European bourses advance and Asian share rose led by a surge in Hong Kong stocks which rose the most in three months as Japan hit 15 month highs. U.S. futures are little changed along while the dollar rebounded from session lows after Friday's selloff. Crude oil has continued its retreat, down 0.2% and sliding for a 6th straight day after breifly dropping below $48 in overnight trading.
In his first spring Budget speech before the House of Commons, UK Chancellor Phillip Hammond sharply raised his growth forecast for the UK for 2017, expecting 2.00% growth and 2.4% inflation, compared to the previous November forecast of 1.40% and 2.3% respectively, while modestly cutting outer years until the two projections catch up again in 2021, adding that the UK had "confounded commentators with robust growth."
A summary of forecasts is as follows:
Via Soeren Kern of The Gatestone Institute,
Via Mike Shedlock of MishTalk.com,
The EU demands the UK pay Brexit costs of €60 billion.
I have commented for months on the absurdity of pay such demands.
And that reality is finally hitting home.
Collision Course
Please consider U.K. May Be on Course for Early Clash With EU Over Brexit Costs.
In the latest public relations fiasco to hit Unicorn champion Uber (the company remains the most valuable private company in the world at a valuation of $68 billion), just days after it emerged that the company was allegedly engaged in sexual harassment according to a disgruntled employee, and shortly after a video leaked showing Uber CEO having a meltdown while being driven in one of his own vehicles, the NYT reports, citing current and former employees, that Uber has for years engaged in a program to deceive authorities in markets where its service was being resisted or banned by law enfo