Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:
  • What Does the U.K. Snap Election Mean for Brexit? (video) Prime Minister Theresa May’s call for a June 8 election reverses her opposition to an early vote. The last election in 2015 took place a year before the U.K. voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. As May prepares for two years of Brexit talks, her Conservative Party enjoys the widest public-opinion margin in three decades over the main opposition Labour Party. That gives her a chance to cement her position and widen her majority.
  • Chinese Stocks Are Unnerving Investors Again as Losses Steepen. The stability in China’s stock market this year is showing signs of cracking. In just three days the Shanghai Composite Index has fallen 2.4 percent, the steepest such decline since mid-December. The psychologically key 3,200 level has been breached for the first time in two months, while a measure of volatility is climbing.
  • European Stocks Slide With FTSE 100 as May Calls for Election. (video) U.K. equities tumbled after Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap election, with European stocks in a broad decline as markets reopened after the Easter holiday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index plunged 1.1 percent at the close. All but one industry group fell, with miners leading declines as iron-ore prices tumbled. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 Index tumbled 2.5 percent in its biggest drop since the aftermath of the Brexit vote as the pound rose after May called for a general election in June.
  • IMF Raises Global Forecast While Warning of Protectionism Threat. (video) The emergence of protectionist forces could undermine a modest brightening of the global growth outlook and is putting severe strain on the post-World War II economic order, the International Monetary Fund said. The IMF raised its forecast for global growth to 3.5 percent this year, up 0.1 percentage point from January, the Washington-based fund said in the latest update to its World Economic Outlook. Expansion will pick up to 3.6 percent in 2018, unchanged from the projection three months ago. The upgrade offers a glimmer of optimism following a trend in recent years of the fund downgrading its growth forecasts.
Wall Street Journal:

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