Investors should prepare for this. What does this mean for the pound, which has been stuck in a range, and for u. K. Stoxx at large . As far as the pound is concerned, the rally you have had reflected a significant reduction in the risk of a no deal brexit, so for the time being that seems to be off the table. We are stuck a bit around 1. 30. We need to know where we are going, and until we get past the election and have a sense of what the majority is, it is impossible to have any assessment about the direction of the pound. We are neutral because we think there is far too much uncertainty and too many permutations to take a significant view. As far as u. K. Equities are concerned, it is an inverse relationship between u. K. Equities and sterling, so when sterling weekends, u. K. Equities outperform. From that point of view, if we get a path that moves us toward a softer brexit or no brexit, that should be good for the pound but worse for the u. K. Equities. Dan morris and Stephanie K
Moving news from around the world, from hong kong to new york to d. C. We start off with the latest in trade. Larry kudlow im a white house Economic Advisor, signaled the u. S. And china are close to signing phase one. We are coming down to the short strokes. We are in communication with them every single day right now. Joining me on the phone from hong kong is enda curran. Does china agree with this assessment . Musiccertainly, the mood from both sides now is that they are on track to reach some kind of agreement. Mr. Kudlows comments came only a day after china agreed yesterday to lift a ban on poultry imports from the u. S. They started to buy u. S. Farm produce again last month. Clearly some things are coming together, but there are outstanding issues. We still dont know where either side are on tariff removal. That is something of a redline on the chinese side. There are still other areas, like ip protection and the like. Still dont know when any agreement will be signed. Separate