Gerald Fitzgerald’s Market Review February 25th

LAST WEEK IN 30 SECONDS...

Last week saw global equity markets tick marginally higher following signs that the US is willing to postpone proposed tariff rises on China from the 2nd March. Donald Trump is due to meet the Chinese president Xi Jinping at the end of March, which will no doubt be the photo opportunity Donald Trump is waiting for to announce another key victory for Team USA. Global equities are now up 11.7% for the year to date in Euro terms.

Elsewhere, the US Federal Reserve reassured markets they would be patient with further interest rate rises, whilst Italy’s BBB credit rating was reaffirmed by rating agency Fitch. Within the Eurozone, a slowdown in growth and falling exports further highlighted the impact of the ongoing global trade tensions and dislocation between member countries.

THIS WEEK IN 30 SECONDS...

With indications that the standoff between the US and China appear to be easing, market focus will once again shift to Brexit and Theresa May’s efforts to broker a deal before the 29th March deadline. With the European Commission standing firm on providing further concessions, market agitation in both UK and European markets will likely grow as the deadline continues to draw nearer without a clear plan of action.

From a data perspective, US consumer confidence figures are released on Tuesday whilst Friday sees a raft of disclosures including Eurozone unemployment figures, US inflation and manufacturing data.

KRAFT HEINZ - 57 VARIETIES OF SHARE PRICE LOSS

Shares in Kraft Heinz, the 5th largest food processor in the world nosedived on Friday following a $15bn writedown and SEC probe into its accounting practices. This, however, doesn’t tell the full picture with the share price down over 60% since the beginning of 2017. Weak underlying growth coupled with the failed targeted acquisition of Unilever in 2017 have also contributed to the substantial slump in share price.