Since it has now been established by FBI Director James Comey that the bureau did not issue any opinion regarding possible meddling by Russia in the presidential election, that President Obama had not ordered any wiretaps and that at the end of last summer, Moscow believed that Ms. Clinton would be the next president, it will be interesting to see the conclusion regarding possible ties between the Trump team and Russia. What is the relationship between this gossip and the markets, you may be wondering? Simply put, no possibilities regarding the U.S. presidency can be ruled out, thereby raising the level of uncertainty and giving the impression that we are straying from issues that matter.
Although non-voting Fed member Charles Evans stated yesterday that inflation could exceed the target and repeated that three rate hikes were still on the menu for 2017, markets refused to budge. They remained similarly unmoved after the announcement from OPEC that it is considering renewing its output cuts provided that all producers follow suit.
In Europe, the first debate of the French presidential elections took place yesterday and to the great delight of the euro, polling has declared centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron the winner. On the ground, however, Marine Le Pen and her protectionist approach have rallied the most potential voters. Across the Channel, British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that she will trigger Article 50 on March 29 to begin the Brexit process of withdrawing the United Kingdom from the European Union.
