The chances last week of a deal
On Brexit quite clearly seemed real
But Saturday showed
T’is still a long road
Ere both sides, their bad feelings, heal

Meanwhile there’s another concern
In Europe, while Italians spurn
Demands to be sparing
And start in repairing
A fiscal house ready to burn

Thus far today, the evidence is mixed as to whether the equity market rout cum risk-off scenario is truly over, or simply took a breather on Friday. The rebound in stock markets around the world on Friday was met with a collective sigh of relief, but the overnight session saw APAC markets give up almost all of that ground with most closing down between 1.5%-2.0%. Europe opened lower as well although has since traded back to flat as traders everywhere wait for the US session to begin. Currently, futures are pointing lower by 0.4%, but there is a long time between now and the open, so sentiment may shift yet again before then. The key question is will investors, who have not seen a substantial correction in US equity markets in more than nine years, see this as the beginning of the end? Or as a chance to buy the dip? At this point, we can only wait and watch.

In the meantime, there are several stories that are important, but whose market impact has been diluted by the broad risk theme that has exerted itself in the past week. The first is about Brexit, where last week it seemed that a deal would be announced at the EU Summit to be held this Wednesday in Brussels. Alas, over the weekend, intense negotiations broke down and no further ones are slated ahead of that meeting. It seems that the Irish border issue remains intractable for now, as Ireland’s demand of no hard customs border with Northern Ireland cannot fit within the EU framework unless Northern Ireland is essentially separated from England. And neither side has been willing to cave on the issue, which, after all, is entirely about national sovereignty where fudging is far more difficult. Surprisingly, despite this setback, the pound is actually slightly higher on the day, having rallied 0.15%, although the euro has rallied double that. So EURGBP is stronger as the market continues to believe that the UK will be impacted more negatively than the EU in the event of a no-deal outcome.

Keep in mind, though, that both the Germans and Dutch have lately figured out that the UK is one of their top export markets for autos, chemicals and agriculture, and that the direct impact to those two nations is likely to be significantly greater than to most of the rest of the bloc. The point is that if there is no deal, the euro, which has gained some 12% vs. the pound since the initial Brexit vote in 2016, may find itself under more pressure than currently anticipated. In any event, it is hard to get excited about either currency in the short term.

Adding to the euro’s woes is the Italian budget situation, where the government in Rome will submit its budget proposals today. There has been no change to their recent estimates of a 2.4% deficit for next year, and that is based on what are seen as overly optimistic GDP growth forecasts, which means the actual number is likely to be much higher. There is also no indication that either 5-Star or the League are about to sacrifice their hard earned political capital and cave in to the EU’s demands.

You may recall that in Greece, when this situation played out, newly elected PM Alexis Tsipris sounded full of fury when telling his people they would never give in. You may also recall that he caved within a week of the first meeting. The difference this time is that, as the third largest economy in the EU, Italy actually matters to the entire structure there. With that in mind, my forecast is for some mollifying words on both sides but for the Italians to get their way, or at least most of it. While this may be a short-term euro positive, I think it actually undermines the long-term prospects for the currency.

Beyond these two headline stories we continue to hear about the US-China trade situation, which has not improved one iota since last week. Much concern was expressed at the IMF meetings over the weekend, but this is entirely being controlled by President Trump, and will almost certainly continue until at least the mid-term elections are past. At that point, it would not be surprising to see a softening of rhetoric and a deal finally agreed. But while that may make sense, it is by no means certain. In the meantime, the renminbi continues to trade toward the lower end of its recent range although there has been no indication that the PBOC is going to let it slide much further.

And those are the main stories for the session, which quite frankly remains far more focused on the equity markets than the dollar. Data this week brings the latest reading of Retail Sales and a few other things as well:

Interestingly, I don’t think the Minutes will matter that much as we have heard extensively from so many Fed members explaining their views. Rather, today’s Retail Sales is likely to be the most important number of the week, as it could be the first sign the tariffs are having an impact.

In the end, all eyes remain focused on the equity and bond markets (which have been little changed overnight with 10-year yields up just 1bp to 3.15%), and I think the dollar remains secondary for now. But right now it seems risk-off is a dollar negative, so if equities fall, don’t be surprised to see the dollar fall too.

Good luck
Adf