UK investors are at their most confident since the Brexit vote… UK investors are becoming increasingly confident despite continued uncertainty around Brexit, new figures show. Investor sentiment has risen to its highest level since before the EU referendum, according to a Lloyds Bank survey of more than 4,000 adults. Overall, Lloyds reported net investor sentiment was at 6.1 per cent in February, up from 5.7 per cent in January and three per cent in February 2016. This is the highest figure recorded by the Lloyds Bank Investor Sentiment Index since April last year. – City A.M. …as employment hits record high as UK firms keep on hiring More workers than ever before are employed in the UK as upbeat companies show few signs of worry over the state of the economy. Employment climbed by 37,000 to 31.84m in the three months to December, while unemployment stayed steady at 1.6m – a level which has fallen by almost 100,000 over the past year as a whole. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.8pc, its joint-lowest rate in 11 years while the employment rate hit a new record high of 74.6pc. Female employment hit a new milestone, with more than 70pc of women in work for the first time, according to the Office for National Statistics. – Daily Telegraph …and eight months on from Brexit vote the FTSE is still flying with £400bn being added to value of UK’s 100 largest businesses Almost eight months on from the Brexit vote and the FTSE is still flying. The FTSE 250 index of medium-sized companies yesterday surged to a new record finish, climbing 0.2 per cent, or 39.68 points, to 18827.20. It is up almost 26 per cent since its low of 14967 the Monday after the referendum in June. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 blue-chip index has soared more than 22 per cent since its June low of 5982. Yesterday it finished up 0.47 per cent, or 33.85 points, at 7302.41. Some £400bn has been added to the value of the UK’s 100 largest businesses since the vote. Driving the charge is a combination of a weak pound and optimism. – This is Money UK fishermen may not win ‘waters back’ after Brexit, EU memo reveals The hopes of British fishermen that the UK can win its “waters back” post-Brexit are expected to be dashed by the European parliament, despite the campaign promises of Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, a leaked EU document reveals. MEPs have drafted seven provisions to be included in Britain’s “exit agreement”, including the stipulation that there will be “no increase to the UK’s share of fishing opportunities for jointly fished stocks (maintaining the existing quota distribution in UK and EU waters)”. The document, obtained by the Guardian, adds that in order for the UK and EU to keep to commitments on sustainable fishing contained within the United Nations stocks agreement. “It is difficult to see any alternative to the continued application of the common fisheries policy,” it says. – The Guardian Theresa May urged not to ‘betray fishermen’ after leaked report showed EU negotiations to allow foreign boats to remain in UK waters – The Sun Craig Mackinlay MP blasts ‘completely unacceptable’ European Parliament plan to maintain existing fishing quotas post-Brexit – Kent News > On BrexitCentral: Iceland points the way to a successful, sustainable fisheries policy to pursue post-Brexit Brussels ‘must share €150bn assets’ Britain is preparing to demand a substantial share of European Union assets worth more than €150 billion in the attempt to cut the cost of the Brexit divorce bill. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, is understood to be preparing a list of up to €60 billion of liabilities, including spending commitments signed off by Britain before the referendum that will be owed by the UK when it officially leaves in 2019. However, officials in Whitehall are understood to be drawing up their own list of EU financial assets and the government thinks that it is entitled to a significant share. Bruegel, an independent think tank in Brussels, made the first attempt to estimate the scale of these assets yesterday, placing them at €152.5 billion. – The Times (£) The UK’s Brexit bill: could EU assets partially offset liabilities? – Bruegel Theresa May turns down EU’s 60th anniversary bash British Prime Minister Theresa May will not attend an EU summit in Rome next month to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the Guardian reported Tuesday. An EU source told the paper the decision not to attend was “entirely logical” given that much of the summit’s focus would be on the future of the EU and the U.K. is leaving the bloc. The Treaty of Rome laid the foundations for “an ever closer union” among European member countries. May has promised to begin the process of leaving the EU by the end of March, and the summit will take place on March 25. Italian officials have told their British counterparts not to spoil the Rome party with an ill-timed Article 50 notice. – Politico ‘Punishing UK will hurt the whole of Europe’ Irish leader fires Brexit warning at EU In a direct shot at Brussels, Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny said it was deeply unwise to consider trying to damage the country for deciding to leave the union. Mr Kenny called for a transitional agreement to ease the damage likely to be caused by the split, on Wednesday. Threats to Ireland’s economy of a harsh Brexit have sparked a strong reaction from Mr Kenny whose nation’s economy is most at risk from the decision to quit the bloc. Mr Kenny said the government would seek the “closest