Good morning. Almost £700m could be disrupted amid strikes at the UK’s biggest container port.
Workers in Felixstowe yesterday began an eight-day walkout, causing major disruption at the start of the “peak season” leading up to Christmas.
It’s a quiet day elsewhere, also European gas prices are rising again amid concerns about outages.
5 things to start the day
1) Fund nuclear power with green bonds, Treasury said. The energy industry is pushing the government to include nuclear technology in its green financing framework.
2) Ineos makes £474m profit as oil and gas bet pays off for billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company last year after turmoil in energy markets sent prices soaring.
3) Small businesses warn of ‘existential threat’ posed by £20,000 energy bills Conservative leadership candidates face calls to cut VAT on household bills from 20% to 5% and to extend the price cap to small businesses.
4) Nick Candy moves to freeze former partner’s assets The property developer has sought a worldwide asset freeze against a former business partner in a High Court fraud case.
5) Rising rents leave renters with one less room for their money Renters have been robbed of an extra bedroom after their spending power shrank at a record pace amid a chronic shortage of rental properties.
What happened during the night
Asian shares fell on Monday and the dollar extended its rally amid worries about global growth as most major banks continue to raise rates, while moderate easing in China only served to highlight the problems of its real estate market.
Unease over China’s economy pushed the yuan to a 23-month low, while weighing on stocks across the region.
The broader index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell another 0.7 percent, while Chinese chips fell 0.1 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.7% while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.6%, although it has been supported by the yen’s recent strong reversal.
It arrives today
- Corporate: No scheduled results
- Economy: Interest rate decision (China); Chicago Fed National Activity Index (US)