Investors have been pulling assets from Crispin Odey's hedge fund at a rate of knots this year, Bloomberg reports, external.

Assets under management have dropped 60% as the fund's "bearish bets" have fallen apart, the article says.

But there's also been a wider general trend of investors moving cash to computer-driven funds that use algorithms to bet on general macro-economic trends.

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Google has formally rejected European Union antitrust charges of unfairly promoting its shopping service and blocking rivals in online search advertising, paving the way for EU regulators to rule next year on these issues and potentially impose hefty fines.

The US technology giant's rebuttal comes six years after the European Commission opened an investigation prompted by complaints from rivals including Microsoft. 

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German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble wants to force Germans to disclose their dealings with offshore firms in tax havens.

He'd also like to make banks liable for lost tax income if they conceal their clients' business with offshore firms, a draft law shows.

Under the draft law Germans may in future need to report to tax authorities any indirect or direct stake of at least 10% that they have in firms abroad.

In April a leak of documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca showed how offshore firms are used to stash the wealth of the rich and powerful.   

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Southern Rail is sticking with its line that responsibility for strikes that have severely disrupted its services rests with the RMT after the union announced new strike dates over the festive period.

“Not content with causing months of misery, the RMT has now hit a new low and is determined to cancel Christmas for the travelling public. These latest strikes will not just hit families wanting to get home for Christmas but also the shops and businesses for whom Christmas is their busiest time. These strikes are spiteful, vindictive and pointless given the majority of conductors have now signed up to the new on-board role. This has never been about safety; it’s purely about the RMT hanging on to outdated working practices and union power," a Southern spokesperson said.

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The European Parliament's Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, has welcomed the possible involvement of the UK parliament in the Brexit process following a High Court ruling earlier.

"Important that the UK Parliament will be involved in the process of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, as is already the case with the European Parliament. Parliamentary scrutiny from both sides will ensure a better final agreement for citizens of both the UK and EU," he wrote on social media platforms Twitter and Facebook.

In case you're wondering, the picture is of Mr Verhofstadt driving his rally car during the Legend Boucles 2016 rally event in Bastogne.

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Workers at Jaguar Land Rover have secured an inflation-busting two year pay deal which also includes a holiday bonus and a lump sum.

Employees' wages will rise by 3.5% over the first year of the deal and by the retail price index measure of inflation plus 0.5% in the second year, from November 2017. 

Jaguar Land Rover will pay a lump sump of £750 and an increased holiday bonus of £400 in the first year followed by £410.

A spokeswoman for Jaguar Land Rover said: "We feel that this is a very strong deal agreed by the trade unions and it will be recommended unanimously to its members." 

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Wall Street has been rattled over the past few days as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump eats into Democrat Hilary Clinton's lead at the polls ahead of the US election next week.

But the S&P 500 looks like it could break a seven-day losing streak. Tension in markets eased following a UK High Court ruling that parliament, not the government, should trigger Brexit.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 23.94 points, or 0.13%, at 17,983.58. The S&P 500 was up 1.27 points, or 0.07%, at 2,099.52. The Nasdaq Composite was down 6.15 points, or 0.12%, at 5,099.52. 

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The RMT union has confirmed additional strike action on Southern Rail, and it's going to be over the Christmas and New Year's period.

There is a strike planned from 00.01 on Thursday 22nd December to 23.59 on Saturday 24th December, and another from 00.01 on Saturday 31st December 2016 to 23.59 on Monday 2nd January 2017, the union said, external.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “Yet again the sheer pig-headedness of the company and the government means that our members are being forced to take further industrial action in a bid to maintain a safe and secure service on Southern Rail."

The union and the rail firm have been locked in a bitter dispute over the role of guards on trains.

Southern commuters may want to think about booking a few extra days holiday.

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The chairman of the company behind West Ham United's costly new stadium has stepped down.

David Edmonds has resigned as chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation, which is responsible for running London's Olympic Park since the 2012 games.   

