Pompeo in the UK
Increasing geopolitical and commercial tensions between the US and the People’s Republic of China are also shifting to the east coast of the Atlantic.
The UK’s Conservative Boris Johnson government joined the US in banning the Chinese telecommunication firm Huawei and attracted Beijing’s anger and threats. London and Washington are closing the ranks, acting the springboard of a rising anti-Chinese Western front that the US is trying to build.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travels to London on Monday for a two-day trip to sit down with his British counterpart Dominic Raab and Prime Minister Johnson. The two sides are to discuss their free trade agreement plans, the fight against coronavirus, China, and Hong Kong.
EU negotiations
As of Monday morning, there was no agreement between the EU leader who began negotiations last Friday on the block’s long-term budget and the recovery package from the coronavirus crisis.
Reports from Brussels show that Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and the Netherlands have blocked any compromise as the proposed rescue package provides grants to the southern countries. Leaders’ negotiations continue in the hope of finding a middle ground.
US stimulus package
The US Senate will begin discussing the fifth coronavirus crisis recovery bill this week.
Democrats controlling the House of Representatives push for a $3 trillion package with the idea of more federal aid for coronavirus-affected state and local governments, while the Trump administration and the Republicans who control the Senate are for a more modest at $1 trillion.
In an interview with Fox television on Sunday, President Donald Trump said he would not sign a new stimulus package if it did not include payroll tax cuts.
The two sides are in dispute over the unemployment benefits that will end in late July, as well as the extension of a massive small business loan program that runs through early August.
British public finance
The British National Statistics Office will release public finance figures for June on Tuesday. The debt of the Kingdom’s government exceeded the size of the economy for the first time in more than 50 years in May, when it began paying for anti-coronavirus measures.
Fed nomination
On Tuesday, the US Senate banking committee finally votes on Trump’s nomination for the Federal Reserve’s Board of Directors, Judy Shelton, and Christopher Waller.
Whether Trump’s appointments will be approved by the Senate since there are those who oppose both names from both parties, is unclear.
Shelton, in particular, is a matter of concern for both Republicans and Democrats because of her support for the idea of returning to the gold standard and her recent shift towards a looser monetary policy. There are also questions about whether Shelton can be sufficiently independent of the White House.
Economic Calendar
Monday: Japan National Core CPI
Tuesday: RBA Meeting Minutes, Canada Core Retail Sales
Wednesday: Australia Retail Sales, Japan Services PMI, Canada Core CPI, US Existing Home Sales, US Crude Oil Inventories
Thursday: Japan — Marine Day, US Initial Jobless Claims
Friday: Japan — National Sports Day, UK Retail Sales, German Manufacturing PMI, UK Composite PMI, UK Manufacturing PMI, UK Services PMI, US New Home Sales
