Weekly Espresso

The US Federal Reserve cut rates for a third consecutive meeting and maintained their outlook for just one cut in 2026. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-3 on Wednesday to lower interest rates by 25 basis point…

US markets made modest gains last week as the odds of an interest rate cut happening at this week’s Federal Reserve meeting increased. Wednesday’s data from payroll processing firm ADP showed private employers in the US shed 32,000 jobs in November. ADP’s Chief Economist, Nela Richardson said the fall was “led by a pullback among small businesses” as small firms (less than 50 employees) removed 120,000 jobs in total. With the next batch of shutdown-delayed government jobs data not due until after the next Fed meeting, the ADP numbers will add more pressure on the Fed to cut rates on Wednesday…

Another AI related stock sell-off effected most major indexes last week with the S&P, FTSE, Nikkei and Shanghai Stock Exchange all finishing lower.

The head of Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, added to worries about the growth of AI investment. During an interview with the BBC on Tuesday saying there is some “irrationality” in the AI boom, and that, if the bubble bursts, “no company is going to be immune, including us”.

The next day, the world’s largest company, Nvidia, released their long-awaited earnings report for Q3. Markets initially reacted positively to the press release headlines…

Another AI related stock sell-off effected most major indexes last week with the S&P, FTSE, Nikkei and Shanghai Stock Exchange all finishing lower.

The head of Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, added to worries about the growth of AI investment. During an interview with the BBC on Tuesday saying there is some “irrationality” in the AI boom, and that, if the bubble bursts, “no company is going to be immune, including us”.

The next day, the world’s largest company, Nvidia, released their long-awaited earnings report for Q3. Markets initially reacted positively to the press release headlines…

On Monday morning, markets woke up to the news that seven democrats and one independent had voted to back the latest Republican deal to reopen the US government and end the longest ever US shutdown.

Trump formally signed a bill to end the shutdown on Wednesday. Market reaction was mixed as US equities traded lower over concerns about how long it will take for things to return to normal…

US markets closed nearly 2% down for the week after concerns over valuations of AI & Mag 7 stocks came to a head. Over $500bn was wiped off the value of AI chipmakers, with the bosses of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley speaking of fears about an imminent correction. The sustained US Government shutdown, nearing the record for the longest ever, added to these pains, with increased instability and uncertainty in US markets. UK and European markets also suffered from the sell-off, with UK markets perhaps struggling with the uncertainty of the upcoming budget.