Today’s news headlines:

‘Brexit trade talks buffeted by EU Covid relief state aid row’. Brexit negotiations have been further complicated, with the UK raising the argument that the exemption of the €750bn rescue package from the level playing field arithmetic was inappropriate and could create an unchallengeable avenue for distortion of state investment. While this sounds like a fair argument, the fact that it was raised at the last minute has created fear that this could derail an agreement. (Financial Times)

‘Push for US stimulus package hits late stumbling block’. As the deal for a $900bn fiscal stimulus package gets closer to completion, Republican Senators are trying to muddy the water by including provisions that would restrict the Federal Reserve’s access to emergency lending facilities. The Democratic Senator heading the bill, Mark Warner, commented that this would limit the Fed’s ability to fight the remainder of their Covid response and any future crises. (Financial Times)

Today's events, rates, and data 

• The Pound is on the back foot this morning after it touched highs in the last session. Meanwhile, the Dollar is up, as we see a slight risk off movement heading into the weekend. Economic data is thin today, so the focus remains on Brexit negotiations, with Sunday marked as the most recent deadline for this to wrap up, and stalling US stimulus talks. The thin trading week next week also suggests quite a few market players will be unwinding bets before the holiday period, though will want to see how the above two negotiations shake out over the weekend.

Today's events

NZ ANZ Business Confidence: 9.4 vs -6.9 last month
UK GfK Consumer Confidence: -26 vs -33 last month
EU German PPI m/m: 0.2% vs 0.1% last month
UK Retail Sales m/m: -3.8% vs 1.3% last month
EU German ifo Business Climate: 9:00am                      
UK CBI Industrial Orders Expectations: 11:00am
CA Retail Sales: 1:30pm

Interbank rates

GBP/USD: 1.3525
GBP/EUR: 1.1035
EUR/USD: 1.2250
USD/CAD: 1.2750

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