Thanks for joining me. Three-quarters of factory bosses have said incentives offered in the US, EU and other countries have made them question whether investments in Britain are worth it.
Joe Biden has invested billions in subsidies for green investments as part of his controversial Inflation Reduction Act, while the EU has committed to spending €50 billion a year on its green transition.
5 things to start the day
1) City backs Labor as Mark Carney claims Truss turned Britain ‘into Argentina’ | Survey results show Keir Starmer’s efforts to attract business and finance are paying off
2) Astronaut Tim Peake backs plans to build solar farms in space | Space solar farms could meet up to a quarter of Britain’s electricity needs
3) Tough talk but no action as row over alleged Chinese spy exposes UK weakness | It’s ‘complicated’ when your economy is intertwined with that of your rival
4) France supports us more than Britain, says British nuclear startup | French financing offers and territorial risk investments are diverted towards the continent
5) Tech companies scan your face while you shop | Retailers Join Forces to Counter Rise in Shoplifting, But Raise More Questions
What happened during the night?
Stocks fell in Asia, with Hong Kong’s benchmark index dragged down by property shares following reports that police had detained staff at troubled property developer China Evergrande’s wealth management company.
Tokyo markets were closed for a national holiday.
On Friday, China’s national financial regulator announced it had approved the acquisition of the group’s life insurance division by a new state-owned entity. On Saturday, police in the southern city of Shenzhen, where Evergrande is headquartered, announced the arrest of some staff at its wealth management business.
Debt defaults in the real estate sector since 2021 have resulted in half-finished apartment buildings, unhappy home buyers and fears that the industry’s woes could further slow the world’s second-largest economy and shake global financial markets. .
Evergrande shares traded in Hong Kong rose 1.6 percent after falling earlier in the session. Country Garden, another developer facing huge debt obligations amid an industry slowdown and a crackdown on excessive borrowing, saw its shares rise 0.9%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 percent to 18,019.63 and the Shanghai Composite Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 3,116.28.
In Seoul, the Kospi fell 0.9% to 2,578.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7% to 7,230.10.