United Kingdom

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

The EU values political correctness more than jobs.

The result was a collapse in support for Angela Merkel, and the rise of AfD and FDP in Germany. Let’s not forget Marine Le Pen in France, Beppe Grillo in Italy, and the far right in Austria.

For the sake of political correctness, the EU is bound and determined to punish the UK for Brexit even though new studies suggest that a Hard Brexit Will hurt the EU More Than Britain.

European stocks rose as the euro tumbled following Germany’s election result which was dubbed a "Nightmare Victory" for Merkel and could lead to potentially complicated coalition talks and perhaps even another early election. U.S. equity-index futures point to a lower open, while Asian equities slide after a plunge in Chinese property developer names over worries of new real estate curbs as well as tech stocks following more iPhone delivery concerns. S&P500 futures are steady, down slightly by just over -0.1%, after closing little changed on Friday.

As promised, the European Commission responded promptly to Theresa May's speech with remarks from Michel Barnier hitting the tape, in which he says that "Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed a constructive spirit which is also the spirit of the European Union during this unique negotiation" and notes that "Today, for the first time, the United Kingdom government has requested to continue to benefit from access to the Single Market, on current terms, and to continue to benefit from existing cooperation in security.

Theresa May's speech has concluded, and while she did not confirm prior rumors that she may call for early EU departure prior to 2019, cable is lower on what has been called a "no news is bad news" speech, because as Danske Bank said, May's remarks in which she confirmed that the UK will be leaving the EU, highlight the Brexit remains a headwind for the pound.

In what has been called "the most important day for Brexit since the referendum", UK PM Theresa May is about to deliver a key speech laying out the next steps of the UK divorce process.

.@theresa_may has arrived for her key #Brexit #FlorenceSpeech - and in a Maserati no less. pic.twitter.com/7lw7Ffo69V

— Mark Stone (@Stone_SkyNews) September 22, 2017