The British pound jumped on Thursday on a report that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has struck a deal with Brussels on financial services, while the dollar held near a 16-month high versus a basket of its key rivals on strong U.S. economic data. The greenback got a lift overnight after the ADP national employment report showed that U.S. private sector payrolls increased by the most in eight months in October, confirming that the economy continues to grow at a relatively robust pace. That reinforced expectations for continued rate increases by the Federal Reserve, with a 25-basis-point hike seen in December and potentially two more in 2019. The dollar index, a gauge of its value versus six major peers moved a touch down at 96.91, still close to a 16-month high of 97.2 hit in the previous session. The spotlight in the Asian morning fell on the sterling, which jumped as much as 0.6 percent against the dollar following a report by the Times of London that May has struck a deal with Brussels on financial services. This would give UK financial services companies continued access to European markets after Brexit. The pound, which was last $1.2843, up 0.62 percent on the day, has lost 3.6 percent versus the dollar over the past three weeks as markets fretted over whether Britain would secure an orderly exit from the European Union. Traders are also looking ahead to the Bank of England's (BoE) monetary policy decision later on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters expect the nine members of the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee to have voted unanimously to keep rates on hold this month, and on average do not see a further rate rise until May. "UK is still no closer to an agreement. They are beyond the critical period of negotiations which means BoE governor Mark Carney will be even more worried about the downside risks," said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management. "As a result, traders cannot count on the central bank to rescue the pound because they've made it clear that the outlook for the UK economy hinges on Brexit negotiations." The yen was up a touch on the dollar at 112.78. The Japanese currency weakened to a three-week low of 113.38 on Wednesday after the BOJ signalled its intention to maintain its ultra loose monetary policy for some time. Although monetary divergence between the Fed and BOJ gives the dollar the upper hand versus the yen in the medium term, some analysts believe the yen may actually strengthen in coming months. "This year the yen's function as a safe haven currency has been diluted by the higher returns on offer from the dollar," said Jane Foley, currency strategist at Rabobank in a note. "However, the risk of a worsening in the US-China trade war, slowing global growth and the potential for slowing US growth and a plateauing of Fed rates suggest that the yen could win back some ground versus the greenback next year." Rabobank is looking for a move to 110 around the middle of next year. The euro <EUR=> was fetching $1.1333, gaining 0.2 percent, having lost ground in the last three consecutive trading sessions, pressured by weak euro zone data as well as Italian budget worries and Brexit woes. Read again Sterling pops following report of Brexit deal on financial services : https://ift.tt/2RqoilP
0 Comments
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Theresa May has urged business leaders to lobby MPs to back the government’s Brexit deal if an agreement is struck in the coming weeks. Speaking at a gathering of more than 130 executives in the City of London, the prime minister was asked about the chances of a no-deal Brexit, a prospect feared by the business world. She replied that the government wanted companies to ensure that MPs recognised the importance of getting the withdrawal agreement through parliament — in order to avoid the UK crashing out of the bloc without a deal. One person present at the Guildhall said attendees saw the comment as encouragement to lobby wavering Labour MPs as well as Eurosceptic Tories to support the pact. The prime minister sought to reassure the business leaders that the government was close to clinching a Brexit deal and that 95 per cent of the work had been done. One executive there described Mrs May as “very optimistic” about the prospect of a deal on Brexit being reached “pretty soon”. Mrs May also stressed the need for the government and business to work closely together and for executives to give more public support to the market economy and the need to create wealth before distributing it. One attendee said it was effectively a warning against a government led by Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party: “Work with us or you’ll get the other lot,” he said. Mrs May has urged business leaders to work with the Conservatives to remake the case for market capitalism, refraining from the kind of corporate excess that has fuelled support for Labour. RecommendedOne person who attended said: “There was a clear recognition of the need for an equation between business and government where business commits to a market-based economy that is fairer and in return government recognises that business is the source of prosperity and tax revenues.” Philip Hammond, the chancellor, also addressed the room, reminding the audience of his main pro-business measures in the Budget on Monday and his determination to rebalance the economy across all regions. The prime minister and chancellor took questions for about 40 minutes from delegates. John Allan, president of the CBI business lobby group and chairman of supermarket group Tesco, said business welcomed much in the Budget but would have preferred more action on alleviating the impact of business rates. Mr Hammond replied that the government could only “smooth the path to the future” on rates rather than turn back the clock. Mr Hammond was also asked about his planned new digital services tax that is meant to ensure that large US technology companies pay their fair share of tax in the UK. BT chairman Jan du Plessis said the legislation to establish the digital services tax needed