Ggood morning. With only 10 days left until the end of the transition period, markets have been shaken by another deadline in trade talks between the UK and the European Union, which pushed the pound down to $ 1.33.

And if that wasn’t enough for Christmas week, the European Union appears intent on imposing a travel ban on Britain to stop the spread of a mutant strain of the Coronavirus, which has shut down 18 million people in southeast England and forced ports to close. . FTSE futures are pointing to a drop of 1.6 pieces 30 minutes before opening.

5 things to start your day

1) Retailers are clamoring for more comfort as Level 4 threatens more job losses. Shops are wasting money in London and the Southeast during the busiest trading times of the year.

2) Deloitte is one of the 18,000 victims of the SolarWinds hack. The IT giant Cisco has also been hit by a massive cyber attack that is believed to have given Russia access to US government documents for nine months.

3) Shell crew stranded on tankers at Christmas. The crew will remain stranded at sea until January 4 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

4) The companies beg to know when the pain will end. Retailers are on their knees as customers bring back orders and stores close again after Boris Johnson canceled Christmas.

5) Universities struggle to survive the winter. Courses and universities can go, with some institutions struggling to avoid bankruptcy after the government avoids the bailout.

See also  A momentary brawl in the supermarket erupts as Morrisons' company shoppers attack security guards

What happened overnight

Asian stocks tumbled and the pound slumped on Monday as concern over the novel coronavirus strain was shutting down much of the UK’s news that made up for a deal finally on the long-awaited US stimulus bill.

The pound sterling fell 1.2 percent to $ 1.3352 after several European countries closed their borders to the United Kingdom as the country entered a tighter lockdown to combat a new strain of the Coronavirus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting on Monday to discuss international travel and the flow of freight to and from Britain.

This was coupled with the lack of a Brexit deal to slash 1.1% of FTSE futures, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures slipped 1.7%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index outside of Japan fell 0.2 percent after hitting a series of record highs last week. Japan’s Nikkei reversed early gains, down 0.4%, from its highest level since April 1991.

Is coming today

Company: IWG’s AGM

Economics: CBI Distribution Trade Survey (UK); Consumer confidence (Eurozone)