possible” economic relationship between the EU and the UK. – Daily Express …as the Irish Prime Minister says he’s confident of no ‘divisive border’ after Brexit Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he is confident the European Union “will not bring us back to a border of division” post-Brexit. Mr Kenny said Ireland will have “no choice” but to successfully resist a renewed land frontier once the UK leaves the EU. “I have stressed this point to every European leader I have met,” he said. “In addition, all Government ministers have engaged intensively with their counterparts to ensure that Ireland’s position is well understood.” Speaking in his keynote address to an Institute of International and European Affairs gathering, the taoiseach said he would “do my best to put forward the interests of the north”. – ITV News Brexit: Irish government scouting for border checkpoint sites – The Irish News French senate report says UK must not be better off after Brexit The scale of Britain’s task in negotiating a successful Brexit has been underlined by a cross-party report from the French senate vowing that the UK must not be allowed leave the EU in a better-off position than it is now, and if necessary a withdrawal without an agreement has to be considered. The report also rules out sectoral agreements giving some UK industries privileged access to the EU single market. The document – the product of an eight-month inquiry chaired by the former French prime minster Jean-Pierre Raffarin – also vows that the talks on the UK’s future relationship with the EU cannot start until the terms of the divorce have been completed. – The Guardian Lords ‘don’t have the stomach to delay Article 50 Bill’, claims Lib Dem peer Dick Newby, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, said while he hopes at least two amendments will be made, there will not be attempts to delay the process and force the Prime Minister to miss her self-imposed deadline to trigger Article 50 by the end of March. Some peers have publicly asserted their intentions to block the Bill, and Lord Newby told the Guardian there are more than 230 Labour and Lib Dem peers who will vote in favour of amendments on the rights of EU citizens and parliamentary votes on the final Brexit deal. – Daily Express EU ‘worried English Champagne will flood into continent after Brexit’ The European Union is reportedly concerned that “English Champagne” and “British Parma ham” could flood into the continent after Brexit. The protected status of foodstuffs would end for Britain once the country leaves the EU, according to an official report, meaning that British companies could rename products. Paradoxically, the protected status of British foodstuffs, such as Cornish pasties and Cheddar cheese, would be preserved by EU countries. There are 1,150 products given “geographical indication” (GI) status across the EU’s 28 countries, 59 of which are British. The European parliament’s agriculture committee expressed concerns that the food naming laws would be thrown into turmoil in a document seen by the Guardian. – Daily Telegraph EU parliament backs free trade deal with Canada The European Parliament has approved a landmark free trade deal with Canada. EU lawmakers backed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) by 408-254 votes despite crowds of protesters contesting the deal outside. It means parts of the deal, such as tariff reduction, will come into force eight years after negotiations began. But other, more controversial aspects of the deal, such as the investor court system, will require ratification by EU member states which could take years. – BBC News Air pollution ‘final warning’ from European Commission to UK The European Commission has sent a “final warning” to the UK over breaches of air pollution limits. It said limits had been repeatedly exceeded in 16 areas including London, Birmingham, Leeds, and Glasgow. Germany, France, Spain and Italy were also served with warnings over nitrogen dioxide levels. The commission said if countries did not take action within two months it could take the matter to the European Court of Justice. Nitrogen dioxide comes from sources including factories and vehicles, particularly diesel engines. – BBC News Brendan O’Neill: The truth behind the Brexit hate crime ‘spike’ If you feel like this epidemic of hate doesn’t tally with your experience of life in Blighty in 2016, you aren’t alone. There is a great disparity between the handwringing over hate crime and what Britain is actually like. The open racism even I can remember in the 1980s has all but vanished. Racist chants at football matches are a distant memory. Hard-right, foreigner-bashing parties may be thriving on the Continent, but they are dying over here. The likes of the BNP and EDL have withered due to lack of interest. This is a British triumph. It’s not vainglorious to say that Britain is the most tolerant country in Europe, perhaps the world. In France, for instance, a national news-making hate incident is the attempted burning down of a mosque, which happened last month in Toulouse. In Britain, it is somebody shouting something nasty on a bus. – Brendan O’Neill for The Spectator Don’t Blame Brexit Voters For Hate Crimes, Urges Iain Dale – LBC Graeme Leach: Winning the battle for completely free trade post-Brexit will vastly increase UK prosperity Economists for Free Trade (of which I’m part) is launching today to make the case for the UK to run completely free trade once we leave the EU in 2019. Our aim is simple. We want Britain to lead the world on free trade. Our