As Eminem once said;

‘cause we need a little controversy

‘cause it feels so empty without me….

Writing this I’m referencing the fact that Trump just loves it doesn’t he? I don’t think there’s a quote that could sum up Trump more fittingly, but moving on. Kim Jong-un has been a bit selfish with the world leader spotlight recently but Trump was back in the news today after, well, actually doing his job as POTUS. Yes you heard that right, no ridiculous quote, conspiracy or outrageous twitter exploits. Just a President doing what a POTUS does. Of course not without a little bit of controversy but to the amount we can handle, the amount that makes people chuckle and say ‘oh Donald, you rascal’. Mr Trump has agreed with the Democrats for a short term bump in the debt ceiling, attached with Hurricane Harvey relief funds. It is well known he was a Democratic supporter, and he can change his mind so is this the plot twist we’ve been waiting for? Nobody knows, nobody really saw it coming, nobody truly understands what it means. If you were reading this for enlightenment it’s too late now you’re at the end of the paragraph.

In a large step towards combating climate change (that myth made up by the Chinese – Trump, 2016), Jaguar Land Rover has announced that all new vehicle lines from 2020 will be either electric or hybrid. This move mirrors Volvo’s same commitment by 2019, and France’s pledge to ban new petrol and diesel car sales by 2040. This is great news unless you’re a fan of driving your Jaguar around all day, making your engine scream look at me in my fancy car. Yes red Jaguar F-Type owner who frequents Jesmond’s highways, we’re talking about you and your love for combustion engines.

Markets

As markets opened, Trump’s actions overnight helped lift equities higher, as well as cautiously relieved tensions and apprehension ahead of the ECB. The FTSE lagged other major European indices as miners kept the index flat. Again defensive shares outperformed on the day. Following the ECB meet and Draghi’s comments, markets were lifted. Draghi raised eurozone economic growth forecasts to 2.2%, the fastest in a decade. Rates were left unchanged as expected and bond buying would also stay put. The FTSE held gains to the close and finished 0.58% higher and similar gains were seen across global indices in the afternoon session.

Housebuilder Bovis is to address issues with their faulty homes by the end of this year. Having set aside £10m, half year profits have declined over 30%. Despite these issues they remain cash generative and as a result will return £180m to shareholders via special dividends over the coming three years. The average selling price of their homes rose by 9% to £277,400, and on the back of these results shares initially rose over 6% and closed 10.36% higher.