The Markets Daily

After today, there will be 11 more Fridays until the end of the year (interestingly, the final Friday of 2021 will fall on the final day of 2021). So 11 more opportunities after today to sigh TGIF! That said, it is likely fewer for those in SA as I have no doubt that vacation plans, 

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Prices and power – the central themes dominating the news flow overnight. The US’s September CPI rose 5.4% y/y, beating expectations for a print of 5.3%. It seems that there was a broad increase in the prices of a number of goods, largely in response to continued supply chain bottlenecks. 

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There is much a foot around the world right now. The IMF/WB annual meetings are being hosted virtually, with the IMF’s latest forecast suggesting slightly weaker global growth of 5.9% in 2021. 

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Not to labour the point (no pun intended) but this is the last day of my daily musings before I go off on maternity leave. Reality has firmly set in. I recall the basics, but, like policy tightening and the trajectory of the oil price, there are certain things I’ll need to figure out along the way. 

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I knew not to be too smug when reading about power shortages in China towards the end of September – after all, we in SA have experienced quite a bit of load-shedding this year alone and in preceding years, and most recently last night when load-shedding resumed after a few months reprieve. That said, some of the shortages in China have been related to its goal to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030, with coal production and use having been limited

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As the weekend beckons, some good news seems to be heading our way. Relief to markets has come from hints that an agreement between Republicans and Democrats is in the making – not to lift the debt ceiling for an extended period, but rather to give US lawmakers a bit more time to conclude negotiations over President Biden’s economic plan.

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To all the Grammers, Facebookers and ardent WhatsApp messengers, of which I am ashamedly one, I trust the global outage did not add to your social anxiety. It’s astonishing how reliant we’ve become on social networks to remain relevant and connected. 

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Having been contacted by many a Queen fan yesterday, I was at odds with myself on how to write an equally as entertaining commentary today. 

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In keeping with the various weather analogies I’ve used over the last few weeks, I thought I’d use Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody to not only describe conditions outside but also onscreen. “Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me”.
 

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The issues dominating this week – an energy crisis in Europe, electricity constraints in China and the imminent shut down of the US government continue to dominate headlines as Wednesday begins.

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