The latest round of political manoeuvring has helped sterling gain nearly 0.5% against the dollar but the FTSE slipped into the red weighed down by export orientated stocks which suffered from the pound’s turnaround.
The Brexit saga resumed in London yesterday with the PM expected to meet with the opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn today in an effort to cobble together a deal that would be broadly acceptable to the majority of both parties. Her reasoning is that by reaching out to Labour there is a good chance of closing the gap and securing the votes she still needs to clinch a withdrawal agreement.
The move obviously infuriated hard Brexiteers and Tory party ideologues but given the levels of resistance the PM has been facing from inside her own party, reaching across the aisle seems like an obvious next move in this high stakes poker game.
US-China trade progress boosts Asian stocks
The US and Chinese trade negotiators have reportedly managed to resolve some of their most contentious issues and are close to a resolution in the months-long trade talks between the two countries. Although the details of the agreement have yet to be made public Asian stock markets rallied across the board with the Chinese indexes leading the way.
Boots could face store closures
Boots stores could be facing closure as its parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA), looks for ways to cut costs following a significant drop in its UK sales activity. Boots has been suffering from the same malaise as numerous other UK high street outlets, seeing its sales gradually decline despite widening its product offering as the uncertainty over Brexit keeps consumers cautious and less ready to spend.
The UK services sector continues to suffer across the board and the contraction is now visible in data, showing that the UK services shrunk for the first time in nearly three years.
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