Financial Markets On Tenterhooks As May Fails To Spell Out Brexit Strategy

Principled Leadership or Populist Conformer?…..

Theresa May is the new face of British leadership. A conservative through and through, but not an advocate of breaking from the European Union. Indeed, under Theresa May’s guidance, she pushed for Britons to vote in favour of the remain campaign, spelling out the dangers of a Brexit. Now that she finds herself as the head honcho at number 10 Downing Street, and leader of the United Kingdom, she is holding the poisoned chalice.

May is in an unenviable position, since she was none too pleased with the outcome of the historic Brexit referendum, but now she’s tasked with following through on her words Brexit means Brexit. Among her many policy objectives, the reforms she has put forth to the British public are largely investment based and savings based, but nothing in her agenda makes clear how she will approach the elephant in the room – the Brexit saga.

On Monday, 11 July 2016, Theresa May made a speech in which she declared a full listing of reforms and policy targets that she hopes to achieve under her leadership. She was especially focused on the Treasury and how the UK must improve its productivity to remain competitive in the global economy. In terms of energy reforms, she is intent on seeing Britons paying a lower price for energy bills.

She is of the opinion that R&D policy must work to enable companies to make sound investment decisions that will benefit the greater British economy. This overarching agenda is particularly important given the weakness in the UK economy. The pound recently crashed to a 31-year low against the greenback when it was trading at $1.28. It has since regained momentum and is on an upward trend now that Britain has elected new leadership and normalcy is returning to global financial markets.

Wall Street Stumbles as Uncertainty Returns to Markets

Recall that Wall Street had turned its fortunes around, but it experienced a hiccup on Wednesday, 13 July by the mid-morning session as all major indices were down. It appears that the uncertainty in the geopolitical arena will continue to have an effect on the markets, particularly with the implications of a Brexit on global affairs. While Theresa May has been focusing on investment in infrastructure, and the betterment of cities across the United Kingdom, substance on other issues is lacking. In terms of corporate policy, she wants to enact policies that will make it compulsory for shareholders to vote on what executives are earning. Further, she plans on protecting British companies from foreign takeovers.