Good morning.
Online estate agent Purplebricks has delayed the publication of its half-year results this morning after it put thousands of landlords at risk of being fined through a failure to follow basic tenancy law.
As revealed in today’s Telegraph, the firm has failed to properly serve legally required documents to tenants explaining their deposits have been put into a national protection scheme.
These must normally be provided within 30 days of a deposit being paid – and failure to do so can allow tenants to claim back up to three times the value of the money.
In an announcement, Purplebricks said the results it had been due to publish tomorrow will be delayed while it assesses the scale of its potential liabilities, initially thought to be between £2m and £9m.
5 things to start your day
1) Microsoft’s takeover of voice recognition firm Nuance Communications is coming under scrutiny
2) Neil Woodford is still looking for backers to get investing once again
3) John Timpson: My words of the year sum up an ‘inconvenient’ 12 months for business
4) The future expansion of onshore wind in Britain has been called into question
5) Facilities by ADF, a firm that provides costumes and catering trailers for Britain’s burgeoning TV and film production sector, is poised for a London listing.
What happened overnight
Asian stocks pushed ahead on Monday with investors seemingly confident markets can weather whatever comes from a host of central bank meetings this week, including the likely early end to US policy stimulus.
Omicron remained a concern, but again markets are counting on vaccines to limit the economic fallout.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.8pc, after bouncing 1.7pc last week.
Japan’s Nikkei rose one per cent, as a survey of large manufacturers found sentiment was the best since late 2018.
Chinese stocks added 1.4pc to last week’s 3.1pc jump amid hopes for more stimulus after Beijing’s recent loosening of bank reserve requirements.
Coming up today
Trading update: SThree
Economics: Bank of England financial stability report (UK); factory orders (Ger)
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