Rishi Sunak’s £ 6,000 grants ‘limit on insult’, say hotel bosses

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New figures released by the ONS this morning show UK borrowing remained high in November – even before the omicron variant began to wreak havoc.

Non-bank public sector borrowing stood at £ 17.4 billion last month. Although it is down from November 2020, it is still ahead of expectations and the second highest level on record for the month.

This figure does not bode well for the state of public finances, as Chancellor Rishi Sunak braces for possible further Covid restrictions, which would likely require more government support for individuals and businesses.

5 things to start your day

1) ‘Painful’ ceiling on the price of £ 2,000 energy bills for consumers Rising gas prices and costs associated with supplier bankruptcies are expected to put pressure on households

2) Three and EE are the first to strike a deal to roll out mobile coverage in the London Underground The new Elizabeth Line will be among the first to benefit from 4G connectivity when it opens next year

3) Give single-income families £ 2,500 tax break, says conservative think tank Onward The non-working parent would get a full tax break of £ 12,570 under the proposal

4) SFO director faces new battle as second Unaoil corruption convict appeals Paul Bond was one of four men jailed in the Unaoil case alongside Ziad Akle, Stephen Whiteley and Basil Al Jarah

5) Maduro suffers legal blow over claim for gold held at Bank of England Supreme Court says UK government does not recognize Maduro as president of Venezuela

What happened during the night

Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, ignoring a deadly session on Wall Street, as Chinese markets applauded Beijing’s move to help struggling real estate companies, although cases of the omicron coronavirus variant increased. remains a concern for investors.

The MSCI’s largest Asia-Pacific stock index outside of Japan climbed 0.8 pc after falling to its lowest in a year on Monday.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 2% after two sessions of decline with Tokyo Electron and chip-related Advantest leading the pack as investors endorsed Monday’s strong sell-off. Australian stocks rose 0.9 pc.

Coming today

• Business : Cheerios, Haagen-Dazs, General Mills (Intermediate results); Go ahead (AGM)
• Economy: Government loan (UK), consumer confidence (EU), HMRC Home Sales (UK), CBI’s monthly survey on distribution professions (UK)