Brexit on pause as UK PM challenged.
ECJ Article 50 decision means UK Parliament is in control of its destiny
After letters from at least 48 MPs, the UK Conservative party will now hold a confidence vote in its leader later today. If the incumbent UK PM May fails to secure a majority of Tory MPs, a leadership contest will be triggered. The postponement of the Parliamentary vote on May’s Withdrawal Agreement and subsequent day of flying around Europe meeting heads of state, yet appearing to achieve little but photo opportunities has forced the matter to a head. Regardless of the outcome of the confidence vote, the Brexit process is at stalemate with the UK Parliament unable to ratify the only agreement the EU is prepared to offer to date.
Read more...Social Media’s Dieselgate?.
The risks include fines, increased regulation and a change in consumer preferences
The recent controversy over social media and the use of its user data is likely to persist. Many users may not understand that researchers can accurately profile individuals on something as simple as their Facebook “likes”. The potential for influencing in subtle ways both consumption and more controversially political behaviours through targeted advertising should be clear. Multiple investigations across jurisdictions may now cast a harsh light on business practices which may otherwise have continued under the radar. Global digital titans which have become in effect brokers of user data are therefore under threat on another front, in addition to a recently proposed digital revenue tax.
Read more...UK election: Another step-up in political risk.
A tactical blunder does not mean the end of Brexit or the Conservative administration
UK PM Theresa May’s strategy of consolidating power when the Labour opposition was seemingly in disarray and the Conservative poll lead unassailable has seriously backfired. The likelihood now is that the UK will be governed by a minority Conservative administration with support from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). May’s future as leader of the Conservative party remains in serious doubt following a number of campaign mistakes, not least the failure to recognise importance of appeasing the older voter. Much now remains open for debate over the next few weeks.
Read more...Sterling: Lower for longer as the EU strikes back.
The UK’s new Prime Minister Theresa May’s honeymoon period is clearly over. Days after emphasising the importance of national sovereignty and appearing to lean towards a ‘hard’ Brexit, a dawn raid on sterling and subsequent weakness has given opponents ammunition to attack the UK’s plan to leave the EU. Furthermore, tough talk from the UK government has been reciprocated from EU leaders and European heads of state. President of the European Council Donald Tusk may even have given the game away by linking the concept of a ‘hard’ Brexit to ‘no Brexit’. For sterling, we believe investors should look through the politics and focus on the economics.
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*Multiple Sectors
In this month’s strategy piece, Alastair believes that the impact of the easing of monetary policy during 2019 is still only likely to start to feed into the real economy by early 2020. The prospect of an improvement in economic conditions is now driving a substantial positive shift in investor expectations, leading to a reduction in risk premia and higher asset prices across asset classes. The US/China trade conflict appears to be moving towards a Phase 1 trade deal and at the time of writing the UK’s Conservative Party is sufficiently ahead in polling that in 2020 both a resolution to Brexit and a re-centring of British politics are now reasonable prospects, in our view. Nevertheless, based on the rally in global markets during the autumn, we believe a significant proportion of this political good news is in the price. Long term, the cohort of the largest global equities appears priced to offer returns in excess of currently very low yields on government bonds. We remain neutral on the outlook for equities, with the near-term risks of a relapse in confidence given the recent rally balanced against the more positive longer-term view. Finally, government bond yields appear at risk of further increases should the incoming economic data continue to improve.