Also in the news...
UK seeks business views on response to US tariffs
Government begins process seeking business views on response to US tariffs
UK/Viet Nam: Free Trade Agreement
This treaty was presented to Parliament in April 2025.
How AI Is Fueling Creative Innovation for Startups Abroad
When most people think about starting a business overseas, their minds immediately jump to logistics: registering the company, navigating local laws, and finding office space. But one of the most exciting (and often overlooked) aspects of expanding internationally is tapping into the global pool of innovation especially in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI).
Support for UK businesses helping to rebuild Ukraine
Department for Business and Trade (DBT) initiatives to support UK businesses helping to rebuild critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
Now is the time to generate growth together with India
£400m of trade and investment wins from UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue set to boost the British economy.
Risk sentiment whipsaws on Trump/China rhetoric, Italy and Brexit
The pound got off to a good start yesterday morning as London traders reacted to the news that the EU had agreed to May’s Brexit proposal.
Global risk sentiment was generally positive too, supported in part by news that Italy was showing signs of making progress on its budget discussions with the EC, or at least becoming more conciliatory in its tone. European stocks made solid gains and Cable crept higher through the London morning and early New York session to trade to a high of 1.2860.
But that’s about all it could manage, before the pair ran into a wall of offers. It seems investors are very reluctant to bid the pound too high in advance of the vote in the House of Commons on 11th December (there were some reports yesterday that this would be on the 12th).
GBP/USD has lost even more ground early this morning, and has since fallen under the 1.28 figure. Trump saying that the deal “was great for the EU” hasn’t helped, and with a lack of any positive Brexit headlines since the EU Summit and growing doubts that Parliament will reject the deal, traders are obviously a little jittery. This may change, as we’re used to, and while Brexit headlines continue to drive direction, economic data is likely to be shrugged off in the meantime, at least in the run up to the Commons vote.