Thanks for being with us. Britain’s economy shrank in July, official figures show, delivering a blow after a series of indications that the UK was doing better than previously expected.
Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.5pc in July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
5 things to start your day
1) BP boss resigns over past relationships with colleagues | Abrupt exit comes at a time the oil giant is grappling to balance investments in fossil fuels and clean energy
2) Apple to ditch leather in effort to ‘protect the planet’ | US tech giant to use recycled fabric in its watch straps and phone cases in net zero push
3) Google paying $10bn a year to maintain monopoly, claims DOJ | Most high-profile antitrust trial since 1998 gets underway
4) Oil hits $92 for first time this year as Opec cuts trigger global supply shortfall | Motorists face a jump in petrol prices after Brent crude surpassed $92 a barrel
5) Judges must get tougher on shoplifters, says Primark chief | Retailer joins calls for stricter enforcement as thefts sweep Britain’s high streets
What happened overnight
Stocks fell Wednesday in Asia after a slide for technology stocks dragged Wall Street lower ahead of a key report on US inflation.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.3pc to 17,970.01 and the Shanghai Composite index sank 0.9pc to 3,109.88.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.4pc to 32,656.85, while the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.2pc lower, to 2,532.69. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.8pc to 7,146.40.
Wall Street stocks closed lower on Tuesday as investors await key US consumer inflation data expected to influence the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.1pc lower at 34,645.99.
The Nasdaq dipped 1pc to finish at 13,773.61, while the broad-based S&P 500 also lost 0.6pc at 4,461.90.
The benchmark yield on 10-year Treasury was little changed at 4.28pc.
Asian shares were subdued after Wall Street wobbled overnight. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat while Tokyo’s Nikkei eased 0.2pc.
Australia’s resource-heavy shares lost 0.7pc, Chinese blue-chips were flat but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index moved 0.6pc higher.
