In the US, last week the minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting were released. While the minutes did not reveal any new information regarding monetary policy, they were overall less hawkish than expected. In equity markets, for the week the S&P 500 and NASDAQ both closed higher, up 1.27% and 1.06% respectively. In Europe, Switzerland last week launched its instant payment scheme. In the UK, the sale of individual annuities is on course for its best year in over a decade, due to a combination of higher interest rates and new financial rules in the UK. For the week, EU and UK equities closed higher, between 0.34% and 1.33%. In Ireland, in Q2 of 2024, the number of people in employment in Ireland aged between 15 and 89 stood at 2,754,200, an annual increase of 71,500 people from Q2 of 2023. In Asia Pacific, Australia it was announced that the world’s largest solar hub would be constructed in the country, while in Japan the annual rate of inflation rose by 2.8% in July.
