ALB Limited 10.09.2020
ECB Day & U.K turning ‘Rogue State’ over Brexit
DAILY BRIEF—A rebound in U.S. tech stocks on Wednesday has fizzled into Thursday, with Asian stocks coming off session highs and futures drifting for Europe and the U.S. Industrial production data from France and Italy tops the economic data agenda ahead of the ECB.
The European Central Bank’s latest policy decision is coming on Thursday with the focus on any clues on how the bank intends to shift its strategy. Some of the ECB’s policy makers are said to have become more confident in their forecasts for a recovery in the region’s economy, which could reduce the need for more monetary stimulus later in the year, and ECB watchers will also be on the lookout for any hints about intervention to tackle the strong euro. Central banks globally are taking different approaches. Canada is holding back willingness to take more aggressive action, while New Zealand is looking to Sweden as an example as it move towards negative rates.
The U.K. published its Internal Market Bill on Wednesday, which it has already conceded breaks international law.
The European Union considers that it has grounds to take legal action against the U.K. over those plans to breach the withdrawal agreement the two sides previously sealed.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said the U.K. can forget a trade deal if Brexit imperils peace in Northern Ireland. U.K.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is already facing heavy criticism, including from his own party, over the move and the impact it could have on Britain’s standing in the international community. And it may also provide fuel for another major headache, that of the question of Scottish independence.
