June 12, 2018, by Lorcan Roche Kelly
(Bloomberg)
Singapore success
President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un signed a declaration that North Korea would work toward “ complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” with Trump saying representatives from the two sides will hold further meetings as soon as next week. While the agreement signed by the leaders has no deadline for North Korea to give up its nuclear capability, the president said in a press conference that progress would be made quickly. For the moment, markets are taking a wait-and-see approach to the summit as investors look for concrete moves from either side.
Prices
Consumer Price Inflation data due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today is forecast to show an annual rise of 2.8 percent in the headline rate and 2.2 percent in core. There would probably have to be a major surprise in this data to derail expectations of an interest rate hike after the Federal Open Markets Committee two-day meeting which begins in Washington later. Speaking of policy makers, keep an eye on Argentina, where the central bank is due to make its rate decision with the peso remaining under severe selling pressure.
Brexit vote
British Prime Minister Theresa May faces the first of a series of votes in parliament today on the Brexit bill, with some members of her party holding out against her with only hours to go before the first tally. This morning, her Justice Minister Phillip Lee resigned his position to join rebels within her Conservative party. Voting begins at 10:00 a.m., with the main amendment today one which would give parliament a “meaningful vote” on any deal the prime minister agrees with Brussels.
Markets quiet
Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1 percent, while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.3 percent higher with the yen extending losses as haven demand waned. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.1 percent lower at 5:45 a.m. as investors ignored the political noise and turned their attention to the Fed and European Central Bank decisions later this week. S&P 500 futures pointed to a small loss at the open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 2.957 percent and gold was slightly lower.
Big deal
AT&T Inc. will find out today if their long-delayed $85 billion deal to acquire Time Warner Inc. will be allowed to go ahead when District Judge Richard Leon rules on the Justice Department’s lawsuit to block the takeover. Should the judge reject the government’s case, then the merger would be allowed to go ahead in six days, according to court documents.
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