Five Things World Business Will be Talking About Today

(Bloomberg) 

Brexit negotiations begin, Macron wins comfortable parliamentary majority, and it’s a busy week for Fed speakers. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.

Brexit talks

Nearly a year after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, negotiations began this morning on that divorce in Brussels with confusion remaining on what the U.K. wants from the breakup. The EU and U.K. teams have a lot of ground to cover, but they have at least agreed on a timetable for talks ahead of today’s meeting, with the exit-deal basics due to be complete by December this year, before talks on future trading arrangements can begin. 

Macron wins (again)

President Emmanuel Macron’s party and its allies won a comfortable majority in the French parliament, securing 350 out of 577 seats in yesterday’s second-round vote. While the victory wasn’t the landslide some polls had predicted, and turnout was a record low for the vote, it does bolster the young president’s legislative agenda. The victory for the year-old movement sees much of the French old guard swept from parliament. 

Paris Air Show

The aviation industry’s blue riband event, the Paris Air Show, runs throughout the week, with the usual flurry of news ahead of the kickoff. Boeing Co. said that its Max 10 upgrade of the 737 workhorse is set to receive $30 billion in orders and commitments, while Airbus SE seeks to revive sales of its flagship superjumbo A380 with upgrades to the plane’s efficiency. The Paris show will be the last for Airbus’s long-serving sales boss, John Leahy. 

Markets rise

Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.6 percent, with Chinese companies advancing in Hong Kong and Shanghai ahead of MSCI Inc.’s decision on whether to include the country’s shares in its global indexes expected tomorrow. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.6 percent higher at 5:45 a.m. Eastern Time as the results of the French election helped lift sentiment. U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. 

Fed speak

There is a full calendar of Federal Reserve speakers this week following last Wednesday’s decision to hike rates. At 8:00 a.m this morning, Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley is due to hold a roundtable in New York, with Chicago Fed President Charles Evans due to speak at 7:00 p.m. Tomorrow, Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, Boston Fed chief Eric Rosengren, and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan all make public comments. Governor Jerome Powell and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are due later in the week.