United Kingdom

The walls are closing in on UK's embattled prime minister Theresa May, who after the disastrous outcome in the general election, and following a torrid week in which she faced fierce criticism for her handling of the Grenfell Tower catastrophe, in which 58 people are now presumed dead, is reportedly facing what the Telegraph calls a "secret plot" - well, not so secret any more - involving a "stalking horse" challenge to remove her as prime minister if she caves to Labour demands, and waters down the "Hard Brexit."

With at least 58 dead (30 confirmed, 28 presumed), the Grenfell Tower fire in London is undoubtedly a disaster, but (riding high on his recent election gains) Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's solution for those made homeless by the fire seems to confirm his pro-Marxian perspective on life - government will seize the empty homes of rich people in Kensington to rehouse residents.

Today is quad-witching opex Friday, and according to JPM, some $1.3 trillion in S&P future will expire. Traditionally quad days are associated with a rise in volatility and a surge in volumes although in light of recent vol trends and overnight markets, today may be the most boring quad-witching in recent history: global stocks have again rebounded from yesterday's tech-driven losses as European shares rose 0.6%, wiping out the week's losses.

Despite Prime Minister Theresa May’s embarrassing performance earlier this month in a snap election that cost her Conservative party its parliamentary 'majority', more than 70% of Britons still believe the government should push ahead with Brexit – even after the election sparked exclamations from the left for a second referendum, according to the latest YouGov poll.

The pound sharply reversed overnight losses (the result of weaker than expected UK retail sales 0.90% Y/Y, exp. 1.7%) rising as much as 0.3% to 1.2794 after the BOE announced it kept rates at 0.25%, however the hawkish surprise was the 5-3 vote, far closer than the 7-1 expected, as two more MPC members , Saunders and McCafferty joined Forbes in calling for a rate hike on the back of rising inflation concerns.