EU Leaders Summit

Key events:         UK – GDP (MoM) (Dec) UK – GDP (YoY) (Q4) UK – GDP (QoQ) (Q4)   UK – Manufacturing Production (MoM) (Dec) UK – Monthly GDP 3M/3M Change (Dec) Eurozone – EU Leaders Summit      Canada – Employment Change (Jan) Yesterday the FTSE 100 continued to show positive momentum and made a new record high. The level of 8,000 is still acting as a magnet for investor sentiment, and the market seems to just want to go higher.

Key events: Eurozone - EU Leaders Summit USA - Initial Jobless Claims USA - Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (Oct) USA - Existing Home Sales (Sep)     A Fed rate hike to levels above 4% will have a negative impact on the construction sector, real estate prices, and ultimately aggregate demand. U.S. companies will stop hiring and layoffs to cope with revenue pressures from both the strong dollar and falling demand in Europe as a result of the energy crisis, which will lead to higher unemployment in the U.S.