Parliament vote

As totally expected, Theresa May - following a contentious debate - won the UK parliament vote to allow a June 8th snap election by a count of 522 to 13, well above the two-thirds majority needed.

Opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn welcomed the poll but accused the PM of changing her mind and breaking promises on a range of issues.

The result triggers what will be an intense seven-week campaign in which the U.K.’s relationship with the EU will be the focus.

No reaction in the pound so far...

Asian stocks hit their highest level in 18 months, with positive momentum lifting European shares which were helped by Societe Generale earnings. Yields fell on some of the euro zone's battered low-rated bonds as investors put aside the political risks that have dominated markets this week. After trading flat, S&P futures bounced as US traders walked boosted by a spike in the USDJPY, ahead of earnings reports from Coca-Cola, Reynolds American, CVS Health, Nvidia and Twitter.

When reporting yesterday on the abrupt deterioration in European-Turkish relations, in which the European Parliament voted Thursday in an overhwleming majority to impose a temporary, non-binding freeze on talks for Turkey's accession into the EU, we said that it "remains unclear if Turkey will proceed with releasing the nearly three million Syrian refugees allegedly contained within its borders as a result of the European Parliament vote." Today we have an answer: as the FT reports, Turkish president Erdogan warned Brussels on Friday he would allow 3 million refugees to cross over to Europe

It was another painful day for Turkish Lira longs.

Earlier today, in response to the broader USD strength overnight, the Turkish currency dropped to new record lows, sliding to 3.4214 and losing 10% of its value since the central bank's last meeting in October, before the Turkey’s central bank unexpectedly raised its one-week repurchase and overnight lending rates for the first time in almost three years, prompted by the crashing lira's impact on inflation, overriding Erdogan's recurring demands for lower borrowing costs.