The major European indices are ending the day mostly higher. The exception is the UK FTSE 100 is the struggles through the implications of the Susan Gray report on the Covid parties at No. 10.
In the European debt market, the benchmark 10 year yields are lower with the exception of the UK 10 year yield which as reason by 6.2 basis points.
Says UK Sanctions Threat Is Very Alarming For Russia And Its Companies, It Amounts To A Clear Attack On Business
Says It Is Likely A Cause For Concern For Financial And Business Communities Because It Demonstrates Uk Is Unpredictable
Says British Sanctions Threat Undermines Britain’s Investment Climate And Also Inflames Tension In Europe
Says Threat Could Backfire Because British Companies Are Shareholders In Many Russian Companies
Says Any Attack On Russian Businesses Would Require Moscow To Respond, Such Measures Would Be Based On Russia’s Interests If They Are Needed
~ Nothing new really, but given many eyes looking to Moscow for a reply to the U.S. it’s worth highlighting.
I promise not to clog the feed with noise on this matter
China’s official manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.1 vs 50.3 in January, a number highlighting only the slightest bit of growth.
The private survey from Caixin was worse falling to 49.1 from 50.9.
The Caixin reading is the lowest since the dawn of the pandemic:
China is struggling with rising covid cases in a number of cities. Today 54 local cases were reported with 20 of those in Beijing. Another 19 were reported in Hangzhou. Reports Friday revealed that a city just outside of Beijing of 1.2 million was under lockdown. Officials had previously been transparent about lockdowns but that one wasn’t disclosed.
The Beijing Olympics begin on Friday and Lunar New Year holidays begin Monday.
There are also signs that covid and the real estate slump is stressing the non-manufacturing sector as the official PMI fell to 51.1 from 52.7.
It’s entirely unclear how or when China will go from covid-zero to living with covid. For now, the strategy continues to be long quarantines for arrivals and heavy-handed suppression of cases.
Futures trading just opened for the week and US equity futures are flat.
The action is in energy where WTI crude opened 70-cents higher to $87.60. The larger move is in US natural gas, which rose another 5% on forecasts showing cold and storms reaching as far as Texas this week.
