“The market does not know if you are long or short and could not care less. You are the only one emotionally involved with your position. The market is just reacting to supply and demand and if you are cheering it one way, there is always somebody else cheering it just as hard that it will go the other way” – Marty Schwartz

1. Pilot Program Tests Nickel Trading Increments 15 years After Decimalization — fifteen years after the decimalization of stock trading, a pilot program will widen “tick sizes” to five-cent increments rather than pennies for some stocks. The move is a bid to increase trading in those stocks, and could benefit small investors but raise trading costs, as market makers tend to profit from wider spreads.
2. UK’s Pound Hits 31-year Low on Brexit Anxiety — the pound is down to a 31-year low as concerns over Brexit continue to weigh on investors. The sterling fell to a post-Brexit vote low of $1.2749 earlier in the day. Economists expect more volatility as the complexity of an exit from the European Union plays out.
3. Fitch Sets Stage for Wells Fargo Credit Rating Cut — Fitch has cut the outlook on Wells Fargo’s (NYSE:WFC) credit ratings to Negative, but affirmed the bank’s existing rating of AA-, which is investment-grade. In an announcement, Fitch cited “potential reputational damage from the recent regulatory actions and fines,” as well as a belief that the lender could face “earnings pressure.”
4. U.K. Delivers Landmark Ruling on Fracking — the U.K. government has approved a horizontal fracking permit at a Cuadrilla site in Lancashire, northern England, in a ruling that could have far-reaching consequences for the shale gas industry. It means, for the first time, British shale rock will be fracked horizontally, which is expected to yield more gas. A ban on fracking in the U.K. was lifted in 2012.
5. Annual Fall Meetings for the IMF and World Bank — finance officials and central bankers from around the world are gathering in Washington for the annual fall meetings of the IMF and World Bank. The talks will take up issues including weak global growth trends, the increase of anti-trade measures and concerns that many have expressed about the financial health of European banks.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

Tags: Brexit

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