EU Summit -2017

The EU summit started on Saturday and the 27 EU countries have made a decision to support  EU president  Donald Tusk's tough negotiating standards for the Brexit.  It is clear that the EU is not going to back down on the divorce issues of the Irish border, citizen rights, and the 60 billion euro divorce bill for leaving the EU.- Sacha B

EU leaders agree on tough stance at special Brexit summit

Brexit - how are businesses handling the changes in the market

How are businesses reacting to the Brexit in the midst of uncertainty? It seems to be making an impact on the type of industry more that the individual businesses. Although we have seen the pound plummet to as low as 31% below the dollar it is currently sitting at 15%  and slowly improving, Stocks have done better than the pound.  Corporations such as Softbank( Japanese), Chinese-owned AMC Entertainment, and Qatar Airways have all responded favorably.  Unilever had price disputes from the increased costs of imports they temporally pulled some products out of the market. This effected some grocery staples in the UK market. -Sacha B.

 How ‘Brexit’ Could Change Business in Britain

2017 General Election

The article below contains some great insight and U.S. opinions on the upcoming U.K. elections. With a great relationship between the two countries, Paul Ryan praised the Prime Minister who made a bold stand on the way the country was heading. AS we all know, economy is largely connected to political happenings, so the election could have huge effects on the current U.K. economy, only time can tell. But with all this said, Paul Ryan goes on to say that we will stand beside them and support them with their election decision going forward.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/paul-ryan-reaffirms-us-commitment-uk-nato-london-visit-1617717

Forecasting a Great Future for the U.K. Economy

After initial outlook was not positive for the U.K. economy after the Brexit, the IMF has recently changed their forecasting. Raising over 2% since the last review, the U.K. economy looks to expand on a steadily growing international market.  The initial prediction was based on the difficulty of  establishing their market after the brexit and set up connections with the European Union and trade partners. After a strong start out of the gate, professionals do fear that they may not be able to keep up with steady growth. All the IMF can do is make predictions on current numbers but with a positive outlook in the near future, the economy in the U.K. is looking up.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/18/imf-ratchets-up-uk-economic-growth-forecast-to-2

Brexit in Shambles

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39375966

The EU has been struggling to identify itself, and this article is a great read, on how they need to approach it. The reporter is quoted saying that it is currently a hostile environment in Britain and the economy is suffering as a whole. The article then goes on to discuss the steps that the U.K. would have to do, to rejoin, and the steps they took to exit. Interesting read for anyone looking to further their knowledge on the current Brexit.

£70,000 Fine

The  British conservatives "Tories" were given a 70,000 pound fine for failing to report its finances in the 2015 general elections.  After it was reported that the parties had missing payment of upwards of 200,000 pounds.  They have now resolved the issue.
Conservative Party fined £70,000 after investigation finds 'significant' election campaign expenses issues
-Sacha B

Wanted - Chief Trade Negotiator

The economist reported that Britain's Department for International Trade (DIT) is looking to hire a position to secure trade deals inside and outside of the EU just after the 2019 breakup withy the EU.   The DIT has been rapidly growing trade negotiators.  They have increased from about 50 to over 200 since the vote to leave the EU last summer.  One area that is going to be tough to navigate is agriculture.  The UK will not be under the EU's  tariffs on food imports.  The article cites the example of oranges having a complicated protection for Spain that the UK no longer has to comply to. Once independent they can go elsewhere in the market for a 170M yr fruit import that is not grown in the UK at all. The flip side Australia and New Zealand will want to import more beef and lamb to the UK.   That has UK farmers very concerned, especially in Whales where more market competition from New Zealand could ruin their lamb industry.  Check out what else the article has to say Trading Places -Where should Britain strike it's first post -Brexit trade deals?
-Sacha B