BoE eyes negative rates

‘Senate passes bill to delist Chinese companies from exchanges'. Last night, tension grew between the US and China after the Senate approved legislation that could ban Chinese companies from being listed on US stock exchanges. The bill requires companies to verify a foreign government does not control them. The move comes after US lawmakers expressed concern that billions of Dollars were flowing into Chinese tech giants who are on the leading edge of artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and internet data collection. (Bloomberg)
‘BoE says negative interest rates are "under review" for first time’. For the first time in its 300-year history, the Bank of England is reviewing negative interest rates as a policy tool to combat the current economic crisis. The policy may not be implemented for months as the bank wants to assess the impact of recent interest rate cuts while ‘looking very carefully at the experience of… Other central banks that have used negative interest rates.’ Bond markets may already be expecting the policy after rates in a gilt auction yesterday fell below zero for the first time. (Financial Times)

This week’s risk rally is covered in clouds after tensions between the US and China grew. US and European futures slid as the US Dollar advanced alongside Treasuries. Oil prices extended gains.

European PMIs are widely expected to rebound off April lows, but are likely to stay in deep contractionary territory.

US Jobless Claims is forecast to show another 2.4 million people are unemployed, bringing the total close to 25 million.

Fed members, including Chair Jerome Powell, will be speaking this evening.

GBP/USD: 1.2200
GBP/EUR: 1.1125
EUR/USD: 1.0965