China lifts stock market 'circuit breaker' controls
Sharp falls for shares in US, Tokyo, Hong Kong
Brent Crude falls below $33 per barrel
M&S chief executive Bolland to step down
Image source, LucasFilmStar Wars: The Force Awakens has become the highest grossing film of all time in the North American market. Takings have sailed beyond the $760.5m taken by the 2009 film Avatar, according to Walt Disney.
Worldwide, Star Wars has taken $1.6bn, still well short of Avatar's $2.8bn.
International takings should be boosted by the movie's opening in China on 9 January.
Treasury select committee chairman and MP Andrew Tyrie has responded to evidence from Sir Charles Bean.
In the summer a independent review of the UK's economic statistics was launched by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Charlie Bean.
It is considering whether the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is well-placed to cope with future challenges.
Mr Tyrie doesn't mince his words:
Quote MessageIt’s clear from Sir Charles’s interim report that the UK has fallen behind other countries, and that some of our statistics are scarcely fit for purpose... The Treasury Committee has been expressing a good deal of concern about the quality of UK statistics for several years, and has raised it on a number of occasions with the Bank of England, among others. It’s good news that the Chancellor has commissioned Sir Charles to do this report. It’s already clear that there is a lot wrong. Sir Charles has a rare opportunity to put it right. These don’t come often. He must take it in his final report.”
Andrew Tyrie, Treasury select committee chairman
Image source, Getty ImagesThe BBC's Asia business correspondent, Karishma Vaswani, explains what's spurring volatility on the Chinese stock market.
Quote MessageThis time the culprit is very much the Chinese currency, the yuan. The People's Bank of China again surprised markets by settling the official midpoint rate on the yuan at 6.5646 against the US dollar - that's the lowest rate since March 2011. If China's currency weakens, that puts pressure on other Asian countries to lower theirs too. All of this is happening at the same time that US interest rates are on the rise - a perfect storm perhaps that could send economies in Asia on a disastrous path.
BBC Personal Finance Reporter Brian Milligan tweets:
The Financial Conduct Authority says Acting Chief Executive Tracey McDermott decided last month to withdraw her application for the job on a permanent basis. She'll keep doing the job until a new chief is found, it said.
"Going through the recruitment process has made me reflect on what I want to do with the rest of my career," she said. "As a result I have decided that this is not the right job for me at this stage of my career. This was a decision taken after many months of careful thought and was not one that I took lightly."
Image source, Getty ImagesWalgreen Boots Alliance reported, external a net profit of $1.1bn for the three months to 30 November 2015. That's up from $877m in the previous year.
However Walgreens merged with Alliance Boots in December 2014, so comparing the quarters is tricky.
The company's international retail business, which includes Boots, saw sales rise 2.2%.
The Independent reports, external that the City watchdog is investigating Lloyds Banking Group over potential manipulation of government debt prices by one its traders.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is in the early stages of the probe, the report says.
The investigation is embarrassing for Lloyds as the government still holds a near 9.2% stake in the bank, the Indy points out.
Lloyds declined to comment, the newspaper reported.
Image source, BloombergOil prices have bounced off the lows of the session.
At one stage Brent Crude fell to $32.17 per barrel, the lowest level in more than a decade. But since then it has recovered to $33.66, but that's still down almost 1.7% for the session.
Brent Crude has been down for the last four sessions, with a loss so far of 10%.
Business Live page reader Dave writes:
Quote MessageAs an [oil] industry insider, working in the UAE I find it incredible that no comment has been made about the 250,000 oil and gas jobs shed last year and the ongoing cuts globally. Cuts continue with about ten thousand being shed in the Gulf alone over the next couple of months. These are direct cuts, the consequent loss in associated business means that the global job shedding of around 1 million people."
Thanks for getting in touch Dave. Our online reporters in Scotland have written about job losses in the oil industry.
But perhaps we could look into the global impact further.
BBC Personal Finance Reporter Brian Milligan tweets:
Image source, Getty ImagesBillionaire investor George Soros has warned that China's struggle for growth and a cheaper yuan amounts to a crisis for the country, Bloomberg reports, external.
It could be a crisis the country exports, too, he says in this story.
Image source, Getty ImagesYahoo is planning a round of job cuts reports Bloomberg, external.
It's part of a fresh effort by chief executive Marissa Mayer to revive growth, it says.
Back in October Ms Mayer said Yahoo would outline a new strategy sometime before its fourth quarter results - so that would be in the coming weeks, the article says.
Yesterday activist investor, Starboard Value, called for "new leadership" at Yahoo.
Sterling has dropped to a five-and-half year low against the US dollar, close to $1.455 per pound.
Quote MessageThe pound has weakened as expectations of a Bank of England interest rate hike any time soon have waned and there has also been a mounting market focus on the UK’s referendum on EU membership. Expectations of an interest rate hike have been pushed back by recent mixed UK economic data, a relapse in earnings growth and the likelihood that inflation will stay lower for longer due to oil prices falling to new lows."
Howard Archer, Chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight
Image source, PABritish new car registrations were at a record last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.
Cheap loan and a strong pound helped fuel the rise. Full-year car sales rose 6.3 percent to 2.63 million in 2015,
Quote MessageA big factor fuelling sales is the availability and cost of finance on forecourts. The SMMT says that 80% of cars are bought with some form of finance and around 60% are purchased using PCP's. These Personal Contract Purchase plans mean customers can buy a new car for an affordable monthly payment in the same way that you might purchase a new mobile phone. As PCP's work on a 3 year buying cycle, that keeps demand for new cars strong.
John Moylan, BBC industry Correspondent
The Chancellor was on the Today Programme earlier, warning that economic risks from overseas could have a negative impact on the UK economy.
You can listen below.
The UK faces serious threats from slowing global economy warns Chancellor George Osborne.
All the major european markets are being hammered today.
Britain's FTSE 100 is down 2.75% to 5906.50, where miners were hardest hit. Marks & Spencer is one of only two risers, up 1.4%
France's CAC 40 is down 2.5%, Germany's DAX is 3.1% lower.
Earlier, China's Shanghai Composite dropped the maximum 7%, the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index slumped 8.3%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 3.1% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 retreated 2.2%.
Wall Street futures suggest drops in the US stock market are likely.
Veteran economist George Magnus tweets:
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Robert Peston of the BBC (but not for much longer) tweets:
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On Business Live, Tom James the chief executive of Navitas Resources reminds us that when oil was last trading in the low $30s, back in 2008, Saudi Arabia cut back production by 10% and triggered a recovery in oil prices.
"They are not doing that now," he says.
Today Programme
BBC Radio 4
Marc Bolland, outgoing Marks & Spencer chief executive tells Today he didn't previously say that he will stay for another two years.
Reports saying that are "based on nothing", he says.
"2016 is a year for transition", he told the board.
"On clothing we made a conscious decision not to promote ourselves through this quarter," he said.
A sale, of course, would mean more revenue, but squeezes profits.
But he concedes a couple of sales days may have helped.
