The Queen, God Bless Her!

Grauniad ( and the Times) led early editions with the news that the Queen gave a speech to the Women's Insittute. Naturally, it had to relate to Brexit somehow:

Queen's speech calling for 'common ground' seen as Brexit allusion 

Eslsewhere, there is another example of 'balanced' reporting:

No-deal Brexit will disrupt UK economy, says Philip Hammond

Chancellor says disruption of leaving EU with no deal would ‘settle down’

While he was there ( at Davos): 'Hammond said companies had to accept that changes were coming – such as an end to the free movement of people and business models built on a supply of cheap labour.'

In another version  of the story, Hammond seems more steely:

Philip Hammond urges business leaders to accept Brexit result

“We need to get the politics right,” Hammond said at a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) lunch in Davos. “Even from the narrowest interpretation of business interests, it would be a pyrrhic victory to meet the needs of the economy, but by shattering the broad economic consensus behind our country’s political and economic system.”

 

Elsewhere,it is Graun business as usual:

The pound soared after Theresa May suffered the biggest parliamentary defeat ever over her Brexit plan, as currency traders in the City bet that the chances of a hard Brext in less than 70 days’ time had significantly diminished....Stock markets around the world have rallied over the past month after the worst December for Wall Street since 1931. The FTSE 100 has staged a strong recovery along with other major global indices as hopes grow for a resolution in the US-China dispute over trade, which has been acting as a handbrake on the global economy. The UK’s major listed companies have gained by more than 6% in a month, despite lingering concerns over Brexit....UK inflation declined to the lowest level in almost two years in December after a drop in petrol prices....An increase in firms stockpiling before a potential no-deal Brexit helped UK factory output grow at the fastest pace in six months during December, amid growing fears of border delays...The average wages of British workers rose at the fastest annual rate since the financial crisis in the three months to November as unemployment fell to the lowest rate since the mid-1970s...The Office for National Statistics said the UK’s contribution to the EU budget was £1.5bn higher than in December 2017; transfers to Brussels can fluctuate at the end of each year.

Must be galling for them.Luckily:

Britain’s trade in goods deficit – the gap between imports and exports – unexpectedly widened in November to £12bn from £11.9bn in October, as the weak pound failed to lift export volumes abroad...UK consumers reined in their spending in December over the key Christmas shopping period after splashing out in November on Black Friday promotions...UK house prices fell at the fastest rate in six years in December, while the outlook for sales was the weakest in two decades, according to the latest snapshot from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors [a plus for me]...UK car sales fell at the fastest rate since the world plunged into recession a decade ago, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. While consumer demand has waned as the Brexit vote dents households’ finances and knocks confidence in making big purchases, several other problems have plagued the car industry.

Note all the other problems mentioned as well as Brexit.