Thanks for joining me. Three quarters of factory chiefs have said that incentives offered in the US, EU and other countries have made them questions whether investments in Britain are worth it.
Joe Biden has poured billions into subsidies for green investments as part of his controversial Inflation Reduction Act, while the EU has pledged to spend €50bn a year on its green transition.
5 things to start your day
1) City backs Labour as Mark Carney claims Truss turned Britain ‘into Argentina’ | Survey results show Keir Starmer’s efforts to woo business and finance are yielding results
2) Astronaut Tim Peake backs plans for solar farms in space | Space-based solar farms could provide up to a quarter of Britain’s electricity needs
3) Tough talk but no action as row over alleged Chinese spy exposes UK weakness | It’s ‘complicated’ when your economy is enmeshed with your rival’s
4) France is more supportive of us than Britain, says UK nuclear startup | French offers of funding and free land risk investments being diverted to the Continent
5) The tech companies scanning your face while you shop | Retailers join forces to counter a surge in shoplifting – but raising more questions
What happened overnight
Shares fell in Asia, with Hong Kong’s benchmark pulled lower by property stocks following reports that police had detained staff at the wealth management business of troubled real estate developer China Evergrande.
Tokyo’s markets were closed for a national holiday.
On Friday, China’s national financial regulator announced it had approved the takeover of the group’s life insurance arm by a new state-owned entity. On Saturday, police in the southern city of Shenzhen, where Evergrande is based, announced the arrests of some staff of its wealth management business.
Defaults on debts in the property sector since 2021 have resulted in half-finished apartment buildings, disgruntled homebuyers and fears the industry’s troubles might further slow the world’s second-largest economy and shake global financial markets.
Evergrande’s Hong Kong traded shares were up 1.6pc after plunging early in the session. Country Garden, another developer facing huge debt obligations amid a slowdown in the industry and a crackdown on excessive borrowing, saw its shares rise 0.9pc.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.9pc to 18,019.63 and the Shanghai Composite index was down less than 0.1pc, at 3,116.28.
In Seoul, the Kospi fell 0.9pc to 2,578.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.7pc to 7,230.10.
