UK Exit May Be Delayed

During comments before an audience in Kuala Lampur, High Court Justice Lady Hale indicated that the government may be required to pass legislation if it wishes to proceed with leaving the European Union.  Her remarks echo a recent ruling that stipulates that Prime Minister Theresa May must put the measures to a vote in the House of Commons before activating Article 50 to exit the EU.  According to Hale, the requirement could potentially delay the activation of any “Brexit” by two years.  This would completely ignore the referendum vote, rendering it non-binding on Parliament.  Although there is already chatter that the government is preparing a bill to satisfy the requirements, the High Court is still scheduled to hear the government’s appeal in December.  After climbing back above 1.2500 briefly, the GBPUSD pair is back on the retreat as “leave” optimism fades.

Data reported on Tuesday by the US Census Bureau showed that retail sales in the United States rose by the fastest annualized pace since November of 2014 as the case for a December rate hike builds.  Headline retail sales rose by 4.30% year over year, with the monthly figure climbing 0.80% ahead of the important holiday season.  While a major factor behind the recent gains were rising gasoline prices following the post-Algeria crude oil rally, the more interesting development was the rapid shift towards online shopping.  According to the figures, e-commerce retailers saw sales rise by nearly 13.00% while department store sales plunged by more than -7.00%.  This highlights the growing trend of shopping move online as big box retailers and brick and mortar establishments see sales continually eroded.  After climbing on Tuesday, S&P futures are pulling back modestly after reaching earlier session highs.