The week ahead | Calamatta Cuschieri

New day, new week, new month. European markets were set to break a four-session losing streak on Monday, buoyed by the commodities sector after upbeat manufacturing data from China and a continued rally in oil prices. Banks also helped to lift the trading mood, rising on hopes of higher interest rates after hawkish comments from central bankers last week.

Barclay’s fraud trail begins

Monday sees the start of the fraud trail into Barclays and four former executives who are accused of raising capital from Qatar at the height of the financial crisis. This is the first time charges have been taken against a global bank in relation to actions taken during the financial crises.

At the same time, Barclays has announced that its post-Brexit financial hub shall be Dublin. This will enable the bank to continue servicing European clients once the UK leaves the European Union in the near future.

Barclay’s stock was up 1.45% in morning trade on Monday.

Brexit talks continue

A delegation of City of London business leaders will go to Brussels this week to press for a post-Brexit deal on financial services, reports say. The team will be led by former city minister Mark Hoban.

The move comes amid increased concern that London's status as a European financial hub will be badly hit if the UK leaves the EU single market. Many firms have plans in place to move staff and operations out of the UK. Other EU governments have already begun wooing London-based financial companies, but the UK government has promised to fight to maintain the City's position.

At present, nearly 80% of foreign exchange trading and 30% of all bank lending in the EU flows through the UK.

Iran to sign new IPC gas deal

Iran plans to sign a new contract to develop its giant South Pars gas field with France's Total and China's CNPC on Monday, the first major Western energy investment since sanctions against Tehran were lifted, an Iranian oil ministry official told Reuters on Sunday.

A spokesman for Total confirmed the company will sign the contract to produce gas for the Iranian market from 2021, adding that the 20-year deal will be the first Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) signed in Iran.

Total holds a 50.1 interest in the South Pars project with state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation owning 30% and Iran's Petropars 19.9%.

Shares of Total rose 1.33% during pre-market trading on Monday.

Disclaimer:

This article was issued by Rebecca Naudi, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.