Time to wrap up. Here’s the main stories of the day:

The number of new US jobless claims jumped last week, fuelling concerns that America’s labor market is faltering. The initial claims total rose to 898,000, from 845,000, as firms continued to lay off staff.

UK pub chain Marston’s is cutting staff too. More than 2,000 furloughed workers face losing their job, due to the restrictions imposed on UK hospitality venues.

It told shareholders this morning:

Inevitably, and regrettably, recent restrictions will impact jobs. Since the start of the pandemic, our objectives have included protecting the health and livelihoods of our teams. Government support over the summer was vital, and around 10,000 colleagues have so far returned to work.

However, because of the recent additional restrictions, we have reluctantly concluded that around 2,150 pub-based roles currently subject to furlough are going to be impacted.

Budget airline Ryanair has warned of redundancies, as it clashes its winter flight plans again:

Stock markets in Europe have fallen sharply, on concerns that a second wave of Covid-19 infections will derail the recovery.

The FTSE 100 has closed at a three-week low, down 102 points at 5,832, a fall of 1.7%, having been over 2.3% lower at one stage.

Investors are also disappointed that US politicians haven’t agreed a stimulus package. Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin insists the White House hasn’t given up, but time is running short....

Health and beauty chain Boots has reported that sales slumped almost 30% in the UK in the last quarter, as people kept away from high streets, airports and railway stations.

The UK government’s former homelessness adviser has warned that country faces a “period of destitution”, due to the limited support available to people who can’t work due to local lockdowns.

In another blow to struggling families, the cost of credit is likely to rise this Christmas....

...as many firms report that turnover is much weaker than a year ago.

Goodnight. GW

European investors can breath a sigh of relief - the worst day’s trading in several weeks is over.

Renewed fears over Covid-19 hit stocks across the region, as tighter restrictions were imposed in the face of rising infections.

Britain’s FTSE 100 index has closed down 1.7% at 5832, a drop of 102 points. That’s its lowest level in three weeks (since 24 September), and the biggest one-day fall since 21st September.

After a choppy day, the top Footsie faller was packaging firm Mondi, down 4.5%, followed by educational publisher Pearson (-4.3%) and luxury fashion firm Burberry (-4.3%). Miners and energy producers were also among the fallers, as fears over the global economy knocked oil prices.

In Frankfurt, the German DAX index shed 2.5% the day after Angela Merkel announced tighter rules on mask use, social gatherings and bar opening hours. Italy’s FTSE MIB dropped 2.7%, as traders digested PM Giuseppe Conti’s new restrictions on meetings.

Spain’s IBEX lost 1.55%, taking its losses for 2020 to over 28%.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, says the selloff was triggered by disappointment over possible US stimulus and the new lockdowns across Europe.

“A broader risk-off tone has enveloped markets this morning, as yesterday’s losses in the US are amplified in Europe where lockdown restrictions are spreading once again.

“Investors in airlines are very jumpy at present, and Ryanair’s news this morning has prompted another flurry of selling in the sector. easyJet, Ryanair and IAG have all tumbled, with airlines on the continent feeling the pressure too.

“It looks like we have a tough winter ahead of us, with commensurate pressure on airlines as travellers cancel bookings and consumers think twice about a winter getaway.”

The New York stock market is open...and there’s plenty of red ink on the boards.

The S&P 500 index of US stocks has fallen 45 points, or 1.3%, at the open to 3,442.97 points.

The jump in jobless claims, along with the lack of a stimulus deal and tightening Covid-19 restrictions in Europe, are all weighing on stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average is also sliding, down 1.1% or 318 points at 28,195.

The tech-focused Nasdaq index has lost almost 1.5%, down 170 points at 11 1,597.

Jason Brooks of KCBS Radio suspects that the rise in jobless claims could spur the White House to push harder for a stimulus package...

..and bang on cue, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has declared that he’ll keep trying to reach agreement with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Mnuchin told CNBC that disagreement over Covid-19 tests won’t derail talks:

“When I speak to Pelosi today I’m going to tell her that we’re not going to let the testing issue stand in the way, that we’ll fundamentally agree with their testing language subject to some minor issues. This issue is being overblown.”

The bigger problem, though, is that the White House hasn’t backed the Democrats’ $2.2trn package, and is only offering a smaller deal....

Today’s jobless figures are a clear sign that America’s economic recovery is losing steam, says Richard Flynn, UK Managing Director at Charles Schwab.

“With continuing jobless claims, businesses struggling and concerns about a COVID-19 winter wave on the rise, it is evident that the U.S. economic recovery is losing some momentum.

“In the U.S., employers have rehired workers, job cut announcements have dropped and job openings are up since the worst of the pandemic, but the number of permanent job losses has grown. And without further fiscal stimulus, these permanent job losses are likely to become more widespread.

