Sterling rebounds notably after UK’s Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to shut down the parliament was unlawful. And Supreme Court President Brenda Hale said both houses should return as soon as possible. The ruling gave MPs a boost to continue with their work to block no-deal Brexit on October 31.
Hale said, “The decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification.” “Parliament has not been prorogued. This is the unanimous judgment of all 11 justices,” she added. “It is for parliament, and in particular the speaker and the Lords speaker, to decide what to do next.”
Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow called for Parliament to reconvene. “As the embodiment of our Parliamentary democracy, the House of Commons must convene without delay,” Bercow said in a statement. ” To this end, I will now consult the party leaders as a matter of urgency.”
Bank of Spain slashes 2019 growth forecasts to 2% on weak investment and consumption
Bank of Spain lowered 2019 growth forecasts to 2.0%, sharply lower than June’s projection of 2.4%. For 2020, growth projection was downgraded to 1.7%, from 1.9%. For 2021, growth forecast was also downgraded to 1.6%, from 1.7%. Weaker investment and private consumption were the main factor for the downgrades.
Meanwhile, the central bank also noted risks including European slowdown, Brexit, US-China trade tension as well as domestic political uncertainties. Spain is going to have the fourth parliamentary elections in four years on November 10.
Oscar Arce, the Bank of Spain’s director general for economics, statistics and research said, “Also worth mentioning as a possible risk element is the continuation of uncertainty on the domestic front about the course of main economic policies in this country in the future.”