Brexit - Qué nos espera?

Not so fast. That’s the message from trade analysts and business leaders after President Donald Trump last week pledged U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May that she could secure a trade deal with the U.S. “very, very quickly.” As Jill Ward and Charlotte Ryan report on Tuesday,  America boasts more leverage and negotiating know-how  than Britain, meaning the smaller economy may have to give ground in areas such as financial regulation and food standards to land the pact May wants to prove Brexit was worth it. “The U.K. must be absolutely desperate to demonstrate that it’s able to get something from the United States,” said Peter Holmes, an economist at the Trade Policy Observatory. “The U.S. will make demands that even a desperate British government won’t be able to accede to.” Before talks have even started, the first disagreement has emerged: both sides claim to export more than they import from the other. Britain’s statistics office estimates a surplus ...

A year to the week since she became prime minister, Theresa May is  asking opposition lawmakers  to help her steer Britain out of the European Union. As she tries to relaunch her troubled premiership, and as she prepares to publish legislation to shift EU laws on to the British statute, May will on Tuesday suggest rival parties “come forward with your own views and ideas” on delivering Brexit and improving Britain’s economy. She needs all the assistance she can get. Weekend newspapers once again contained  reports  of Conservative Party colleagues talking of the need to replace her in the wake of last month’s botched election. Opposition parties are also preparing to join forces with rebel Tories to hamper the progress of the government’s Repeal Bill, which is due to be published this week. It would reverse the European Communities Act of 1972, which gave effect to EU law in the U.K., and graft EU statutes into British law, giving ministers sweepin...

It’s the  hottest ticket in town  for Britain’s business titans. Bankers including Jes Staley of Barclays and HSBC’s Douglas Flint, retailers such as Tesco’s David Lewis as well as Carolyn McCall of easyJet and Gavin Patterson of BT will on Friday head for talks with Brexit Secretary David Davis at his country retreat south of London. The full guest list is here . The day-long discussions on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union mark the U.K. government’s biggest outreach to companies and will fan speculation that Prime Minister Theresa May’s team is now more interested in designing an economy-friendly Brexit than it was before June’s election. “There has been a pent-up demand from business leaders for dialogue, which the government is now wisely correcting,” said Scott Colvin, head of public affairs at communications firm Finsbury, which represents a quarter of FTSE 100 companies. “After a year in the wilderness business leaders are now hopeful of gettin...

Banks are back in the Brexit spotlight. In a blow to the U.K., Deutsche Bank is  preparing to move  large parts of the trading and investment-banking assets it currently books in London to its hometown of Frankfurt, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. Germany’s largest lender would relocate most of the business reported in London to a so-called booking center in Frankfurt under the plan, said the people. The strategy, which is still being finalized and would be reviewed if the Brexit scenario changes, will probably be implemented over the next 18 months, the people said. “It’s another milestone in what we call the Brexodus,” said Gildas Surry of Axiom Alternative Investments, whose holdings include Deutsche’s bonds and shares. “Every single continental European bank is working on plans to repatriate their trading and plumbing in their home cities.” How to limit such shifts will be a key topic at Thursday’s annual meeting of TheCityUK, whos...

The snap assumption made in the wake of last month’s U.K. election was that Britain would readjust its sights and target a soft Brexit. The resurgence of Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition Labour Party and the need for Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives to unite with the Democratic Unionist Party were two reasons given for that rethink. The U.K. may still end up with a more economy-friendly Brexit, but two reports from  Bloomberg  on Wednesday show that’s not necessarily a sure thing. First, Thomas Penny and Alex Morales outline how  Corbyn is still committed to withdrawing the U.K. from the single market  despite having drawn support from pro-European young Britons. The reason is that the 40 percent of the votes Labour attracted in June came from both pro-remain London and leave-voting northeast England. Taking one side risks alienating the other as Corbyn starts to plot a path to power. “He’s ambiguous, he’s not an enthusiast for the EU and neve...