Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson won’t run for PM position

Brexit

Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson won't run for PM position

In Britain, a leading candidate for Prime Minister has abruptly pulled out of the race.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation, as Britain voted to quit the European Union last week.

CCTV’s Richard Bestic reports from London, at the last minute, Boris Johnson, the “Leave” Campaign’s most prominent figure, said he’s not entering the race.

“Having consulted colleagues, and in view of the circumstances in parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me.” said Boris Johnson, the EU Leave campaigner.

“We need someone who believes in the British people’s verdict that they delivered last week. We need someone who can appeal to and unite individuals who argued we should leave and who also believed we should remain in the European Union.” said conservative leadership candidate Michael Gove.

Michael Gove, Britain’s Justice Minister, who campaigned alongside Johnson throughout the Leave campaign, was the one who stopped Boris, when suddenly, he announced he was standing to be Prime Minister and attacked his former ally as not having “what it takes” to be a leader.

There would be many in Britain angered by Boris Johnson’s last minute leadership announcement.

The favorite candidate for the top job now among five contenders: Home Secretary Therese May.

The U.K. was out of the EU as she declared and her task as the next Prime would be getting a new deal.

“Brexit means Brexit. The campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high and the public gave their verdict. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU, no attempts to re-join it through the back door and no second referendum. The country voted to leave the European Union and it’s the duty of the government and parliament to make sure we do just that,” May said.

At the two day EU leaders summit in Brussels, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron discovered any deal will be dependent on the free movement of capital, of goods and critically of labor. This makes Britain’s attempts to curb EU immigration levels a possible sticking point.


Japan assesses damage to fragile economy after Brexit

While the British pound has been sinking, Japan’s yen has been moving in the other direction as currency traders look for somewhere safe to park their money.

And that’s a cause for concern, as CCTV’s Terrence Terashima reports.

Britain’s vote to leave the EU certainly rocked the foundation of Japan’s economic recovery. The higher yen and further slowdown in the global economy would dampen exports, corporate, and consumer sentiment, adding downward pressures on the economy.

The Nikkei stock average is now rallying at 15,000 yen level, and the Japanese currency testing the psychological 100 yen against the US dollar.

Investors were cautiously trying to assess what might follow, but many voice concerned that it might have left prolonged damages to Japan’s economy.

“Further gain in the Yen, will certainly hurt the Japanese economy. Performances of the export related manufacturing sectors expected to worsen, which will affect corporate profits, and wages. At worse it could drive Japan back into deflation,” Satoshi Osanai, senior economist of Daiwa Institute of Research, Ltd. said.

There are expectations of government’s supplementary budget after the upper house election ends on July 10, while BOJ’s continues efforts in maintaining the liquidity in the market.

All still remain unclear of what further development one might expect, But it is certain that Japan wants to maintain the psychological 100-yen to the dollar. The market is also out watching what further moves the BOJ might make during its policy meeting scheduled at the end of the months.