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30 January 2017 |
The Miller outcome was given this week explaining that in order for article 50 to be triggered it will need to gain the approval of parliament. Whilst some have suggested that this may put a halt on Brexit, many including David Davis, the Brexit Secretary believe that parliament ‘will respect the decision taken by the British people and pass the legislation quickly’ explains the Guardian. This news has resulted in greater fears that the city of London will see a mass exodus of international firms, particularly big American banks, to Frankfurt. This is despite claims that Britain will cut corporation tax if companies. Although these plans are yet to be confirmed, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond hints to the Telegraph that these measures could be use if negotiations do not go to plan- Britain will attempt to portray itself as a ‘tax haven’. Will this be enough?
The Eurozone appears to be growing in strength or so the ministers in Europe attempt to tell us. Reuters explains how despite figures which suggest that Greece’s debt will be around 275 per cent of GDP in 2060, the European Stability Mechanism has attempted to reassure the world that its economy is under control especially in light of the new reforms. Meanwhile, the hawks of the ECB do not share in this optimism. The Telegraph explains how ‘a former European Central Bank Official, Jurgen Stark, said it was time to ‘think the unthinkable’ and work towards a ‘reset’ of Europe that pulled power from Brussels.’ How long will this take? Will there a be an EU to Brexit from?
Whilst Brexit has centred the British headlines, it is interesting to see how Britain is surviving. The Guardian reports some worrying news this week as UK rental prices fall to a two year low. The UK has been renowned for its house price bubble particularly in the South East. The Guardian explains how ‘The Association of Residential Letting Agents said there were just 26 prospective tenants registered per branch in December, down from 32 the month before and the lowest figure recorded since records began in January 2015.’ It goes onto share how the London commuter belt has seen a fall of 2.3% in prices in the last quarter, suggesting a lack of confidence and uncertainty about Britain’s future prospects. Will the situation continue to get worse?
Meanwhile, Britain appears to have a humanitarian crisis on its hands as it is being taken to court for exporting arms to partner countries who are in breach of human rights including Turkey. This comes as Theresa May supports a £100m fighter jet deal with Turkey, despite its imprisonment of ‘tens of thousands in the wake of last year’s failed coup’, explains the Guardian.
The days of low oil prices appear to be vanishing with petrol no closer to the pound mark. However, this is good news for oil companies who have been suffering over the last few years. Royal Dutch Shell reports great increases explains the Telegraph with ‘annual profits more than doubled, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant is expected to post bumper profits of $8.17bn (£6.91bn), a huge jump on the $3.8bn it reported at the depths of the market downturn.’ What does this mean for consumers? Will this cause a rise in inflation as the rising prices will result in the transportation of goods increasing? In the meantime, Goldman Sachs has provided a new credit facility of £90 million to Together to support bridging loans, whilst J.P. Morgan has become a custodian of $1 trillion of BlackRock’s assets reports the Wall Street Journal.
This week we have witnessed the first week of Trump’s Presidency and it is safe to say that he has caused a lot of controversy. Whilst the number of policies he passed under his executive order were similar to Obama in his first week, the tension caused by Trump’s strategies have resulted in a word wide response. With protests taking place last week following his inauguration, this week there have been new protests against Trump’s “ban against Muslimsâ€. This has resulted in several protests around America as well as worldwide, particularly in the UK as politicians are questioning whether Prime Minister Theresa May should host the new American Prime Minister. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has spoken out about Trump condemning the ‘executive order halting the entire US refugee programme and instituting a 90-day travel ban for nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen’ explains the BBC. Boris took to his twitter account explaining that "We will protect the rights and freedoms of UK nationals home and abroad. Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality." His interesting use of the platform appears quite appropriate as the San Francisco based company has also spoken out against Trump’s latest plans. Trump and the future of America have therefore been put into question, with the BBC suggesting that there may be a gap in the market for a new global power, which in this case, holds the name of China.