group has been formed to fight the battle which needs to be won in every generation. In 1824 Thomas Babington Macaulay stated: “Free trade, one of the greatest blessings which a government can confer on its people, is in almost every country unpopular.” Two centuries on Macaulay still rings true. In 1992 Ross Perot, a Texan billionaire, ran for the US presidency on a platform of opposing Nafta, with his memorable line about a “giant sucking sound” emanating from south of the border. Twenty-five years later a New York billionaire has reached the White House, with a determination to impose protectionist measures on Mexico and China. – Graeme Leach for City A.M. Omar Ali: The UK’s financial services industry is still set to grow. The EY ITEM Club forecasts that the domestic insurance market will see a combined total premium income of £271bn, total bank lending will stand at £6.2trillion, and assets under management should reach £1.1trillion in 2017. For Assets Under Management alone, that’s 18pc bigger than even two years ago. There are lots of conversations happening about the UK’s continued role as a global financial services hub. I would simply say that the talent, expertise and experience we have here, plus the depth and breadth of our capital markets, will continue to drive global demand for UK financial services. Brexit and wider geopolitics have injected a level of uncertainty and volatility we have not seen for some years, but the fundamentals that underpin the UK financial services industry’s role in the world are solid. – Omar Ali for the Daily Telegraph Philip Johnston: What if Britain had never joined the EU in the first place? The Treaty of Rome was indeed signed on March 25, 1957; but the UK was not represented at the conference that brought the EEC into being. What if we had been? Would the EU be celebrating its 60th anniversary next month as a united entity or would Britain have pulled out long ago? Or, perhaps, had we been on board from the start it would never have grown into the unwieldy, unaccountable structure that we see today but would have remained the loose-knit trading zone we always wanted. – Philip Johnston for the Daily Telegraph Dominic Raab MP: As inflation returns, here’s a plan to keep the UK economy feeling good With the economy strong, but inflation creeping up, what can responsibly be done to maintain a feelgood factor in Britain’s economy? Jeremy Corbyn’s plan to ban zero-hours contracts would, perversely, hurt low income families the most. In contrast, the Conservative Government has several levers it could pull to cut the cost of living – but they all mean tough choices. Having confounded the economic pessimists, Britain can embrace the challenges ahead with a bit of self-confidence. The UK was the fastest-growing industrialised economy in the world last year. The FTSE 100 and UK employment are both at record levels. Real wages have been rising since September 2014. – Dominic Raab for the Daily Telegraph Michael Tomlinson MP: Brexit is the greatest opportunity for free trade and prosperity since the repeal of the Corn Laws The sclerotic EU has taken eight years and counting, and is yet to consummate a free trade deal with a willing partner, namely Canada. Furthermore, its Singapore deal is tied up in litigation, and that is not to mention the glacial pace of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The most immediate benefit to Britain of free trade would be reduced cost to British consumers. In the agricultural sector, whether done unilaterally or within reciprocal preferential trade deals with key partners, the UK could source its imported food more cheaply, while still supporting UK farmers domestically. – ConservativeHome Graham Robb: People like me who predicted the worst about Brexit now need to admit we were wrong It’s not often that people in public life admit they are wrong. Last March, when I wrote in this column about the EU referendum, I described myself as a ‘reluctant remainian’ and repeated the ‘economic shock’ argument being put by leading economists, media outlets and most political parties. Facts, though, are stubborn things. The recent GDP figures, the ever-growing employment figures – which demonstrate more people in work than ever – now need to be taken at face value. The cohort of people – myself included – who predicted the worst, now need to admit they were wrong. I do admit it, in fact the news has been so good for the North East lately, it is a pleasure to admit it. – Graham Robb for the Newcastle Chronicle Brexit comment in brief Calling entrepreneurs: It’s time to be vocal about the post-Brexit visa system you need – Maria Patsalos for City A.M. Davidson says Sturgeon has failed to weaponise Brexit – Henry Hill for ConservativeHome The UK’s Brexit bill: could EU assets partially offset liabilities? – Bruegel UK employment continues to grow to new record levels – John Redwood on his blog Brexit news in brief Now German businesses are calling for post-Brexit partnership with UK – City A.M. Brexit Is ‘Mission Impossible’ And Will Damage Britain, Warns Leading German MEP – Huffington Post Frances O’Grady tells Theresa May to use ‘expert’ union chiefs in Brexit talks – IBTimes What will happen to EU nationals after Brexit? – New Statesman Shetland Islands toy with idea of post-Brexit independence – EurActiv France turns to EU courts to defend Strasbourg Parliament – EurActiv The British civil service faces a great Brexit challenge – Richard Common for The Conversation With silver and lead, Britain woos new allies in the Gulf – The Economist