Expectations are that the court will decide that such approval is needed; what is slightly more unknown is in what form that judgement will come. Even through any the issue should pass through parliament, with Jeremy Corbyn mulling over whether or not to order Labour MPs to vote for enacting Article 50, the news may give a short-term boost to sterling as it helps put another obstacle in the way of a hard Brexit.
The pound has been in recovery mode for the last week or so, culminating in a fresh 5 week high against the dollar during Monday’s trading; it has slipped back slightly this morning, but that could all change if the Supreme Court ruling follows the expected path. As for the FTSE, the index has taken back around 15 points since the day began, though that might only be temporary if sterling starts to swell.
Tuesday’s other big news came in the form of a toxic update from BT. Though the company is set to report its third quarter figures on Friday, it got a bit ahead of itself this morning, revealing ‘inappropriate accounting practices’ in its Italian business will cost it more than half a billion pounds. BT is now forecasting no revenue growth for the next 2 years and a sharp cut to its previous earnings estimates; unsurprisingly this was not received well by investors, the stock plunging 15% after the bell.