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European stock markets rally on Brexit deal, Italy budget hopes

European stock markets rallied Monday after Britain sealed a Brexit deal with the EU and as Italy said it could cut its budget deficit.

Published: 26 November 2018 16:39 CET
European stock markets rally on Brexit deal, Italy budget hopes
Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte arrives at a special meeting of the European Council to endorse the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement in Brussels on November 25, 2018. Photo: Philippe Lopez / AF

The euro rose against the dollar but was down versus sterling.

Oil prices rebounded meanwhile, after slumping Friday to the lowest levels in more than one year.

Bitcoin extended its slide, dropping under $4,000 to $3,675.44 — the lowest level for 14 months.

“Italian stocks have been the outperformer in Europe… on reports that the government may consider reducing its deficit target in a bid to avert a disciplinary procedure in Brussels and a backlash in the markets,” noted Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group.

“The pound is also a little higher… after (British Prime Minister) Theresa May overcame the first, and smallest, hurdle to her Brexit deal getting over the line.”

May convened her cabinet and will update Britain's parliament on the newly-agreed Brexit deal Monday, as she begins the tricky task of selling the plan to her sceptical country.

In Rome, Italy's populist government appears open to reducing its draft budget deficit, fuelling  a surge in the Milan stock market on hopes Rome could ease a stand-off with EU officials in Brussels.

Around 1430 GMT, Milan's FTSE MIB was up 2.5 percent compared with the close on Friday. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.8 percent.

Most Asian stock markets closed higher as investors tentatively picked up cheap stocks, with focus on an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the weekend that will be watched for signs of a softening in the China-US trade war.

Those gains came despite more selling of shares in Asian energy firms following another collapse in oil prices Friday.

Wall Street also pushed higher at the opening bell, with the Dow climbing 0.6 percent.

The more positive mood comes at the start of a week set to include a speech by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell and the release of the bank's last policy meeting minutes, before culminating in a G20 gathering in Buenos Aires.

While the summit will focus on several global issues, the meeting between Trump and Xi will get the most attention, with the economic superpowers engaged in a trade war just as global growth starts to stutter.

Expectations for a deal to end the standoff are low, however.

Oil prices enjoyed a bounce but remain well beaten down after Friday's hammering, which saw WTI sink 7.7 percent and Brent lose more than six percent.

The commodity has plunged by about a third in value from four-year highs in early October owing to a range of issues, including a global economic slowdown, the trade row, rising crude supplies, softer-than-expected US sanctions on Iran, stuttering business activity in China and a stronger dollar.

All eyes are now on a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on December 6 to see if the cartel will cut output.

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BREXIT

‘We are desperate’: Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

A 74-year-old British woman has explained the "frustration and fear" Britons in Italy are facing when trying to access healthcare and appealed to the UK government for help.

Published: 11 April 2024 09:53 CEST
'We are desperate': Why the UK must help Britons with Italian healthcare charges

Pat Eggleton, a teacher and writer from the UK, appealed to the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron in the letter sent April 9th about the “desperate” situation faced by UK citizens entitled to free healthcare in Italy – but unable to access it.

British nationals residing in Italy before Brexit, and covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), are in many cases being told by Italian health authorities that they must pay steep new fees at a minimum of €2,000 a year – even though they are exempt from paying at all.

READ ALSO: ‘Life or death situation’: Brits facing high Italian healthcare costs amid rule change uncertainty

In her open letter seen by The Local, Ms. Eggleton, who has lived in Italy since 2005, highlighted that the current minimum is a huge jump from the previous €387, and said that the sum was “difficult, or even impossible, for some to find when there had been no prior notification and there is no option to pay in instalments.”

“A great deal of undeserved worry, frustration and even fear has ensued,” she wrote.

“Some of our group have serious, ongoing health conditions. All we require is for one sentence from the Italian government confirming that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries do not have to pay for healthcare access to be circulated to all regional health authorities.

“We implore you to act before this becomes even more serious. As someone put it, “This is a matter not only of money, but of health.” 

Ms Eggleton’s letter came exactly one month after the British government confirmed that all WA agreement beneficiaries are exempt from paying the €2,000 fee, provided they were living in Italy before January 1st 2021.

But there were no details available at the time from the Italian government setting out how the rules would be implemented or communicated to local health authorities around Italy.

Since then, there has been no further information released by the Italian government on any official platform. 

One Withdrawal Agreement beneficiary, Graham Beresford, told The Local last week how he was having trouble accessing healthcare, even though he has a right to it.

Mr. Beresford suffers from blood cancer and needs access to the Italian healthcare system to obtain his medication. 

“Every time I go to my ASL (local health unit) office, I always feel like I’m dismissed,” Graham said. “I told the ASL worker I need medication for my cancer and she replied lots of people come in here with sob stories.

“There genuinely seems to be no compassion whatsoever.”

The Local has written to the Italian health ministry for comment.

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