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Thanks for joining me. Britain is at risk of a recession after revisions to official data showed the economy shrank in the third quarter.
The Office for National Statistics said GDP slumped by 0.1pc in the three months to September.
Two consecutive quarters of contractions are defined as a technical recession. The UK began the fourth quarter with a 0.3pc contraction in October.
5 things to start your day
1) Hunt hints at spring tax cuts if Britain’s debt bill falls | Economists expect the Chancellor to have over £10bn of fiscal wiggle room
2) The war on landlords has backfired – and Britons are paying the price | Nation’s animosity towards the ‘bogeymen of modern times’ has reached a breaking point
3) Paramount heiress prepares to bow out as Hollywood streaming wars turn ugly | Billionaire tycoon speculated to be exploring selling 77pc stake of controlling shares
4) China blocks exports of rare earth technology after MPs warn Beijing is ‘weaponising’ supplies | Move follows Western efforts to restrict the country’s access to microchip technology
5) Patrick Minford: The Laffer Curve is about to blow up the SNP | Decision to introduce 48pc top tax rate is only going to bring in modest amounts
What happened overnight
Shares were mostly higher in Asia after several strong profit reports helped Wall Street claw back most of its sharp loss from day before.
Japan’s core inflation rate fell to 2.5pc in November from 2.9pc a month earlier as energy costs eased. The decline might counter expectations that the central bank will tighten its lax monetary policy in coming months.
Bank of Japan officials have indicated they want to ensure inflation is sustained near the 2pc target level and that wages are also rising before adjusting the central bank’s longstanding minus 0.1pc benchmark interest rate.
Tokyo stocks trimmed early gains and closed only marginally higher as markets overseas move into the holiday season.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.1pc, or 28.58 points, to end at 33,169.05, while the broader Topix index added 0.5pc, or 10.45 points, to 2,336.43.
The Kospi in Seoul added 0.4pc to 2,609.54. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gave up 0.4pc to 16,548.98 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.5pc at 2,933.25. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.1pc to 7,510.90.
Bangkok’s SET slipped 0.3pc and the Sensex in Mumbai was up 0.3pc.
Wall Street shares resumed their upward climb on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 leading American companies closed up 0.9pc at 37,404.35 points, while the broader S&P 500 index was up 1pc at 4,746.75. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite index, which is skewed towards technology shares, was up 1.3pc at 14,963.87.
The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds was up 1.5 basis points to 3.892pc, from 3.877pc late on Wednesday.
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