Brexit - Qué nos espera?

LONDON — If the Spanish region of Catalonia breaks away from Spain in a so-called "Catalexit", it would plunge the region into a long period of uncertainty and could end up having negative effects that "proportionally exceed" those of Brexit according to Dutch bank ING. Catalonia aims to hold a referendum at the beginning of October to decide whether or not the region — which includes the city of Barcelona — should declare independence from Spain. The region has engaged in a long battle to preserve its cultural identity. Whether or not that referendum takes place remains up in the air, but if it does, the consequences could be huge. "As with Brexit, we believe that any Catalexit would plunge the region into a long period of uncertainty and would most probably be negative for the private sector," ING economist Geoffrey Minne writes in the note titled "Catalonia: the cost of being single." The movement for Catalan independence ...

The first is, of course, the infamous one the European Union wants the U.K. to pay to settle its financial accounts with the bloc. Newspaper reports at the weekend suggested Prime Minister Theresa May was set to approve paying as much as £50 billion ($68.5 million). Under that formula Britain would send to £17 billion a year to Brussels for three years after Brexit, ending payments ahead of the 2022 general election, the Sunday Times said. That kind of amount may help break the deadlock between the two sides and pave the way to a trade deal, but Brexit Secretary David Davis called the report “nonsense” and “completely wrong.” The British are seeking a faster pace of talks over the coming months in order to make a deal. Davis accused the EU of trying to “play time against money” and told the BBC’s Andrew Marr on Sunday that its pressure tactics “looked a bit silly.” Speaking in Washington on Friday, he hinted at the idea of linking the divorce bill to securing a transiti...