Pound loses ground as Brexit talks go to the wire – live updates

Good morning. Retail data dominates the agenda today, with sales figures for November due out at 7am. They’re expected to show a contraction in spending last month, with a large number of retailers closed due to heightened restrictions in much of the UK.

It’s scheduled to be quiet on corporate front, but with Brexit ticking along in the background there’s the perennial chance of big news on that front.

5 things to start your day 

1) Bailey apologises to LCF victims in wake of damning report: Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, who used to lead the FCA, has apologised for his role in the demise of investment firm LCF.

2) British biotech develops needle-free jab for Covid vaccines: Oxford-based Enesi Pharma has developed an instrument that can deliver vaccinations under the skin with almost no pain for the patient.

3) Amazon & Hermes eye Post Office to end Royal Mail stranglehold: Silicon valley giant is in talks with the Post Office to handle parcels, letting it to muscle in on Royal Mail’s dominant delivery market position.

4) Coinbase files for landmark cryptocurrency IPO as Bitcoin soars: The Californian firm, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, is set to make financial history after announcing listing plans.

5) Vaccines give shot in the arm for confidence: Emergence of vaccines has given consumers a shot in the arm, as they reported their biggest surge in economic confidence for almost a decade.

What happened overnight 

Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday after Wall Street hit a new high on optimism about economic stimulus and coronavirus vaccine development despite a spike in US unemployment claims.

Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated while Shanghai gained. Seoul swung between small gains and losses.

Also on Friday, Japan’s central bank extended an emergency loan program by six months and left monetary policy unchanged, as expected.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 0.2pc to 26,760.96 while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1pc to 3,409.31. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.7pc to 26,499.90.

The Kospi in Seoul was up 0.2pc at 2,774.38 at midday while Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 sank 1.1pc to 6,683.20.

India’s Sensex opened down 0.3pc at 46,723.73. New Zealand, Singapore and Bankok also retreated while Jakarta rose.

Coming up today

Corporate: No FTSE 350 companies due to report.

Economics: Retail sales, GFK consumer confidence (UK), IFO business climate index (Germany)