to be clearly defined so that it did not create issues for companies that were not engaged in Silicon Valley-style tax planning, said one person familiar with the meeting. Mr Hammond said the proposed tax was narrowly defined compared to alternative plans being drawn up by the EU. One business leader said that the event had been “symbolically very important” given the sometimes awkward relationship between Mrs May and the corporate world in the last two years. Theresa May has recently attempted to rebuild relations with business, having frozen out corporate leaders during her first year in Downing Street. Earlier this month the prime minister held a conference call with about 150 CEOs to brief them on the state of Brexit talks. The latest effort to foster relations was welcomed by business leaders leaving the Guildhall event, some of whom said they felt they were being welcomed back “into the tent”. The warmer mood was in contrast to the chill between business and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, whose remark “f*** business” in relation to Brexit caused boardroom outrage. Read again Lobby MPs to back Brexit deal, May urges business leaders : https://ift.tt/2JulTnyThe U.K.'s Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, told lawmakers Wednesday that he expects the country's exit deal with the EU to be finalized by November 21. Sterling surged following the news and was up more than 0.4 percent versus the dollar in afternoon trade Wednesday. Raab stated the date in a letter to Hilary Benn, the chair of the U.K. Parliament's Brexit committee. The letter, dated October 24, further stated that "the end is now firmly in sight and, while obstacles remain, it cannot be beyond us to navigate them." The U.K.'s main Brexit negotiator added that 95 percent of the U.K.'s withdrawal agreement is now settled, adding that the U.K. the EU had also "made good progress on the structure and scope of the future agreement." The sticking point of how to treat the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which is a member of the European Union, had previously caused talks to stall. Raab claimed in his letter that this issue is near to being resolved, for now, as both sides "agree on the principle of a U.K.-wide customs backstop." The backstop would effectively keep the U.K. within European arrangements — such as the customs union and at least some parts of the EU's single market — should a free trade deal or technological solution to Ireland's border issue not have been found by the end of the transition period. The customs union is an agreement that allows partaking countries to set common external tariffs, allowing goods to travel freely between those countries. The single market is a deeper form of co-operation between member states that allows the free movement of goods, services, money and people in the bloc. On Tuesday, the ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned in a report that the U.K. economy could enter a recession should the country exit the European Union with a so called "Hard Brexit."
Negotiations over the UK's scheduled March 2019 departure from the European Union (EU) are complex and ongoing, but its citizens are likely to lose their current rights to move freely through the bloc's 27 other member countries.
As a result many people are seeking to acquire a second citizenship within the bloc.
A large proportion have been looking to the Republic of Ireland and that number is continuing to rise, according to Neale Richmond, chairman of the Brexit committee in the Irish senate.
There were nearly 45,000 applications in the first half of 2018. The number of applications submitted in all of 2015 -- prior to the referendum -- was almost the same.
Richmond said the figures were released to him by the Irish Embassy in London and proved the trend -- which began as soon as 52% of the British electorate voted to leave the EU -- is showing "no sign of ... abating."
In a statement Richmond said: "Since the people of the UK voted, narrowly, to leave the EU in 2016; we have seen a continuing rise in the number of applications for Irish passports in the UK."
People born to Irish parents or grandparents are entitled to apply for a passport, which will allow them to easily work, live and travel across Europe.
Richmond said in the statement: "At least 10% of the UK's population, not including Northern Ireland, are estimated to qualify for an Irish passport and in light of Brexit; many including a number of my own family members are staking their claim to an Irish passport."
A total of 46,229 applications were made to the embassy in 2015, which was "consistent with the annual average up to then," according to Richmond. But that all changed after the June 2016 vote.
"In 2016, the year of the referendum, this figure rose to 63,453 before increasing further to a whopping 80,752 in 2017," Richmond said.
"Figures for the first half of 2018 show the number of applications received by the Embassy in London is already at 44,962. Embassy officials predict that based on this, 2018 will be the busiest year so far for Irish passport applications in the UK."
He added: "While many in the UK are concerned with the looming disaster of Brexit, we must seize the positives from this new wave of people reconnecting with their Irish heritage, our post Brexit UK-Irish relations can be built on a strong, connected, diaspora."
This surge comes as Caroline Nokes, the UK's immigration minister, told Parliament that the prospects of Britons being delayed while traveling in Europe after Brexit is "not unrealistic."
Addressing the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, she said: "Of course it's feasible that there could be delays for people traveling through EU airports.
"The prospect of them ending up in rest of the world queues at some major airports across the continent is not unrealistic."
[unable to retrieve full-text content] [unable to retrieve full-text content] [unable to retrieve full-text content] [unable to retrieve full-text content] [unable to retrieve full-text content] |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2018
Categories |