Rajoy and his cabinet meeting today to invoke Article 155 21 Oct

Article 155 of the Spanish constitution allows the national government to impose direct rule over Spain's semi-autonomous regions in the event of a crisis. It has never been invoked before in post-Franco Spain.

It says that if a region's government "acts in a way that seriously threatens the general interest of Spain", Madrid can "take necessary measures to oblige it forcibly to comply".

Catalonia currently enjoys a large degree of autonomy from Spain, including control over its own policing, education and healthcare but Rajoy is now expected to recommend dissolving Catalonia's government and holding elections in January, as well as taking control of the region's 16,000-strong police force.

After today's cabinet meeting, the measures will be debated by a Senate committee before a final vote. PM Rajoy's Popular Party holds a majority in the Senate, meaning the proposals are likely to pass. Yesterday I reported Rajoy saying also that he had the backing of opposition parties.

More from the BBC here

Difficult to gauge how much of this unrest/uncertainty has been factored into EUR pairs. Much will depend now on Puigdemont's response and subsequent fall-out.

I'm heading out now. Football beckons. So I'll wish you all a great week-end and thank you again for your ongoing-support and input.

Spanish govt planning to impose direct rule on Catalonia