Overnight the first (of three) estimates of US GDP growth in the first quarter came in well below expectations at +0.1% annualised (down from +2.6% in the previous quarter). While markets had expected a slowdown caused by the severe winter weather, the actual result was weaker than most had anticipated. Nevertheless, …read more
The markets have been surprised this morning by a sharp uptick in the rate of inflation. Headline CPI rose 0.8% in the final quarter of 2013 for an annual increase of 2.7% (up from 2.2% the previous quarter). The more closely followed “core” inflation of trimmed mean and weighted median …read more