Sterling to slide to $1.20 if no Brexit deal agreed - Reuters poll

Business reporter(wp/reuters):::
Sterling would lose around 9 percent of its current value against the dollar and trade at $1.20 in the immediate aftermath of Britain leaving the EU without a deal, a Reuters poll of foreign exchange strategists predicted.

However, most economists expect the two sides to eventually agree a free trade deal, and medians in the Feb 28-March 5 poll of over 60 strategists said cable would be at $1.32 at the end of March as the divorce is due to take effect - close to the $1.314 it was hovering around on Wednesday.

In six months’ time the pound will have strengthened to $1.35 and in a year to $1.39, the poll found, little changed from a February poll and still significantly below levels it was trading at before the June 2016 referendum vote to leave the bloc.

All Reuters polls ahead of that vote correctly predicted sterling would fall in the event of the country choosing to leave the European Union.

A separate Reuters poll of economists on Wednesday showed the chance of a no-deal Brexit had fallen to 15 percent, but if the two sides do part ways without agreement, one forecaster predicted sterling could sink as low as parity to the dollar.

“Sterling is likely to fall to parity ...if the UK does not keep traffic flowing across the channel tunnel, preserve the Good Friday Agreement (with Ireland) and avoid the other negative consequences of a hard Brexit,” said William Adams at PNC Financial Services.

While no other respondents were that gloomy, even the most optimistic forecast for no-deal cable was a drop to $1.28.

“A disorderly Brexit - for us a very unlikely scenario - would push cable towards the cycle lows of $1.18-$1.20,” said Roberto Cobo Garcia at BBVA.

Likely offering some support for sterling, the U.S. Federal Reserve is in a holding pattern while the Bank of England is expected to raise borrowing costs towards the end of this year.

But interest rate differentials will provide little help for sterling versus the euro.

The European Central Bank is seen delaying a rate hike from record lows until 2020, another Reuters poll showed last week, but against the common currency the pound will barely move.

In one, three and six months, one euro was expected to worth 86.0 pence, the same as it was on Wednesday. In a year sterling will have marginally strengthened to 85.4p.

UK watchdog warns against 'get rich quick' cryptoasset purchases

Business correspondent(wp/reuters):::

Consumers think they can “get rich quick” by putting cash into unregulated cryptoassets like Bitcoin and Ether they may not fully understand, Britain’s markets watchdog said on Thursday.

The Financial Conduct Authority published reasearch on consumer attitudes to cryptoassets, and people it interviewed talked about wanting to buy a “whole” coin, suggesting they did not realize they could buy part of a cryptoasset.

“Despite this lack of understanding, the cryptoasset owners interviewed were often looking for ways to ‘get rich quick’, citing friends, acquaintances and social media influencers as key motivations for buying cryptoassets,” the FCA said in a statement.

The FCA and other regulators across the world have told consumers they could lose all their money in cryptoassets after huge falls in the value of Bitcoin.

But the FCA said the overall scale of harm may not be as high as previously thought, a finding that should stall the introduction of draconian new rules for now.

The UK government wants to encourage innovation in finance, particularly the blockchain technology that underpins cryptoassets.

The FCA said most UK consumers don’t even know what a cryptocurrency is, the most of those aware of it are likely to be men aged between 20 and 44, the FCA said.

Of those who had bought cryptoassets, around half spend under 200 pounds and finance the purchase from disposable income, the watchdog said.

More than half of the cryptoasset owners surveyed had bought Bitcoin, while one in three chose Ether.

“This will help us ensure we are acting on evidence as we seek to protect consumers and market integrity,” said Christopher Woolard, the FCA’s executive director of strategy and competition.

“The results suggest that although cryptoassets may not be well understood by many consumers, the vast majority don’t buy or use them currently.”

Cryptoassets like Bitcoin fall outside regulation in Britain, which means that consumers are not able to seek redress or compensation using FCA schemes if things go wrong.

UK hopeful of Brexit talks breakthrough this weekend - Hunt

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was hopeful that a breakthrough could be made in Brexit talks with the European Union this weekend, a day after officials said talks to amend Prime Minister Theresa May’s divorce deal made no headway.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29 but British lawmakers have rejected May’s deal and she is now seeking legally-binding changes before she takes her divorce deal back for a second vote in parliament by March 12.

“I wouldn’t have expected a breakthrough to have happened by now. What I would say is that compared to a month ago there is complete clarity on both sides as to what it will take to get an agreement through parliament,” Hunt told reporters after a giving a speech in Glasgow.

“Now there are very exhaustive discussions on both sides to try and find a way to achieve (a solution). Both sides want to find a way through this and we’re hoping for that success to happen this weekend in time for the vote.”

Knife crime: Javid in strategy talks with police chiefs

Crime reporter(wp/bbc):::

Home Secretary Sajid Javid is to meet police chiefs from seven forces most affected by violent crime.

