U.K., EU Officials Begin Brexit Talks

Negotiations over the U.K.'s exit from the European Union are now underway in Brussels on Monday. The U.K.'s Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, shook hands in front of photographers to mark the beginning of talks nearly one year after the U.K.'s Brexit referendum. Davis is aiming to create a "strong and special partnership" with the EU, according to a BBC report. Britain will exit the EU's single market and customs union, said U.K. Treasury chief Philip Hammond on Sunday. But no Brexit deal for the U.K. would be a "very, very bad outcome," Hammond said on BBC1's "The Andrew Marr Show" show. The pound was trading at $1.2805 on Monday, still sharply lower from around $1.50 when voting in the U.K.'s referendum on June 23, 2016, was taking place.