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Thanks for joining me. Recruitment consultancy Robert Walters has revealed it has axed hundreds of jobs amid the longest slump in job vacancies on record.
The company axed about 220 roles in the fourth quarter of 2023, cutting its headcount by 5pc to 3,980.
5 things to start your day
1) American regulator approves Bitcoin funds but warns of risks | Investors should remain cautious about Bitcoin’s dangers, the regulator’s chairman has said
2) The bond vigilantes who could punish Britain’s debt binge | ‘The kindness of strangers’ is set to play a decisive role as a general election looms
3) M&S to edge Waitrose in battle of the middle-class supermarkets | Strong festive sales puts grocer on track to overtake rival
4) Channel 5-owner is takeover target for Silicon Valley billionaire’s heir | A deal would scupper a mega-merger being discussed between Warner Bros and Paramount
5) Claire Coutinho vows to build nuclear energy plant to power six million homes | Energy Secretary heralds ‘biggest expansion’ for 70 years after setting out roadmap
What happened overnight
Asian stocks rose ahead of US inflation data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s thinking on rate cuts, while the crypto world got a boost after exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin were approved in the United States.
Japan’s Nikkei breached 35,000 for the first time since February 1990 in a blistering start to the year, after rising 28pc in 2023, its strongest yearly performance in a decade.
The Nikkei closed up 1.8pc, or 608.14 points, to 35,049.86 while the broader Topix index added 1.6pc, or 38.39 points to 2,482.87.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta were also well up.
In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 top American companies rose 0.45pc, to 37,695.73, while the S&P 500 gained 0.57pc, closing at 4,783.45. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index added 0.75pc, reaching 14,969.65.
The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds advanced one basis point to 4.03pc.
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