Weekly News Summary for November  1-7, 2019

Friday, November 1: US Job Growth Improves despite GM Auto Strike

The US labor market showed improvement in October, shrugging off the weight of the strike action by General Motors’ autoworkers and adding jobs at a more rapid pace than expected.

Data released by the Labor Department showed non-farm payrolls were up by 128,000 in the prior month, surpassing forecasts for an 85,000 growth and backing comments by the Federal Reserve about the US economy being in good shape after three rate cuts this year.

Monday, November 4: Saudi Aramco Begins IPO, Details Not Yet Specified

Saudi Aramco has finally started its initial public offering, with the kingdom expecting to raise as much as $60 billion, at a valuation of $2 trillion.

Bankers involved in the deal have often been cited stating that a valuation between $1.2 and $1.5 trillion is more realistic, although it has not been confirmed so far whether the sellers will agree to a lower price to raise more money, or whether they will reduce the IPO size to secure their valuation.

Tuesday, November 5: US Stocks Hit New Highs on Trade Deal Hopes

US stocks closed Tuesday’s session on a positive note, with the Dow and Nasdaq hitting record highs, as upbeat economic data on the service sector and a potential pause of the trade war lifted investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended with a gain of 30.52 points and the NASDAQ Composite index rose by 1.48 points, while the S&P 500 fell by 3.60 points.

Wednesday, November 6: Trump-Xi Meeting on Trade Deal could be delayed

The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to sign an interim trade agreement might have to be postponed, as the two parties determine the terms and venue.

The long-awaited trade deal is expected to be delayed until December, although a senior administration said the White House still aims to settle the deal with Beijing by November 16.

Thursday, November 7: BoE Expected to Leave Rates Unchanged

The Bank of England is due to announce its interest rate decision later in the day, with many seeing the UK’s central bank to leave rates unchanged, amid Brexit and political worries.

The BoE is expected to keep its key base rate steady at 0.75%, a level established since August 2018, while the attention will then shift to the bank’s economic growth and inflation forecasts, both of which are likely to be revised down, potentially supporting the outlook for a rate reduction in 2020.