Brexit Talks Make Progress But Leave Johnson’s Key Allies Uneasy

Brexit Talks Make Progress But Leave Johnson’s Key Allies Uneasy

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – British and European Union officials will resume their efforts to nail down a Brexit deal on Wednesday after a late night of talks in Brussels that the U.K. described as constructive. But even if British Prime Minister Boris Johnson can secure the divorce agreement he wants in time for a summit starting on Thursday, he faces a major hurdle convincing the U.K. Parliament to vote for it. The pound, which surged on Tuesday,…

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Why Johnson’s Brexit Path Can’t Avoid Irish Border: QuickTake

Why Johnson’s Brexit Path Can’t Avoid Irish Border: QuickTake

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – It was the boundary between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland that sank former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s efforts to engineer an orderly exit from the European Union. Now her successor, Boris Johnson, is bumping up against the same challenge — how to manage a historically fraught border when it becomes the dividing line between the U.K. and the EU. Johnson has made clear his willingness to do what May balked at: crash…

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Boris Johnson as U.K. Prime Minister Is the EU’s Worst Nightmare

Boris Johnson as U.K. Prime Minister Is the EU’s Worst Nightmare

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africs) – For European leaders watching Theresa May’s political death throes, a sense of inevitability has been replaced by one of fear. Rather than break the deadlock over Brexit, the departure of the British prime minister raises the prospect of what they’ve long considered their worst nightmare: a U.K. run by Boris Johnson, the man many inside the European Union blame for causing the mess with his campaign based on false promisesand then by…

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Tearful Theresa May Quits as Brexit Breaks Her Premiership

Tearful Theresa May Quits as Brexit Breaks Her Premiership

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africs) – An emotional Theresa May announced she will quit as Britain’s prime minister after admitting she had failed to deliver the one task that defined her time in office — taking the country out of the European Union. “I have done my best,” May said in a statement to cameras in the sunshine outside her Downing Street offices. “It is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that…

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What a Difference a Negative Bund Yield Makes: Taking Stock

What a Difference a Negative Bund Yield Makes: Taking Stock

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – European stocks have entered their first real consolidation this year after weeks of gains. At the same time, Germany’s 10-year Bund yield retreated and turned negative for the first time since 2016. So we’re here again. Europe’s economic picture has been deteriorating, pushing the yield over the edge, which has big consequences for European shares. As an investor, you have to find yield somewhere, and when government yields are…

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May Survives Another Vote as She Slowly Brings Opponents Onside

May Survives Another Vote as She Slowly Brings Opponents Onside

LONDON (Capital Markets in AfricaA) – A week ago, Theresa May’s aides expected that by now the prime minister would be reeling from a mass Cabinet walkout and a crushing parliamentary defeat. Instead, she’s clung on amid growing signs that opposition to her Brexit deal is eroding. The prime minister avoided confrontation with her ministers by backing downTuesday, and agreeing to give Parliament the option of postponing Brexit rather than crashing out without a deal. The muted…

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May Sets Out to Win Labour Rebels’ Support Over Brexit Deal

May Sets Out to Win Labour Rebels’ Support Over Brexit Deal

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ministers in Theresa May’s government are setting out to woo members of the opposition Labour Party, in the hope that they’ll provide enough votes to get her Brexit deal through. In meetings with Labour members of Parliament considering whether to support the Withdrawal Agreement that May negotiated, ministers including Business Secretary Greg Clark have discussed enhancing British employment rights and environmental protections after Brexit, as well as money for deprived parts of…

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