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Today in Brexit: Hopes of sealing a Brexit deal this week are on a knife edge as time ebbs away before a crucial summit.

What’s happening? There is just one day left to reach a Brexit deal if a legal text is to be presented at this week’s summit of European Union leaders. The European Union presidency thinks more time is needed and U.K. opposition parties believe any deal struck now is likely to be incomplete.

There is “no time in a practical way” to reach a deal by Thursday’s summit, said Antti Rinne, prime minister of Finland, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency. The prospect of an emergency summit before the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline is now being discussed, reports say. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said this morning that a deal is possible this week.

The Queen’s Speech Monday showed what’s at stake: the opportunity to shape a domestic agenda after Brexit. Parliament’s pomp and ceremony seemed more surreal than usual as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, which has no majority in the House of Commons, set out domestic plans it has little chance of implementing before an election. Still, Johnson continued to lay the groundwork for an election and repeatedly pledged to “get Brexit done.” Despite this pledge he is obligated by the Benn Act to ask for a delay to Brexit if he hasn’t finalized a deal by Saturday.

As the clock ticks down to the Brexit deadline, U.K. opposition parties met Monday to discuss their next move. The group decided to wait and see how the next 48 hours go, but if Johnson does get a deal they could seek a confirmatory public vote on it as a price for allowing it to pass Parliament, Blooomberg’s Jessica Shankleman reports.

Meanwhile the pound continues its rocky ride. Sterling gave back some gains on Monday before rallying on Barnier’s comments this morning. Traders fear getting on the wrong side of what could be a swift and brutal move in the markets once the outcome of this crunch week becomes clearer. 

Today’s Must-Reads

  • The Brexit threat to global markets remains too big to ignore, Anchalee Worrachate and Justina Lee report today, with many investors remembering only too well the vortex that hit world markets after the 2016 Brexit vote.

  • Even if Boris Johnson can somehow secure a deal, getting it past his Northern Irish allies could be more of a challenge, Dara Doyle explains. 

  • Increasing numbers of MPs are nervous about the prospect of an election before Brexit is resolved, boosting talk of a new referendum, Rachel Sylvester writes in The Times.

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Brexit in Brief

Still Possible | Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said in an interview with the Irish Examiner that while there are “big gaps” between the two sides, he still believes a Brexit deal can be reached, but the question is whether it can be done by the end of the month. Continuing talks into next week would mean “a lot of added complications,” he said. An Irish border backstop compromise is still in the cards, Peter Foster reports in the Telegraph, though he says the issue of trade could still derail talks.

Summit Else | The EU is mulling an additional emergency summit to get Brexit done, according to the BBC’s Katya Adler. The bloc may make a “holding pattern statement” at this week’s summit to say that progress has been made in negotiations but more time is needed. 

Election Pitch | Boris Johnson continued to lay the ground for a general election in his comments following the Queen’s Speech Monday, promising  “a new age of opportunity for the whole country” and a “high wage, low tax economy, with the highest environmental standards.” He also drew attention to the Tories’ spending pledges for the state-run National Health Service. 

Budget Delay | The U.K. announced plans for a budget statement on Nov. 6 just 24 hours ago, but now says it will delay that by a few weeks if there is a “no-deal” Brexit. A delay would help to ensure transitional arrangements and a temporary continuation of EU rules, Bloomberg Law reports.

Room to Run | Goldman Sachs sees the pound powering higher if the two sides in the Brexit talks do make more progress towards a deal. The bank reiterated its recommendation to buy the pound and sees scope for it to rally to $1.30, from around $1.26 currently. 

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To contact the author of this story: Charlotte Ryan in London at cryan147@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Adam Blenford at ablenford@bloomberg.net, Leila Taha

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