An inclusive market economy is well within reach post-Brexit February 13, 2020 In his Greenwich speech last week, the Prime Minister persuasively set out how the Brexit process must carry with it a Canada-style free trade agreement, resting on the “indispensable principle of comparative advantage.” For Boris Johnson, this means embracing free trade to raise living standards and lift people out of poverty, while casting aside the [...]
European Parliament sets up more Brexit drama as it backs ‘dynamic alignment’ February 12, 2020 London looks set for another head-on collision with Brussels as the two sides gear up for trade talks, after the European Parliament said any deal must be based on two areas already ruled out by Downing Street. This morning MEPs gave their backing for chief negotiator Michel Barnier to press the case for a post-Brexit [...]
UK and EU must avoid a ‘punch-up’ over financial services, says incoming BoE governor Bailey February 12, 2020 Britain and the European Union must find a way to settle disagreements over how the UK’s finance industry can do business with the bloc without it descending into a “metaphorical punch-up”, said incoming Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. Bailey, who is currently head of the Financial Conduct Authority, also said it would be “hard [...]
Brexit: UK ‘optimistic’ on EU green light for derivatives trading February 12, 2020 The UK is “cautiously optimistic” it will get the EU’s permission for the City’s clearing houses to continue to process trillions of pounds of derivatives for EU customers after Brexit, Bank of England deputy governor Sam Woods said today. The London Stock Exchange’s LCH unit holds positions worth £57 trillion on behalf of clients in [...]
Exclusive: Treasury to unveil equivalence vision for City in white paper February 10, 2020 The government will insist on the right to diverge from EU financial services regulation as part of a post-Brexit trade deal with Brussels based on equivalence. Writing in City A.M. today, chancellor Sajid Javid says the City “will no longer be a rule-taker” and reveals that ministers are working on a white paper setting out [...]
EU markets watchdog clashes with City regulator over post-Brexit trading rules February 6, 2020 The EU’s markets watchdog has asked its British counterpart to ensure that the London Metal Exchange (LME) and ICE Futures Europe fully comply with the bloc’s rules on market transparency for commodity derivatives. In the latest in a series of spats over the future relationship between EU and UK markets post-Brexit, the European Securities and [...]
Can the UK economy rebound after Brexit? February 5, 2020 | City Talk Can the UK economy turn a corner? The economy has been on the verge of recession recently. Whether it improves as Brexit uncertainty lifts largely depends on the UK government’s approach to negotiations with the EU and the progress it makes. If it can avoid headlines about looming tariffs, then business confidence and investment can [...]
Champion of free trade? Prime Minister Boris Johnson must match rhetoric with action February 5, 2020 For believers in free trade, Boris Johnson’s speech in the Painted Hall on Monday was, in many ways, highly encouraging. The Prime Minister emphasised the role that free trade has played in lifting some of the poorest people on the planet out of poverty, name-checked Adam Smith and his invisible hand of the market, and [...]
Leave voters not keen on divergence, despite PM’s rhetoric February 4, 2020 People who voted Leave in 2016 do not believe the UK should insist on its own regulatory regime after Brexit, but want certain standards maintained after transition, a new survey has found. Yesterday Prime Minister Boris Johnson made much of the UK government’s plan to reject the EU’s insistence of a level-playing field, saying: “There [...]
The big freeze: Investors feel the chill in M&G’s frozen property fund February 4, 2020 December and January have been cold dark months, especially for investors whose money has been frozen in M&G’s £2.5bn property fund since the beginning of winter. The asset management company felt compelled to suspend trading on its Property Portfolio fund on 4 December, due to the high volume of withdrawals by investors in the preceding [...]