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Eurozone GDP posts Highest-Ever Quarterly Rise – Top 10 Global News

1. U.S. Stocks Slump After Tech Earnings Underwhelm

U.S. stocks slumped after earnings from the biggest tech companies disappointed investors concerned a slowing economy will damp profit. The Nasdaq 100 led losses among major U.S. stock gauges. In Europe, equities were mixed. Tech stocks also faltered. The tech slump, coming after an unprecedented run higher this year, is adding to volatility that’s likely to remain elevated heading into next week’s U.S. election. Global equities are on course for the worst weekly decline since March as lockdown measures in some countries and the lack of an agreement on U.S. stimulus dent sentiment.

The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.7% as of early morning New York time.

The Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 1.4%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 1.5%.

2. Eurozone GDP up 12.7% in Q3, biggest-ever quarterly rise

Eurozone output soared by 12.7% in the third quarter, its sharpest recorded increase, as the bloc bounced back from the depths of the coronavirus lockdown, the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat said Friday. But, despite the rebound, total gross domestic product in the 19-country zone is still 4.3% down on the third quarter of 2019, while unemployment numbers for September and the inflation estimate for October remained flat.

3. U.S. Tech Giants – Apple, Facebook, Amazon – beat expectations

Apple beats expectations, but shares slip after the company reported iPhone sales that missed Wall Street estimates and a slump in revenue from China. Sales of Macs and Services reached all-time highs in this quarter. 

Facebook beats revenue estimates by $1.6bn. Facebook’s monthly active users rose to 2.74 billion, but the company warned of a tougher 2021.
Amazon.com on Thursday reported record profits for the second quarter in a row and forecast a jump in holiday sales, as consumers continued to shop more online during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

4. Hong Kong Economy Shows First Signs of Revival Since Protests Began

Hong Kong’s economy showed the first signs of emerging from a crippling recession sparked by political unrest last year and deepened by the global pandemic. GDP declined 3.4% in the third quarter from a year earlier, which was better than the median estimate of a 5.6% contraction. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP rose 3%. This marks the first time the quarter-on-quarter measure has risen since before the start of anti-government protests last year, as a third wave of virus infections subsided last month.

5. Singapore Overtakes Thailand to Become Asia’s Worst Stock Market

Singapore stocks took a beating this week amid the twin uncertainties of the U.S. election and the worsening pandemic in the West, overtaking Thailand to become Asia’s worst equity market this year, taking the 2020 decline so far to 25%, compared with a fractionally smaller loss for Thailand’s SET index. The city-state’s index, which relies heavily on exports, is down about 4.3% this week, among Asia’s worst performances. A recovery in the Southeast Asian nation’s stocks from the market plunge triggered by the pandemic has been hampered by the economy’s integration with global trade and supply chains, and a lack of technology shares in the index. More than 80% of Singapore’s benchmark is made up of cyclical equities — the most among regional peers.

6. German economy will shrink 5.5% this year

Europe’s largest economy will likely shrink by 5.5% this year, the German Economy Ministry said on Friday, before expanding by 4.4% in 2021. The German economy has taken a thrashing from the coronavirus pandemic this year and a circuit-breaker lockdown is due to come into effect nationwide on Monday in a bid to curb a surge in infections. The ministry’s new 2020 forecast would still mean Germany is in one of the worst recessions of the post-World War Two era this year but means it is not faring as badly as during the 2009 global financial crisis.

7. U.K. Accelerates Reviews of Pfizer and Astra-Oxford Vaccines

The U.K.’s drug regulator has started accelerated reviews of Covid-19 vaccines under development from Pfizer and AstraZeneca as Britain gets ready to approve the first successful shot as quickly as possible. The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency started a so-called rolling review of the Pfizer vaccine in recent weeks. The agency is also conducting an expedited review of Astra’s vaccine, which the company is co-developing with the University of Oxford. Rolling reviews allow regulators to see clinical data in real time and have discussions with companies about ongoing trials and manufacturing processes so that approvals can be granted more quickly.

