2) Most of Grant Thornton’s public sector audits are below standard: Five out of six major public sector audits conducted by Grant Thornton weren’t enough to scratch it last year, according to a leaked review seen by The Telegraph.

3) The second closure will ‘destroy the hospitality and main streets’: The companies urged the government not to follow France and Germany again in restrictions nationwide, after spending millions on Covid safety.

4) BT’s CFO mocked “messy communications” as stocks tumbled: The apparently positive refresh has obscured tougher trading signs for its core consumer business, causing stocks to swing wildly at the end of the day.

5) Facebook is ignoring the boycott at its fastest growth since pre-Covid: The social media giant is returning to its former booming revenue, indicating that the massive boycott of hate speech did little to undermine its bottom line profits.

What happened overnight

aChinese stocks fell on Friday as investors looked ahead to the US presidential elections next week and weighed on economic stimulus opportunities from Washington and Europe.

Standards plummeted in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul. Shanghai has oscillated between gains and losses.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 0.8 percent to 23,147.14, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost less than 0.1 percent at 24,580.22.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 3,269.45 at midday after the ruling Communist Party said it would turn China into a self-reliant “technological powerhouse”, as hostility with Washington impedes access to high-tech components.

The Kospi in Seoul was down 1.2% to 2,298.96, and the S & P-ASX 200 in Sydney was down 0.3% at 5,945.20.

The Indian Sensex opened, up 0.4 percent, at 39,906.14. New Zealand, Singapore and Bangkok retreated.

Is coming today

Company: Glencore, IAG, NatWest Group (Temporary); Confatec Group plc (Trading statement)

Economics: GDP third quarter (Eurozone, Germany, France, Italy, Spain)And personal income and spending (we)