Graeme Wearden 

M&G suspends property fund amid Brexit uncertainty and retail crisis – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as UK asset manager surprisingly freezes a major property investment fund
  
  

The old financial quarter in Manchester.
The old financial quarter in Manchester. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Finally, back in the markets, renewed trade war optimism has pushed Wall Street higher.

The Dow is up 200 points, after Bloomberg reportedly earlier that the US and China were closer to a deal than Donald Trump suggested yesterday.

European stock markets also rallied, in their best day for a month (after the worst day in two months).

The FTSE 100 has a more modest rally, up 29 points at 7,188. It was held back by the pound, which is still at a 7-month high at nearly $1.31.

Goodnight! GW

The Full Story

Here’s my colleague Patrick Collinson on M&G’s property fund freeze:

One of the UK’s biggest property funds, which owns shopping centres across the country, has alarmed investors by banning withdrawals and blaming both Brexit and the retail downturn for its problems.

The £2.5bn M&G Property Portfolio was suspended after “unusually high and sustained outflows” – demand from investors for their money back – prompted by “Brexit-related political uncertainty and ongoing structural shifts in the UK retail sector”.

M&G admitted it had been unable to sell commercial property fast enough to fund the rush for the door by investors, leaving it with no choice but to prevent further withdrawals.

The fund’s biggest holdings include shopping centres such as Fremlin Walk in Maidstone, Kent, where House of Fraser is one of the biggest tenants.

M&G said the suspension would give it time to raise cash to repay investors. While the fund is suspended, M&G will cut the fees it charges to manage the fund. M&G did not give a timeline for when the fund would be reopened, saying it was monitoring the situation daily.

The financial adviser Chase de Vere told investors not to panic, but added: “M&G has struggled with this due to number of investors cashing out and a relatively high exposure to retail properties, which are proving difficult to sell.

“As a result, the amount of cash in the fund has fallen to about 5%, making it difficult for them to meet ongoing redemptions.”

More here.

Rival property funds are scrambling to reassure investors.

Aviva says it has build a 30% cash level in its property fund, due to “heightened market uncertainty”. BMO has said its fund holds 24% of its assets in cash, and is still open (vie Reuters).

That is meant to reassure investors that they can withdraw their funds when they like (preventing a panicky dash to the exit). But it may also annoy some customers -- after all, these funds are meant to be putting cash to work, not sitting on it.

MorningStar reported today that investors are being charged management fees even if their cash hasn’t been invested.

Ben Yearsley, investment director at Shore Financial Planning, told them:

“It’s a disgrace. These funds are offering something that they are not delivering. It is plain wrong to charge investors the full annual fee on a fund when only 70% of their money is being invested.”

More here: Are Property Funds Holding Too Much Cash?

Too much spare cash wasn’t M&G’s problem, of course.....

M&G investors could be trapped in the Property Portfolio fund for some time.

Laura Suter of stockbroker AJ Bell points out that the fund was closed for two months after the Brexit vote:

M&G’s problems may have been exacerbated by the crisis at Neil Woodford’s asset management empire.

Woodford was forced to freeze his once-popular Woodford Equity Income fund this summer, after a wave of redemption requests. Investors now face massive losses - they could lose two-thirds of their money once the fund is wound down.

The Woodford debacle has highlighted the danger of open-ended funds. Last month, FT Advisor reported there has been “a surge” of property fund redemptions since.

M&G’s move is the first suspension of a major property fund since the panic after the Brexit vote (explained here), says the Financial Times.

Here’s its take:

Fund manager M&G has suspended trading in its £2.5bn Property Portfolio, which is marketed to retail investors, after facing “unusually high and sustained outflows” it blamed on Brexit and the retail downturn.

The fund is the first major open-ended property fund to halt redemptions in this way since the crisis in the sector that caused seven funds to “gate” in 2016 following the Brexit referendum — one of the most high-profile market consequences of the vote to leave the EU.

M&G, a London-listed asset manager, said the pressure of outflows had exceeded the speed at which it can sell properties, leading it to suspend any redemption requests arriving after midday on Wednesday.

More here: M&G suspends £2.5bn property fund on Brexit and retail woes

Updated

Signs of distress at M&G’s Property Portfolio fund have been building in recent weeks, leading to today’s suspension.

