The world had a full plate in the last couple of days, with many major events taking place. Over the course of last week, the attention was on international conflicts, the trade talks, and monetary policy.
Trade negotiations between the US and China, which began earlier today, as well as the US and the United Kingdom sealing a deal, were likely the main market movers. The most impactful comment seemingly came from US President Donald Trump, who remarked that it would be “right” to lower duties on Chinese products from 145% to 80%. After their first meeting in a long time, Washington and Beijing concluded the multi-hour-long talks without any details being shared.
Meanwhile, the situation between India and Pakistan worsened with both sides attacking each other’s military bases. After the latest fire exchange, the two announced they had reached a ceasefire agreement, which was allegedly violated not long after, leaving the world worried about the final outcome.
Finally, the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England both revealed their monetary policy moves this week, with the former keeping its interest rates unchanged and the latter lowering them by 0.25 percentage points. Fed Chair Jerome Powell assured the public that Trump’s comments about his work don’t affect his decisions, and added that it will not be easy to navigate amid tariff uncertainty.
