Fitch Spares Italy From Downgrade Amid Fresh Political Crisis – Bloomberg

Fitch Ratings affirmed Italy’s credit rating Friday, giving the country a respite as it plunges into a new phase of political instability and probably early elections.
— Read on www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-09/fitch-spares-italy-from-downgrade-amid-fresh-political-crisis

UK economy shrinks for first time since 2012 as Brexit bites

LONDON — The British economy shrank in the second quarter for the first time in six and a half years as Brexit uncertainties weighed on business investment and firms reduced their stockpiling of goods after Britain was granted an extension to its departure from the European Union, official figures showed
— Read on ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-economy-shrinks-0-2-083840928.html

Bitcoin and Gold Are Monuments To Irrationality

(Bloomberg Opinion) — With worries about a currency war growing and bond yields collapsing, investors have reached for their usual haven of gold. Only this time it has a friend (as my colleague Tim Culpan wrote this week): Bitcoin. Gold’s dollar price has risen 7% this month, Bitcoin’s by 18%. This
— Read on ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-gold-monuments-irrationality-060013454.html

Pound Falling to Parity Is an Idea That’s Starting to Take Hold

(Bloomberg) — Follow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. Suddenly, the idea of pound parity seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split with the European Union without a deal.Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock Inc., is short the pound
— Read on ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/pound-falling-parity-idea-starting-040005641.html

ECB’s Sub-Zero Headache Might Require Range of Fixes to Be Fair

(Bloomberg) — European Central Bank officials trying to make their sub-zero monetary policy more palatable may need to be imaginative if they want it to reach the whole euro zone. While the ECB levies a deposit rate of -0.4% to stimulate the economy, charging banks to deposit money effectively curbs
— Read on ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/ecb-sub-zero-headache-might-040000358.html

The big reason China won’t let the yuan go into free fall against the dollar has to do with Japan and Europe – MarketWatch

China doesn’t want a new front in its trade war with the U.S.
— Read on www.marketwatch.com/story/the-big-reason-china-wont-let-the-yuan-go-into-free-fall-against-the-dollar-has-to-do-with-japan-and-europe-2019-08-08