Today's news headlines: 

‘US Senate set to pass $1tn infrastructure package in bipartisan vote’. The $1tn infrastructure package constructed by the Biden administration looks set to be passed this week, adding to the list of achievements of this so far infant presidency. The deal still has to pass the House of Representatives, but with a Democrat majority, it’s expected to sail through. One of the current areas of debate has been the taxation and regulation of Cryptocurrencies, with the party looking to secure higher tax revenues while also exerting more control over the digital asset. (Financial Times)

‘Pentagon plans to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for US troops’. In yet another push for greater vaccinations, the US is planning to make the jab mandatory for US troops by at least mid-September. This comes after the US failed to hit their target of 70% of the population receiving their first jab by July 4^th, missing the bold target by a month. Around 61% of the country are currently fully vaccinated, with the Delta variant spreading throughout states with lower than expected uptake. (Financial Times)

Today

The Dow Jones finished 0.30% lower yesterday as the markets continue to mull over stronger-than-expected jobs data from Friday. Strong performance in defensive sectors helped to prop up the FTSE 100 yesterday, nudging 0.13% higher. There’s little change in Cable this morning trading mid $£1.38 while GBP/EUR hovers around €1.18.

Events

UK BRC Retail Sales Monitor y/y: 4.7% vs 6.7% last month
Australia NAB Business Confidence: -8 vs 11 last month
Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment: 10:00AM
German ZEW Economic Sentiment: 10:00AM
US Preliminary Non-Farm Productivity q/q: 1:30PM

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD – 1.3847
GBP/EUR – 1.1795
EUR/USD – 1.1741
USD/CAD – 1.2563

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