Seven days in the Square Mile

Corporate leaders on both sides of the Atlantic spoke out for the first time about the threat to free trade posed by a cliffedge Brexit and the brewing global trade war. While Airbus and BMW led the charge in Britain, Harley-davidson defied President Trump by announcing plans to move a sizeable chunk of its production outside the US to beat EU sanctions ( see page 47). Markets took fright when the White House indicated it would stop foreign companies from investing in US tech businesses and block exports of sensitive technology. Trade adviser Peter Navarro later clarified that any restrictions would only apply to China. Emerging markets continued to be battered by deepening trade worries. The Bank of England kept interest rates on hold at 0.5%, but markets are now factoring in a 65% chance of an August rate rise after chief economist Andy Haldane voted unexpectedly for an immediate quarter-point hike. Index-provider MSCI is to reclassify Argentina as an emerging market and begin including Saudi Arabia in that classification, sharply broadening the investor base for both countries. The price of bitcoin fell to an eight-month low and is currently trading at $6,100. John Lewis warned that half-year profits would be “close to zero”. Epidiolex, a treatment for epilepsy developed by Uk-based GW Pharma, became the first cannabis-based medicine on the US market. Shares in the African budget airline Fastjet collapsed; the airline, which was set up by easyjet founder Stelios Haji-ioannou, warned it could go bust without new funding.