Today's news headlines: 

‘Macron weighs economics versus politics in French reopening’. As France begins to emerge from their most recent lockdown with restaurants and bars opening last week, President Macron faces the next big challenge of kickstarting the economy. Pandemic emergency funds have started to be scaled back in the country with many emphasising the need for more support as the businesses reopen and the target of reaching 2019 growth levels looms. Many have urged for more support for low-income families, such as the fiscal support provided by Joe Biden in the US, insisting that if more help isn’t provided then the country will be facing low growth for a longer period than is necessary. (Financial Times)

‘Cummings testimony set to embarrass PM on Covid policy’. Former chief adviser Dominic Cummings is expected to give a damning testimony about the missteps taken by the government which could have potentially cost lives during the pandemic. In a slew of online tweets, Cummings has been critical of the government’s policies, such as the slow implementation of lockdown and not closing borders. The inquiry is expected to start in spring 2022 and will focus on other areas such as the handling of the vaccine rollout and also the transition period out of the most recent lockdown. (Financial Times)

Today's events, rates, and data 

• Markets had a relatively quiet finish to last week with the FTSE 100 closing 0.02% lower on Friday. Cable continues to find solid ground around $1.4150 while EUR/USD has retreated slightly below $1.22.

Today's events

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda Speaks: 1:05pm
FOMC Member Lael Brainard Speaks: 2:00pm
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Speaks: 3:30pm
FOMC Member Raphael Bostic Speaks: 5:00pm

Interbank rates

GBP/USD: 1.4152
GBP/EUR: 1.1616
EUR/USD: 1.2188
USD/CAD: 1.2064

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