“With Congress unlikely to stimulate the economy until after the election, the Fed staring down the limits of its influence and the future course of interest rates uncertain, investors are right to remain cautious. There is a wide range of potential outcomes for the economy and for policy, so diversification will be critical for investors to protect portfolios against the ups and downs of market volatility.”

Neil Birrell, Chief Investment Officer at Premier Miton Investors, warns that the figures will add to pessimism in the markets...

“On a day when major European cities are tightening up lockdown measures and worries continue over US stimulus measures, the jobless claims are not at the top of the list.

However, claims jumped last week, much more than expected and last week’s number was adjusted upwards; that will grab attention and add to the downbeat mood of the day.”

Glassdoor chief economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain points out that four times as many Americans lost their jobs last week than a year ago:

“The latest figures on new workers claiming unemployment insurance (UI) cast a dark cloud over the nation’s slow economic recovery. The number of new claims last week is more than four times higher than the pace of workers filing for unemployment a year ago — a sign that COVID-19 continues to deal heavy blows to the nation’s labor market.

The worsening of the pace of UI claims this week reinforces the message from the latest September jobs report that the economy’s pace of recovery is slowing down amid the ongoing pandemic. America is unlikely to see a full recovery and a return to low unemployment until the pace of weekly UI claims dials back significantly. As the virus remains in the driver’s seat, today’s elevated claims cast a shadow over the fate of the U.S. labor market in the next half year.”

Several commentators are concerned that the weekly US jobless claims total has hit its highest level since August.

Marketwatch’s Jeffry Bartash fears the recovery may be slowing down...

.. as does Bloomberg’s Steve Mathews

Greg Daco of Oxford Economics says the increase is worrying, as Congress is struggling to agree a stimulus package.

Newsflash: The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless support has risen - and remains alarmingly high.

A total of 898,000 initial claims for unemployment were filed last week, up sharply on the 845,000 in the previous seven days (this is on a seasonally-adjusted basis).

Economists had expected a fall, to 825,000.

This suggests that the US labor market is struggling, just a few weeks before the US presidential election.

Before this year, the record number of initial jobless claims was below 700,000 -- it’s now been above that level every week since March.

On a seasonally-unadjusted basis, the initial claims total jumped to 886,000.

In addition, another 373,000 people signing on for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) programme because they don’t qualify for regular jobless help.

More details and reaction to follow....

British health and beauty retailer Boots has suffered a near 30% slump in sales in the last quarter, as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to hit its business.

Owner Walgreens Boots Alliance has reported that UK like-for-like sales fell 29.2% in the three months to the end of August, compared to a year ago. That’s an improvement from the previous quarter when comparable sales slumped 48%.

Online sales surged by 155% as more people shopped on the internet. However, that didn’t make up for a slump in visits to stores - which has already prompted 4,000 job cuts back in July.

The company says:

Boots UK comparable retail sales decreased 29.2 percent on a constant currency basis as footfall in stores continued to be significantly reduced due to COVID-19, particularly in major high street, train station and airport locations. Footfall did, however, improve steadily in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter.

Boots UK market share was lower in all categories except beauty, as the pandemic continued to impact heavily on buying habits and consumers temporarily shifted purchasing to one-stop grocery shopping.

Boots.com sales growth accelerated to 155 percent compared with the year-ago quarter, partially offsetting the reduced footfall.

After three hours of hefty selling pressure, the FTSE 100 is still languishing at a near-three-week low.

The index is currently down 133 points, or 2.25%, at 5,801 - on track for its its biggest one-day loss in close to four weeks (since the selloff on 21 September).

The top fallers are currently investment group Pershing Square (-5.4%), hotel chain Whitbread (-5.3%), luxury fashion chain Burberry (-5.3%), sportwear retailer JD Sports (-5%) and oil giants BP and Shell (both down 4.3%).

Health worries are rocking the markets today, warns David Madden of CMC Markets, as tighter Covid-19 restrictions will hit the economic recovery (which already appeared to be slowing):

Renewed health concerns and tighter restrictions around Europe are hammering stocks this morning. In recent weeks, the chatter surrounding a possible stimulus package in the US grabbed traders’ attention, but all the while the health situation was deteriorating.

We now find ourselves in a scenario whereby the pandemic is back in centre stage, while the prospects of a US relief package this side of the Presidential election seem very low. Dealers are dumping stocks for fear that economic activity will drop off because of the tighter restrictions in various parts of Europe.

Stock markets across Europe have fallen sharply this morning, following the latest government restrictions to fight rising Covid-19 cases.

in London, the FTSE 100 has slumped to a three-week low, with every member of the blue-chip index. It’s currently down 112 points, or 1.9%, at 5821.

Top fallers include hotel chain Whitbread (-5.5%), airline group IAG, and energy giant Royal Dutch Shell (-3.5%).

There are similar losses across Europe, with Germany’s DAX losing 2.2%.

