Theresa May to resign on June 7
Theresa May announced on Friday morning that she will resign as U.K. Prime Minister on June 7, and the process of choosing a new leader will begin the following week.
Her resignation came after she angered many members of her own party earlier this week by making a new offer on Brexit in a last attempt to rally MPs to pass her deal, including compromises on a second referendum and a customs union.
“I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal. Sadly, I have not been able to do so,” May said in a highly emotional speech outside Downing Street.
The pound rose to $1.2710 against the dollar this morning shortly after her announcement, but later fell to $1.2666.
U.S. stocks poised to rebound
U.S. stocks are set to open higher on Friday as investors appear to shrug off trade uncertainties between Washington and Beijing.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it has proposed a new rule to impose punitive duties on goods from nations that artificially undervalue their currencies.
Economists believe that the Trump administration could use the sweeping trade policy to slap higher tariffs on goods that adversaries such as China export to the U.S.
Futures on the blue-chip Dow were seen gaining 133 points as of 5:45 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed 38 points and those on the broader S&P 500 rose 15 points.
Facebook planning to launch ‘GlobalCoin’ in the Q1 2020
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) is planning to launch its own digital currency dubbed “GlobalCoin” in the first quarter of 2020, according to a BBC report.
The news organization reported on Friday that Facebook intends to launch the cryptocurrency-based payments system in 12 countries, and is on track to begin trials by the end of this year.
The social media giant is also said to be seeking advice from Mark Carney (the governor of Bank of England) regarding regulatory issues and opportunities for the initiative. BBC said that more details about GlobalCoin are expected to be announced in the coming months.
Footlocker tumbles on earnings miss
Shares of Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) lost more than 10% in pre-market trading Friday after the shore store reported its first-quarter earnings. New York-based Foot Locker had earnings of $1.52 per share, and adjusted earnings of $1.53 per share.
On average, analysts expected the company to report adjusted earnings of $1.60 per share. Sales rose 2.6% to $2.07 billion in the quarter, while comparable store sales rose 4.6%. Analysts were calling for sales of $2.11 billion.
