Pound hits seven-month high; trade deal hopes grow – business
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
- Latest: Pound hits $1.304 as Tories hold lead
- UBS: Election is Johnson’s to lose (and there’s still time!)
- Trade war: insiders say Trump was too gloomy
Earlier:
- UK economy stumbles in November
- Intro: Trump rhetoric worries markets
- Hong Kong: worst month since SARS
12.57pm GMT
Sterling is continuing to climb, and is now up a whole cent today at $1.309.
That’s a new seven-month high against the US dollar, the strongest position since May 7th.
12.55pm GMT
Aviation News: Budget airline Ryanair is planning to close two bases, due to the ongoing delays to Boeing’s 737 MAX jet.
Ryanair says it now expects to only receive 10 737 MAX aircraft in time for next summer, not the 20 previously expected. That means it will carry a million fewer passengers — 156m, not 157m — and force it to shutter operations at Nuremberg and Stockholm Skavsta.