Today's news headlines: 

‘Senate votes to raise US debt limit until December’. The US Senate has voted to extend the debt ceiling to December the 3^rd in a 50-48 vote split, which will see the public borrowing limit raised by $480bn. This news was well-received by markets as the threat of a US default is at least put on the back burner until the Christmas period. The bill needs final approval from the Democrat-led House of Representatives. This will then allow Joe Biden to sign the action into law which is expected to happen later this week. (Financial Times)

‘England travel red list slashed from 54 to 7 countries’. The British government have slashed the list of countries currently on the ‘red’ list, which has seen a list of around 54 reduced to just seven. The countries that remain on the list include Colombia, Panama, Peru, and other Latin American countries. Ministers also removed the ‘amber’ category from the traffic light system earlier this week. There are also discussions around allowing lateral flow tests to be used in place of PCR tests on arrival back into the UK to reduce the cost burden on travellers. (Financial Times)

Today

A combination of lower-than-expected unemployment claims out of the US and a minor resolution on the debt ceiling issue saw markets climb yesterday, with the S&P 500 adding 0.83%. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil is trading close to the $80 level this morning, hitting its highest level since 2014. Cable is failing to take any direction, with the $1.36 handle proving to be somewhat of a sticking point this week.

Events

Japan Household Spending y/y: -3.0% vs 0.7% last month
China Caixin Services Purchasing Managers’ Index: 53.4 vs 46.7 last month
Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin: 12:00PM
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde speaks: 1:05PM
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks: 1:05PM
Canada Employment Change: 1:30PM
US Non-Farm Payrolls: 1:30PM
US Unemployment Rate: 1:30PM

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD – 1.3598
GBP/EUR – 1.1775
EUR/USD – 1.1547
USD/CAD – 1.2553

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