Last month, M&G carried out an unusual ‘intra-month valuation update’, having spotted a material (downward) move in its assets.

This update revealed that M&G’s retail property assets had lost 7.7% of their value, due to a “marked deterioration” in the retail sector.

The company says the rise of internet shopping, and the collapse of several high street chains, were to blame:

It is has been well documented that the bricks and mortar retail sector is suffering substantial headwinds. The rise of e-commerce coupled with recent retailer failures is increasing uncertainty across the sector. Retailers are reluctant to pay high rents and investors are decreasing their appetite for retail assets.

(Transaction volumes have decreased by 24% compared to the same period in 2018). Even in highly sought after locations such as Bath and Manchester, rents have declined over the last 12 months.

More here....

In October, fund industry tracker Morningstar spotted that £2bn of cash had left property funds this year -- with M&G losing £750m alone. That was an “echo” of the stampede after the Brexit vote, Reuters reported.

The BBC’s Simon Gompertz has also heard that the cash reserves in M&G’s property fund have run rather low, forcing today’s suspension.

We've been here before....

Readers might also remember that a swathe of property funds were temporarily frozen after the EU referendum in 2016.

Two weeks after the vote, around £18bn was locked up as asset managers barred the doors, to give time to sell office blocks and shops in order to meet redemption requests.

The fundamental problem is that these funds are open-ended, allowing a retail investor to put money in and take it out again as they like. Until too many of them want to cash in at once.

Merryn Somerset Webb, editor in chief of Money Week, says there is a structural problem here:

Updated

The BBC’s Simon Gompertz is tweeting a handy explanation to M&G’s shock property suspension:

Shares in M&G have fallen by 2% since it suspended the Property Portfolio fund.

M&G: We know it's very frustrating.....

M&G is also waiving around a third of the management fee it charges investors -- to address the frustration they’ll feel about being locked into the Property Portfolio.

It says:

The funds will still be actively managed during suspension, but we understand that being unable to deal in the funds is very frustrating for our customers. In recognition, M&G is waiving 30% of its annual charge, which will end when the funds resume dealing.

Suspension will be formally reviewed on a monthly basis and we will inform investors if the level of discount changes. In all other respects, the funds will operate as normal and you will continue to receive income payments, fund reporting and updates as usual

This surprise suspension will allow M&G breathing room to raise cash (by selling property) so it can pay people who want to redeem their investment in the Property Portfolio.

It says:

In accordance with the Fund’s strategy, the suspension will allow the fund managers time to raise cash levels to pay redemptions, whilst ensuring that asset sales are achieved at market prices and investors in the Fund are safeguarded. In all other aspects, the Fund will continue to operate as normal throughout the suspension and customers will continue to receive income payment.

M&G suspends dealings in property fund

NEWSFLASH: One of Britain’s biggest fund managers has just suspended dealing in its multi-billion property fund.

M&G has blamed Brexit for the temporary move, saying political uncertainty has made it hard to sell property assets to meet redemption requests from investors in its Property Portfolio.

The crisis on the high street -- with many retailers shutting stores -- is another factor.

In a letter to investors, M&G says:

In recent months, continued Brexit-related uncertainty and ongoing structural shifts in the UK retail sector have prompted unusually high outflows from our property fund for retail investors.

Given that these circumstances and deteriorating market conditions have significantly impacted our ability to sell commercial property, we have temporarily suspended dealing in the interests of protecting our customers.

The assets owned by the M&G Property Portfolio, such as office buildings and shopping centres, are held for the long term and take time to buy and sell, making it difficult to immediately meet sudden and sustained levels of redemptions. Suspending the funds at this time will allow the fund managers, Fiona Rowley and Justin Upton, time to restore the cash levels by selling assets in an orderly manner and preserve value for our investors.

What does it mean?

The Property Portfolio holds 91 commercial properties across the UK, and manages assets of £2.54 billion.

Funds of its type take money from investors, invest it in commercial property assets, and pay returns from rental payments and capital appreciation.

As M&G points out, those properties are hard to sell quickly (unless you accept a firesale price). So if too many investors want to withdraw their money at the same time, the fund can struggle to meet those redemptions.

Trump: China talks are going well

Back on trade.... Donald Trump has told reporters in London that talks with China are going “very well”.

