The undoubted focus in the UK is inflation. October’s dip to 0.9% is likely to be a blip, with analysts expecting November’s figure to rise to 1.1%, the highest reading since the end of 2014. In anticipation everything is looking a bit flat; the pound hasn’t really moved against the dollar, though admittedly it managed quite a healthy climb yesterday, while the FTSE, after ignoring Monday’s Brent Crude boost, is back below 6900 despite its 0.2% increase.
Things were slightly less muted in the Eurozone, but not by much, with the DAX rising 35 points (now back above 11200) and the CAC climbing 0.1%. Like the UK the region has a couple of important figures this morning, namely the German and Eurozone-wide ZEW economic sentiment readings; both are forecast to hit 6 month highs, the former at 14.2 and the latter at 16.5.
Elsewhere there was more drama in the Italian banking sector this Tuesday. While the country’s oldest bank, Monte dei Paschi, continues to try and draw private investors to save its bacon, Italy’s largest bank, Unicredit, has announced a pretty drastic restructuring plan. This plan involves the raising of €13 billion through a rights issue at the start of 2017 (a record for the country), alongside the cutting of a whopping 14000 jobs. The news was seemingly welcomed by investors, which sent Unicredit around 3.5% higher after the bell.
