Reuters Insider - Reuters Today: UK business confidence soars to more than three-year high

Koenig & Bauer AG

23/12/2019 12:08

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Source: Reuters Insider

Description: Business confidence has surged to its highest level since the
Brexit referendum in 2016.
The swing from minus 18 to plus 21 percent is the
biggest positive move since the survey began, fuelled
by expectations of an
investment boom in 2020.
Short Link: https://tmsnrt.rs/2POMWyD

Video Transcript:

Good morning and welcome to Reuters Today. I'm Robyn Dwyer. Business
confidence has surged to its highest level since the Brexit referendum in
2016. The Institute of directors lobby group said its gauge, tracking views on
the economy is back in positive territory this month for the first time since
April 2018. More business leaders are optimistic and pessimistic and the swing
from -18 to +21% is the biggest positive one since the survey began in July
2016. Much of the positive sentiment is down to Boris Johnson's election
victory with bourses now planning an investment and hiring spree. Germany and
the EU have reacted angrily to sanctions approved by US President Donald Trump
on a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany. The sanctions target companies
building Nord Stream II, an $11 billion undersea pipeline that will transport
Russian gas under the Baltic Sea and deliver it directly to Germany. German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has condemned the measures and urged the
US not to meddle in European energy policy. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov says the project will be launched despite the sanctions. Tesco has
suspended a Chinese supply of Christmas cards after a customer found a message
written inside a card saying it had been packed by foreign prisoners who were
victims of forced labor. The message was found by a 6-year-old girl as she was
writing Christmas cards. It said it was from foreign prisoners in Shanghai,
Qingpu prison in China and asked for help, that urged the finder to contact
Peter Humphrey, a British former journalist who had been in prison in China.

I spent two years in captivity in Shanghai between 2013 and 2015. And my final
nine months of that captivity was in this very prison, in this very cell block
where this message has come from. So this was written by some of my cellmates
from that period who are still there serving sentences. 

A Tesco spokesperson said we abhor the use of prison labor and would never
allow it in our supply chain. French travelers hoping to start their Christmas
getaway have been caught up in a continuing wave of transport strikes. The
national rail operator is running reduced services including half the number
of high-speed trains that has been deadlocked between unions and the
government over planned pension reforms. France's President Emmanuel Macron
wants to streamline the generous state pension system and make people work
longer than the legal retirement age of 62. Negotiations between transport
unions and the government are set to continue in January. Sterling is holding
above a $1.30 after its biggest weekly fall in three years. The dip from above
135 was fueled by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's hard deadline for a trade
deal with the EU by the end of 2020. Net short positions have declined,
meaning more traders are willing to take bets on the Pound's prospects. Well,
let's take a look at the movers and shakers for you. Bayer is among the top
gainers after the US government said the company should not be liable for
cancer in a customer who used its Roundup weed killer. NMC Health, which was
battered last week by questions over its finances is also making big gains.
The company says it will undergo an independent review of its books. Just Eat,
which is at the center of a takeover battle is up. HSBC has raised its rating
on the stock to "buy" from "hold." On the downside, Nichols which makes the
softdrink Vimto is the biggest faller on the LSE after a profit warning
related to its tax obligations in the Gulf. HSBC has emerged as one of the
banks that accessed Bank of England audio feeds of its news conferences before
they were made available to the public. Well, that's according to The
Financial Times, which also names JP Morgan. And the German printing press
maker Koenig & Bauer has taken a tumble after a profit warning linked to
higher costs and a challenging market. Well, let's turn now to the markets to
see how we stand in early trade. And European shares dipped slightly after
nearing a record high last week. That's trading thins ahead of the Christmas
and Boxing Day holidays later in the week. Banking stocks led the STOXX 600
lower, with an initial US-China trade deal unlikely to be signed this year.
And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's willingness to take a hard line on
future Brexit negotiations. Analysts say stocks had little reason to move much
from current levels. Well, that is it from your Reuters today. I'm Robyn Dwyer
and this is Reuters