8. Exxon Mobil to lay off 1,900 US employees

Exxon Mobil Corp said on Thursday it will lay off about 1,900 employees in the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic batters energy demand and prices. Exxon was once the largest US publicly-traded company but has been cutting costs due to a collapse in oil demand and ill-timed bets on new oil-fields and expansions. It has promised to shed more than $10bn this year in project spending and cut operating expenses by 15%. The company lost nearly $1.7bn in the first six months of the year and is expected to post another quarterly loss on Friday. Exxon said the job cuts, part of a global reorganisation, will come mainly from its Houston, Texas office and will include voluntary and involuntary cuts.

9. Air France-KLM warns of bigger losses amid lockdowns

Air France-KLM unveiled a $1.24 billion (INR 9200 cr) quarterly operating loss and warned of worse to come as a resurgent coronavirus brings new travel curbs. The Franco-Dutch airline group reported a 67% drop in Q3 revenue, as France returned to full lockdown for at least a month. New COVID-19 outbreaks pose a threat to network airlines already weakened by the crisis and long-haul travel collapse. 

10. Japan Airlines forecasts over $2.3 billion annual net loss as pandemic grounds air travel

Japan Airlines said it had forecast an annual net loss of more than $2.3 billion (INR 17,100 cr) after the coronavirus pandemic grounded air travel around the world. The air carrier is Japan’s second-largest by market share. It did not issue annual forecasts when it published first-quarter earnings in August, citing deep uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. The company reported a 74% reduction in sales and plans to slash 3,500 jobs through a hiring freeze, while also deciding to stop hiring for next year.

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Bloodbath in Global Markets – Top10 Global News

1. S&P 500 Drops 2%, Europe Sinks to Five-Month Low

U.S. stocks dropped and European equities tumbled to a five-month low as rising coronavirus infections and tougher lockdowns added to worries about the economic hit from the pandemic.

The S&P 500 Index fell about 2% as earnings rolled in amid a surge in Covid-19 hospitalizations, especially in the Midwest. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank as much as 3% after German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed closing bars and restaurants for a month to curb the spread of the virus. Auto and real-estate shares saw the steepest declines. The VIX Index, a measure of U.S. equity volatility, climbed to the highest level since June.

The S&P 500 Index dropped 2% as of early morning New York time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 2.9%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3%.

2. Europe fixates on tougher virus control measures

Losses accelerated across European stock markets on Wednesday, with the benchmark STOXX 600 tumbling to its lowest level since late May on fears of a new national lockdown in France and tighter curbs elsewhere to combat a surge in coronavirus cases. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 2.9%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 plunged 3.3% and UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 2.2%. The French government has been exploring a new, national lockdown from midnight on Thursday, albeit a slightly more flexible one than the two-month shutdown that began in mid-March. President Emmanuel Macron will give a televised address later on Wednesday, his office said. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to close all restaurants and bars from November 4, while the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to implement a new lockdown.

3. Boeing to Cut 7,000 More Jobs in Airline Market’s ‘New Reality’

Boeing is deepening job cuts as a global pandemic and prolonged grounding of the 737 Max jetliner squeeze the planemaker’s finances. An additional 7,000 jobs are slated for elimination by the end of next year, bringing the total workforce reduction made through retirements, attrition and layoffs to 30,000 people, Boeing said in an email Wednesday after reporting earnings. The company had 160,000 employees at the start of the year before the coronavirus pandemic gutted air travel and airplane sales.

4. Hedge Funds That Planned for U.S. Election Chaos See a Blue Wave

For hedge fund managers, preparations for chaos in the U.S. elections are giving way to strategies to capitalize on a sweeping Democratic victory. Just six days away from final voting, several top funds see former Vice President Joe Biden winning the presidency as well as the possibility of a so-called blue wave in which Republicans also lose control of the Senate. Asset managers UBS O’Connor, Harvest Volatility Management and MKP Capital Management — with a total of more than $12 billion in assets — say the odds are that President Donald Trump will be unseated, and they have embraced an array of strategies from buying value stocks to betting on commodities to cash in on the outcome.