During a press event with German chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump said:

Discussions are going very well, and we’ll see what happens.

That’s a more upbeat assessment than yesterday, when the president hinted that he might not sign off a deal for another year.

This is likely to reassure markets; a cynic might question whether Trump is keen to reverse yesterday’s selloff with some good publicity.

But the BIG headlines are on Trump calling Justin Trudeau “two-faced” after video emerged showing Canada’s PM laughing about Trump with Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron,Mark Rutte and Princess Anne.

Updated

Pound hits 31-month high vs euro

Boom! Sterling has now hit its highest level against the euro since May 2017.

General election speculation has driven the pound up to €1.182 against the single currency, a 31-month high.

Traders are increasingly betting on a Conservative victory next week. The pound is also benefitting from the fact that this morning’s service sector data was less bad than feared (but really not good!).

We should remember, though, that one pound was worth €1.30 before the Brexit referendum....

Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of currency and payments firm Equals, suggests the pound is still vulnerable to political drama:

“The pound is now trading at its highest level in over two-years off the back of more election rumours and polls, showing once again how it is at the mercy of British politics. As it stands the pound is at 1.18 against the euro which we haven’t seen since May 2017.”

“However, the outcome of next week’s general election will not spell the end of the pound’s rocky journey as the future of the UK’s relationship with the EU remains uncertain. We’ve seen in the run-up to past elections that the pound has had a turbulent time, and with more than just a new Prime Minister at stake we shouldn’t get used to these kinds of rates just yet.”

Newsflash: Rather fewer jobs were created at American companies last month than expected, a new report shows.

The ADP payroll, which measures US employment, has risen by 67,000 in November, much weaker than the 140,000 which Wall Street expected.

October’s payroll has been revised lower too, to 121,000 from 125,000.

This might be a sign that the US economy is losing momentum; we’ll get a better picture on Friday, when the broader Non-Farm Payroll survey of US labor is released.

Sterling is continuing to climb, and is now up a whole cent today at $1.309.

That’s a new seven-month high against the US dollar, the strongest position since May 7th.

Aviation News: Budget airline Ryanair is planning to close two bases, due to the ongoing delays to Boeing’s 737 MAX jet.

Ryanair says it now expects to only receive 10 737 MAX aircraft in time for next summer, not the 20 previously expected. That means it will carry a million fewer passengers -- 156m, not 157m -- and force it to shutter operations at Nuremberg and Stockholm Skavsta.

Boeing is still trying to get the 737 Max recertified, following the two fatal crashes blamed on a flawed anti-stall mechanism.

Updated

John Goldie, FX Dealer at Argentex Group, predicts the pound could rise to at least $1.33 if Johnson wins a majority next week.

But victory isn’t assured, so sterling could yet slide back to $1.25, Goldie suggests.

It may seem like the political equivalent to Ronny Rosenthal vs. Aston Villa circa-early 90s, but missing an open goal, as the first YouGov MRP suggests it is, seems like an entirely feasible thing for Boris to do.

“Given that the market has already positioned itself to some degree on a Tory majority,... from today’s $1.3000, I’d expect 1.25-1.27 to be the initial fallout for the pound’s nightmare scenario in the early hours of Friday the 13th next week.”

Here’s a clip of Rosenthal picking out the crossbar when it was rather easier to score....

Pollsters, such as YouGov, have been giving the Conservatives a solid lead in the polls for months.

But Boris Johnson has suggested that the race is ‘very tight’. That could just be a message designed to get the vote out next Thursday...

...or it could reflect memories of 2017, when Theresa May lost her majority despite beginning her election campaign with a big lead.

Wall Street is expected to recover yesterday’s slump too, thanks to Bloomberg’s report that a US-China trade deal could still happen soon.

Sterling is also climbing against the euro, hitting a near-nine month high of €1.1786.

That’s because Boris Johnson appears to be on track for victory in next week’s election, says Dean Turner, economist at UBS Wealth Management.

But with a week’s campaigning to go, nothing is certain. Turner writes:

The election is Boris Johnson’s to lose. However, turnout rates, tactical votes, and the usual campaign trail pitfalls could all swing the final result.

