The British pound sterling fell sharply after British PM Boris Johnson announced he was asking for Parliament to be suspended from mid-September until mid-October ー a highly controversial move known as "progrogue" which was given formal approval by Queen Elizabeth II Wednesday.
Critics say the move is intended to keep MPs from avoiding a no-deal Brexit and plunged the British government into crisis once again, two months before a looming deadline. The surprise move drew immediate outrage from opposition leaders, and the leader of the Liberal Democrat party had even written to the queen in hopes of her witholding consent for the suspension.
At midday in London, the GBP was down 1 percent against the U.S dollar, a sign that investors once again believe the UK is increasingly likely to "crash out" of the European Union on October 31.
Johnson's plan would extend a previously planned suspension for political party conferences and would further shorten the time Parliament has to debate Brexit after it returns from its summer recess next week.
Other members of Parliament took to Twitter to express shock at the maneuver to keep Parliament from assembling.
An online petition to demand Parliament not be prorogued had received more than 300,000 signatures in a matter of hours. Meanwhile, word of organized protests spread across social media.
The news from London helped push Treasury yields lower in the U.S., which had already been under pressure over China trade tensions. The yield on the 30-year Treasury dripped below 2 percent ー a signal that the combination of geopolitical worries from London to Beijing is increasing the odds of a global recession.
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
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