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Thanks for joining us. Bosses are facing a downturn in demand equivalent to levels experienced during the pandemic and in the wake of the global financial crisis, a survey from Lloyds has shown.
The slump comes as businesses prepare for the Bank of England to potentially announce a 15th consecutive increase in interest rates on Thursday to 5.5pc.
5 things to start your day
1) ‘Sandwich generation’ paying for Britain’s inactivity crisis, says ex-Bank of England chief | Andy Haldane warns over pressures of long-term sickness on middle-aged workers
2) Cut taxes or electric car industry will suffer, ministers warned | Carmakers blame lack of incentives for battery-powered vehicles’ flagging demand
3) Elon Musk brands Saudi Arabia Tesla factory claims ‘utterly false’ | Reports come as the billionaire ‘plays the field’ for a new manufacturing site
4) Sainsbury’s slaughters beef cattle months earlier as part of net zero ambitions | Supermarket says improved efficiency on farms has brought forward ‘optimal point for consumption’
5) British farmers are ‘struggling to survive’, warn celebrity chefs | British farmers are ‘struggling to survive’, warn Rick Stein and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
What happened overnight
Asian shares sank as worries about the Chinese property sector weighed on markets from Hong Kong to Australia, while Japanese investors sold chip stocks on their return from a holiday-extended weekend.
Benchmark US Treasury yields hovered near 16-year peaks and the dollar held close to six-month highs as traders braced for a Federal Reserve rate decision on Wednesday, in a week that also sees policy decisions from the Bank of Japan and Bank of England.
Crude oil continued its rally amid tighter supply, stoking worries about stagflation.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares slipped 0.3pc.
Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 1.1pc under the weight of big losses for chip-related stocks including Tokyo Electron and Advantest.
Japanese markets were closed Monday, when Asian tech stocks sold off following a Reuters report that TSMC had asked its major vendors to delay deliveries.
US markets closed slightly higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 edging up 0.1pc to 4,453.53, coming off its second straight losing week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1pc to 34,624,30, while the Nasdaq Composite added less than 0.1pc to 13,710.24.
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