Brexit: Michel Barnier tells MEPs that Wednesday is final deadline for deal December 7, 2020 Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier has reportedly told MEPs that Wednesday is the final deadline to salvage to a UK-EU trade deal and escape a no-deal Brexit. Barnier spoke to MEPs and to EU ambassadors this morning, after in-person negotiations with his UK counterpart Lord David Frost in Brusels yesterday. Talks continue in Brussels today. [...]
Pound slides as investors fret over Brexit talks December 7, 2020 The pound fell sharply as investors began to question whether a Brexit deal would be reached, with traders unwinding bets made last week amid fresh uncertainty over negotiations. Sterling tumbled 1.3 per cent against the dollar to $1.326, having hit a two year high of $1.354 on Friday. The pound also slid against the euro, [...]
Posters and adverts aren’t enough to prepare business for Brexit, says BCC December 7, 2020 Businesses still don’t have enough information available on Brexit in critical areas with just 24 days to go until the end of the transition period, an industry body has warned. The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has warned that the government’s Brexit guidance remains insufficient in a number of key areas. Its Brexit guidance dashboard [...]
Before the Bell: Fishing for a deal December 7, 2020 While markets in Europe underwent a fairly mixed week, the FTSE100 was notable in undergoing a significantly strong move higher to its best levels since March, driven up by a combination of optimism over the rollout of a vaccine, which begins this week, and the prospect of a possible UK/EU trade deal. US markets also [...]
Brexit: Controversial Internal Market Bill to come before parliament TODAY December 7, 2020 Boris Johnson’s controversial Internal Market Bill, that may breach international law, will come back to MPs today after the House of Lords rejected it. Clauses pertaining to Northern Ireland that will breach the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, and therefore international law, if there is no post-Brexit UK-EU trade deal were taken out of the bill by [...]
The Week Ahead: Brexit, ECB rates, Rolls Royce, Ocado and Airbnb IPO December 7, 2020 City A.M. takes a look ahead at the main events shaping the markets this coming week, analysing what is to come with City insider Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. Monday: Ted Baker When Ted Baker announced in June it was looking to raise over £100m at a discounted price of 75p [...]
A new chapter of UK-EU collaboration — and the City stands ready to help December 7, 2020 After long and tortuous negotiations, the UK and European Union are finally reaching the endgame of the transition period. Whatever the outcome, the current global crisis caused by the pandemic has shone a light on how, even post-Brexit, there will be many areas which will require collaboration on both sides of the Channel. The pandemic has [...]
Covid vaccine: UK’s medicines regulator ‘ready’ for no-deal Brexit December 6, 2020 The UK’s medicines regulator is prepared for the prospect of a no-deal Brexit and is determined it will not affect Covid vaccine distribution, according to its chief. Dr June Raine, chief executive at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said the regulator was “prepared forany possible outcome”. Fears that the UK will leave [...]
Eustice: UK has three days to close Brexit deal after talks have gone ‘backwards’ December 6, 2020 Brexit trade talks went “backwards” last week and there are only a few days left to decide if a deal can be struck, according to the UK’s environment secretary. George Eustice said today that the UK will definitively have to walk away from talks in three days if the UK and EU can’t “resolve these [...]
Brexit talks back on: Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen agree to resume trade deal negotiations December 5, 2020 Brexit talks back on: Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen agree to resume trade deal negotiations