The Monday note - 25 February 2019

• The FTSE 100 closed on Friday at 7,192.3, down 27 points on week earlier, as major companies reported weaker profits. The ten year Gilt yield stood at 1.16%. 
• President Trump has said that he would extend the deadline for imposing new tariffs on Chinese imports, in order to give more time for negotiations to complete. 
• The UK government has delayed this week’s “meaningful vote” on the Brexit bill until March 12th. Parliament is expected to vote on Wednesday on a backbench amendment that could give Parliament the power to veto a no deal Brexit. 
• The number of people in work in the UK increased by 167,000 in the three months to December 2018. The unemployment rate was steady at 4.0%. 

Chief Economist comments: 

Brexit continues on its inconclusive journey, but at least one risk for the global economy appears to be receding. There is clearly a strong determination on both sides to see the China-US trade talks succeed.

It is worth noting that this is turning into another example of Trump getting confrontational over trade, but ultimately cutting a deal – Mexico and Canada being the other cases. Taken alongside recent pledges by major central banks to keep interest rates on hold, the prospects for global growth look a little brighter.