British Prime Minister Theresa May pinned her hopes on persuading Brussels to rewrite the Brexit divorce deal but EU leaders insisted Wednesday they would not budge. And there was no sign that European leaders were prepared to unpick the backstop in order to salvage the deal. A spokesman for EU Council President Donald Tusk swiftly insisted the Brexit deal was “not open for renegotiation”. On Wednesday, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier reiterated: “The position of the European Union is very clear”. ‘Throw of the dice’London stocks rose 0.6 percent in early trade and the pound rebounded slightly Wednesday after suffering heavy losses on worries about a possible no-deal Brexit.

Source: Egypt Independent January 30, 2019 11:03 UTC