

Go ‘way, don’t come ’round here no more
Can’t you see that it’s late at night?
I’m very tired and I’m not feeling right
All I wish is to be alone
Stay away, don’t you invade my home
Best off if you hang outside
Don’t come in, I’ll only run and hide

Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?
Who can it be now?

Who can it be knocking at my door?
Make no sound, tip-toe across the floor
If he hears, he’ll knock all day
I’ll be trapped and here I’ll have to stay
I’ve done no harm, I keep to myself
There’s nothing wrong with my state of mental health
I like it here with my childhood friend
Here they come, those feelings again!

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

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