Morning Report – Monday 16th November

Main Headlines

Boris Johnson’s week got even worse on Sunday, after he was told by the NHS track and trace system, that he needed to self-isolate after being in contact with an MP who had Coronavirus. Johnson was in the midst of dealing with the turmoil surrounding the exit of his Chief Political advisor, Dominic Cummings and Special advisor Lee Cain.

According to Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister, today marks the start of a critical week for Brexit talks. They must be “resolved in principle this week”, ahead of the new soft deadline of 18th November. In the hope of trying not to repeat myself, fisheries remains the key difference along with State Aid.

Donald Trump has still refused to concede the US election, although he did tweet that Biden had won the election before stating that this was only in the eyes of the “FAKE NEWS MEDIA”. Mountains of evidence suggests that Trump has no case, but this will be unlikely to deter him from pursuing a Supreme Court case.

GBP

The pound is relatively flat against both the euro and dollar in early morning trading. There is no data on the economic calendar today, so Sterling will be influenced by any Brexit related news from senior officials, with one eye on how Boris Johnson will deal with the fallout at No.10.

EUR

The euro is trading slightly higher against the dollar this morning. This week there is a host of key ECB members speaking on a range of topics, and today includes ECB President, and Pablo Hernandez de Cos. Coronavirus still ravages the continent, and Germany is considering increasing restrictions.

USD

The dollar is unchanged against most major currencies, but is trading lower against the Japanese Yen. President elect Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris are set to speak today and will deliver economic remarks on economic recovery. This could be an early sign for investors to gauge what economic policies Biden will introduce when in office.

Main Economic Data/Central Banks/Government (All times GMT)

9:00 a.m.: Italy Oct. CPI
9:00 a.m.: ECB’s Guindos speaks
1:00 p.m.: ECB’s Lagarde speaks
1:30 p.m.: ECB’s Mersch speaks
5:30 p.m.: BOE’s Haskel speaks

Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum
World Economic Forum’s Pioneers of Change Summit