ECONOMICS

With manufacturing surveys still in contraction, and underlying components screaming stagflation as orders drop and prices pop, all eyes are on the 'bigger' Services sector surveys this morning which are expected to slip lower in August (but remain in expansion – above 50).

The S&P Global US Services PMI disappointed, declining from 52.3 (July) to 50.5 (final August), and below the 51.0 preliminary August print – weakest since January

BUT

The US ISM Services (more…)

By Bas van Geffen, senior macro strategist at Rabobank

In the land of the blind, they say, the one-eyed man is king. We have often accused Europe of being blissfully unaware of the shifting tectonic plates on the geopolitical sphere, but the eye patch that German Chancellor Scholz has to wear following an unfortunate accident while jogging has so far failed to give him the clarity that many of his European counterparts still seem to lack as well. While the Chancellor was busy soliciting (more…)

The Fed's latest beige book released this afternoon was a rather boring affair, one signaling US economic growth was "modest" during July and August.

What was most interesting within this drab big picture, was the divergence within consumer spending, where according to the Beige Book, "consumer spending on tourism was stronger than expected, surging during what most contacts considered the last stage of pent-up demand for leisure travel from the pandemic era." (more…)