THE DAILY BRIEFING

GAS FINE British Gas has been fined £4.5m by regulator Ofgem for missing a deadline to supply new meters to large business customers.

The company, owned by Centrica, will pay the money to the Carbon Trust, a global group focused on creating a low carbon world.

ECONOMY RISES Britain’s economy grew 0.4pc in the three months to the end of November, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, making a mockery of warnings that a vote to leave the EU would bring recession.

But figures from the Office for National Statistics showed industrial output fell 1.3pc in November – the worst performance for four years.

RECORD SET Stockbroker Numis has announced record revenues despite a volatile marketplace.

Turnover surged 15pc to £112.3m in the year to September 30, with profits up 25pc to £32.5m. Numis will pay a final dividend of 6.5p, an 8pc rise.

SUISSE CUTS Credit Suisse has announced another £786m of cuts as part of its fight to increase profits.

Chief executive Tidjane Thiam has already axed 6,000 jobs this year after blasting senior managers for concealing risky trades from him.

The bank is battling record-low interest rates and sluggish growth.

OZ BLOW Australia has posted a shock contraction in its economy for the first time since 2008.

The 0.5pc quarterly drop in gross domestic product in the third quarter was worse than analysts expected and prompted speculation its central bank might cut rates. Australia has not had a recession for 25 years.

LEWIS HIT Losses at kitchen retailer John Lewis of Hungerford widened after it was hit by restructuring costs and missed sales targets.

It lost £416,401 for the year to August 31, compared to £153,827 a year earlier. Sales rose by 4.9pc to £8.2m.

SOFTBANK SOARS Shares in Japanese tech giant SoftBank soared after boss Masayoshi Son pledged a $50bn investment in the US.

Billionaire Son, Japan’s secondrichest man, said this would create 50,000 jobs, a move US Presidentelect Donald Trump said was a direct result of his election win. SoftBank shares jumped 6.2pc in Tokyo.

IKEA BONUS Workers at furniture giant Ikea will share a £376m bonus after a 7pc boost in sales. The Swedish firm, which employs about 164,000 people in 340 stores, posted a 20pc rise in profit to £3.6bn.

CHURCHILL DEFEAT Churchill Mining has been fined £7m and had its claim against Indonesia struck out by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. It sought damages after licences for a coal project were taken off it.