UNITED STATES   The main event next week will be the Kansas City Fed’s Symposium, but few expect it to be as market-moving as in the recent past: There were rumors that Draghi would use the forum to signal a change in ECB balance sheet policy but this is quite unlikely. Yellen will speak about “financial stability.” She is expected to echo recent Fed views: concerns about low inflation weighed against the view that easy financial conditions imply a stronger case to raise rates. We keep our expectation about the announcement of balance sheet tapering at the September FOMC meeting, followed by a rate hike in December. Over the last week, the market marked down, significantly, the latter. In the event, shadowed by political events, economic data last week showed a robust economy. Strong retail sales and better than expected current activity indicators (NY and Philly Fed) suggest solid real GDP growth. Tracking measures for Q3/17 are up to 2.8%saar. On the data front, next week the main item is durables goods orders for July; there will also be new data on housing prices and output. Friday, August 25: Durable goods orders—July. (Consensus; headline: -6%momsa; ex-transport: +0.4%momsa; core shipments: +0.1%momsa). The decline … Continue reading US + Brazil Financial News (8/21)