Knight Frank Daily Update Friday 26th June
Brexit, currency moves, expats and cross-border barriers
2 minutes to read
Good morning,
Need to know
Markets were quiet yesterday as investors weighed the prospect of additional central bank stimulus with the spread of the virus across the US. Equity markets have now recovered about 25% since their March lows.
Staying with the US, the state of Texas paused its reopening just 55 days after allowing restaurants and other businesses to resume trading.
The picture across America's south and west stands in contrast to parts of the country that had to grapple with the virus earlier. Covid-19 hospitalisations in New York yesterday dropped below 1,000 for the first time since mid-March.
In the UK, the spread of the virus continues to slow. The estimated reproduction number remains between 0.7 and 0.9 and fatalities are continuing their downward trend.
The pound slipped slightly to $1.24 overnight as Brexit uncertainty increases ahead of UK and EU crunch negotiations in July. The EIU expect the pound to rise in the longer term but with the value capped by weak fundamentals.
The property market
Tom Bill has more on Brexit and what recent and upcoming developments mean for property markets.
Don’t miss Flora Harley's analysis of global economic news this morning, a four minute read which considers the implications of measures in the US and New Zealand which will further restrict the movement of people, potentially creating barriers to cross-border property transactions.
The themes of deglobalisation and regionalisation are explored in depth here with David Bailin from Citi Private Bank.
Victoria Garrett has more on the issues facing expats across Asia and the effect a move towards more significant repatriation volumes may have on local property markets.
As highlighted in our recent expat sentiment survey, the Covid-19 outbreak has prompted some expats globally to begin re-evaluating their long term plans.
In a new Intelligence Talks podcast, Anna Ward provides the view from Australia, where the Prime Minister is sticking with plans to further ease Covid-19 restrictions.
Anna explores the trajectory of the property market recovery with Ben Burston, chief economist, Ben Schubert, national head of agency, and Andrea Roberts, national head of leasing. Listen on Apple, Spotify and Acast.
You can find an overview of key economic and financial metrics, compiled by Will Matthews, here.
If you have any questions, please contact me, or the team.