Brexit Bulletin: Uniquely vulnerable

Follow Us Get the newsletter What's Happening? Government attention is focused on the coronavirus, but the clock is still ticking down on Brexit. Understandably, Brexit is way down the list of everyone's priorities right now. With the death toll from Covid-19 climbing daily, governments are racing to contain the virus and limit the economic damage. British companies are uniquely vulnerable to the latter. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak may be pumping staggering amounts of money into the economy—but U.K. businesses had already been pitched into a period of turmoil because of Brexit, as Jill Ward and David Goodman report. Closed shops on Bond Street in central London. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg Those firms still have no clarity about what Britain's future trading relationship with the EU will actually look like. With the country set to crash out of its post-Brexit transition period at the end of this year unless a trade deal is reached by then, the negotiations have been paralyzed by the virus. Britain hopes to restart formal talks this month after face-to-face meetings were abandoned after just one round and chief negotiators on both sides had to self-isolate. In public at least, the U.K. insists it wants to press on. Sunak told reporters on Wednesday that the U.K. is "just" negotiating the terms of its future trading relationship with the EU, and is committed to the timetable. Most business leaders expect, and many would prefer, Downing Street to seek a delay. After all, ministers on both sides of the channel have only the bandwidth to deal with one far more pressing crisis. — Edward Evans Beyond Brexit The IMF sees worst global recession since the Great Depression. The coronavirus may "reactivate" in cured patients, South Korea said. Horror at Spain's death toll has turned into anger at the prime minister. British Airways' credit rating was cut to junk. Hand sanitizer will be hard to find for a long, long time. The CEO of Zoom is tired of all those Zoom calls. The ultra-rich are taking out loans on their mansions. Sign up here for our daily coronavirus newsletter, and subscribe to our Covid-19 podcast. Click here for the latest maps and data on the spread of coronavirus. Want to keep up with Brexit? You can follow us @Brexit on Twitter, and listen to Bloomberg Westminster every weekday. It's live at midday on Bloomberg Radio and is available as a podcast too.  Share the Brexit Bulletin:  Colleagues, friends and family can sign up here.  For full EU coverage, try the Brussels Edition. For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.   Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Brexit Bulletin newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022