England

Oil falls as coronavirus hits demand; OPEC+ considers deeper cuts

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday, dragged down by concern over demand in China after the coronavirus breakout, though the possibility of deeper crude output cuts by OPEC and its allies offered some price support.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 48 cents at $56.14 a barrel by 1320 GMT, having earlier lost more than $1 to its lowest since January last year at $55.42.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell 10 cents to $51.46 after hitting a session low of $50.42, also the lowest since January last year.

Brexit trade deal clash: UK and EU begin sparring over rules

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union and Britain clashed over a post-Brexit trade deal on Monday with Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisting he need not sign up to the bloc’s rules and Brussels warning of tariffs and quotas unless he did.

Britain wants to negotiate a trade deal by the end of 2020, though EU leaders say the further Britain diverges from their rules the less access it will have to the EU market.

Rigid red lines will hamper progress on EU trade deal: Ireland's Varadkar

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union should not set such rigid red lines before talks on a trade deal because that could make it more difficult to secure an agreement, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Sunday.

After British Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a tough position before talks with the EU begin, Varadkar said it was possible for Brussels to offer a Canada-style trade deal but it would need to establish a level playing field.

Britain expects EU to offer Canada-style trade deal as promised: UK's Raab

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain expects the EU to “live up to” its undertakings to offer London a Canada-style free-trade deal, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday, reiterating that any deal will not require “high alignment” with the bloc’s rules.

After Britain officially left the EU on Friday, the two sides are expected to start negotiating a future trade deal in March, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson setting out his stall in a speech on Monday.

Airbus to pay around 1 billion euros in UK slice of global bribery settlement

LONDON (Reuters) - Airbus, the world’s largest aircraft maker, will pay just under 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion)in a British settlement to draw a line under a three-and-a-half year criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption.

The deal under a three-year Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), ratified in London’s High Court on Friday, means the European planemaker avoids prosecution in London in a case that spanned transactions involving more than a dozen countries.

Scotland's Sturgeon says could test power to call consultative independence vote

LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday she did not rule out testing the legality of calling a consultative referendum on independence if Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government continued to oppose another vote.

Brexit day: Britain quits EU, steps into transition twilight zone

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom leaves the European Union on Friday for an uncertain Brexit future, the most significant change to its place in the world since the loss of empire and a blow to 70 years of efforts to forge European unity from the ruins of war.

The country will slip away an hour before midnight from the club it joined in 1973, moving into the no man’s land of a transition period that preserves membership in all but name until the end of this year.

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