5. Saudi Arabia Plans to End ‘Kafala’ Labor System

Saudi Arabia is set to announce major labor reforms that could effectively end its controversial “kafala” system for foreign workers, a news outlet close to the government reported. Foreign employees will no longer require their work sponsor’s permission to change jobs, travel abroad or leave the country permanently. The new rules are scheduled to be unveiled as early as next week and will come into effect from the first half of 2021. In response to the report, the kingdom’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said it was “working on a number of initiatives to organize and develop the labor market, and will announce them when they’re ready.” The ministry is set to hold a press conference next week to outline reforms to “increase the competitiveness, attractiveness, and flexibility of the Saudi labor market in accordance with international standards”.

6. Facebook, Twitter, Google CEOs will defend law protecting tech platforms before U.S. Senate panel

The chief executives of three large tech companies will defend a law protecting internet companies before a Senate panel on Wednesday – a topic that has split U.S. lawmakers on ways to hold Big Tech accountable for how they moderate content on their platforms. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Google’s Sundar Pichai will tell the committee chaired by Republican Senator Roger Wicker that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act – which protects companies from liability over content posted by users – is crucial to free expression on the internet.

7. Countries with low GDP, poor sanitation had lower COVID-19 death rate

Countries with poor hygiene and sanitation and low quality of water supply seem to have had lower COVID-19 Fatality Rates (CFR) compared to richer countries which do well on these parameters, Indian researchers have found. But they also cautioned that it does not mean that poor hygienic conditions are desirable. Rather, the findings can lead to exploration of “immune training with possibilities of microbiome therapies”, said Dr Shekhar Mande, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

8. Rich nations try to take the reins at OECD, the world’s globalisation clubhouse

The OECD acts like an auditor for globalization, shaping policies and setting standards in areas from taxation to trade and education. It’s currently running contentious negotiations over digital taxes that are on the brink of imploding into a transatlantic trade war. Angel Gurria retires next year as Secretary General of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the U.S. is proposing President Donald Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Christopher Liddell, as a successor. Member countries have until Nov. 1 deadline to put forward a candidate. Liddell faces competition from European candidates on the other side of that issue, including former EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom. The race to fill a role at the heart of world economic policy making is turning into a new battleground for the future of globalization.

9. WTO set to make recommendation on their next leader

A group of World Trade Organization ambassadors is set to make a recommendation on Wednesday on who should lead the Geneva-based trade body. Nigerian former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee are the two remaining candidates to succeed Roberto Azevedo, who stepped down at the end of August. The winner will become the first woman to head the global watchdog in its 25-year history.

10. UK: young, non-white people likelier to lose jobs

Twice as many young and non-white British workers have lost their jobs after going on leave of absence compared with the average, largely because they are more likely to work in sectors hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, a study showed. The Resolution Foundation think-tank said 19 percent of workers aged 18-24 and 22 percent of ethnic minority staff had lost their jobs, compared with 9 percent of employees overall. Job losses were most common in the hospitality and leisure sectors and for those whose work was already insecure before the crisis – categories in which younger and non-white workers more commonly find themselves in the United Kingdom.

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No U.S. stimulus package before elections – Top10 Global News

1. Tech Shares Gain After Chipmaker M&A: Global Markets Update

Tech shares rose after Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced a $35 billion takeover of another chipmaker Xilinx, helping to blunt concern about the impact of growing coronavirus infections. Losses for shares in energy and financial companies were a drag on the S&P 500 as it struggled to bounce back from its worst loss in a month yesterday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index headed toward its lowest close since June amid concern about the faster spread of the coronavirus on the continent.

