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China services growth hits seven-month high but authorities struggle to prop up the yuan, which has fallen to a 16-month low

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

Confidence among British businesses has plummeted to the lowest levels since ex-prime minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget in September 2022 following the autumn budget’s large tax increases.

The worrying reverberations of the budget are clear to see in our survey data. Businesses confidence has slumped in a pressure cooker of rising costs and taxes.

9am GMT: Eurozone HCOB PMI composite and services final for December

1pm GMT: Germany inflation for December

2.45pm GMT: US S&P Global composite and services PMIs final for December

3pm GMT: US Factory Orders for November

Sentiment

0.7

Bearish/Bullish

100

07.01.25 05:52

by theguardian.com

McDonald’s sacked 29 people after sexual harassment allegations, MPs told

Information at select committee comes as more than 700 junior workers join legal action against chain

The chief executive of McDonald’s has said 29 people have been dismissed in the past year after allegations of sexual harassment.

The UK boss of the fast-food chain, Alistair Macrow, told MPs on Tuesday that it had been alerted to 75 allegations of sexual harassment over the last 12 months, 47 of which had been upheld with disciplinary action taken and 29 resulted in people being dismissed.

United States of America