Today's top story: Uber granted 15-month licence to operate in London after reforms to 'gung-ho' attitude
Today's leader: The Bank of England's transatlantic flight bill is a mere drop in the ocean
Chancellor Philip Hammond has told China that Britain is committed to promoting free and open trade, and wants to seize the "unlimited opportunities" offered by the country's Belt and Road programme.
His comments were made in a piece penned by Hammond in Chinese financial magazine Caixin today. It comes as the chancellor begins a series of economic talks this week which could be crucial to the UK establishing itself as a global trading powerhouse post-Brexit.
MPs are ramping up pressure on Lloyds Banking over how it handled a fraud at its HBOS Reading business a decade ago, with Treasury Committee chair Nicky Morgan saying there needs to be "maximum transparency" around what happened.
The FTSE is expected to open 0.4 per cent higher at 7,568, while Germany's Dax will rise 0.46 per cent to 12,290, and the French Cac will increase by 0.36 per cent to open at 5,300, according to IG.
Another day, another drop in Asian markets as the US and China's trade feud rages on. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares shed 0.3 per cent after it dropped to a two year low yesterday. Chinese blue-chip stocks in the CSI300 fell 0.4 per cent, and now hover just above a 13-month low. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.5 per cent.
Corporate news
- Whitbread – Costa coffee owner has a trading announcement and holds its annual meeting today
- Liontrust Asset Management– will release its final results
- Bunzl – London outsourcing firm will issue a trading update
Data
- 7.00 – UK nationwide housing prices year-on-year (June)
- 8.00 – EU non-monetary policy ECB meeting
- 10.30 – UK high street lending
