Yahoo Finance What to Watch: Muted markets, May's Brexit delay bid, US threatens more EU tariffs, Ghosn 'conspiracy'
Here are the top business, market, and economic stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe, and abroad:
European markets muted
European stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday morning, as investors await a number of key events coming up this week.
The UK’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC, and Germany’s DAX, all opened slightly lower as market participants prime themselves for a raft of corporate results, including those from major US banks, later this week.
Meanwhile, investors are likely to make sudden moves following a key Brexit decision made by the EU on Wednesday.
May to meet Merkel and Macron to seal Brexit delay
Britain’s prime minister Theresa May is on a whistlestop tour of France and Germany today, in a bid to gain support from European leaders to delay Brexit again.
After already delaying Brexit from 29 March, Britain is set to leave the European Union at 11pm local time on 12 April. However, May will be holding last minute talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin and French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris to urge them to back her request to delay Brexit for another two months.
On Wednesday, there will be an emergency summit on Wednesday where all 28 EU states, including the UK, will vote on an extension to Article 50 — the mechanism that signals the date when Britain leaves the EU.
If the other EU member states reject the request to delay Brexit to 30 June, then Britain has two choices — either leave the bloc without a deal or cancel Brexit altogether.
READ MORE: May meeting Merkel and Macron to seal Brexit extension
US proposes a new raft of tariffs for the EU
The US is floating the idea of slapping tariffs on $11bn (£8.4bn) worth of products from the European Union.
The move, which would escalate trade tensions between the US and EU, is a retaliation to European aircraft subsidies after the the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said that the subsidies have an adverse impact on the US.
Late on Monday, the US Trade Representative (USTR) delivered a proposed list of goods that could be hit by the tariffs. The list include everything from salmon fillets to helicopters.
READ MORE: US floats tariffs on $11bn of EU products
Ghosn says he’s a victim of a ‘conspiracy’
The former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn said he is a victim of a “conspiracy.”
In a video recorded before his arrest last week and broadcast by his lawyers on Tuesday, he said he was innocent of all charges again him and that his love for the company and Japan were unchanged.
Last week, Ghosn was rearrested on new charges. He was initially freed on bail for less than a month.
“My arrest this morning is outrageous and arbitrary,” Ghosn said in a statement at the time. “It is part of another attempt by some individuals at Nissan to silence me by misleading the prosecutors. Why arrest me except to try to break me? I will not be broken.”
READ MORE: In first public address, Ghosn says he is innocent and victim of backstabbing
Elsewhere:
