httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW4hXPUhP3k

Germany’s impressive 2.2% GDP growth in the second quarter has boosted the eurozone GDP growth to 1%, they were joined in this support by France which grew by 0.6%. However, the usual characters are to blame for the euro remaining weak with Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal struggling through the second quarter with soaring debt yields. EU Trade Balance on Friday was better than expected for both s.a and n.s.a, by about a full billion over expectations.

US Retail Sales on Friday came out a touch worse than expected at 0.4% but it was still better than the previous figure of -0.5%.  Apparently US consumers are remaining reluctant to buy discretionary items and decided to spend their money more towards cars and petrol in July. This was the first time in three months that retail sales have risen but it still reflects the slowing growth conditions when paired with unemployment and consumer confidence. The Dodd-Frank reform bill has allowed a 90 day window for banks to buy back USD118bn worth of securities which will enable them to replace instruments with cheaper capital but will cause some friction with investors.

Over the weekend it was revealed that the Japanese economy has slowed unexpectedly which created worries over their economic recovery. Second-quarter growth figures were much less than economists predicted and this has therefore raised the alarm over the rising Yen – after it hit a 15-year high against the dollar.

It is a very quiet day for data today with the EU Consumer Price Index this morning which they hope will be around the 1.7% make – up from 1.4% previously. The US are releasing the NAHB housing market Index later this afternoon, which will indicate how the US housing market is growing.