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[IFX Yvonne]

European Economics Preview: Eurozone Flash Inflation Data Due



Inflation and unemployment from euro area and retail sales from Germany are due on Monday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to issue Germany's retail sales data. Economists forecast retail sales to grow 0.2 percent on month in June, slower than the 0.5 percent increase seen in May.

At 3.00 am ET, producer prices from Hungary and foreign trade data from Turkey are due. The trade deficit is seen narrowing to $6 billion from $7.31 billion in May.

At 3.55 am ET, the Federal Labor Agency is set to release Germany's unemployment data. The jobless rate is forecast to remain unchanged at 5.7 percent in July.

At 4.00 am ET, Italy's unemployment data is due for June. The jobless rate stood at 11.3 percent in May.

At 4.30 am ET, the Bank of England is slated to issue UK mortgage approvals for June. The number of mortgages approved in June is forecast to fall to 65,000 from 65,200 in May.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat releases euro area inflation and unemployment figures. The flash inflation is seen at 1.2 percent in July, following 1.3 percent in June. The jobless rate is forecast to fall to 9.2 percent in June from 9.3 percent in May.

[IFX Gertrude]

VENEZUELA: U.S. Treasury Freezes Maduro's Assets After Constituent Election



The U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned the president of Venezuela, Nicol?s Maduro, for "undermining democracy" in the Latin American country.

The sanctions come a day after the Maduro government held elections for a National Constituent Assembly that aspires to rewrite the Venezuelan constitution despite a massive boycott to the polls by the opposition.

The election day was also marred by violence, with 16 people killed, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (OVCS), which also said that only in two Venezuelan states there were no violent acts or anti-government protests.

"The Maduro administration has proceeded with the ANC even though Venezuelans and democratic governments worldwide have overwhelmingly opposed it as a fundamental assault on the freedoms of the Venezuelan people. The creation of the ANC follows years of Maduro's efforts to undermine Venezuela's democracy and the rule of law," said the U.S. Treasury department in a statement.

"As a result of today's actions, all assets of Nicol?s Maduro subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and U.S. persons are prohibited from dealing with him," the statement added, without specifying which assets could be targeted by the sanctions.

The Constituent Assembly election held yesterday in Venezuela chose 545 representatives to rewrite the country's constitution, which was last modified during former president Hugo Ch?vez administration.

More than eight million Venezuelans took part in Sunday's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) vote, convened by the Nicol?s Maduro's government. Voters' participation reached around 41% of more than 19 million Venezuelans able to vote, said the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena.

The Venezuelan opposition said that it would march today against the violence reported during the demonstrations. Freddy Guevara, the first vice-president of the National Assembly (controlled by the opposition), urged citizens to protest today and attend a rally in Caracas.

More than ten countries of the region, among them Argentina, Colombia, and Peru, said that would not recognize the electoral results. The United States and the European Union called the vote "illegal."

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[IFX Gertrude]

European Stocks Ends July Lower, Weighed Down by Earnings Sentiments



European shares closed lower on the final trading day of July, as declines among tobacco stocks and some broker downgrades added pressure on shares. Analysts priced in what appears to be an “underwhelming” earnings season.

The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.1 percent as eurozone stocks and blue chips dropped 0.3 to 0.4 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index held on to 0.1 percent gains. France's CAC 40 fell to its lowest in three months.

Financials weighed down main European indexes. HSBC rose 1.9 percent, as it reported a forecast-exceeding five percent increase in its first half pretax profit and announced a third buyback in a year.

Consumer goods added the most pressure on the benchmark, falling 1.1 percent as cigarette makers extended losses on a regulatory crackdown in the United States.

British tobacco companies Imperial Brands and British American Tobacco continued to decline from the session earlier, tumbling 5.8 percent and 4.7 percent respectively.

Mining companies gained as copper prices increased on the back of China's manufacturing data.

Nearly 46 percent of MSCI Europe companies have posted results, 59 percent of which have either met or exceeded analysts' expectations, according to data from Thomson Reuters. The figure is marginally lower for eurozone firms. Only more than half of them have met or exceeded expectations.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Japan Monetary Base Climbed 15.6% In July



The monetary base in Japan was up 15.6 percent on year in July, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday - coming in at 465.069 trillion yen.

That followed the 17.0 percent spike in June.

Banknotes in circulation were unchanged at 4.6 percent on year, while coins in circulation were steady at 1.2 percent.

Current account balances surged 19.3 percent on year, including a 17.6 percent spike in reserve balances.

