THE DAILY BRIEFING

■ US JOBS Job creation in the US slowed in November. So-called nonfarm payrolls, a key measure of employment, rose by 155,000, down from an increase of 237,000 in October. US unemployment stayed at 3.7pc, its lowest rate since 1969.

■ CYCLING BLOW Sports Direct is likely to shut six Evans Cycles stores in the first wave of closures since it acquired the retailer.

■ LONDON SWOOP Property giant Landsec has snapped up a 1.6-acre site in central London for £87.1m, which it said has significant development potential.

■ HEADING OFF The chief marketing officer of Unilever, Keith Weed, is to leave in May after nearly four decades at the company. ■ DEAL DONE Online loan firm Funding Circle has signed a £1bn deal with investment company Waterfall Asset Management. Waterfall will lend this cash to businesses through Funding Circle’s website over two years. ■ TRADING CRACKDOWN Highrisk trading websites face a fresh crackdown from the Financial Conduct Authority. Firms will be banned from offering binary options which let punters guess if markets will rise or fall – and can trigger huge losses. ■ AIM LOSS Myanmar social networking business Mysquar is to be removed from London’s junior stock market AIM. ■ ON BOARD Builder McCarthy & Stone has appointed two new chief operating officers – Nigel Turner and Mike Lloyd. ■ CHARITY BONANZA Broker TP Icap raised £4.5m from a charity day when celebrities including the Duchess of Cornwall, actor Michael Douglas and TV star Keith Lemon took over the trading floor.

■ BITCOIN SLUMP Online currency bitcoin has slumped to a 15month low, dropping below $3,500 for the first time since mid-2017.