Sterling fell by a third of a percent on Wednesday as investors remained wary about the prospects of the British currency as Prime Minister Theresa May requests a short delay to Brexit after her failure to get a divorce deal ratified. Though markets have raised expectations that a delay was inevitable, a likely extension leaves the Brexit divorce uncertain, with options including leaving with May’s deal, a longer delay, a disruptive exit or even another referendum. The Britis

Welsh local authorities may have an opportunity to access Brexit funding for ports to level with English local authorities with major ports recently allocated a share of GB£3.14m to help prepare for 29 March and beyond, a Pembrokeshire County Council spokesperson has said. Following MP Stephen Crabb’s declaration last month that Pembrokeshire and other Welsh counties should be given the same funding for their ports as counties in England, Pembrokeshire County Council press an

The German economy stalled in the final quarter of last year, narrowly escaping recession, as the fallout from global trade disputes and Brexit threatened to derail a decade-long expansion in Europe’s economic powerhouse. Gross domestic product in Europe’s biggest economy was unchanged for the quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday. A Reuters poll had forecast growth of 0.1 percent. German companies are grappling with a cooling global economy and trade disput

Despite a torrid start to 2018 and with Brexit uncertainties looming large, British blue-chip stocks have jumped to record highs thanks to a weak pound, a torrent of mergers and acquisitions, and bouts of political anxiety in the euro zone. The benchmark FTSE 100 and mid cap 250 index both bounced back in May from lows hit in March, undaunted by two critical Brexit-related events – a vote on the European Union withdrawal bill in parliament next week and a summit of the bloc’s

The announcement of a covered agreement between Europe and the US to enhance international insurance and reinsurance regulation has been long anticipated. When the IUA first began actively advocating the case for mutual recognition between authorities on both sides of the Atlantic, Hilary Clinton was First Lady of the US and everyone was worrying about the millennium bug. Now, 20 years later the case is finally being recognised at the most senior levels of government. Before

The UK Chamber of Shipping has warned that Brexit would have a wide impact on European ports saying that “the dangers to major EU ports has been understated.” The Chamber informed that the return of border controls would lead to increased bureaucracy, “guaranteed” lorry gridlock and threats to the prosperity of both EU member states and the UK. “The EU sells GBP 240 billion of goods to the UK each year, most of which travels through ports. So the negative impact of a so-calle

European Union voters in France, Germany, Italy and Greece think their countries are heading in the wrong direction but there is not yet any Europe-wide inclination to follow Britain towards exiting the bloc, according to a poll published on Thursday. Britain’s shock June 23 Brexit vote, which was praised at the time by then U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump as a “miracle”, has raised questions about the future of post-World War Two attempts at European integration. Af

Shipping confidence, notably on the part of charterers and managers, improved for the second successive quarter in the three months to end-August 2016, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. In August 2016, the average confidence level expressed by respondents was 5.4 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high). This is an improvement on the 5.1 recorded in May 2016, and the highest rating for the past nine months of the

Keep calm and carry on. That very British of phrases was recently used several times in a IHS Maritime expert panel on the topic of Brexit and its effects on international trade and shipping. Brexit—the decision by Britons through popular vote to leave the European Union—was met with concern and disbelief by many observers around the world and had the effect of sending shockwaves through financial markets in the immediate aftermath. Most experts agree that the effects of the

Household confidence eased for a second week as Americans’ views of the economy deteriorated in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, according to the weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index released Thursday. - Consumer comfort index fell to 43.5 for the week ended July 3 from 43.9 - Sentiment on the economy retreated 2.2 points to 33.1, matching the largest drop in eight months - Personal finances gauge improved to 56.9 from 56.5 - Buying climate measure r