Last night, French president Emmanuel Macron announced a night time curfew in nine cities, including Paris, while Germany announced that bars and restaurants in higher-risk areas must close early.

These tougher Covid-19 restrictions, along with similar moves in other countries, are spooking investors, says Connor Campbell of SpreadEx.

The headline announcement was the imposition of a 9pm to 6am curfew in Paris, and 8 other French cities, that will be in place for at least six weeks. In Germany – which just saw its own record daily case increase – the new restrictions were less severe, but still include limits on the number of people at private gatherings, and curfews on bars and restaurants in the worst hit areas.

And the tightening continued, with bar and restaurant closures in the northeastern region of Catalonia in Spain, new mask restrictions in the Netherlands, and the shuttering of non-essential retailers, gyms and leisure centres in Ireland.

Sky News warns that job cuts across the hospitality industry are mounting fast.

The jobs warning is the latest sign of the strain facing Britain’s hospitality sector as a result of the coronavirus jobs crisis - coming after rival Greene King said it planned to cut 800 jobs and a day after a rescue deal for Gourmet Burger Kitchen which will see 26 restaurants close and 362 roles axed.

Sky’s tracker of publicly-announced job cuts during the crisis suggests the sector is fast catching up with aviation and retail as the worst affected, with more than 30,000 now hit.

Marston’s, which owns 1,400 pubs around the UK including the Pitcher & Piano bar brand and also brews beers including Pedigree, Courage, McEwan’s and Brakspear, employs around 14,000 people.

The Financial Times says:

Marston’s, the UK pub group, is set to lay off 2,150 staff after a swath of new restrictions on trading in pubs and bars hit consumer confidence.

Marston’s described the regulations, which include mandatory table service, a 10pm curfew and limits on group sizes across the country, as “hugely disappointing”.

Despite opening 99 per cent of its pubs over the summer, it has since had to shut 21 pubs in Scotland following further measures there and said that trading in 18 pubs in Liverpool was now affected by local rules that dictate pubs can only stay open if they serve a ‘substantial meal’.

The Telegraph points out that Wolverhampton-based Marston’s is set to cut around 15% of its total staff, adding:

The hospitality industry was hit hard during the first wave of the pandemic and demand was slow to pick up during the summer. The sector is now facing further shutdowns as case numbers rise once again.

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

More than 2,000 furloughed staff facing losing their jobs at pub chain Marston’s, as the Covid-19 economic crisis deepens.

In a statement to the City this morning, Marston’s blames the new restrictions on hospitality industry, which is says have damaged consumer confidence and undermined its efforts to reopen following the lockdown.

Marston’s, which owns 1,400 pubs, restaurants, cocktail bars and hotels in the UK, says its sales slumped by a third in the last year, but had been improving over the summer.... before the latest curbs on trading.

Sales were down 10% in the 13 weeks since it reopened after the lockdown, as consumer confidence “increased steadily” throughout July, August and into September. That’s partly thanks to the government’s Eat Out To Help Out campaign during August, and its VAT reductions on sales of food and non-alcoholic drinks.

But the latest restrictions - such as the 10pm curfew, and full table service - mean that Marston’s is now cutting back, affecting over 2,150 furloughed staff.

It tells shareholders that the latest restrictions have undermined consumer confidence and create uncertainty.

The introduction of these further restrictions and guidance affecting pubs is hugely disappointing in view of a lack of clear evidence tying pubs to the recent increase in infection levels, and our own data which suggests that pubs are effective in minimising risks. Very few incidences of COVID-19 infection have been reported in our pubs by employees or guests to date, supporting our view that socialising in pubs, where social distancing is enforced and hygiene standards are high, presents lower risks than in other non-regulated settings. Unlike many other retail settings, we committed to collecting Test & Trace data from the moment we were able to open.

And that means more than 2,000 furloughed staff face being laid off, with the government’s job retention scheme winding up at the end of the month.

Marston’s says:

Inevitably, and regrettably, recent restrictions will impact jobs. Since the start of the pandemic, our objectives have included protecting the health and livelihoods of our teams. Government support over the summer was vital, and around 10,000 colleagues have so far returned to work.

However, because of the recent additional restrictions, we have reluctantly concluded that around 2,150 pub-based roles currently subject to furlough are going to be impacted.

Furthermore, we have initiated a full review of overhead costs which will be concluded by the end of December. These decisions are difficult but are necessary due to the restrictions placed upon our business at this time.

Such cuts highlight why economists expect the UK jobless rate to surge this winter, having already hit a three-year high.

The latest swathe of Covid-19 restrictions are weighing on the financial markets again today.

European stocks are down in early trading, after France imposed tighter restrictions in eight cities and Northern Ireland announced a new mini-lockdown.

The agenda

• 1.30pm BST: US weekly jobless claims
• 4pm BST: EIA weekly US oil inventories