• European shares suffered further losses today in the absence of economic data or other news items ahead of tomorrow’s FOMC meeting. US Equities opened slightly higher.

  • Ahead of the independence vote on Thursday, Britain promised to guarantee Scotland high levels of state funding and granted them greater control over healthcare spending in a last effort to shore up support for a “No” vote.

  • The parliament of the EU and Ukraine ratified landmark association and free trade agreements, which were the start of the unrest in Ukraine almost one year ago.

  • The Russian rouble dropped to new record lows against the US dollar as foreign‐currency liquidity comes under pressure after the EU and US imposed new sanctions to curtail access of Russian companies to their debt markets.

  • France’s socialist government is facing its second confidence vote in less than six months this evening. Despite President Hollande’s popularity at record low levels and the socialist party holding a majority of just one seat in the lower house, the government is expected to win the vote.

This non-exhaustive information is based on short-term forecasts for expected developments on the financial markets. KBC Bank cannot guarantee that these forecasts will materialize and cannot be held liable in any way for direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this document or its content. The document is not intended as personalized investment advice and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell or hold investments described herein. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon sources KBC believes to be reliable, KBC does not guarantee the accuracy of this information, which may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute a KBC judgment as of the data of the report and are subject to change without notice.

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