Good Afternoon everyone!
Today is a morning edition as the news has been coming in quick this morning, which will make this a long and interesting issue of "Geopolitics Today" along with an update to my Algerian-Libya write up I published two weeks ago.
England Signs its First Post-Brexit Trade Deal: A Small One with Japan
Today the UK and Japanese officials signed the "Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement," marking the first comprehensive post-Brexit trade deal. However, the economic impact will be microscopic as the UK economy's expected benefit is an additional 0.07% boost to GDP over 15 years. However, it remains a political win as the nation's first successful deal as the EU Brexit negotiation head towards a likely "Hard Brexit" outcome. This is also seen as a precursor to the UK's entry, supported by Japan, to the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
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Second Wave of Coronavirus Crashes Europe's Recovery
As we head into the fall and winter months, the second wave has already shown signs of reappearing in Europe and France, Spain, and Italy in particular. Germany has seen a rise in cases but not at a pace seen by their neighbors and will likely clamp down as hard and effectively as the first time around. However, the massive spike in cases in Europe's most fragile economies is a sign of worse economic data to come, and likely future demands for another major EU assistance package as Spain and Italy see their economies shrink... (More)