“Sterling has strengthened on days when the prospects for the Conservative Party have seemingly improved, and vice versa. One interpretation of this phenomenon is that investors favour the prospect of clarity on Brexit.

[But] Markets have not reacted much to campaign trail developments so far and sterling volatility has been contained. We retain our bullish medium to long-term view on sterling versus the US dollar and expect that the pound-dollar exchange rate will rise toward $1.38 by the end of next year.”

Updated

Pound hits seven-month high amid Tory win expectations

The pound has hit its highest level in seven months, as City traders show increased confidence that Boris Johnson will win next week’s general election.

Sterling has jumped to $1.3039, up nearly half a cent, to levels not seen since May 2019.

Traders appear to be reacting to the latest Sky News/YouGov poll, which gave the Conservatives a nine-point lead ahead of Thursday’s general election.

The poll puts the Tories on 42%, Labour on 33%, the Liberal Democrats are on 12%, and Brexit Party is on 4%, up two points.

The City fears another hung parliament, which could mean more deadlock and possible a disorderly Brexit. So this polling is pushing the pound up.

Rupert Thompson, Head of Research at Kingswood, says investor confidence in a Conservative victory has grown.

Even so, while the polls continue to point to the Conservatives gaining a majority, it is still not a done deal. The danger of an outright Labour victory may be slight but if it did transpire, it would likely cause a slump in the pound.

But even at todays levels, the pound is still some 13% weaker than before the Brexit vote three years ago.

Thompson explains:

So, if market hopes of a Conservatives victory are vindicated, the pound will very likely strengthen further from $1.30 currently to maybe $1.35 or so. Even at $1.35, the pound would remain below the levels seen prior to the 2016 Brexit referendum. This would seem appropriate as, even with a Conservative victory, significant Brexit uncertainty will remain.

While Johnson’s Brexit deal would almost certainly be ratified in short order if the Conservatives win, doubts will remain over whether the UK will be able to finalise a trade deal with the EU by the end of the transition period in December 2020. The risk of a No-Deal exit may be much reduced but it has not been eliminated altogether.”

Trade deal hopes boosts markets

In a surprise twist, European stock markets are all rallying.... as hopes of a US-China trade deal grow again.

Every index is up, with France, Italy andGermany rallying by over 1%, after unnamed sources claimed that Donald Trump had painted a too-gloomy picture of negotiations yesterday.

According to these insiders, a deal could still be reached this month.

Bloomberg has the details:

The people, who asked not to be identified, said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments Tuesday downplaying the urgency of a deal shouldn’t be understood to mean the talks were stalling, as he was speaking off the cuff. Recent U.S. legislation seeking to sanction Chinese officials over human-rights issues in Hong Kong and Xinjiang are unlikely to impact the talks, one person familiar with Beijing’s thinking said.

U.S. negotiators expect a phase-one deal with China to be completed before American tariffs are set to rise on Dec. 15, the people said. Outstanding issues in the talks include how to guarantee China’s purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and exactly which tariffs to roll back, they added.

Updated

Andy Bruce of Reuters shows how UK service sector growth has fizzled out this year:

If today’s PMIs are accurate, they suggest the UK could be sliding back to the brink of recession.

Howard Archer of EY Item Club is revising down his hopes for growth in the fourth quarter of 2019, having seen November’s gloomy PMIs.

Even allowing for the fact that the purchasing managers’ surveys are prone to portraying an overly gloomy picture at times of heightened uncertainties, there now looks to be a very real danger that the economy will stagnate in the fourth quarter.

We had originally thought the economy could eke out GDP growth of 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter but this now looks pretty optimistic. Any growth in the economy in the fourth quarter is likely to be pretty dependent on consumers – who have been the most resilient part of the economy – spending a decent amount over the critical Christmas period.

Duncan Brock, Group Director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, blames Brexit for the drop in UK service sector activity last month.

Here’s his take on November’s PMIs:

“The sector was hemmed in with no room for improvement in November by the fastest fall in the pipeline of new work since July 2016, and the biggest drop in export orders since this index began in September 2014.

As Brexit nerves continued to affect domestic client decision-making, a veil of silence also descended over European clients in particular who were reluctant to commit until there is more clarity in the UK’s future direction.

