Market Buzz
Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit dealings, banks, insurance M&A, Virgin Money
Ministers are prepared to thrash out a compromise with Tory rebels on Brexit this week to avoid a defeat that could torpedo Theresa May’s remaining authority. Senior figures say Downing Street could seek a new deal with Dominic Grieve, the former attorney-general, who has been negotiating with No 10 after their talks collapsed last week. - Sunday Times.
Market buzz: China and Trump trade verbal blows, Tesco rises to 2014 levels
1415: US industrial output dipped by 0. 1% month-on-month in May, according to the Federal Reserve, falling shy of economists' forecasts for an increase of 0. 3%.
Friday newspaper round-up: Brexit rumbles, DoJ climb-down, Lloyds
Theresa May faces a confrontation with pro-EU Conservative rebels after abandoning a compromise over how parliament should be consulted at the end of Brexit negotiations. After two days of talks ministers said they would not accept demands from more than a dozen rebels that parliament should be able to influence the direction of Brexit in a case of no deal. Instead, the government published an amendment to its main legislation that critics said would give MPs less control.
Market buzz: EU tariffs, US yields lower, ECB surprise, OPEC, Brexit
1606: EU has reportedly reached an agreement on retaliatory trade tariffs against US made goods.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Banks, Rolls-Royce, fossil fuels, Dixons fines
Banks have been warned that they are set to face tougher penalties for online failures as they continue to shut branches and push customers towards digital services. Regulators will be “less tolerant” if customers endure technical glitches, Nicky Morgan, chairwoman of the Treasury select committee, said yesterday. - The Times .
Market buzz: Inflation unmoved, Dixons and Just Eat stumble
1452: Responding to a Wall Street Journal article from Monday, medical devices maker Stryker says it's not in discussions with Boston Scientific about a potential acquisition.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: AT&T, WPP, Co-op Bank, Serco boss
The senior PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant who audited BHS’s accounts ahead of its sale for £1 just a year before the department store chain collapsed is facing a 15-year ban and six-figure fine from the industry watchdog. Steve Denison, who spent more than 30 years at PwC according to his LinkedIn profile, becoming a partner, is understood to have been facing a £500,000 fine from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), reduced to £325,000 after he agreed to cooperate.
Market buzz: Summit for nowt? Withdrawal Bill debate in focus
1700:Close Stocks dipped and the pound edged higher after the first day of the Commons debate on the proposed amendments to the Withdrawal Bill.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Singapore, Brexit dealing, NHS, WPP
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have signed a document that will see the denuclearisation of North Korea begin "very quickly", the US president announced. After a working lunch concluded a morning of negotiations in Singapore, the two leaders held a signing ceremony, with Mr Trump calling it a "comprehensive" agreement. Mr Kim said "we are leaving the past behind us" as he said "the world will see a major change". - Telegraph.
Market buzz: Trump-Kim talks moving faster than expected, pound slips on industrial data
1635: Italian 10-year bond yield just off its session lows, down by 30 basis points at 2. 83%.
Monday newspaper round-up: Trade wars, Italy, Brexit, water companies
Germany accused President Trump last night of destroying Europe’s trust and threatened to retaliate against new trade tariffs as the row over the weekend’s disastrous G7 summit in Quebec escalated. In a combative appearance on German TV, Angela Merkel said that the EU was ready to take on the US in a trade war, and described Mr Trump’s behaviour in the aftermath of the G7 meeting as “sobering and a bit depressing”. - The Times.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Russia, inflation, Rolls-Royce, Sainsbury's
The hidden scale of Kremlin links to the biggest donor to the Brexit campaign are revealed today. Arron Banks, the millionaire businessman who helped fund Brexit, was offered a business deal involving six Russian goldmines. He also had undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador to Britain — set up by a suspected Russian spy — and paid a previously unknown visit to Moscow at the height of the campaign. - Sunday Times.
Market buzz: May's Brexit backstop plan rejected, pound and FTSE oscillate
1544: The pound is off its worst, but down 0. 25% against the dollar at 1. 3389, is helping erase the FTSE's losses. The blue chip index was just in positive territory an hour and a half ago but is back in the red by 0. 37% at 7,676. 24.
Friday newspaper round-up: CBI, G7, Pfizer, TSB, Thames Water
Britain’s leading employers’ organisation, the Confederation of British Industry, has warned the UK economy will shift down a gear this year and risks remaining in the slow lane because of Brexit. Cutting its growth forecasts for the year, owing to heavy snowfall in the opening months of 2018 and lingering fears over Brexit, the CBI said it expected the growth rate for the British economy to slow to 1. 4%, from 1. 8% last year. – Guardian.
Market buzz: Traders play it safe ahead of Quebec summit
1700: An interesting - even if more brief than usual - day in markets it has been, given that both the corporate and economic calendars were rather empty on Thursday.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Carillion, TSB, Alphabet, GVC Holdings
Accountants and lawyers will earn £70m managing the fallout from the collapse of Carillion, according to the National Audit Office, with taxpayers expected to foot a bill of more than £150m. In a report into the government’s handling of the outsourcing company, the NAO said the liquidation of Carillion showed the government had “further to go” in understanding the financial health of suppliers whose failure could have major consequences. - Guardian.
Market buzz: US Q2 GDP at 5.0%?, India hikes, ECB's Praet pumps euro
1700:Close Miners paced gains on Wednesday, as the US dollar slipped after ECB chief economist Peter Praet left the door open to the announcement, for as soon as the following week, of the exact end-date for the ECB's asset purchases.
Market buzz: Debate over rate hike after services PMI, Carnival sinks
1255: The government sale of £2. 5bn of its stake in RBS at 271p per share, compares to an all-in share price of 643p, calculates Hargreaves Lansdown, meaning the taxpayer loss on last night’s share sale is about £3. 4bn.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, AstraZeneca, Johnston Press, Heathrow
Theresa May has a week to forge a compromise with Tory rebels over Brexit after she tabled votes on key legislation for next Tuesday, with 12 backbenchers threatening to inflict a defeat in a vote on future customs arrangements. They believe that the government will put forward its own compromise agreement within days but claim it is unlikely to be enough to buy them off. - The Times.
Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit, China-US deal, auditors, trains
Britain will have only weeks to negotiate deals with dozens of countries after the European Union refused to help to extend any existing trade agreements before the legally binding signing of a Brexit withdrawal treaty. European officials have told the government that they will not ask the EU’s trading partners to allow Britain to benefit from current trade deals with key countries such as Japan or South Korea until Theresa May signs the final legal text of a Brexit deal.