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5 things to start your day
Bond trading has surged as wealthy UK investors race to buy tax-free gilts, according to new figures.
There has been an almost tenfold jump in direct bond trading in the year-to-date, according to Interactive Investor, when compared with the same period in 2022. Almost all of the activity was concentrated in gilts.
1) Whitehall prepares for water nationalisations as Thames Water teeters on the brink | Officials drawing up contingency plan amid fears of domino effect
2) Covid to blame for inflation – not Brexit, says Andrew Bailey | Governor rebukes Mark Carney’s claim that leaving the EU caused stubbornly high prices
3) ChatGPT creator picks London for first office outside the US | Move comes as Rishi Sunak pitches Britain as a global base for AI development
4) Revolution Beauty gives directors £3m in shares despite majority vote to oust them | Windfall follows company’s accounting scandal and suspension from stock market
5) Banks ‘will charge mortgage borrowers more’ if Hunt demands better savings rates | Lenders react after the Chancellor meets regulators to discuss a support package for households
What happened overnight
Wall Street stocks were mixed on Wednesday, as indexes drifted between small gains and losses through a quiet day of trading.
The S&P 500 finished down by less than 0.1pc at to 4,376.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2pc to 33,852.66. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3pc to 13,591.75.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 3.71pc.
In Asia on Thursday morning, stock markets were mixed after leaders of major central banks said they need to keep interest rates high to fight persistent inflation despite fears that might tip the global economy into recession.
Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul retreated while Tokyo and Sydney advanced. Oil prices declined.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1pc to 3,185.56 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.4pc to 33,340.66. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank 0.9pc to 18,995.31.
The Kospi in Seoul gave up 0.1pc to 2,560.67 while Australia’s S&P-ASX 200 advanced less than 0.1pc to 7,203.30. New Zealand advanced while Bangkok declined.
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