Crossrail hit by first ever strike

For many of you it will be the last working day before the Christmas break.

It could also be a working day disrupted by strike action.

Thousands of union members are on strike today and tomorrow.

As if that was not enough to bring you some festive gloom, chaos on the markets should leave you feeling postively Grinch-like, as detailed below.

5 things to start your day 

1) Bank of England backs Sunak’s crypto dreams despite market meltdown | The Bank of England has thrown its weight behind Rishi Sunak’s plan to make Britain a digital currency superpower, despite a market meltdown that has wiped more than £1 trillion off the value of crypto.

2) Japan’s Christmas bombshell risks setting off another European credit crunch | Japan is the world’s top creditor with $3.6 trillion (£3 trillion) of net assets overseas. It is the marginal buyer of British, eurozone, and American debt, and a central pillar of the international bond market.

3) Britain faces spike in divorces and unhappiness next year as wages fall below those of France | Divorce rates will climb at the fastest pace since 1971 and unhappiness will reach the highest levels since record began next year, as British workers get poorer than the French.

4) Asda sounds alarm over Ulez expansion as MPs call for Sadiq Khan to ditch it | Sadiq Khan is facing a growing parliamentary backlash over plans to expand the ultra low emission zone in London, as it emerged that Asda had raised concerns about the impact on its staff.

5) Diesel generators ready to power NHS and military as blackouts loom | As the frost chills the ground, Britain’s data centre operators are preparing for a long, testing winter to keep millions connected through the dark and cold.

What happened overnight 

Shares declined in Asia on Friday after a retreat on Wall Street driven by fears that strong economic data will lead the Federal Reserve to double down on its interest rate hikes to tame inflation.

Shanghai was flat while other major indexes declined. Trading was winding down with the approach of Christmas and New Year holidays.

Japan reported its core inflation rate, excluding volatile fresh foods, rose to 3.7pc in November, the highest level since 1981, as surging costs for oil and other commodities added to upward price pressures in the world’s third-largest economy.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost 1pc to 26,242.58 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.5pc to 19,578.44. The Shanghai Composite index was unchanged, at 3,054.52 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7pc to 7,099.70.

In Seoul, the Kospi dropped 1.4pc to 2,323.09. Shares also fell in Bangkok, Mumbai and Taiwan.

Wall Street stocks tumbled on Thursday, closing in a sea of red after data that indicated a strong labour market and better-than-expected economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.1pc down at 33,027.49, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index lost 1.5pc to 3,822.39. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also plunged 2.2pc to 10,476.12.