in case you hadn't noticed Wednesday was
budget day in the UK cue rolling
television coverage and special editions
of all the newspapers it's all great
theater but in market terms the budget
is usually a total non-event
the average movements in the stock
market in the exchange rate and in the
government bond yield on budget days are
barely any different from their
movements on any other day of the year
but this year it would be unwise to
switch off from post budget coverage
altogether and the reason for that is
that like everything else in British
politics budgets must now be viewed
through the prism of brexit Philip
Hammonds main objective with this year's
budget was not to get sacked a week
affair might have hastened his departure
and that would be bad news for Sterling
because investors like mr. Hammonds
perceived pragmatism he favors a gentler
version of brexit and is a vocal backer
of city interests in Europe if he went
it is likely he would be replaced with a
more skeptical Minister brexit favouring
Michael Gove is the bookmakers favorite
backroom maneuvering over the budget is
seldom evidence on the day of the speech
itself Mr Hammond was of course cheered
to the rafters by his own MPs budgets
usually on raffle in the days after like
George Osborne's infamous omni shambles
in 2012 signs to watch out for include
negative stories in the right-wing press
sniping comments from anonymous
colleagues and worst of all budget
measures that attract their own
uncomplimentary monikers a 2017
equivalent of 2012
granny tax would surely be a cue to sell
the pound