THE DAILY BRIEFING

FLASH FEARS

Global financial markets will face more ‘flash crashes’ in line with sterling’s sharp fall in October, according to a top Bank of England official. Chris Salmon said the foreign exchange markets had functioned effectively when it came to a ‘well-telegraphed’ event such as the Brexit vote, but had experienced a ‘dearth of liquidity’ during sterling’s ‘flash crash’ in October.

BANK JOBS

US bank Citigroup plans to shift some jobs out of London to a rival European financial centre and will make a final decision on the location in the first half of the year. James Cowles, Citigroup’s chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said it was looking to set up a broker-dealer outside the capital by establishing a EU entity or by bulking up one of its existing locations within the European Union.

STAKES SOLD

BP is selling some of its interests and infrastructure in the North Sea and Shetland to independent company Enquest. The £68m agreement includes 25pc of BP’s 100pc stake in the Magnus oil field, 25pc of its interests in a number of associated pipelines, and a 3pc interest in the Sullom Voe Terminal.

WIND POWER

The cost of power from offshore wind farms has fallen by a third in five years, a report by the UK’s flagship research centre for advancing wind, wave and tidal energy has shown. Energy prices for offshore wind have fallen 32pc since 2012, and are below the target agreed by Government and industry of £100 per megawatt hour (MWh), four years ahead of 2020 date set to achieve the goal, according to the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.

STRIKE MEETING

The Government is being urged to intervene in a row over workers’ pensions which has sparked strikes at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Prospect union leaders will meet defence procurement minister Harriet Baldwin over the closure of the defined benefit pension scheme at the company, which makes the UK’s nuclear deterrent. Prospect members voted for industrial action last October and have held a 24-hour strike and banned overtime.

BOSSES CONCERNS

Most employers expect economic conditions to be more challenging this year amid signs that the jobs market is slowing, research shows. A survey of recruitment agencies by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation found that only one in five employers planned to increase permanent staff in the next three months, down from 24pc last month.

BOARD ROLE

Former BBC, ITV and Channel 4 boss Lord Grade has been appointed a non-executive director of marketing group Reach4Entertainment, which reported ‘exceptionally strong’ first half trading.