Good morning,
The FTSE is expected to nudge higher this morning as all eyes turn to Jackson Hole ahead of a much-anticipated speech from US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.
Markets are waiting to see if the Fed chief will announce plans for tapering monetary policy, with some top bank officials calling for a move within months.
The Fed has previously claimed it will begin to lower the pace of its bond-buying programme once it has made progress towards its target levels of employment and inflation.
“An announcement on tapering is highly likely to come before the end of the year, something even the doves on the committee seem to agree on,” said National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland.
“What will be as much, if not more important than the start date will be how quickly the Fed decides to taper and whether the Fed attempts to de-link the market’s perception that tapering ‘starts the clock ticking’ on rate hikes.”
5 things to start your day
1) British Airways plans budget airline to take on Ryanair and easyJet: Airline may face battle with unions with plan to restart…
