US tariffs on $200bn of Chinese goods and Chinas retaliatory tariffs on $60bn of US products have been implemented; US tariffs spare smartwatches and speakers while home modems and routers are included 7.52am BST While the Labour party is meeting in Liverpool, Theresa May faces a tense meeting in Downing Street today, amid intense pressure from leading Brexiters in her party to change course and seek a simpler, less ambitious deal. Key elements of the prime ministers Chequers deal were rejected by EU leaders at last weeks humiliating summit in Salzburg.Big Brexit day in westminster - May has to face Cabinet after Salzburg mess and IEA right wing think tank putting forward another plan (quite a lot of it is familiar stuff) 7.45am BST Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.The new tariffs imposed by the US and China on each others goods went into effect on Monday, as the bitter trade dispute deepened. Soon after, Beijing accused Washington of engaging in trade bullyism, the official Xinhua news agency reported.The move will effectively create a two-tiered tariff structure for consumer internet, with many products, such as Fitbit fitness trackers, Apples watch and Amazon.coms Echo smart speaker being favored over routers and internet gateways from Arris International, Netgear, D-Link and others. Were operating under the assumption that the tens of millions of devices that deliver high-speed internet into consumers homes will be impacted by these tariffs, said Jim Brennan, Arris senior vice president of supply chain, quality and operations. The pound had a dreadful week last week despite hitting a two-month high against the US dollar. The breakdown in relations between the UK and EU leaders in Salzburg last week, and Prime Minister Theresa Mays punchy statement on Friday could well be described as the usual political theatre that weve all become accustomed to in the past couple of years, however markets appear to be deciding that with the March 2019 deadline looming, the room for political manoeuvre appears to be getting smaller.This has led to the not unreasonable conclusion that the risks of a political, as well economic dislocation have increased, particularly since both the UK government, and so-called opposition parties appear to be more concerned about their own internal squabbles, than actually doing what is best for the people they claim to represent.Pound under a bit of pressure this morning but GBPUSD still holding for now above Friday's low around 1.3050, set after the plunge: pic.twitter.com/SoSIkb3Ta1 Continue reading...
