Madbouly Egypt's development model at UN conference    Egypt's Foreign Minister urges diplomacy on Iran nuclear issue in IAEA call    Egypt, Iran FMs discuss Gaza truce, nuclear talks revival    Egypt's Environment Minister calls for stronger action on desertification, climate resilience in Africa    Egypt's Q3 GDP growth hits three-year high of 4.77%    Peace is not imposed by bombing… nor achieved by normalisation peoples reject: Al-Sisi    Al-Sisi reaffirms Egypt's support for Libyan unity, withdrawal of foreign forces    Spinneys Opens A New Store in Hurghada    Egypt to launch new dialysis filter factory in July, covering 65% of domestic demand    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Egypt leverages diplomacy to advance global health partnerships    Egypt to toughen truck safety rules following fatal Ring Road accident    Egypt condemns Pakistan convoy attack, voices solidarity    Egypt, Mauritania eye joint healthcare plans    Egypt's FM, UK security adviser discuss de-escalation    US Fed holds rates steady    EGX ends in green on June 16    Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt delays Grand Museum opening to Q4 amid regional tensions    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Egypt discovers three New Kingdom tombs in Luxor's Dra' Abu El-Naga    Egypt launches "Memory of the City" app to document urban history    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



UK's Johnson to face EU leaders for Brexit talks, uncertainty roils UK markets
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 19 - 08 - 2019

The direction Brexit will take could become clearer this week as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to meet his German and French counterparts.
Johnson's journey to Berlin Wednesday and Paris Thursday will be his first official trip abroad since being installed in 10 Downing Street in July. Johnson has repeatedly rubbished the existing Brexit deal on offer and has said the U.K. will leave the EU on October 31 "come what may."
But there is a desire in the British government to strike a new deal, making the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron a potentially crucial one if talks are to resume.
The U.K. government has scrambled to defend its Brexit plans in the last 24 hours following a leak of an internal report, entitled "Operation Yellowhammer." It warned of widespread disruption at ports, a hard border with the Republic of Ireland and potential shortages of food, drugs and fuel that could happen in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit.
The report also claimed that Gibraltar, a British territory on Spain's southern coast, was "underprepared" for a no-deal scenario in which the U.K. leaves the EU abruptly on October 31 with no transition period in place.
Government minister Kwasi Kwarteng dismissed the leaked report, which had been compiled under the previous government, as "scaremongering." Another, Michael Gove, the minister in charge of no-deal Brexit planning, said the leaked report outlined "absolutely the worst-case" scenario.
Gove conceded there would "inevitably be some disruption, some bumps in the road" in the event of a no-deal exit but said the U.K. government was "far more prepared now than it was in the past" for such an eventuality.
That view was echoed by Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, who told CNBC Monday that more planning for a no deal had taken place since the Yellowhammer report had been compiled.
"What you saw in the Yellowhammer report yesterday cannot, in my view, be described as scaremongering because it's the thinking of the government of Gibraltar, and the thinking of the U.K. government, of what the worst-case scenarios that we have to plan for are. And that iteration of the plan is already out of date and a lot of planning has been done in order to ensure that those outcomes are dealt with," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."
"But look, in a no-deal scenario a lot will depend on the politics of the morning after," he added.
Johnson is expected to push for a new Brexit deal when he meets his German and French counterparts this week although, according to British media reports, he will continue to insist that the U.K. is leaving the EU on October 31 with or without an agreement.
The EU has said it will not renegotiate the terms of the withdrawal agreement it struck with former Prime Minister Theresa May.
Johnson will also reportedly tell Macron and Merkel that the U.K. Parliament cannot stop a no-deal Brexit, even if a majority of U.K. lawmakers vote against it.
Kamal Sharma, director of G-10 foreign exchange strategy for Europe at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, likened the state of play between the U.K. and EU to "shadow boxing" before the real fight begins when the U.K. Parliament returns from its summer break.
"This is very much, at the moment, a shadow boxing contest between the Europeans and the U.K. The real substantive issues happen in September when we come back to (the U.K.) Parliament. Has parliament got the ability to reign in on a no-deal Brexit?" Sharma told CNBC's "Capital Connection" Monday.
Markets are spooked at the prospect of a no deal under Johnson. The U.K.‘s sovereign bond yield curve inverted last week for the first time since the financial crisis. An inversion means that longer-term interest rates (in this case, the U.K.'s 10-year bond) fall below shorter-term rates. It's considered a sign that some investors see a recession approaching.
Altaf Kassam, managing director and the EMEA head of investment strategy & research at State Street Global Advisors, told CNBC that a lot of the bad news was already priced into the market.
"We are feeling that even though a Brexit is a lose-lose for the U.K. and EU, we're reaching peak negative news flow at the moment," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Monday. "Post the inauguration of Boris Johnson the hard Brexit was fully priced in, so I don't think there's much more to come in terms of negative price action in the U.K."
s


Clic here to read the story from its source.