Next week when the former PM
Steps down be prepared for mayhem
Both Johnson and Hunt
Are willing to punt
May’s deal, which they’re quick to condemn

Remember, back in the day, when I suggested that the probability of a hard Brexit was much higher than the market was assuming? In fact, I have been highlighting this fact pretty consistently since, at least, January heading up to the original deadline. Well, now, it appears that the market is figuring out that the probability of a hard Brexit is higher than they previously assumed. Last night, in a debate between the two candidates for PM, front-runner Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, both were clear that the Irish backstop was dead in the water, and both were clear that they would be willing to walk away with no deal. Ongoing negotiations have become more difficult as the UK is making more demands and the EU is now complaining that the UK is trying to “bully” them! This is the funniest statement that I have ever seen. For two years, the EU essentially bullied PM May into agreeing to things that were unpalatable, including the Irish backstop. Now all of a sudden, the EU’s tender feelings have been hurt by the UK pushing back!

Since the original vote, pundits around the world have assumed that the UK would bear the brunt of the fallout from Brexit. After all, the rest of the EU is the UK’s largest trading partner, and the UK only represents something like 10% of EU exports. But as the EU dips back into recession with monetary policy already stretched, it is becoming clearer that the EU will suffer greatly in a no-deal Brexit. Just ask Germany how its auto manufacturers will be impacted when suddenly there are tariffs on BMW’s in the UK. The point is that both sides are likely to feel pain, although it seems the UK has already absorbed part of it, while the rest of the EU has been laboring under the assumption that the UK would cave in eventually. My view is there is no chance of a deal at this point and there are only two possible outcomes; no-deal Brexit or no Brexit. However, there seems to be limited willingness to hold a second referendum to try to overturn the first one, with major splits within both main parties there. And that leads to a no-deal Brexit. Be prepared.

It should be no surprise that this has had a pretty big impact on the pound this morning, which has fallen by 0.75% to its lowest level since January 2017. And this is despite better than expected employment data where wages grew a stronger than expected 3.6% in May, while the Unemployment rate remained at 45-year lows of 3.8%. While the UK economy seems to be holding up reasonably well, I continue to look for the BOE to cut rates in November after the hard Brexit occurs, if only as a precaution for a quick slowdown. Meanwhile, the pound is likely to continue to decline between now and then, testing 1.20 before long. However, vs. the euro, where the pound has also been sliding, I expect that trend to stabilize and even reverse. This is due to the fact that the Eurozone is going to suffer far more than currently anticipated from a hard Brexit. Right now, the cross is trading at 0.9030. I would look for a move in the euro to 1.05-1.06 and the cross to head down to 0.88.

Away from the Brexit story, things are a bit less exciting on the currency front. Broadly the dollar is strong today, as weaker Eurozone data (German ZEW Sentiment fell more than expected to -24.5) has pundits discussing a recession in Germany and confirming a more aggressive policy ease from the ECB. As such, the euro is lower by 0.3% this morning, as all the dovishness from the Fed is being offset by all the dovishness from ECB members.

Down Under, the RBA Minutes continue to highlight the need to keep policy accommodative as they, too, recognize that their old models need tweaking and that lower rates will not lead directly to further inflation. Aussie, which has actually performed pretty well overall since Powell’s first testimony last week, is lower by 0.2%. While the RBA is likely to remain on hold for now, look for more cuts as soon as the Fed starts to cut.

And those have really been the key drivers in the market today. Looking at the CE4, all of them have fallen roughly the same 0.3% as the euro meaning there is no new information to be gleaned. LATAM currencies are barely budged and APAC has also seen very limited movement overnight. The same can be said of global equity markets, which have seen very limited movement, on the order of 0.2% as investors await the next big story. Arguably, that story will start to be told next week by the ECB, with the punchline added by the FOMC at the end of the month. In the meantime, earnings season is beginning, so individual equity prices are likely to see movement, but it is hard to get excited about a macro move in the near term. And bonds? Well, they have stopped falling as the overly aggressive long positions seem to have been unwound. I expect they will start to rally again, albeit at a slower pace than we saw at the beginning of the month.

This morning brings the most interesting data of the week, Retail Sales (exp 0.1%, 0.1% ex autos), as well as a spate of Fed speakers including Chairman Powell at 1:00 this afternoon. If Retail Sales disappoint already low expectations, look for bonds to rally along with stocks as the dollar falls. If they are quite strong, I think the market is far less prone to react as the July rate cut is still a done deal. It just will have a much smaller probability of being a 50bp cut.

Good luck
Adf