The Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to keep monetary policy on hold at its July meeting. Nevertheless, the meeting is unlikely to be a non-event. The Committee will have seen US GDP data for the second quarter before the conclusion of the policy meeting on Wednesday; therefore, any policy decision – or announcement – will reflect this. The tone of recent economic data coming out of the US has left much to be desired. Business inventories, net trade and personal spending have been measurably lower, HSBC’s John Zhu points out. “Sluggish inventory accumulation and weak net trade could each ... (full story)