It follows a spate of fatal teen stabbings which has prompted a debate about falling police numbers.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has said there is "obviously" a link between violent crime and falling police numbers.

But Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted there is "no direct correlation".

Senior officers from the Metropolitan Police, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, South Wales, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire will attend the meeting, as will representatives from the National Crime Agency and National Police Chiefs' Council.

Chairwoman of the NPCC Sara Thornton told BBC Breakfast that "emergency funding" was needed to tackle the problem.

"We need to have more officer hours on the streets," she said.

"We just haven't got the capacity, we just haven't got the officers at the moment so we need some money now to pay for overtime to pay for mutual aid between forces."

• 'I don't know how many people I've stabbed'
• 'Treat knife crime like terrorism'
• The unit tackling knives

It comes after two 17-year-olds were killed in separate stabbings in London and Greater Manchester at the weekend.

Jodie Chesney was killed in an east London park as she played music with friends, and Yousef Ghaleb Makki was stabbed to death in the village of Hale Barns, near Altrincham.

A 17-year-old boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - has been charged with the murder of Yousef, Greater Manchester Police said. A second 17-year-old boy has been charged with assisting an offender and possession of a bladed article.

Speaking about Yousef's death, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he supported an increase in the use of stop and search by police, even though it was "controversial".

"If there are more young people carrying knives, it follows there needs to be more people apprehended," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police said a man had been arrested in Leicester in connection with the murder of Jodie.

Jodie's grandmother, Debbie Chesney, wrote on Facebook: "We don't want anyone else to go through what our family is suffering right now. This has to stop, there are too many young people having their lives cut short by needless violence."

In Lancashire, six people have been arrested over a gang attack at a sixth form college. A machete was found near Runshaw College in Leyland, following Monday's incident.

Theresa May told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the killings of Jodie and Yousef were "absolutely appalling".

Her official spokesman said the Home Office would co-ordinate an urgent series of ministerial meetings and engagements to accelerate the work government was doing to support local councils and police.

Mrs May said the problem would require "a whole-of-government effort, in conjunction with the police, the wider public sector and local communities".

Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticised the prime minister for saying there was no direct link between the cut in police numbers and the increase in violent crime.

In a video posted on Tuesday, he said young people "shouldn't pay the price for austerity with their lives".

Major London underground station briefly shut after false alarm

Staff reporter(wp/reuters):::
A major London underground station shut down briefly on Tuesday because of a fire alert that proved to be a false alarm, hours after police said three parcel bombs had been sent through the mail to other transport hubs in the city.

Kings Cross St Pancras underground station, an interchange that serves two long-distance rail stations, closed for about half an hour after reports a fire had broken out.

“We believe that it was a hoax call at one of the fire points,” a Transport for London spokeswoman said, adding that investigations into the cause of the alert were continuing.

EU sees no Brexit breakthrough before the weekend: sources

Political reporter(wp/reuters):::

The European Union does not expect a Brexit breakthrough before the weekend, diplomats and officials said after talks in Brussels led by British Prime Minister Theresa May’s chief lawyer failed to produce a deal on Tuesday.

“It’s unlikely that there would be a deal before the weekend,” one EU official said. “We are preparing for a working weekend.”

Diplomats speculated that, should the EU and UK negotiators seal a deal over the weekend, May could come to Brussels on Monday to give it political endorsement and take it back to London just a day before the House of Commons votes on it.

James Bulger's father loses Jon Venables identity challenge

Pic--Jon Venables was 10 when he and Robert Thompson killed James Bulger

crime reporter(wp/bbc):::

The father of James Bulger has lost a legal challenge to try to change a lifelong anonymity order for one of his son's killers.

Ralph Bulger wanted information relating to Jon Venables' new identity to be made public, after he was jailed for possessing child abuse images.

Venables and Robert Thompson, both 10, killed the two-year-old in 1993.

Mr Bulger's lawyers argued information about Venables which was "common knowledge" should be made public.

However, president of the family division Sir Andrew McFarlane refused to change the terms of the order, which was designed to protect Venables from "being put to death".

Sir Andrew said: "There is a strong possibility, if not a probability, that if his identity were known he would be pursued resulting in grave and possibly fatal consequences."

Under the order, dating back to 2001, Venables and Thompson were granted lifelong anonymity and given new identities when they were released on licence.

Mr Bulger had argued certain details about Venables were easily accessible online.

The court was told that information included details of the killer's identities and former addresses up to 2017 and prisons where he had been detained.

Anyone sharing those details could face prosecution for contempt of court, under the injunction.

Upholding the injunction, Sir Andrew said: "My decision is in no way a reflection on the applicants themselves, for whom there is a profoundest sympathy.

"The reality is that the case for varying the injunction has simply not been made."

James' mother, Denise Fergus, did not support the legal battle.

She said: "I've always said, I don't want them dead, because I don't want blood on my hands. I don't agree with killing someone.

"All I've ever wanted was justice for James and getting that justice would be them two going from young offenders to a proper prison and spend proper time in there."