Gold Deviates From New High Of $ 1,980 As Dollar Approaches Fed Meeting – Business Live | Business

Julie Palmer, partner at business consulting and restructuring firm Begbies Traynor, says:

Greggs’ success has been the envy of the high street in recent years, however, even the bakery chain has not been immune to the impact of Covid-19 which has forced its stores to close and operate. gnaw its top line.

For Greggs, getting rent cuts from landlords will be number one on the checklist, and in fact, it has been a priority for a lot of people on the streets. But once those costs are reduced, the return to success will begin. And given his track record of marketing and PR success with his famous vegan sausage roll, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another high profile campaign on the horizon that captures the sentiment of an evolving nation.

Let’s take a look at today’s company news. GreggsBritain’s largest bakery chain (known for its vegan sausage roll) has warned that sales will not return to pre-pandemic levels as long as physical distancing continues.

But it’s better than other retailers: Sales are now 72% of 2019 level. All of its 2,050 stores reopened in July, after being forced to close during the Covid-19 lockdown imposed on March 23. Greggs posted a loss of £ 65.2million before tax in the first half of the year, compared to a profit of £ 36.7million a year ago.

Here we go. British and European equities edged up on the open.

• UK FTSE 10 up 0.2%
• German Dax up 0.4%
• CAC of France down 0.2%
• Ibex from Spain up 0.3%
• Italy FTSE MiB up 0.08%

Last night Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticized the UK’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on travelers entering the UK from Spain – a popular destination for UK holidaymakers. He pointed out that a large part of the country had a lower infection rate than the UK.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the UK government is considering reducing the quarantine periods for travelers arriving in the UK from 14 to 10 days if they test negative for the coronavirus. You can find out more on our UK live blog:

Gold continued its rally amid fears of a second Covid-19 wave and mounting tensions between the United States and China. Considered a safe haven in times of turbulence, the precious metal exploded to $ 1,980 per ounce, a new record and not far from the level of $ 2,000 per ounce. Now hovers around $ 1,940 per ounce as some investors cashed in their gains.

The dollar rebounded a bit after hitting a two-year low yesterday, ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting which begins later today and ends tomorrow. The Fed should reaffirm its super-easy policies and may signal its willingness to tolerate higher inflation over the long term, which would allow it to keep interest rates low for longer. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar rose 0.2% to 93.918 after hitting a two-year low at 93.492.

European stock markets are expected to open higher after finishing in the red yesterday. Wall Street fared better, thanks to the popularity of tech stocks such as Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Google Parent Alphabet, which will report the results later this week. Asian stock markets moved from flat to positive.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said:

It is difficult to predict the short-term direction of the market under such volatile conditions. Hopes of further monetary and fiscal stimulus keep investors on track to buy stocks, but company fundamentals and economic conditions are not improving at the desired rate.

This means that the country’s and corporate debts are exploding with no concrete positive impact on businesses and economies. And as we move forward, the stimulus margin is tightening. It remains to be seen when and how this would impact market sentiment.

It’s another bright day on the economic data front. Spain’s unemployment rate is expected to drop from 14.4% to around 16.7%. The country has been hit hard by Covid-19 and the UK’s decision to remove it from the safe country list this weekend has dealt it a heavy blow as tourism will suffer.

Agenda

• 8am BST: unemployment rate in Spain (forecast: 16.7%)
• 11am BST: CBI retail sales survey (UK)
• 3 p.m. BST: US consumer confidence (forecast: 94.5)