UK borrowing costs rise
Yields on British 10-year gilts crept higher on Monday, gaining 2 basis points to trade at 4.532% by 10:46 a.m. London time.
It came after revised GDP figures showed the U.K. economy flatlined in the three months to September.
U.K. borrowing costs hit a one-year high last week, but have since retreated from those levels.
— Chloe Taylor
Aviva agrees deal to buy Direct Line in $4.7 billion deal
British insurer Aviva has reached an agreement to buy competitor Direct Line, the companies announced Monday.
The cash and share offer will compensate Direct Line shareholders with 0.2867 Aviva shares for each Direct Line share held, as well as 129.7 pence ($1.63) in cash and up to 5 pence in dividends.
The companies said the agreement valued Direct Line’s entire diluted share capital at around £3.7 billion ($4.65 billion), based on Aviva stock’s closing price on Nov. 27.
Aviva’s London-listed shares were 0.3% higher at 10 a.m. London time, while shares of Direct Line gained 3%.
— Chloe Taylor
UK economy stalled in the third quarter
Britain’s economy failed to achieve any growth in the three months to September, revised figures from the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics showed on Monday.
A preliminary estimate for the third quarter, published by the ONS last month, said U.K. GDP grew at 0.1% during the period. However, the final data released on Monday showed 0% GDP growth from the previous quarter.
Earlier this month, data from the ONS showed the U.K. economy had unexpectedly contracted in October.
— Chloe Taylor
Honda, Nissan schedule press conference amid merger reports
The 2025 Nissan Murano on display during the 2024 LA Auto Show on November 22, 2024.
Josh Lefkowitz | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Vehicle making giants Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi have scheduled a joint press conference for 8 a.m. London time on Monday, amid rumors that Honda and Nissan are set to begin merger negotiations.
Reports of a potential tie-up first emerged last week, boosting shares of French carmaker Renault, which owns a minority stake in Nissan. Mitsubishi is an existing partner of Renault and Nissan.
— Chloe Taylor
CNBC Pro: ’The next Nvidia’: Broadcom is the AI chip stock to own in 2025, investor says
Broadcom is more likely to deliver big gains for investors in 2025 than AI chip leader Nvidia, according to fund manager Stephen Yiu.
Yiu, portfolio manager of the Blue Whale Growth Fund, said that while Big Tech giants, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta Platforms, had bought up Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) in vast quantities, they were now also developing their own custom chips for artificial intelligence applications in an effort to diversify.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open higher Monday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 8 points higher at 8,098, Germany’s DAX up 12 points at 19,919, France’s CAC up 7 points at 7,291 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 76 points at 34,031, according to data from IG.
Data releases include final U.K. and Spanish economic growth data.
— Holly Ellyatt
