US UNEMPLOYMENT FORECAST TO SURGE TO 20% (PEAK? Last month’s US nonfarm payrolls plunged by 20.5 million and the unemployment rate jumped up to 14.7%. Timelier weekly initial jobless claims have continued to rise, but the pace of increase is moderating. Latest initial claims rose by 2.12 million for the week ending 23 May and continued to surpass anything seen during the global financial crisis, but they are down from the peak weekly rise of nearly 7 million at the end of Mar

Sterling has been drifting lower for the past week due to concerns about the seeming lack of progress in the Brexit negotiations between the EU and the UK. The negotiations relate to the future trading relationship of the two sides and faltering talks are the key reason why Sterling remains under pressure. Talks are supposed to resume on 1st June. The UK government has already ruled out any extension past the end of the year of the transition period for the UK’s EU exit. Mark

UK economy watchers expect sizeable rebounds in both the Manufacturing (to 44.5 from 32.6 in April) and Services (44.5 from 13.4) Indices on Thursday. Furthermore, in the coming week, markets will be looking for signs of the initial impact of the easing in lockdown restrictions. That means timelier survey data for May is likely to generate the most interest, in particular PMI data for the Eurozone, UK and US will be keenly anticipated. The final estimates due early June may s