United Kingdom

UK authorities could arrest US journalists and whistleblowers who criticise the British government, according to reports.  The UK Law Commission is attempting to change the UK’s Espionage Act to prosecute foreigners who “leak confidential information” which damages national security. Infowars.com reports: “Foreigners who leak information overseas that damages British national security could also be prosecuted in the UK for the first time,” the Telegraph reported.

UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd warns MPs that President Trump’s temporary travel ban on Muslims from seven countries and the suspension of refugee arrivals to the U.S. is a potential “propaganda opportunity” for ISIS. “The sources of terrorism are not to be found in the sources where the president is necessarily looking for them,” Rudd told a Committee at the House of Commons in Parliament. The Home Secretary believes that Donald Trump’s executive order is wrong, divisive and a potential recruiting tool for the Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS/ISIL/Daesh).

The Bank of England kept its key interest rate at 0.25%, gilt purchase program at GBP435BN, and corporate-bond plan at GBP10b, voting 9-0 on all 3 decisions. The BOE also raises growth forecasts, while keeping its inflation forecasts broadly unchanged, and said the current policy stance “depended on the trade-off between above-target inflation and slack in the economy.” The central banks also reiterated that “monetary policy could respond, in either direction, to changes in the economic outlook as they unfolded”

From the BOE statement:

MP's in Parliament have voted 498 to 114 to authorize Prime Minster Theresa May to Trigger Article 50 and begin the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. The vote officiates the result of the June 23rd, 2016 "Brexit" Referendum where a majority of UK citizens indicated a desire to leave the EU. An amendment introduced by the Scottish National Party (SNP) which called on the Government to consult the devolved powers on Brexit and calls on her to set out her objectives for the negotiation was rejected.

European stocks rise the first day in four, with Asian stocks, S&P futures and the Dollar all gaining following strong Apple earnings ahead of today's Fed decision and the U.K. parliament's first vote on the Article 50 bill.