Theresa May will not change course. Yesterday, the amendment on renegotiating the backstop' with the EU was adopted by the British MEPs. But critics say this will accelerate Britain’s course towards a no-deal Brexit, since the EU has repeatedly said that it would not renegotiate the backstop. European Council President Donald Tusk said via his spokesman that “the Withdrawal Agreement is and remains the best and only way to ensure an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The backstop is part of the Withdrawal Agreement, and the Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation.” He urged the UK government to clarify its intentions with respect to its next steps as soon as possible.
Fed speech. The Federal Reserve will meet later today and a speech by Jerome Powell will follow. It is expected to remain cautious and be patient about the rise in its rates. Trade negotiations with China today, the recent end of the shutdown, increased volatility, weakened global growth prospects and moderate inflation in the United States are all factors of uncertainty. Investors will focus more on issues related to the normalization of the Bank's balance sheet, which for the time being is reducing its investments in government bonds at a rate of $50 billion per month.
Sino-American trade talks resume. While the context is tense between the two world economic powers (including the Huawei affair), Liu He, China's Vice Prime Minister and chief trade negotiator, has arrived in Washington. He is scheduled to meet Steve Mnuchin and Robert Lighthizer first, before meeting with Donald Trump tomorrow. In parallel with this meeting, a Chinese state agency revealed yesterday that the Middle Kingdom was considering relaxing foreign investment regulations so as to no longer restrict foreign companies' access to the local market. This law, if validated by the government, would sound like a victory for the United States, which has long been calling for better access to Chinese markets.
In other news. After a decade of crisis, Greece raised 2.5 billion in 5 years at 3.60%, proving its ability to refinance itself on the markets and improving its economy. France, for its part, borrowed €5.132 billion in the short term. The European Union has agreed to import American soya for biofuel production in order to continue its efforts in its trade truce with the Americans. The United States has given control of Venezuela's bank accounts "with the Federal Reserve of New York or any other American bank" to Juan Guaido, Venezuela's self-proclaimed president.
