On Friday, the US released its
GDP numbers for the second quarter. The data showed that the economy rose by
2.1% in the second quarter. This was higher than the consensus estimate of a
1.8% growth and lower than the first quarter growth of 3.1%. This growth denied
Trump the 3% growth he has always talked about. The economy growth was driven
consumer spending, which rose by 4.3% in the quarter. Government spending also
helped with the growth. Unfortunately, there were weaknesses in other parts of
the economy. The residential investment, which includes housing construction
declined for the sixth consecutive quarter. Business investment and exports
declined as manufacturers were hurt by the tariffs. Shortly after the numbers
were released, Trump blamed the slowdown on the Federal Reserve.
On Friday, it was announced that
the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was preparing to acquire Refinitiv in a deal
that will be valued at more than $20 billion. Refinitiv was acquired last year
by a group of companies led by Blackstone. The company was the data part of
Thomson Reuters. It included data and analytics tools like Eikon, which are
used by global investors. The deal will propel LSE to become one of the biggest
exchanges in the world.
In Hong Kong, the protests
continued. In the past few weeks, Hong Kongers have been protesting an extradition
bill that was before the legislature. While the bill has been suspended, the
protesters have vowed to continue with the protests until it is withdrawn. They
have also increased the demands from the city. For example, they have protested
the brutality of the police and the change of government. They are also
protesting about what they see as China’s increased power in the city.
Tensions increased in the Middle
East as Iran rebuffed the European efforts to defuse tensions. In a statement,
the Iranian regime said that it will not release a British-flagged tanker until
the UK agreed to return its own vessel. Iran’s President Rouhani said that a
tanker exchange will help lower the pressure with the UK. The Iranian tanker
was captured by the UK because it was taking crude oil to Syria. These tensions
have been rife after Donald Trump exited the Iran nuclear deal last year.
In the United Kingdom, talks of a
no-deal Brexit continued. Meetings among the Boris Johnson’s cabinet members
continued in a sign that the new prime minister is ready to take the country
out of the EU without a deal. The first official cabinet meeting will take
place today. According to Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster, there will be a no-Brexit deal if the European Union don’t restart
negotiations. The likelihood of a no-deal Brexit rose after Johnson nominated a
cabinet of all Brexiteers, who include Gove, Sajid Javid, Dominic Raab, Steve
Barclay, and Geoffrey Cox.
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