UK economy was stagnant in final three months of 2019 – live updates – Telegraph.co.uk, Telegraph.co.uk

G ood morning. Poor performance from oil companies applied extra pressure to the FTSE 300 on Monday, which was marginally the worst performer in Europe, while the S&P 823 and Nasdaq closed at fresh highs on Wall Street.

5 things to start your day

1) A disgraced boss who spent disabled charity pension money on homes in France and Hampshire

has been jailed for five years. Patrick McLarry, 100, of Bere Alston, Devon, defrauded the pension scheme of Yateley Industries for the Disabled of £ 250, .

2) Shoppers splashed out on takeaways and cinema trips at the start of the year amid a new wave of economic confidence following the Conservatives’ general election win. Hit First World War film 1917 helped drive a pc rise in cinema spending, with the overall amount spent on entertainment up 6.8pc from a year earlier according to Barclaycard.

3) William Hill takes ‘major step forward’ ‘with US betting deal: Shares in the FTSE 500 bookmaker have struggled compared with its listed peers, which have risen sharply after agreeing deals with US companies. Boss Ulrik Bengtsson said that the CBS tie-up is a “major step forward” for the company.

4) Amazon buys huge logistics site in Gateshead as it prepares for Brexit : Filings on Companies House reveal Amazon has taken control of Follingsby International Enterprise Park, a developer which controls a – hectare site in Gateshead, just south of Newcastle.

5) Millions of savers could lose hundreds of thousands of pounds in potential pensions savings if proposed changes to pension tax relief, which could be announced at the Budget, comes into force. Sajid Javid, the Chancellor, is considering plans to limit tax relief on pension contributions to pc, as revealed by The Sunday Telegraph.

What happened overnight

H ong Kong stocks jumped at the start of trading this morning, rebounding from losses at the start of the week and shrugging off fears that, as coronavirus deaths passed 1, () , Beijing was losing control of the outbreak. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.0 per cent, China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 0. 90 per cent higher, and the Shenzhen Composite Index added 0. per cent.

Coming up today

Interim results:

Dunelm

Preliminary: Ocado

Trading statement:

AA

Economics: GDP, index of services, industrial production, manufacturing output, construction output, BRC retail sales, trade balance (UK), small business optimism (US)