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1% as of early morning New York time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.5%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.

2. U.S. Stimulus Hope On Hold: Senate Leaves for pre-election break

U.S. senators departed the Capitol for a pre-election break Monday, making the logistics for passing a fiscal stimulus package by next Tuesday practically impossible, leaving the economy more vulnerable to damage from a resurgent coronavirus pandemic. The Senate’s departure after the confirmation vote for Amy Coney Barrett to join the Supreme Court left House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to continue negotiating over the stimulus package. After their latest call on Monday, agreement remains pending on both the amount and language of the bill. 

3. Germany Plans Restrictions as Italy Boosts Aid

Germany is looking at closing restaurants and prohibiting large events as governments across Europe seek to tackle rising infections and fatalities while avoiding full-scale lockdowns. Italy, the continent’s original epicenter of the pandemic, is coming up with more aid for businesses hardest hit by restrictions. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces growing discontentment within his party over lockdown measures imposed on northern regions. Many countries in Eastern Europe reported fresh daily records for cases and deaths. Hong Kong, meanwhile, will ease some social distancing rules and announced plans for mandatory testing of specific groups. India’s daily infections fell below 40,000 for the first time in more than three months.

4. Dubai to launch ‘Nasdaq’ market for emerging firms & SMEs

Dubai plans to launch a “Nasdaq Dubai Growth Market” to help emerging companies, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) attract investors and finance their projects, crown prince of the emirate, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al- Maktoum, said on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Dubai Growth Market will allow SMEs to list if they are valued below $250 million, with a minimum operating history of one year, compared to three years for Nasdaq Dubai’s main market. Nasdaq Dubai is collaborating with government bodies, UAE free zones and expert advisory companies as partners to launch the growth market in early 2021.

5. ADNOC seeks Indian partners for $45 bn petro-chem expansion plans

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), UAE’s biggest energy producer, is seeking Indian companies for partnership in its ambitious $45 billion (INR 3.3 lakh cr) downstream petrochemical expansion plans. ADNOC CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, during a virtual session Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with global energy chief executives on Monday evening, sought opportunities to strengthen the UAE-India energy relationships. Speaking at the roundtable, Al Jaber said India has always been and will always remain one of the UAE’s closest friends and one of its most important trading partners.

6. Global foreign direct investment halved in first six months of 2020

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) plunged by 49% in the first half of 2020 from the same period a year ago and is on course to fall by up to 40% for the year, driven by fears of a deep recession. FDI flows to European economies turned negative for the first time ever, falling to -$7 billion from $202 billion, while flows to the United States fell by 61% to $51 billion, the U.N. Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report. Global FDI fell as multinationals postponed investments to preserve cash.

7. Russia Begins Producing Second Covid-19 Vaccine as Cases Spike

Russia has begun production of a second Covid-19 vaccine that hasn’t completed trials as the Kremlin rushes to develop a shield against the pandemic. Output of the vaccine, developed by former biological weapons lab Vector State Virology and Biotechnology Center in Novosibirsk, will ramp up by the end of the year. President Vladimir Putin announced the approval of Vector’s vaccine earlier this month, following a similar trajectory of the Sputnik V inoculation in August, which he claimed was the first to be registered in the world. Both were tested on a limited number of people before receiving provisional registration that will allow for widespread use as they undergo Phase 3 trials to prove they are safe and effective.

8. Pfizer not yet ready to release COVID-19 vaccine data from late-stage trial

Pfizer said on Tuesday it was not yet ready to release data from the late-stage trial of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate it is developing with Germany’s BioNTech. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla has said the company could release data on whether or not the vaccine works as early as this month, but the company said in a presentation that the independent data monitoring board which will determine whether or not the trial has been successful has not conducted any interim efficacy analyses yet. This is a prime vaccine candidate touted by President Trump to be ready by November.

