The Brexit Rollercoaster Continues [Video]

The GBP/USD dropped sharply this morning as DUP leader rejected key parts of Brexit deal. European bourses remained subdued as European leaders look to hammer out a withdrawal agreement between the U.K. and the EU during a two-day summit. All the ongoing news about Brexit and these "final negotiations" keep flip-flopping from positive to negative giving the GBP a lot of volatility which is likely to persist until we really know what the final verdict actually is. Given the price of the pound, it looks like hopes for a happy end still overweigh.

 

Did the U.S. Just Breach the Vienna Convention?

Meanwhile, the relationship between China and the US took another hit with the US requiring now all Chinese officials to report any meetings within the US to the US State Department, which China immediately saw as being against the Vienna conventions and probably is not a reason for more friendliness between the two superpowers.

 

Erdogan Will Not Back Down

On the Turkey/Syria war front, Erdogan made clear in his speech to the Justice and Development Party in Ankara on Wednesday, that he is not going to stop his attack and neither react to the intimidation of the US, which could hurt the TRY further. Attacked abroad,  Erdogan faces a raft of new American sanctions, an embargo on European arms sales, an indictment of a state-owned Turkish bank and threats to isolate Turkey within NATO. But despite his predicament, he is gaining increasing support at home as he has created a heightened state of nationalist feeling.

 

Netflix Shares Soar After Beating on Earnings

Netflix earnings came in strong last night and the stock markets are likely to open positively today despite weak retails sales in the US yesterday. In the midterm perspective, it seems especially the banking sector could see gains as the Fed continues to buy short term bonds and thus decreasing their yields for the Fed's demand, re-inverting the yield curve and allowing banks to gain back their profitability model.

 

Forex Preview: GBP Wobbles

The USD traded lower this morning on hopes of more Fed stimulus and broader Brexit optimism. The EUR needs to see the 1.11 broken soon or else likely to fall to lower than 1.10 again. The GBP had another highly volatile day yesterday and closed in the green. This morning the GBP tumbled after the DUP said in a statement that it’s unhappy with proposed customs and consent arrangements. Any new developments on the Brexit front and negotiations during the EU summit will cause more volatility for the sterling today. 

 

Oil Subdued, Gold Steady, BTC at 8K

Oil prices remain subdued after industry data showed a larger-than-expected build-up in stocks in the United States and on the expectation that Trump will not join a war in the Middle East. Gold held near $1,490 well-positioned to reclaim the $1,1500 if we should see a risk even turn, i.e. Brexit falling through. BTC saw some movement to the lower end of its present range and below the 8k which puts BTC in risk to lose further from here.