The week began with a whimper, as the Doha oil talks – at which the world’s major oil producers discussed cutting production – ended without agreement on Sunday. Although the oil price initially dipped in response, traders soon shrugged off the stalemate. By Thursday, Brent crude was trading close to five-month highs at over $45 a barrel, leading to gains for FTSE heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
It was the mining sector, however, that led the FTSE 100 up (by 0.6% at Thursday’s close). Mining stocks have risen rapidly this year, buoyed by higher commodity prices, and hopes that the Chinese government will succeed in stabilising its economy. All the big names – BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Anglo American – rallied at the start of the week. Anglo American suffered some embarrassment later, however, as a large number of shareholders rebelled against its pay package for directors.
Elsewhere, there were some notable losers. BT Group fell on uncertainties about the regulatory outlook. And Sky dipped sharply on Thursday after releasing results for the nine months to 31 March that showed the company is struggling to hold on to customers.
Brexit battle builds
One thing that hasn’t weighed on the stock market much is the prospect of Brexit. That’s perhaps because opinion polls show the chances of an ‘Out’ victory diminishing, with an Ipsos Mori poll giving ‘In’ a 10-point lead. Or it may be because the bookies – often seen as more reliable than the pollsters – have been slashing the odds on an ‘In’ result.
Currency traders also seem to have been casting an eye over the odds: sterling reached a three-week high against the euro this week.
Dilma’s downfall?
In Brazil, Congress voted on Sunday to impeach President Dilma Rousseff following last week’s Supreme Court rejection of her appeal against the proceedings. ‘Dilmageddon’, as the impeachment has been dubbed, sustained this year’s sizeable rally in the Brazilian stock market, which is now up more than 20% in 2016 on hopes of more market-friendly leadership.
Although her government will do anything to avoid it, one way or another, President Rousseff is likely to be on her way out. Should evidence of wrongdoing be uncovered, then the 2014 election could be nullified and a new contest could take place. Brazil’s future therefore remains far from certain.
And finally …
Do you find dress-down Friday a bit of a drag? For many, it’s a real pain digging through the pile of clothes on the floor to find some that are sufficiently ‘smart casual’, reasonably coordinated and relatively stain-free.
Just be thankful, then, that your office hasn’t yet moved to don’t-dress Friday. The writing’s on the wall, though, after this week’s announcement of the UK’s first naked restaurant. The Bunyadi, a pop-up restaurant “free from phones, electric lights and even clothing”, is to open for three months in London this summer. But if you fancy a spot of skyclad dining, you’d better hurry – there are already more than 15,000 on the waiting list.
Image credit: © Pasieka/Science Photo Library/Corbis
