The UK needs a “credible fallback” in case no EU trade deal is reached during Brexit negotiations, former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has said. Lord King said British negotiators needed to show Brussels the country has an alternative over a bad trade deal post-Brexit.
The UK's Brexit negotiations have not begun well amid differences inside the cabinet, a former head of the diplomatic service has said. Sir Simon Fraser, chief mandarin at the Foreign Office until 2015, said the UK side had been a bit absent from formal negotiations in Brussels.
Investors pulling money out of The City pose a greater risk to London’s financial dominance than banks exiting the UK because of Brexit, according to Square Mile official, Sherry Madera, the City of London Corporation’s special adviser for Asia.
Brazilian farmers are in the midst of collecting their biggest corn harvest ever, and American supplies are also plentiful -- setting the stage for a stiff battle to win world buyers in the second half of the year.
The United Nations Security Council approved tough new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday including a ban on coal and other exports totaling more than US$1 billion — a huge bite in its total exports, valued at US$3 billion last year. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley praised the new sanctions, telling council members after the vote that it is the single largest economic package ever leveled against the North Korean regime.
Brexit will still happen despite the UK becoming more aware of the “density of problems” during withdrawal negotiations, Jean-Claude Juncker has said. The European Commission president indicated he disagreed with the Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat, who reportedly said last week he saw “hopeful signs” that “Brexit will not happen”.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has called for unique solutions to preserve the relationship between the UK and the European Union after Brexit. On his first official visit to Northern Ireland, he raised the possibility of a bilateral UK-EU customs union, and described Brexit as the challenge of this generation.
by Luke Blackstock -The change of employer for 25-year-old, Brazilian footballer Neymar da Silva Santos Jr and a diplomatic crisis halfway around the world apparently have no link. Neymar has become the world’s most expensive footballer after signing for Paris Saint-Germain, and priced away from one of its biggest clubs.
Standard Chartered is set to spend about US$20m to turn its Frankfurt office into a European base due to Brexit. The bank plans to create a subsidiary at its German branch to maintain access to the European market after Britain withdraws from the European Union.
The governor of the Bank of England has warned that uncertainty over Brexit is already weighing on the economy. Mark Carney's comments came as the Bank voted to hold rates and cut growth forecasts. It edged this year's growth forecast down to 1.7% from its previous forecast of 1.9% made in May and also cut the forecast for 2018 from 1.7% to 1.6%.