Thank you for joining us. Home prices fell year over year for the eighth straight month as buyers faced higher borrowing costs.
Real estate values fell 5.3% in September, according to Nationwide, the same rate of decline as the previous month.
5 things to start your day
1) BP retirees attack Looney over pay cuts | The group is exploring legal measures against the company after its income fell by 17%.
2) BAE has been awarded a £4bn contract for Aukus-class attack submarines | Rolls-Royce and Babcock will also be involved in the manufacture and design of the submarines
3) Alarm over risk of oil spill in English Channel as Putin relies on 23-year-old tankers | Russia’s shadow fleet avoids oil export price caps set by the G7, but experts fear it could raise the possibility of environmental catastrophe.
4) News publishers warn that artificial intelligence is ‘contaminating the body of human knowledge’ | Concerns are growing about the cumulative risk of generative models that use AI data rather than human-generated content
5) Roger Bootle: Stopping HS2 would be the best cut | Like Macbeth, we’re deep down – but it’s never too late to bravely put on the brakes
What happened overnight
Asian stocks were mostly higher in thin trading with many markets closed for the holidays.
Markets in China are closed for a week-long holiday. Markets in South Korea were also closed.
Oil prices rose and US indexes rose in pre-market trading as the threat of a federal government shutdown eased after Congress approved a temporary funding bill late Saturday to keep federal agencies open until November 17.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index advanced after a survey conducted by the central bank showed an increase in business confidence.
The Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey measured business sentiment among major manufacturers at plus 9, up from plus 5 in June. Sentiment among major non-manufacturers rose four points to +27, the sixth straight quarter of improvement and the most positive result in nearly three decades.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.7% to 32,098.40 points. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.2% to 7,037.90 points. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.2%, while Bangkok’s SET fell 0.1%.