The Olympic Stadium is being converted for use by the football club. But costs have risen from £272m to £323m, prompting London mayor Sadiq Khan to launch an investigation into the project.    

West Ham won the right to play at the stadium in March 2013 and took part in its first game there last August. The football club agreed to pay £2.5m a year in rent as well as making a £15m payment to fund the conversion.

France has appointed a new "ambassador" to encourage companies away from the UK to go to France in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.

Ross McInnes tells BBC Radio 4's The World at One his team is not about the French government punishing the British for Brexit but more about offering practical help to companies who might be considering moving to Paris.

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It looks like Wells Fargo will have to dig much deeper to pay legal costs. 

Wells Fargo is the US bank where workers opened two million accounts without telling customers so employees could meet targets.

The bank has now admitted, external that the scandal could cost it an extra $1.7bn on top of its existing legal provisions. The bank had expected to shell-out an additional $1bn.

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Egypt's currency devaluation is a "welcome move" Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has said.

The country's central bank floated the Egyptian pound today, devaluing it by 32.3% to an initial guidance level of 13 pounds to the dollar.

This action followed weeks of turbulence and mounting pressure to reform the economy.

"This is a welcome move given the economic circumstances," Ms Lagarde said. "The way in which it is handled is welcomed and it's a decision clearly that the Egyptian authorities have matured and deliberated and are putting in place for the Egyptian economy and for the Egyptian currency." 

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Don't underestimate the implications of today's High Court ruling over Brexit.

Omer Simjee, an employment law partner at Irwin Mitchell, said if the Supreme Court upholds the decision, "Theresa May's March time table will collapse".  

He adds: "Ultimately, the government may find that, even if Parliament does vote to trigger Article 50, our future relationship with the EU will also be subject to full parliamentary control.

"That might mean that the impact of Brexit will be less severe than might otherwise be the case."

Mr Simjee cautioned that uncertainty and delay might cause some businesses to put off making investments or taking on new staff. 

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Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown says it is not a surprise that economic forecasts are "wobbling all over the place right now".

But he says: "...the reality is that what happens on the Bank of England’s chalk board doesn’t necessarily play out in the economy, and with so much uncertainty in the air, it’s prudent not to count too many chickens before they’ve hatched.

"No doubt the sand will have shifted once again by the next time the bank issues an inflation report in February, not least because in the intervening period we will have the Chancellor’s autumn statement, a new US President, and potentially an increase in US interest rates to boot."

Mr Khalif cautions investors to "focus on their long-term savings goals" and tune out the background noise.

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Britain's top share index has fallen after the UK government lost a court case on how to trigger the Brexit process and the Bank of England shifted away from cutting rates further, both sending sterling higher.

The FTSE 100 has high international exposure, with many firms earning dollars and reporting profits in pounds. That can cause shares to fall when the pound rises.

The blue chip index was down 0.48% at 6,812.24 points, lagging European markets, which were broadly positive.

However, the mid-cap FTSE 250 - which is mainly composed of UK firms - rose 1.11%. 

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The head of the Association of Swiss Private Banks has some bad news for UK banks seeking continued access to EU single market post Brexit. 

Jan Langlo said he does not think lenders from Switzerland - a non-EU member - will get such access at least "five years". And that is despite half a decade already spent negotiating with the bloc.

Squabbles over immigration at home and political obstacles in Brussels have hindered an agreement, Reuters reports, external.  

Swiss banks have found workarounds, but this has meant setting up subsidiaries in Frankfurt and Luxembourg, and moving thousands of jobs out of the country. 

Sterling saw its best perfomance earlier since July, climbing against all of its 16 major peers, Bloomberg reports, external. 

This was after the double whammy of the supreme court ruling that the government must hold a vote in parliament before triggering Article 50, and the Bank of England saying it no longer expects to cut interest rates again this year.

The pound rose 1.4% to $1.2473 before dropping back slightly.