Trump Impeached as the Queen Gives Speech.
Boris Johnston is expected to announce, through the Queens speech today, plans to cut business rates for half a million small businesses in the UK.
The tax break, reported in the Daily Mail, could be worth £12,500 to independent shops, restaurants, pubs and cinemas and may come in effect from April. With retail sales figures released today at 09:30 the timing could be well received.
In a move to help the struggling UK highstreets the news is being expected to coincide with a number of sweeping changes the PM plans to announce. The Queens speech is thought to be dominated by the NHS and Brexit. It will be the first indication of what to expect from the new UK Prime Minister.
Donald Trump has become only the third standing US President to be impeached. In the early UK hours of this morning the US House voted 230 votes to 197 in favour of impeachment. The trial is set to take place in the Senate in the New Year.
The Bank of England meets today to announce monetary policy and interest rate decisions. It is widely expected that the Asset Purchase Facility (currently at £435B) and Interest Base Rate (currently at 0.75%) will remain unchanged.
Economic Calendar
| Expected | Previous | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | GBP Retail Sales ex-Fuel (MoM) (Nov) | 0.30% | -0.30% |
| 09:30 | GBP Retail Sales ex-Fuel (YoY) (Nov) | 1.90% | 2.70% |
| 09:30 | GBP Retail Sales (YoY) (Nov) | 2.10% | 3.10% |
| 09:30 | GBP Retail Sales (MoM) (Nov) | 0.30% | -0.10% |
| 12:00 | GBP Bank of England Minutes | Report | |
| 12:00 | GBP BoE Interest Rate Decision | 0.75% | 0.75% |
| 12:00 | GBP BoE Asset Purchase Facility | £435 B | £435 B |
| 13:30 | USD Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey (Dec) | 8 | 10.4 |
| 13:30 | USD Initial Jobless Claims (Dec 13) | 225 K | 252 K |
| 13:30 | USD Initial Jobless Claims 4-week average (Dec 13) | - | 224 K |
| 15:00 | USD Existing Home Sales (MoM) (Nov) | 5.44 M | 5.46 M |
| 15:30 | EUR ECB's Lane speech | Speech | - |