2019: NEW YEAR – NEW CONTENT – FRESH NEWS
No deal isn't like buying something. It isn't like going to a shop and if you don't find anything you don't like you walk home again. You don't end up back where you started. No deal with the European Union means all the laws that govern our interaction with the EU, whether you can fly, whether you can trade, whether you can shop, whether you can travel, cease to exist.
The Brexit dream is over - in any meaningful sense, at least. That was the clear and unambiguous message from markets this morning, which cynically marked the pound up sharply in response to Britain’s seismic political crisis, and they are probably right. You might have thought the correct response would have been the other way around, but no, markets are betting that Theresa May’s crushing defeat makes a no-deal Brexit less likely, and either a much softer Brexit - Norway Plus - or no Brexit at all, the overwhelming odds-on end game. Those advocating a clean-break on WTO terms of trade have shot their bolt. Their time in the sun is over, and they are heading for a defeat just as bad as that of Theresa May’s ritual humiliation. Their principled rejection of her deal, in unholy alliance with hardline Remainers and an opportunistic Labour Party, is about to backfire spectacularly. If the gamble was to run down the clock to the default Brexit position of departure with no deal, it is very unlikely to succeed against a parliamentary majority determined to thwart it.
A Heathrow spokeswoman said the airport was working with police to "prevent any threat to operational safety". She said: "As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate. We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience this may cause." It comes after last month's disruption at Gatwick Airport after drones were reported. Flights appeared to be taking off again about half an hour after Heathrow issued the statement, according to the Flightradar24 website. The Metropolitan Police said they received reports of a drone sighting near Heathrow at about 17:05 GMT.
The Dow had its worst Christmas Eve ever, dropping 653 points to close at 21,792 — and all 11 of the S&P 500 sectors are now in negative territory in 2018, Bloomberg reports. Why it matters: Treasu Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Flashback: 82 days ago, the Dow closed at a record high — 26,828 — on a day where this newsletter focused on the Khashoggi coverup and the power shift driven by #MeToo. Driving the news: “Mnuchin convened a call [today] with top regulatory officials … to discuss coordination efforts to assure normal market operations. Regulators on the call said that markets were functioning normally…” [WSJ]
WE’RE JUST ABOUT three months away from 29 March, which is the legal deadline by which the UK must leave the European Union.
For the past two years, the UK has been hammering out the terms and conditions for leaving the economic, customs, trade and immigration agreement they have with the 27 other member states through being part of the European Union.
Although the EU and UK negotiating teams, the 27 EU leaders, and UK Prime Minister Theresa May have agreed to support the Brexit deal, there has been a growing backlash against the deal due to concerns that the backstop could lead to the UK being permanently locked into an indefinite customs deal, or Northern Ireland being carved off from Great Britain.
It’s finally happened. A major worldwide government has just bestowed a huge vote of confidence and legitimacy onto the world of cryptocurrencies. Sweden, in an unprecedented move, just announced that they are officially adopting a certain cryptocurrency as Sweden’s official coin!
The European Commission on Wednesday reached a deal with Italy over its 2019 budget, avoiding disciplinary steps against Rome, ending months of verbal sparring and buoying Italian bonds and shares.
The Commission in October rejected the budget which included a deficit of 2.4 percent of gross domestic product, up from 1.8 percent this year, saying it would not cut Italy's large debt and was an "unprecedented" breach of EU fiscal rules.
Under the compromise announced by Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels, Italy cut its deficit for next year to 2.04 percent of GDP. It also lowered its economic growth forecast for 2019 to 1.0 percent from 1.5 percent.
