By Anne D. Picker, International Economist, Econoday
Monday, August 25, 2003

Last Week's Highlights
Investor sentiment seems to be changing. Optimism is replacing skepticism about the U.S. recovery, and investors are showing it by buying company shares (especially those that do business in the U.S.) and the U.S. dollar. Of the indexes followed here, only the FTSE was down in a week that featured little new information regarding economic performance in Europe. France failed to grow in the second quarter and joined fellow EMU members Germany, Italy and the Netherlands that had already posted negative GDP numbers.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously not to change monetary policy at their August 7th meeting amid signs of increased activity in the global economy and stronger-than-expected British household spending. All committee members pointed to a recent slight improvement in the international environment and specifically the U.S. economy. But there was still little evidence of a pick-up in the euro area or Japan. Therefore, the MPC said the current interest rate level (3.5 percent) implies an accommodative policy stance, which at some stage will have to be moderated.

Last Week's Highlights   •   Global Stock Market Indexes   •   Recap of Global Markets   •   Currencies   •  Indicator Scoreboard

The Bottom Line   •   Looking Ahead