Markets eye 11th-hour Brexit deal

Sterling steadied as UK prime minister Theresa May tried to persuade the EU to modify her own Brexit deal to avoid a disorderly British departure from the bloc.

European Council president Donald Tusk said yesterday he would make no new offer on Brexit and those who promoted Britain’s exit without any understanding of how to deliver it deserve a “special place in hell”. The sharpening of rhetoric did not budge the pound much, with investors focused instead on plans to get a deal across the line.