The adjusted monetary base was up 4.2 percent on year to 454.544 trillion yen.

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[IFX Gertrude]

European Stocks Climbed, Buoyed by Earnings, Economic Data



European shares advanced on Tuesday as corporate earnings reports incited quick trading while recent data indicated a strong euro-area economy.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.6 percent. Blue chips rose 0.9 percent, their best one-day gain in three weeks. Germany's DAX was up 1.1 percent and Britain's commodities-heavy FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent as oil stocks increased.

The European second-quarter earnings season is nearing the halfway mark and so far 60 percent of MSCI Europe companies have met or exceeded analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data.

BP climbed 2.4 percent, which pushed energy shares towards the best performance among industry groups.

Rolls-Royce rose ten percent after its first-half profit more than doubled. The company was the largest contributor to gains in the Stoxx 600.

Testing company Intertek Group, insurer Direct Line and Dutch chemicals firm DSM, which all added between 5.8 percent to nine percent on the back of well-received results.

Lender CYBG gained 9.3 percent after it said that mortgages increased in the second quarter and the net interest margin improved.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Singapore PMI Moves Up To 51.3 In July - Nikkei



The private sector in Singapore continued to strengthen in July, the latest survey from Nikkei showed on Thursday with a PMI score of 51.3.

That's up from 50.7 in June, and it moves farther above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, there were stronger rises in both output and total new orders.

Export sales increased at a record high, although lower employment persisted.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Wall Street Gains as Dow Breached 22,000 Mark



The Dow Jones industrial average breached the 22,000 mark for the first time ever on Wednesday, lifted by a rally in Apple's shares.

The 30-stock index rose 0.22 percent at 22,011.55. The S&P 500 climbed 0.07 percent at 2,478.18 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.46 percent at 6,391.96.

Apple surged 6.02 percent to a record peak, after the world's biggest publicly listed company posted strong results and iPhone sales. The company also indicated that its upcoming 10th-anniversary phone is on schedule. The stock has gained nearly 30 percent in 2017.

The S&P 500 information technology index is 22 percent higher for the year to date, leading other sectors. It was the only S&P advancer with a one percent gain.

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower. The energy index fell 0.81 percent and led decliners.

Two-thirds of S&P 500 firms have posted their second-quarter earnings so far and 72 percent have exceeded Wall Street's expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.

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[IFX Gertrude]

Australia Retail Sales Rise 0.3% On Month In June



Retail sales in Australia were up a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on month in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - coming in at A$26.150 billion.

That beat expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.6 percent gain in May.

For the second quarter of 2017, retail sales climbed 1.5 percent on quarter to A$76.203 billion.

That also exceeded expectations for a gain of 1.2 percent following the upwardly revised 0.2 percent increase in the three month prior (originally 0.1 percent).

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[IFX Gertrude]

Dow Posts 7th Record in a Row as Amazon, Apple Weighs on S&P 500



U.S. stocks fluctuated on Thursday as the Dow Industrials rose to a seventh consecutive record peak. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq declined, pulled down by Amazon.com, Apple and other technology stocks.

Stocks lost quite some ground late in the session following a report from the Wall Street Journal which stated that Special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington to probe into allegations of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential elections.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.04 percent to close at 22,026.10.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite dropped to session lows on the report. However, both managed to pare losses before the close.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.22 percent to 2,472.16, as energy led decliners.

The Nasdaq fell 0.35 percent to 6,340.34. Investors may be taking a break ahead of the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The S&P 500 information technology index fell 0.35 percent. Apple shed 1.0 percent after notching a record peak on Wednesday.

Silicon Valley electric carmaker Tesla soared 6.50 percent after posting its quarterly results which were above Wall Street's expectations.

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[IFX Gertrude]

FRANCE: Macron Offers As Mediator In Venezuelan Crisis



The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, offered to mediate the Venezuelan crisis while condemning the political violence in the country and the arrest of the opposition leaders Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma.

"Our European partners share these concerns. Together, we call that the human rights, the rule of law and people's fundamental freedoms to be respected. We hope that institutions in Venezuela return to its normal functioning as soon as possible," the French Presidency said in a statement.

"France, along with its European partners, supports the efforts of the countries of the region and will continue to support any arbitration that will allow the resumption of a credible, sincere and serious dialogue between the government and the opposition and to end the spiral of violence. Our ambassador, on the spot, stays in touch with all parties," the statement said.

The French offer comes shortly before the installation of the National Constituent Assembly elected last Sunday amid and an opposition boycott.

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