Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day
(Bloomberg) --
Good morning. Boris Johnson says he’s going to try to get a Brexit deal, stimulus debates abound globally and doubts are raised about WeWork’s IPO. Here’s what’s moving markets.
Order!
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is promising to work hard to get a Brexit deal with the European Union following six consecutive defeats in the House of Commons. That will at least be the end of the string of losses for now, as Parliament was suspended at the close of business on Monday. The country at large can at least celebrate that the threat of recession in the U.K. has receded, even if there is a whiff of the 1970s about the wider gloom engulfing the nation. Whatever happens next, the House of Commons will be led by a different speaker later in the year after John Bercow gave the timeline for his departure.
Stimulus
Chinese trade data released over the weekend had already soured the mood and that was compounded on Tuesday by pretty grim factory prices, signaling a worsening economic slowdown in the country that threatens to add to the deflationary pressures facing the global economy. It underlines too what economists have already been saying: that the government’s efforts to stimulate the economy are so far not having the desired effect. All before the European Central Bank is set to unleash a wave of new stimulus measures that will set the stage for other central banks around the world.
Bank Charges
Lots to digest for watchers of the European banking sector. Barclays Plc followed its U.K. rivals in revealing a large new charge to compensate customers who were mis-sold payment protection insurance, calling into question the bank’s share repurchase program, particularly after peer Lloyds Banking Group Plc suspended its buyback due to the provisions. Lloyds’s boss also said European banks are lagging behind on cutting costs and Deutsche Bank AG’s finance chief very lightly walked back revenue expectations at a conference, adding to a downbeat assessment from Citigroup Inc.
WeWork’s IPO
Executives at both WeWork and its biggest investor, SoftBank, are considering whether to shelve the plan for the company’s much-anticipated IPO, according to people with knowledge of the talks. The company has been the subject of serious discussion about its business model and corporate governance since it confirmed the go-public plans, but lost some of its luster when the valuation Wall Street put on the float came in much lower than initially pitched. Watch closely for any headlines confirming or denying whether one of the year’s most-watched stock offerings will eventually materialize.
Coming Up...
Another mixed day of trading in Asia as markets await the key central bank decisions later in the week, though a global bond sell-off meant U.S. 10-year yields hit the highest in more than two weeks. Oil extended gains from the highest level in nearly six weeks following a commitment to production cuts from Saudi Arabia’s new energy minister. Apple Inc. will unveil its new batch of iPhones, albeit with few surprises expected. We’ll have industrial production data from France and Italy and unemployment numbers from the U.K.
What We’ve Been Reading
This is what’s caught our eye over the past 24 hours.
- The huge cost of failing to adapt to climate change.
- Robert Shiller on recession risk and fear itself.
- Art house cinemas are thriving.
- Jack Ma is giving up the reins at Alibaba.
- Carbon offset and green energy are big in the Scottish Highlands.
- The many requirements of conference call hold music.
- How a Manhattan scion built a rural empire.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net
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