North Korea reacts to Trump & May tries to strike a deal

Today's markets

• EUR - ECB President Draghi Speaks
• CAD - CPI m/m
• NZD - Parliamentary Elections

North Korea has reacted to US President, Donald Trump’s speech to the UN, by saying the remarks have convinced Kim Jong-un he is right to develop weapons for the country. The personal statement by Kim Jong-un said Trump would ‘pay dearly’ for his recent speech, in which Trump threatened to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea if America was forced to defend itself.  North Korea have also stated they could test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean as a response to Trump.

The Eurozone released their Flash Manufacturing and Services PMIs this morning, both posting better than expected, ending the third quarter on a strong note. Registering one of the strongest gains in the past six years, business activity picked up to its highest since May. The bullish reading saw Euro gain against its counter parties.

Later this afternoon, Canada will release their CPI and Core Retail Sales figures, expected to post 0.2% and 0.4%. In the BOC meeting at the beginning of the month, they hinted about further hikes if the economy remained strong, so the markets will be closely watching the release of these figures. The US will be releasing their Flash Manufacturing and Services PMI’s, expected to post 53.1 and 55.9.

UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, will address the EU today to propose a transition period after the split with the EU. Expected to last about two years, the transition would protect companies from an overnight change in tariffs and regulations if no trade deal had been struck. The proposal could see the UK paying around about 20bn Euros into the current EU budget until it runs out in 2020.