Weekly Market Review – 26th February 2024

This week’s Market Review in the US looks at the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting. Whilst FED members are comfortable with the steady decline in the rate of inflation, they are skeptical of reducing rates too quickly in 2024.The consensus now is that the timing of the first rate cut will be pushed out from March to June. In election news, Donald Trump, with 60% of the vote, won the South Carolina Republican Primary, defeating Nikki Haley.  In Europe- Increased optimism that the downturn is beginning to ease, with business activity across the Euro area rising to an eight-month high in February. In Ireland – news on a planning application lodged for the construction of a new €100m Solar Farm to be situated in Co. Kildare, with potential capacity of 105MW of solar energy. In Asia-Pacific:  In an effort to keep up with sweeping reforms in Europe and the US, China has released details of new ESG disclosure rules meaning 400 of the biggest companies must now release detailed sustainability reports by 2026.