A sigh of relief as Eurozone GDP surprises on the upside in Q1 this year and it's not because of Ireland

🇺🇸 US ECI wage growth still running hot but also uneven across sectors. Normalisation in labour-intensive, low-wage industries vs. sticky services like healthcare.

Don’t believe the headlines about sticky inflation, April was a great month for 🇪🇺 #inflation .

Core mostly did as expected, with another decline to 2.7% from 2.9%.

But it was the headline which was better than expected, inching lower rather than higher (on unrounded basis).

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🇫🇷 French inflation was broadly stable in April due to higher energy prices but more importantly, services inflation looks sticky around 3% for now. Core goods fell slightly (-0.1% YoY). Le dernier kilomètre.

🇪🇺 Weak growth in the euro area manufacturing sector, and lower price pressures in the services sector. Concerns over sticky inflation and wage growth are not backed by the data.

🇩🇪German inflation broadly in line with expectations. Ignore the noisy headline numbers, focus on services.

🇪🇸 Underlying inflation keeps normalising in Spain, down to 2.9% in April. The national statistics office INE notes that 'the fall in entertainment and culture prices is noteworthy'.

ON. REPEAT.

Rafa Nadal #MMOpen

As you all know, I’m typically very pro-EU/EZ, but there is something epically funny about an EU Commission led by a CDU pol accusing China of engaging in insufficient fiscal stimulus to spur local demand and relying too much on exports to spur recovery from a financial crisis.

🇺🇸 US core PCE up +0.317% in March on the back of modest upward revisions to Jan-Feb numbers. Less bad than feared post Q1 print, but still not good.
Hawkish Fed hold likely next week, waiting for the one trillion dollar question on rate hikes.

Of course, the timing looks just perfect for a debate over a Treaty change. 😬

🇫🇷 First time in 3 years that more French companies are reporting demand issues than supply issues.

🇪🇺 Emmanuel Macron: 'Our Europe could die, and this only depends on our choices.'

😂

Ironic because in Berlin many think von der Leyen is too French in her thinking.

So the theory is: too German for Paris, too French for Berlin, and they end up unseating her for an Italian? Aha

This could also just be Macron showing his teeth to extract concessions from UvdL.