Tim Moore, economics associate director at IHS Markit, says the UK economy is “staggering” through the final quarter of the year, with output falling at services companies and factories.

“November’s PMI surveys collectively suggest that the UK economy is staggering through the final quarter of 2019, with service sector output falling back into decline after a brief period of stabilisation.

“Lacklustre demand remains centred on business-to- business spending. Service providers have attributed

the recent soft patch to delayed decision-making on new projects until greater clarity emerges in relation to the domestic political landscape. Sales to export markets were hard-hit in November, as signalled by the steepest fall in new work from abroad for more than five years.

“Service providers reported concerns that consumer appetite for big-ticket purchases has begun to falter, while those reliant on consumer footfall and discretionary spending noted the negative impact of unusually wet weather in November.

“Lower manufacturing production alongside an absence of growth in the service economy means that the IHS Markit/ CIPS Composite Output Index is consistent with UK GDP declining at a quarterly rate of around 0.1%.”

Updated

UK private sector suffers November contraction

Britain’s private sector shrank in November, as the ongoing Brexit uncertainty hurts the country’s dominant services sector.

That’s according to data firm Markit, which says its services PMI slumped to 49.3 last month. That’s down from October’s 50, which showed stagnation.

That’s not quite as bad as the ‘flash’ estimate released a couple of weeks ago - but it’s still the worst reading since March.

Service sector managers say they suffered a drop in new business last month, with exports shrinking at the fastest rate in five years.

Many firms warned that domestic political uncertainty was hurting their business, and dampening consumer spending.

We learned on Monday that factory output shrank. Put it together, and it suggests the UK economy is contracting by around 0.1% in the current quarter.

More to follow....

BBG: US and China Move Closer to Trade Deal Despite Heated Rhetoric

Heads-up.

Bloomberg is reporting that Washington and Beijing are making progress towards a trade deal.

It says:

The U.S. and China are moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a phase-one trade deal despite tensions over Hong Kong and Xinjiang, people familiar with the talks said, Bloomberg News reports.

That’s not what Donald Trump was suggesting yesterday... perhaps the market slump has unblocked negotiations?

The eurozone’s private sector had a lacklustre November.

The composite PMI, which measures activity across service sector firms and manufacturers, was unchanged at 50.6 -- showing modest growth.

Hong Kong suffers worst month since SARS

The latest economic data from Hong Kong is an absolute shocker.

Private sector activity slumped alarmingly last month, at the fastest rate since the Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus crisis gripped the city, causing hundreds of deaths.

Data firm Markit says its Hong Kong PMI, slumped to just 38.5 in November, from 39.3. Any reading over 50 shows growth, and a sub-40 reading suggest a sharp downturn.

We already knew that the pro-democracy demonstrations, and the clashes with security forces, pushed Hong Kong into recession in the last quarter. Clearly there’s no sign of recovery.

Bernard Aw, Principal Economist at IHS Markit, said:

“The average PMI reading for October and November combined showed the economy on track to see GDP fall by over 5% in the fourth quarter, unless December brings a dramatic recovery.

he survey showed that the escalating political unrest saw business activity shrinking at the steepest rate since the survey started in July 1998. This occurred concurrently with the sharpest decline in new sales since the depths of the global financial crisis.

The business outlook unsurprisingly remained gloomy, with confidence still stuck among the lowest levels seen in the survey history. In a further sign of pessimism, firms continued to make deep cuts to purchasing activity and inventories, reducing both at a survey record pace.”

Away from trade, we have bleak news from the UK high street

Fast fashion chain Quiz has warned it could close a swathe of stores, after slumping into a £6.8m loss in the last six month. It blames the decline in visitors to physical stores, and hinted that it could close loss-making outlets when its leases expire.

The Chinese government has hit back against Donald Trump’s criticism.

At a press briefing, China’s foreign ministry warned that Beijing will take “the necessary countermeasures” to defend its interests. That sounds like a warning shot to Washington not to implement the tariffs planned for 15 December.

After tumbling on Monday and Tuesday, European stock markets are attempting to clamber off the mat this morning.

The Stoxx 600 index, which includes the largest EU companies, has gained 0.4% - which recovers a chunk of yesterday’s losses.

The FTSE 100, though is flat, with a strengthening pound hitting multinationals.