9. China Ramps Up Imports From U.S. as Trade Deal Target Looms

China ramped up purchases of American goods in September as its economy strengthened, though it still remains far from the full-year target set out under its Phase One trade deal with the U.S. The monthly value of U.S. goods that China bought under the trade agreement reached a monthly record high of $9.9 billion in September as oil, soybean and car imports surged. That still leaves China’s purchases at only 38.5% of a total target of more than $170 billion for the year. Under the agreement signed in January, China promised to buy an additional $200 billion of U.S. goods and services over the 2017 level by the end of 2021. The coronavirus pandemic upended some of those plans as demand crashed in the first quarter, but China’s recovery since then is gaining momentum, with imports gradually accelerating.

10. Rolls-Royce Gets Investor Approval for $2.6 Billion Equity Sale

Rolls-Royce shareholders backed a $2.6 billion equity raise, a key step toward shoring up the British jet engine maker’s finances to outlast the Covid-19 pandemic. Investors voted 99.5% in favour of the rights issue.  Rolls-Royce’s engine business has been dealt a heavy blow by the coronavirus, with both unit sales and maintenance revenue hurt by a mass grounding of widebody aeroplanes. The company announced a 5 billion-pound refinancing plan at the start of this month, funded through a combination of debt issuance, a rights offer and loans, and now has no pressing need to extend borrowings guaranteed by the U.K. government.

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Jack Ma to become 11th Richest Man after Ant IPO – Top10 Global News

1. Stocks Slump on Rising Covid Cases; Dollar Gains

U.S. equities slumped along with European shares on concern that rising coronavirus cases will weaken the global economy and as prospects dimmed for fiscal aid from Washington before the presidential election. Energy and materials companies were among the worst performers on the S&P 500 Index. In Europe, a gauge of tech stocks fell the most since March after German software maker SAP SE plunged 20% following a cut to its revenue forecast and warnings that the pandemic will hurt business through mid-2021. Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp. slid on China’s plan to sanction the companies after the U.S. approved $1.8 billion in arms sales to Taiwan last week.

The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.9% as of early morning New York time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.1%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 0.3%.

2. China to Sanction Boeing, Raytheon Over U.S. Arms Sales to Taiwan

China will impose unspecified sanctions on Boeing Co.’s defense unit, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp. after the U.S. State Department approved $1.8 billion in arms sales to Taiwan last week. The sanctions will be imposed “in order to uphold national interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters Monday in Beijing. The action follows the U.S. State Department’s approval last week of $1.8 billion in sales of new weapons for Taiwan and submission of the package to Congress for a final review. The deals, and an earlier one involving Lockheed F-16 fighters, are taking place amid rising tension between the superpowers ahead of the U.S. election next week. 

3. Pelosi Awaits Virus Stimulus Offer Today as Hope for Vote Fades

The three months of squabbling over a new round of virus relief moved no closer to a resolution over the weekend, all but extinguishing the prospects of a stimulus bill being written, voted on, and signed into law by President Donald Trump before the election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she’s waiting for another counter-offer on Monday from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, as she and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows accused each other of “moving the goalposts” in negotiations. Much of the weekend was devoted to work by congressional committees with the goal of writing legislation, but aides in both parties said little progress was made despite the pledges from both sides that they want to quickly deliver $1,200 (89,000 INR) stimulus payments to most Americans along with aid to struggling businesses.

4. Europe Struggles to Regain Control from Second Covid-19 Wave

Europe took a step closer to the strict rules imposed during the initial wave of the pandemic, with leaders struggling to regain control of the spread while confronting growing opposition to restrictions. The Czech Republic — the European Union’s worst hot spot — and Poland signaled more curbs may be near, and Belgium is mulling a lockdown. AstraZeneca said its vaccine candidate produced a robust immune response in elderly people, while Johnson & Johnson said the first batches of its shot could be available in January. Both companies are resuming trials that had been paused due to safety concerns. U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said his “central expectation” is there will be a vaccine to roll out in the first half of 2021. The World Health Organization’s director general said some countries in the northern hemisphere are facing a “dangerous moment.”

