Pound LIVE: Pound steady as May and Macron get down to border business
THE POUND is flat this morning as President of France Emmanuel Macron arrives in the UK and Prime Minister May promises to spend an extra £44.5m is to be spent beefing up Channel border security.
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11.35am - UPDATE - Good news for Carillion staff
Nationwide Building Society has saved around 250 jobs after saying that it will take services previously provided by Carillion in-house.
Nationwide said: "During an unsettling time for Carillion employees we felt it was important to provide them with some reassurances.
“We are today announcing a proposal to bring all services provided directly by Carillion in house, with Carillion employees becoming Nationwide employees from 22 January. This will provide clarity for those affected and ensure that services are maintained.
“As part of the wider supply chain arrangements we will also now look to deal directly with third-party suppliers that currently support the Carillion contract.”
The Pound is up a solid 0.34 percent against the Dollar to 1.3874m but remains down against the Euro to 1.1337, a fall of 0.34 percent.
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10.11am - UPDATE - Household spending returns to pre-crisis levels
The Office for National Statistics reports that UK household spending has finally returned to its levels before the financial crisis.
The average household spent £554.20 per week in 2017. The figure, adjusted for inflation, marks a return to pre-economic downturn levels.
The Pound is down 0.13 percent to 1.133, but up on the Dollar to 1.3841, a rise of 0.11 percent.
9.58am - UPDATE - Brexit won't bother SMEs
Brexit will have little impact on the ability of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) despite changes to free movement of labour says research from FTSE 250 merchant banking group.
New research from Close Brothers Asset Finance shows that 89 per cent of the UK’s SMEs will either benefit or feel little to no impact if free movement of labour is restricted post-Brexit.
The new Brexit boost comes the Close Brothers Business Barometer, a quarterly survey that canvassed the opinion of nearly 1,000 SME owners across the UK and RoI and across several industries on a range of issues affecting their businesses.
The 139-year-old merchant bank spoke to Express.co.uk about the talent available to recruiters in the UK, and the challenges of Brexit.
Neil Davies, CEO, Close Brothers Asset Finance told Express.co.uk that their research says a lot about the level of talent we have in the UK, which for a long time been very strong and is most likely why businesses are confident about being able to cope even if free movement of labour is restricted post-Brexit.
He said: “We have some of the best schools, universities and colleges in the world that are continuing to provide the people we need.
“We clearly cannot afford be complacent, but the results show that SMEs feel they are well positioned to draw from a strong workforce now and into the future.”
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9.18am - UPDATE - China's GDP growth
China's GDP grew by 6.9 per cen from the year previous - a staggering amount.
But many China watchers believe the GDP numbers are much weaker than the official figures suggest.
In the past both China and India have been accused of swelling their GDP figures for domestic political reasons and China has, in years past, blamed bad data on "the provinces" before making the correction.
The Pound is 0.14 per cent down on the Euro, 0.06 per cent against the Dollar.
8.48am - UPDATE - FTSE down at start of day
The FTSE 100 index is down 6.30 points to 7,719.13 at the start of the day.
8.39am - UPDATE - Labour lost as EU (withdrawal) bill passes
More confusion for Labour this morning after just four of their number (and the suspended Kelvin Hopkins) voted to back the European (withdrawal) Bill.
The financial markets are desperately crying out for clarity and Labour whipping its MPs to oppose the legislation has only added to the confusion.
Questions can also be raised over the authority of Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer who has repeatedly made point that Labour "respects" the vote, but those above him don't seem to be carrying that message with any real conviction.
The pound is down 0.14 per cent against the Euro and up 0.16 against the Dollar.
8.19am - UPDATE - Macron's visit keeps Sterling steady
The Pound is down 0.12 per cent against the Euro to 1.1333, but up 0.12 per cent against the Dollar to 1.3842.
President of France Emmanuel Macron is in the UK to talk borders, Brexit and present the idea that while Britain and France were heading in different directions, both governments are committed to working together.
However, Lord Peter Ricketts, who represented the UK in Paris between 2012-2016, has said the French President has his eyes on stealing jobs from Britain.
In an interview on BBC Newsnight, he said: “When it comes to French interests, economic interest, in the Brexit negotiations he will be hard headed and he will push for a tough outcome.”
He added: “Of course, where there’s an opportunity of draining jobs from the UK and into France, they will be taking it.”.
Read Dan Falvey's report here.
