TTIP Unlikely to Be Concluded Before US Elections - Official
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US presidential elections are scheduled for November 8.
"There appears to be little chance of TTIP being concluded this year," the spokesperson for the ETUC, which comprises 89 national trade union confederations across 39 countries, plus 10 European trade union federations, said.If the deal is not concluded under US President Barack Obama's administration, it would mean that further negotiations on the deal are to be left for Obama's successor, which will likely be either Democrat Hilary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump, who is well-known for his criticism of the deal."It is not clear if there is a risk. US presidential candidates have focused much more on TPP than on TTIP. Mr Trump is against TPP, but it is not known what he would do about TTIP," the spokesperson for ETUC said when asked about the possible complications for TTIP should Trump win the presidential race.According to the spokesperson, the EU trade organizations still have many concerns that have not been addressed by the US side. Such issues reportedly include "the privileged access of foreign investors to a special legal procedure, the safeguarding of public services and the upholding of workers' rights."On October 7, President the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, speaking at a conference in Paris with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, stated that the EU is not going to "kneel before the Americans" in negotiating the establishment of the TTIP.
In late September, Slovak Economy Minister Peter Ziga, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, deemed "unrealistic" a conclusion of this treaty before Barack Obama's leaving the White House. Previously, concerns about consequences of TTIP for Europe and doubts on its chances to be finalized under Obama were expressed by several high-ranking German and French officials.The TTIP, negotiations on which have been ongoing since 2013, seeks to establish a free trade zone between the two sides of Atlantic. Since the start of the talks, the deal has drawn severe criticism for the lack of transparency. Its opponents also express concern over the tremendous power it would potentially give to international corporations and the fact that it could seriously violate ecological standards.
Red alert: Prepare for severe stock market crash, warns HSBC
The technical analysis team at HSBC is warning recent stock market moves look eerily similar to just before 1987's 'Black Monday', which saw the largest one-day market crash in history.
On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average which comprises the 30 large US publicly traded companies, lost 22.6 percent of its value.
A "severe fall" might be coming for U.S. stocks, says HSBC. http://bloom.bg/2dKY63H— Bloomberg Markets (@markets)
In a note to clients released Wednesday, Murray Gunn, the head of technical analysis for HSBC, said he was on red alert for an imminent sell-off in stocks in the light of the price action over the past few weeks.
"With the US stock market selling off aggressively on October 11, we now issue a RED ALERT. The possibility of a severe fall in the stock market is now very high," Gunn wrote.
Other financial firms have also issued red alert warnings. Citigroup told clients that investors aren't adequately hedging US election risk. The managing director at Citi Thomas Fitzpatrick has also pointed at the market's similarities to the 1987 crash.
The volatility has continued to rise since the end of the summer and the recent sell-off was seen across many areas of the market, and not just selected groups, according to the HSBC analyst.
Last month, Gunn warned stocks were under an "orange alert." Following the Dow Jones' 200-point decline on Tuesday, Gunn threw up the ultimate warning signal, saying the drop is here.
The key levels that HSBC team is watching are 17,992 in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 2,116 in the S&P 500.
"As long as those levels remain intact, the bulls still have a slight hope. But should those levels break and the markets close below, which now seems more likely, it would be a clear sign that the bears have taken over and are starting to feast," Gunn said.
"The possibility of a severe fall in the stock market is now very high," he added.
Wall Street stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday - the Dow rose 15.54 points, or 0.09 percent, to 18,144.2. The S&P 500 gained 2.45 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,139.18.
In its technical analysis the HSBC team uses the Elliott Wave Principle which tracks alternating patterns in the stock market to discern investor behavior and possible next moves.
