ALB Limited 20.07.2020
Euro strengthens as EU leaders agree on 390 Billion Euro grants
DAILY BRIEF—Negotiations over the European Union’s virus recovery fund made a breakthrough Monday morning after days in deadlock, as leaders of the Four countries signaled they would be ready to accept a compromise. Contentions centered on how the plan’s 750 billion euros ($856 billion) would be divided between grants and loans, with leaders of the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden objecting to the initial proposal of 500 billion euros in grants.
After three weeks of gains for global equities, investors are weighing up the impact of potential additional fiscal support both in Europe and in the U.S., along with the latest round of corporate earnings. European and U.S. stock futures are edging lower this morning, though Chinese equities saw solid gains overnight, even after news that the world’s biggest money manager, BlackRock Inc., will begin taking profits in Chinese shares. Elsewhere, crude oil fell for a third session, though remains within a tight range as the coronavirus continue to cloud the demand outlook.
The latest round of talks to define Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU starts today. Confidence that a quick agreement will be reached is evaporating, with no progress in informal meetings since last month. Privately, EU officials say their attempts to compromise haven’t been reciprocated, while their U.K. counterparts retort that the bloc’s concessions haven’t gone far enough. Meanwhile, the U.K. government is urging EU countries to ensure that a million British expats across the bloc get to stay.
