Good morning. Nearly £700m of trade could be disrupted amid strikes at Britain’s biggest container port.
Workers at Felixstowe began an eight-day walkout yesterday, causing heavy disruption at the onset of the ‘peak season’ leading to Christmas.
It’s a quiet day elsewhere, also European gas prices are jumping higher again amid worries about disruption.
5 things to start your day
1) Fund nuclear power with green bonds, Treasury told The energy industry is pressing the Government to include nuclear technology in its Green Financing Framework.
2) Ineos bags £474m profit as bet on oil and gas pays off Billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company swung into the black last year after turmoil in the energy markets sent prices soaring.
3) Small businesses warn of ‘existential threat’ posed by £20,000 energy bills Tory leadership candidates face calls to cut VAT on household bills from 20pc to the 5pc and to extend the price cap to small companies.
4) Nick Candy bids to freeze former partner’s assets The property developer has sought a worldwide asset freeze against a former business partner in a fraud case at the High Court.
5) Rocketing rents leave tenants with one less room for their money Renters have been robbed of an extra bedroom after their buying power shrunk at a record rate amid a chronic shortage of properties to let.
What happened overnight
Asian shares slipped on Monday and the dollar extended its climb amid angst over global growth as most major banks keep raising rates, while a modest easing by China served only to highlight troubles in its property market.
Unease over China’s economy tipped the yuan to a 23-month low, while pressuring stocks across the region.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell a further 0.7pc, while Chinese blue chips dipped 0.1pc.
South Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.7pc while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.6pc, though it has drawn support from the recent sharp reversal in the yen.
Coming up today
- Corporate: No scheduled results
- Economics: Interest rate decision (China); Chicago Fed national activity index (US)
