Top story: ‘Investors are throwing a hissy fit’
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Financial markets in the UK and Europe are braced for further turmoil today after Asia-Pacific markets continued the global plunge overnight – following the lead of New York’s Dow, which dropped 1,175 points on Monday in its largest one-day points fall on record. Here is our latest wrap-up of the situation – and you can find our continuing live coverage here.
The FTSE 100 is predicted to be around 3.5% down as it opens this morning. Overnight UK time there’s been a 4.7% drop in Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index and a 3.3% fall on Australia’s ASX200. Markets in Hong Kong, South Korea and China also recorded losses. Maki Sawada, from Nomura Securities, said stocks were being sold in panic after the Wall Street losses. “The sell-off accelerated in a chain reaction.”
Perversely, this seems to be happening in large part because the global economy is faring better. Investors are fearing that central banks will start raising interest rates to curb inflation – the era of “cheap money” looks to be coming to an end. As Bankrate analyst Greg McBride put it: “Markets have been addicted to low interest rates and global central banks pumping money into the financial system. As economies around the world are improving, this means higher interest rates and less stimulus from central banks. That’s why investors are throwing a hissy-fit.”
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Bit brisk – Rain, sleet and snow are expected to create treacherous rush-hour travel conditions this morning. You’re starting the day with a yellow weather warning for snow and ice in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England, the south-west and East Anglia. Temperatures fell to -6C in parts of Scotland and northern England last night, and tonight it could get down to -11C. Similar conditions could last into the weekend, followed by unusually cold weather possibly stretching into March, the Met says.
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Frasier actor dies – John Mahoney, the British actor best known for playing Marty Crane on the long-running 1990s sitcom Frasier, has died in a Chicago hospital at the age of 77. Mahoney played the father of Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier. He was born in Blackpool but moved to Chicago.
Beginning his acting career in theatre in the 1970s, at the relatively mature age of 37, he joined Steppenwolf Theatre on the suggestion of John Malkovich. Across a varied career he received a Tony award, a Screen Actors Guild award, and two nominations each for the Emmys and the Golden Globes.
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Off the rails – We may not have to wait for Jeremy Corbyn to get in before the government starts renationalising railways. The East Coast franchise might come back into public hands because of a contractual tangle involving the operator Virgin Trains, admits the transport secretary, Chris Grayling. The government is being accused of handing a bailout to Virgin, which lost money after bidding an over-the-odds £3.3bn for the route. At the same time, Virgin has been given a further contract, without competition, to run the lucrative InterCity West Coast service, potentially until 2020. “Virgin games the system. It’s done it before and it’s doing it again,” said Labour’s transport spokesman, Andy McDonald.
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Burns going down – If a workplace busybody dips his or her finger in your morning cup of tea today … well, still shove said person away, but you might expect the following by way of sputtered excuse. Drinking very hot tea can raise your risk throat cancer fivefold – mostly if you also happen to smoke, and drink too much alcohol. A nine-year study in China found that those who drank scalding tea and 15g or more of alcohol daily had the greatest risk. UK experts rightly point out tea should not be suddenly regarded as an unhealthy habit — the scalding hot cuppa is not, after all, a British tradition. “That said, there may be individuals out there who do drink very hot tea with excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption as well, and hence might be more at risk of developing this cancer,” said Professor Andrew Sharrocks, from the University of Manchester.
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And now on Radio 4 … June Spencer, the last original member of the cast of The Archers, has called for actors to be credited at the end of each show. Or, at least, episodes that are especially significant “such as Peggy’s goodbye to Jack”.
“I worked a lot on the line where Peggy says: ‘Goodbye, my darling.’ And at the end they read out who it’s been written by and who the editor is, but there’s no mention of the actress.” The show’s agricultural story adviser also gets a regular name-check. In a Radio Times interview, Spencer has also spoken of her desire to still be on the radio play when she turns 100.
Lunchtime read: ‘Who are these appalling people?’
It’s apparently an industry trope that the companies and politicians who commission focus groups tend to hate their subjects. “They resent the obligation to listen to ordinary, non-expert people, and often feel humiliated by their judgments.”
Likewise, writes Liza Featherstone, “the public resents the mediocre outcomes of a focus-grouped world – feeling that the culture of consultation dumbs down our politics, entertainment and just about everything else … But since they remain a hugely popular way of understanding consumer tastes and voter opinions, why do we hate them so much?”
Sport
The clock is ticking on Antonio Conte after Chelsea’s 4-1 defeat at Watford surely signalled the end for the Italian manager, who admitted afterwards that his team had been undermined by fear and cast doubt over whether some of the players have the strength of character to thrive at a big club.
Today marks the 60th anniversary of the Munich air crash; while there have been worse tragedies involving football teams, none have been perceived as more poignant than the one involving Manchester United in 1958, writes Paul Wilson.
England will continue their pursuit of a record-breaking third consecutive Six Nations title without Ben Youngs after the scrum-half was ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. And Jon Moss was “misguided” in asking for TV assistance when awarding Tottenham their first penalty at Liverpool but called the decision correctly, Professional Game Match Officials Limited has said.
Business
The big story, of course, is the chaos on global markets, which we have covered above. As far as the pound in your pocket goes, it has been trading at $1.396 and €1.128 overnight.
The papers
“You’re sick Mr President” is the headline in the Mirror which calls Donald Trump blundering and clueless for his tweets about the NHS. The Times says Trump has been rebuked by the head of NHS for his intervention.
The Guardian leads with the news that the East Coast rail line may be returned to the public sector. The FT has the same story and says the franchise running the service at the moment is near to collapse. The Telegraph splash is news that campaigners are calling for those Suffragettes who were jailed while fighting to win the vote to be pardoned. Meanwhile the Mail is not happy that the company that provides taxpayer-funded vehicles for disabled people is paying its boss £1.7m a year.
The i has a picture of Jacob Rees-Mogg on the front and calls him the “rebel-in-chief” who is attacking both his own prime minister and chancellor. Lastly the Sun says the “prime suspect” in the 1982 IRA Hyde Park bomb attack will face a civil action after legal aid was granted for a suit to proceed.
For more news: www.theguardian.com
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