Thanks for joining us. Britain remains gripped by a worklessness crisis as the number of people out of employment and not looking for a job hit a 13-year high.
More than 9.5m people were classed as economically inactive in the three months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics, which was the highest since 2011.
5 things to start your day
1) Indian billionaire seeks UK trade deal after taking stake in BT | Sunil Mittal keen to foster closer ties as he becomes key player in British telecoms giant
2) Boris Johnson in talks over Telegraph bid | Former prime minister discusses potential role as Nadhim Zahawi’s consortium enters second round of auction
3) Blow for Xi as investors scramble to quit China | Low domestic demand and heightened geopolitical tensions are taking a toll on Beijing
4) Analysis: Is the US already in recession? | The risk of a downturn is rising amid speculation that the Fed has gone too far
5) Matthew Lynn: Britain’s failing universities need a basic lesson in economics | Like any other broken business model, higher education requires reinvention – not bailouts
What happened overnight
Asian shares were trading mixed as Tokyo’s benchmark stock index bounced back from last week’s plunge.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 2.8pc to 36,014.26, after jumping more than 1,000 points at one point.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1pc to 7,821.60. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3pc to 2,610.17.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed, inching down less than 0.1pc to 17,107.52, while the Shanghai Composite was up less than 0.1pc at 2,859.62.
In Tokyo, computer chip stocks were in demand, with Tokyo Electron surging 5.4pc, echoing the strong performance of technology-related companies on Wall Street.
Investors also seemed to be cheered by how the recently volatile yen value appeared to be calming. Although a cheap yen is a boon for Japan’s major exporters – boosting the value of overseas earnings when translated into yen – a cheap currency gradually erodes away at a nation’s purchasing power.
The US dollar rose to 147.30 Japanese yen from 147.17 yen. The euro cost $1.0936, little changed from $1.0935.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 finished flat, and the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.2pc, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 leading American companies slipped 0.4pc. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe also ended flat.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bonds, which sets the tone for borrowing costs around the world, slipped to 3.9035pc after climbing 0.15 percentage points last week in its biggest rise since April.
