Four in five City workers back at their desks in time for party season

Good morning. 

The FTSE 100 is expected to open higher this morning even as the unfold of the omicron pressure of the coronavirus retains traders in a careful mood. 

Buyers are braced for one more 7 days of volatility soon after concerns about the new variant led to the blue chip index’s worst thirty day period for additional than a calendar year.

It get rid of additional than 2pc in November, with airline shares hit especially hard. This morning the Footsie is expected to open forty eight factors, or about .7pc higher at 7,a hundred and seventy. 

Traders will also be preserving an eye on a speech by Ben Broadbent, Deputy Governor of the Lender of England, for hints about whether or not an desire fees rise is on the playing cards this thirty day period. 

5 things to begin your day 

one) Lender of England poised to loosen home loan lending principles: Officials consider softening affordability checks as critics alert it challenges housing bubble.

2) Recruiters battle to recruit recruiters amid ‘Great Resignation’: Headhunters widen their research for staff amid prevalent shortages

three) Crackdown on crypto firms desired to ‘wreck’ ransomware, states ex-GCHQ manager: Robert Hannigan explained there is require for ‘greater cryptocurrency regulation’ to make the hacking strategy a ‘poor enterprise model’.

4) No development produced on closing gender pay back hole in twenty five many years, warns IFS​: Conclusions recommend small advance in wage gulf when accounting for ‘rapid improvement’ in women’s instruction.

5) Far too couple of mechanics for UK’s electrical car ambitions, warns Halfords manager: Graham Stapleton explained he is ‘very concerned’ that ample actions are not becoming taken to handle the ‘skills gap’.

What took place overnight 

Asian marketplaces broadly fell in morning trading on Monday, tracking uncertainty around the Omicron variant of Covid-19 as perfectly as disappointing US employment details and the long term of Chinese tech firms on Wall Avenue. Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Australia fell in morning trading. 

Coming up 

• Company: Paragon, Renew Holdings, CareTech (Comprehensive calendar year benefits) Babcock, Supreme, Mercia Asset Management (Interims) Ashtead, BAT, Ferguson (Buying and selling update)
• Economics: Kantar grocery store sales (British isles), ONS M&A (British isles), Buyer credit history (US)