By Greg Smith on Monday, December 17th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Bank of England to hold rates Last week Prime Minister May delayed the House of Commons vote on the Brexit withdrawal deal as it clearly didn’t have enough support. She then won a leadership challenge from her back-benchers. Her next challenge is to renegotiate the withdrawal deal with an unwilling EU. Parliament is due […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, December 10th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Key Brexit vote This week will be very significant for the Brexit process. The House of Commons will vote on the withdrawal agreement and political declaration on Tuesday evening. There has been speculation of delays to the Brexit vote, though these have been played down. The debate on Tuesday is due to finish around […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, December 3rd, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Parliament debates Brexit Parliamentary debates will be held ahead of the ‘meaningful’ vote on the withdrawal agreement on 11th December. There will be five days of debate by Parliament on the components of the agreement. They will take place tomorrow to Thursday and then Monday and Tuesday next week. Each debate in Parliament […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 26th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – May’s deal or no deal As expected, the EU approved the withdrawal agreement on Sunday. The focus will now move to the vote in the House of Commons. Prime Minister May has already appealed to the nation on the basis of the deal put forward. The vote is likely to be around the 12th […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 19th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Will May stay? Last week was significant for Brexit developments. On Tuesday there was a withdrawal agreement accepted by the Cabinet despite some ministers expressing reservations. These reservations turned into resignations when Dominic Raab and Esther McVey resigned from the cabinet in protest at the proposed agreement. The following statement in the Commons by […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 12th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – PM May’s struggles continue Brexit negotiations remain the key focus for UK markets as hopes rose last week for a breakthrough. But with the resignation of another MP, Jo Johnson, it is clear that PM May still has a challenge ahead to find a deal that is acceptable to the EU and the […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, November 5th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Brexit hopes rise, again Hopes of a Brexit deal before the end of the year rose again with positive comments from Brexit secretary Dominic Raab. Sterling rose through the week as a result. There were reports of a potential agreement on UK financial services’ access to the EU and on the Irish border […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 29th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Budget and inflation report We start the week with two of the UK’s financial heavyweights setting out policy decisions. The Chancellor of the Exchequer will likely take some comfort from a resilient UK economy and base the Budget today on the assumption of a smooth transition to a new trading relationship with the […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 22nd, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Politics and Brexit in focus Last week’s EU summit in Brussels, where Brexit negotiations were key, did not go well for Theresa May. Politics remain key for sterling and the main outcome was no confirmation of a November summit given the lack of progress. The focus for Brexit has now shifted towards the […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 15th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – EU summit key The EU summit is a key step in the Brexit negotiations. Negotiations continue and apparently, some progress has been made. However, questions remain on whether a further summit will be needed in November with continued uncertainty on the Irish border issue in both Brussels and the UK. Prime Minister May […]