Weekly News Summary for December 13-19, 2019

Friday, December 13, 2019: UK Assets Rally on Conservative’s Election Win

Assets in the UK rallied on Friday, after the decisive election win for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party eased the political worries over Brexit, and eliminated concerns over a radical left-wing government.

The British pound strengthened against the US dollar and the euro, after posting its largest one-day rise in over two years, while UK stocks sharply climbed, with homebuilders, banks, utilities, and consumer shares all advancing significantly.

Monday, December 16, 2019: Boeing Suspends 737 MAX Production

Boeing announced on Monday that it would suspend production of its 737 MAX jetliner in January, due to ongoing difficulties concerning the plane’s safety approval.

The company’s move followed last week’s news about the FDA not approving the 737 MAX’s return to service before 2020.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019: US Housing, Manufacturing Market Rises in November

The US housing and manufacturing market showed signs of improvement in November, further supporting the possibility that the world’s largest economy is regaining strength.

The Commerce Department reported on Tuesday that housing starts were up 3.2% to 1.37 million units, while building permits rose 1.4% to a 12-1/2 year high of 1.48 million in November, whereas the Federal Reserve stated that manufacturing output climbed 1.1% last month after October’s 0.7% fall.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019: Pound Falls as No-deal Brexit Fears Resurfaced

The British pound extended losses on Wednesday, following its biggest drop in a year, after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit the establishment of any extension to the transition process past December 2020.

The sterling was last down by 0.3% to $1.309 per dollar, while the euro-pound pair posted their largest decline in over year after the market celebrated the Conservative Party’s election victory last week.

Thursday, December 19, 2019: China Releases New Tariff Exemptions for US Goods

China’s finance ministry has released on Thursday a new batch of six products from the US that will not be subject to tariffs starting December 26.

The exemption will be effective until December 25, 2020, according to the ministry, although it did not state why it chose the goods or the estimated value of imports of those products.