Mohamed Zidan, chief market strategist at ThinkMarkets, says traders remain nervous:

Uncertainty is everywhere with negative sentiment among market players after VIX [the volatility index] rebounded from its lowest level in 2019.

This rebound and rally was fueled by the unexpected comments by Trump, the only thing which is certain now is that we face a highly volatile environment!

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, joins China trade talks

Many parents look to their sons-in-law for help, perhaps with a tricky computing problem or a DIY task.

Donald Trump, though, is turning to his eldest daughter’s husband to resolve the China trade war!

According to Reuters, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, has taken a more direct involvement in the negotiations with China over the past two weeks. Kushner does have experience of trade, having worked on the US-Mexico-Canada agreement hammered out a year ago.

Reuters says:

While the talks have made some progress, these people said the two sides have not yet agreed on the extent to which the United States will remove existing tariffs on Chinese goods and on specific commitments by China to increase purchases of U.S. agriculture products.

A White House official confirmed Kushner’s involvement, but declined to provide specific details on the influence he has had on the negotiations. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said Kushner has recently met with Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the United States.

The two have met multiple times since Trump took office, establishing a kind of back-channel relationship, trade experts say.

Analyst: Trade war could trigger pre-Christmas selloff

Neil Wilson of Markets.com has sent over some salient points about the trade war situation, and how investors may react.

  • Markets are discounting a trade deal with China being done this year, but it’s still not impossible. The caprice of Trump means, as we have consistently stressed, anything can happen.

  • An EU-US tit-for-tat trade war is a risk but not to be overplayed yet – most think it can be avoided

  • Global equities have had a good run this year – there is still plenty of profit taking that could occur in the run-up to Christmas- do we see a repeat of last year and the ‘nightmare on Wall Street before Christmas’?

  • The market, and Trump, ultimately know the Fed has their back. Pullbacks are to be expected as the market drifts higher and higher

Introduction: Trade war anxiety bubbles away

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

The season of goodwill may be approaching, but clearly no-one told Donald Trump.

The US president has spooked investors around the globe with a series of attacks on other nations, including some close allies, as he threatens to escalate his trade war.

Fresh from threatening France with tariffs on cheese and champagne, Trump hinted that he could use trade as a weapon to force NATO members to spend more on defence.

But markets were really riled when the president suggested that he might wait to agree a trade deal with China until after the 2020 presidential election - a whole year away. A negotiating tactic, or an admission that talks behind the scenes are floundering?

Either way, Trump’s words sent stocks sliding in London and New York last night, with Britain’s FTSE sinking 127 points to a two-month low of 7158.

We might see a small recovery this morning, but the mood in the City is rather unfestive.

Traders are concerned that America will impose fresh tariffs on China on December 15. Previously, there was hope that Washington would waive them, to help secure a Phase One deal with Beijing.

The mood has totally changed in a couple of days, from optimism to pessimism. Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank tells clients this morning:

Mr Trump has completely taken the momentum out of financial markets this week and the December 15th date will increasingly become a focal point over the next couple of weeks.

Last week the mood music suggested that even if a “phase one” deal hadn’t been reached by then, then there was a good chance tariffs planned to be implemented on that date would be postponed. After the stepping up of negative global tariff rhetoric over the last 48 hours, yesterday’s headlines suggesting that the US is going forward with the December 15 tariffs grabbed the limelight, although markets had already been trading weaker prior to that.

Stocks in Asia-Pacific markets have already been hit, extending earlier losses this week. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200, which is vulnerable to a slowdown in China, has shed more than 1%.

Commodity prices are also being hammered, on concerns that global growth will be hurt by an escalating trade war.

The most-traded nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange has crumbled by over 4%.

Gold, though, is rising, as nervous investors look for a safe haven for their cash.

Also coming up today

Data firm Markit publishes its PMI surveys for the world’s service sector companies today.

The ‘flash’ estimates released two weeks ago were poor, and suggested Britain’s services sector contracted during November. So today’s ‘final PMI’ report could show that the UK economy is shrinking again.....

The agenda

  • 9am GMT: Eurozone services PMI for November
  • 9.30am GMT: UK services PMI for November
  • 3pm GMT: US services PMI for November
  • 3pm GMT: Bank of Canada interest rate decision

Updated

 

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