10 things you need to know in markets today
Prime Minister Theresa May has admitted that negotiating a successful Brexit is proving to be "hugely challenging." In a rare interview with The Sunday Times, May also acknowledged the government needed to organise terms for exiting the EU, as soon as possible.
The Bank of England is pushing ahead with plans for transitional arrangements after Brexit negotiations in an attempt to protect financial institutions from a cliff edge deal that could undermine their stability. The Guardian reports that Governor Mark Carney has met senior figures in the City to stress the need for a smooth path out of the European Union that maintains its stature and strong links with the continent.
Britain's biggest bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral is planning an audacious multi-billion pound bid for Australia's largest betting company, Tabcorp. The Mail on Sunday reports that the British betting giant is understood to have appointed advisers within the last few weeks to work on the proposal.
Firms in Britain's large services sector reported a sharp fall in profits over the past three months due to higher costs and weak sales, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said on Monday. "Optimism among firms in the UK service sector has fallen... as rising costs and sluggish volumes of business have led to a drop in profitability," CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said, according to Reuters.
Francois Fillon will stand for the French conservatives in the upcoming presidential election after claiming victory over Alan Juppe in the Republican party primary on Sunday. Fillon is set to go head-to-head with Marine Le Pen of far-right party Front National in May's election, meaning that the French left-wing is set to be excluded from the contest altogether after five years of socialist Francois Hollande in power.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics will consider splitting itself into two as proposed by US activist hedge fund Elliott Management, Seoul Economic Daily reported on Monday citing an unnamed source. A split would allow the heirs of the founding Lee family to strengthen their grip on the global smartphone leader, the crown jewel of the Samsung Group business empire. Elliott proposed a split in October to boost shareholder value.
Boeing faces a $9 billion (£7.2 billion) hit for illegal subsidies in the latest battle in a long-running transatlantic trade war. The Telegraph reports that the World Trade Organisation is expected to say this week that tax breaks given to the US plane-maker broke international rules, and it will have to pay them back.
Campaigners are urging the government not to "cherry pick" different parts of the economy for special trade agreements with the EU after Brexit. Tory Anna Soubry, Labour's Chuka Umunna and Lib Dem Nick Clegg argue this approach risks creating "losers" because almost all sectors are linked to the EU, the BBC reports.
Europe's biggest bank by assets, HSBC, thinks Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is unlikely to resign his post even if he loses Sunday's much-anticipated Italian referendum on constitutional reforms. Italy will vote on a series of changes to the way the country's institutional frameworks are structured and the plebiscite represents the final big political risk event in a year that has seen both Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as US president.
Mario Draghi gives EU politicians an update on the state of Europe's finances this afternoon. The ECB chair will speak before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs at 2.00 p.m. GMT (9.00 a.m. ET), as he delivers the ECB's latest reports on economic sentiment and business climate.