Spanish factories output accelerated in the month of October hitting the highest levels for a decade, according to the PMI. This rose to 55,8 points in October from 54,3 in September, noting the “negligible impact” of the political situation in Catalonia, although political uncertainty could be a drag on future expectations.
The BoE hiked on Thursday interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years by 25 bp to 0.5%. Given that UK growth continues at its lower potential pace with GDP forecasts at around 1.6%-1.7% between 2017-20, it seems that only one additional hike next year is likely. The country has been the 4th weakest economy in the OECD so far this year.
Nick Ottens via Atlantic Sentinel | How can Democrats win back working-class voters who have switched to the right? The obvious solution is to become more populist. However, we have seen social democrats try this in Europe and it didn’t work.
The latest BIS over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives statistics referring to end -June 2017 have been published on Thursday morning.
Abengoa has signed a contract with Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (APUC), which provides public services in the renewable and regulated energy sector, for the sale of a 25% stake in Atlantica Yield for $607 million.
S&P published a specific note on Spain economy on 31/10 where it states that the recent events in Catalonia should not have any immediate impact on its rating nor its outlook (BBB+/Positive). At the same time, Moody’s published a note on Spain which is more cautious about the risks of implementing Article 155.
Peng Qinqin, Wu Hongyuran and Dong Tongjian via Caixin | China’s first sale of sovereign dollar bonds since 2004 was met with a strong investor appetite, even absent a credit rating, suggesting confidence in the country’s economy, according to bond-market analysts.
BBVA Research (Boyd Nash-Stacey/Nathaniel Karp) | The FOMC is poised to undergo a nontrivial change in leadership and composition with four new regional Fed members rotating into voting roles and with a potential change in leadership.
Nick Malkoutzis via Macropolis | Alexis Tsipras’s recent visit to the USA was something of a curate’s egg, ranging between high diplomacy and acute embarrassment. It would be wrong, though, to dismiss its implications.
The global use of energy would have grown 12% in 2016 without the efficiency improvements achieved since 2000, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).