A tale of two central banks: the ECB navigates stagflation and the SNB fights deflation pressures coming from CHF strength

What are the short-term and medium-to-long-term implications of Donald Trump's election and a probable “sweep” Republican victory?

Flash note

Flash note

Flash note

Flash note

Here's a summary of the Federal Reserve’s decision: 1. Interest rates cut by 50 bps for first time since 2020 2. Rate cuts 2 more 25 basis point in 2024 3. Fed governor Miki Bowman dissented in favour of a smaller 25 bps cut. It's the first dissent by a "governor" since 2005 4. Gained "greater confidence" that inflation is moving to 2% 5. Have an evolving outlook as "carefully assess incoming data" 6. Rate cuts of 100 bps in 2025 and 50 bps of cuts in 2026

The US labour market is cooling down, and today’s Employment report brought another confirmation of this trend. Job creations in the private sector have settled below 200k per month throughout Q2 and declined to 136k in June. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, its highest level of this expansion cycle. Only government jobs continued a solid upward trend, which may not be surprising in an electoral year. The normalisation of the US labour market is one of the five key trends to watch for the next 6 months (cf. Syz H2 2024 Market Outlook: Normalisation ahead). Today’s US Employment Report fits into this dynamic, which is at the heart of our expectations for economic growth normalisation, softer inflationary pressures and central bank rate cuts.

The SNB has lowered its key rate again today, to 1.25%, after the previous 25bp cut decided in March. This decision appears grounded in a combination of three factors: inflation is on a stable and moderate trajectory, economic growth remains soft and excessive upward pressures on the CHF may arise during the summer.. With this decision, the SNB has likely completed its monetary policy recalibration and is unlikely to cut rates further this year.. Should European or global developments trigger volatility and upward pressures on the CHF, the SNB will probably resort to interventions on the FX market to manage the impact on the economy, rather than use the interest rate lever.

Executive Summary: The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meets on June 20th with expectations set for maintaining the current Bank Rate amid recent economic and inflationary developments. Despite a strong initial performance in June, the UK government bonds have stagnated since the last BOE meeting. • Watch This: The focus is on the number of MPC members supporting a rate cut (currently 2 out of 9) and any forward guidance regarding future rate adjustments. • Market Strategy: Preference for the short end over the back end of the UK government yield curve continues, as GBP strengthens amidst differing economic dynamics between the US and UK.