5. Dubai announces $136 million extra stimulus package

Dubai has announced a new 500 million dirhams (INR 1000 cr) stimulus package to support the local economy, taking Dubai’s total stimulus measures this year to 6.8 billion dirhams, the crown prince of the emirate said on Twitter on Saturday. “The private sector is a major partner in Dubai’s development process, and we have adopted a set of new exemptions for some fees and a reduction in rents for some sectors, as well as an extension of the validity of a previous set of exemptions from fees,” said Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum.

6. U.S. appeals WTO ruling on its multi-billion tariffs on China

The United States lodged an appeal on Monday against a WTO ruling last month that found U.S. tariffs imposed on China in 2018 breached global trade rules, a World Trade Organization (WTO) official said. A three-person panel had ruled that U.S. had not justified why the tariffs imposed after a Section 301 investigation against China were a justifiable exception to its obligations. The U.S. delegation, in a speech seen by Reuters announcing its appeal, said that the panel report “reflects a major, missed opportunity for the WTO to begin to address the most serious problem faced by every member that seeks a balanced and fair world trading system: namely, aggressive, state policies that seek to dominate broad industrial sectors.”

7. Fiat, PSA to win EU approval for $38 billion merger

Fiat Chrysler and PSA are set to win EU approval for their $38 billion (INR 2.8 lakh cr) merger to create the world’s fourth-largest carmaker, as they strive to meet the industry’s dual challenges of funding cleaner vehicles and the global pandemic. The green light from the European Commission would formalise the creation of Stellantis, a carmaking group that could tap hefty profits from selling RAM pickup trucks and Jeep SUVs to U.S. drivers to fund the expensive development of zero-emission vehicles for sale in Europe and China. The all-share merger announced late last year would unite brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Maserati with the likes of Peugeot, Opel and DS.

8. Bond Defaults Deliver 99% Losses in New Era of U.S. Bankruptcies

Bankruptcy filings are surging due to the economic fallout of Covid-19, and many lenders are coming to the realization that their claims are almost completely worthless. While few could have foreseen the pandemic’s toll on the economy, the depth of investors’ pain from corporate distress was all too predictable. Desperate to generate higher returns during a decade of rock-bottom interest rates, money managers bargained away legal protections, accepted ever-widening loopholes, and turned a blind eye to questionable earnings projections. Corporations, for their part, took full advantage and gorged on astronomical amounts of debt that many now cannot repay or refinance. It’s a stark reminder of the long-lasting repercussions of the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented easy-money policies. Ultralow rates helped risky companies sell bonds with fewer safeguards, which creditors seeking higher returns were happy to accept. Now, amid a new bout of economic pain, the effects of those policies are coming to bear.

9. Jack Ma Wealth Surges Above Walmart Heirs’ With Record Ant IPO

Jack Ma, the former English teacher who co-founded Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is poised to become the world’s 11th richest person after Ant Group Co. priced shares for a record IPO. Ma’s 8.8% stake is worth $27.4 billion based on the stock pricing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. That will take the 56-year-old’s fortune to $71.6 billion (INR 5.3 lakh cr) on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, exceeding that of Oracle’s Larry Ellison, L’Oreal’s heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and individual members of the Waltons, whose family own Walmart Inc. Ant’s mammoth listing is poised to boost the fortunes of a group of early investors and employees. The company has granted staff share-based awards since 2014 and at least 18 other people have become billionaires from the IPO.

10. Brexit decision entirely separate from U.S. election outcome

Britain’s decision on whether to agree a Brexit deal with the European Union is entirely separate to the outcome of the U.S. election next month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.

“The two things are entirely separate,” Johnson said, when asked about an Observer newspaper report that he was waiting to see the U.S. result before making a Brexit decision, and whether he was concerned about the prospect of a Joe Biden presidency.