In the US, it was a data heavy week last week, with inflation, producer prices index (PPI) and retail sales statistics all released. In equity markets, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed significantly higher, up 4.07% and 4.91% respectively. In Europe, economic sentiment in Germany, Europe’s largest single economy, fell to its lowest level since January 2024. In the UK, inflation and GDP numbers for the second quarter of 2024 was released last week. After the best week in nearly three months, EU and UK equities closed higher, up between 1.16% and 3.03%. In Ireland, exports rose by 6% in the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023., equating to a value of €107bn. In Japan last week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced he would be stepping down as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), ahead of next month’s internal poll for leader of the LDP.
