We’ve all been there, the moment you actively choose to neglect the instruction manual. Typically marked with ‘please read before use’…. a simple command we all nonchalantly reject. ‘I’ll never need that’… Fast forward to you re-connecting a cable wrongly and causing travel chaos for over 75,000 people though and well, it’s a bit different. The CEO of IAG, parent company of British Airways has blamed the IT meltdown on human error. The unknown engineer seemingly about to take the flack for the huge disruption that saw many bank holiday travel plans ruined. IAG shares were down 0.76% on the day.
Markets began today clearly warped by caution. The up and coming UK election (Thursday) at the forefront of discussion especially as polls continue to show the gap narrowing. Of course investors more concerned with how the vote may impact Brexit and future negotiations as well as the overall approach if there was to be a shock. And well, just shy of a year ago Britain was handed the shock of the Brexit vote in the first place so nobody’s getting comfortable with polls at the minute. On top of this Middle East tensions continue to add an unwanted dilemma to the landscape. Several countries have now cut ties with Qatar as they claim the country supports terrorism in the gulf region. Egypt has closed its airspace to Qatari planes, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have given Qatari nationals 2 weeks to leave and other countries are expected to follow with similar actions. At the open Asian and European bourses started lower, oil also slipped back below £50 p/bbl, sterling did edge higher.
The Reserve Bank of Australia left interest rates unchanged (at record lows), despite calls for actions to address weakening growth. The chances of a rate cut later in the year have increased, as GDP figures out tomorrow are expected to confirm Australia will equal the record for uninterrupted economic growth. Yet with the growth rate contracting it may become harder for the RBA to look through a temporary growth flutter without addressing it.
Joules’ sales have jumped close to 20% in the year to 28 May. This is their first full year since market admission to AIM, with growth attributed to e-commerce performance alongside domestic and international expansion. Shares closed the day 5.24% higher.
Some Apple news now, after kicking off their WWDC conference they’ve unveiled a few new products that we can all now quiz geniuses on. Most notably being the HomePod, Apple’s smart speaker and instant rival to Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home. In classic Apple style it’s classic Apple white and we all know that means being double the price (Echo: $180 vs $350). But the differentiator is that Apple has focused on the speaker quality more than the smart capabilities, or at least it appears to have done so. Among other highlights is the iMac Pro coming in time for Christmas at $5,000. U wot m8? New operating systems including iOS 11 and a new iPad pro with a 10.5 inch screen.
The FTSE 100 closed today’s session -0.01%, as investors are firmly in wait and see mode following Thursday. Miners helped London shares more than their European counterparts, with those markets suffering slightly more on Tuesday, with the US session beginning in similar fashion.