Sterling slumped overnight, and tensions between the UK and Europe escalated after EU negotiators hiked their initial demand for Birtain's Brexit bill over recent weeks, widening the divide between Brussels and London, which in turn questions whether it owes anything at all before Brexit talks start next month.
This could be the first official map produced by the European Union to exclude the UK. But it is also an inaccurate one: the UK is still a member state of the EU.
Authored by Pater Tenebrarum via Acting-Man.com,
Slightly Premature Victory Laps
After two days of back to back triple digit gains in the Dow for the first time since the election, overnight the torrid rally has faded, with European shares and U.S. stock futures little changed ahead of Trump's big unveil of his much anticipated tax cut plan as investors seek new impetus for a flagging relief rally. And, if as some traders expect, the rally is likely to be reignited no matter what Trump announces today (although a less hyperbolic plan may in fact be more favorable for risk, as it makes Trump's plan more likely instead of being shot down by Congress).
Authored by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,
Austerity is over, proclaimed the IMF this week. And no doubt attributed that to the ‘successful’ period of ‘five years of belt tightening’ a.k.a. ‘gradual fiscal consolidation’ it has, along with its econo-religious ilk, imposed on many of the world’s people. Only, it’s not true of course. Austerity is not over. You can ask many of those same people about that. It’s certainly not true in Greece.
IMF Says Austerity Is Over