Donald Trump’s election victory last week is continuing to shift the markets.The pound has dropped to its lowest level against the US dollar since early July this morning, down half a cent to $1.2653.On election day, sterling was worth $1.30, but it has been sliding since as traders have anticipated that Trump’s tax cuts and tariffs will be inflationary, meaning US interest rates stay higher.

The euro has dropped to a one-year low, at €1,0524 against the US dollar,These latest losses came as the Republicans secured a majority in the US House of Representatives, which could give Donald Trump sweeping power to enact his legislative agenda,Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, fears the pound could head lower…,President Trump’s clean sweep at last week’s election has been confirmed with the Republicans winning the House.

This was expected; however, it gave the dollar a boost overnight, and GBP/USD sunk below $1.27.If we don’t see a stabilization in the pound, then it opens the door to a further decline to $1.25.There were some concerns that winning the trifecta of elections could give President elect Trump concentrated power, however, his choice of John Thune for Senate majority leader is interesting – he has clashed with Trump before and was not Elon Musk’s choice for the role.

This suggests two things: firstly, that the Trump administration could surprise us.Secondly, that although Republicans now control the main organs of power in the US, the President elect may not get his way on all matters.The question is whether this appointment will halt the Trump trade, stocks are pointing to a lower open in the US, although the dollar remains upbeat.Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, predicts a “full-blown dollar tsunami’ once Trump is back in the White House:Investors are caught in a whirlwind of global uncertainty and trade anxieties.With Trump’s anticipated tariffs looming like storm clouds, those markets in the line of tariff fire are bracing for impact.

I hope you’re not underestimating what’s brewing because Trump’s trade and domestic agenda is setting up a US dollar moonshot like we’ve never seen.This week’s price action? Just a tremor before the full-blown dollar tsunami that’s bound to hit with Trump’s second term.Back in the financial markets, the pound has recovered its earlier losses against the US dollar to trade just over $1.27.Meta has pledged to appeal against the EU’s fine.

It says:“Today, the European Commission announced a decision claiming that Facebook Marketplace has hindered competition for online marketplaces in Europe.“This decision ignores the realities of the thriving European market for online classified listing services and shields large incumbent companies from a new entrant, Facebook Marketplace, that meets consumer demand in innovative and convenient new ways.“We will appeal this decision to ensure that consumers are well served in the EU.”The European Commission has fined Meta almost €800m for breaching EU competition law with its classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace.The Commission fined Meta €797.

72m for tying Marketplace to its Facebook social media platform, which meant consumers on Facebook were regularly exposed to Marketplace whether or not they wanted to be.This gave Meta a “substantial distribution advantage” over rival classified ad platforms.The ruling also said Meta had unilaterally imposed unfair trading conditions on other classified ads services providers who advertise on Meta’s platforms, including allowing Meta to use ad-related data generated by other advertisers for the benefit of Facebook Marketplace.It orders Meta to bring the conduct to an end and refrain from repeating the infringement, in addition to the fine.The Commission said that while market dominance was in itself not illegal under EU antitrust rules, dominant companies have a special responsibility not to abuse their powerful market position by restricting competition.

Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president of the Commission in charge of competition policy, says:“Today we fine Meta 797.72 million euros for abusing its dominant positions in the markets for personal social network services and for online display advertising on social media platforms.“Meta tied its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and imposed unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers.“It did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match.This is illegal under EU antitrust rules.

“Meta must now stop this behaviour,”The average cost of household building work is up by almost a fifth (19%) on the last quarter, according to new data reported by PA Media today,The average cost of a building job is now £12,634 due to the higher cost of labour and materials, up from £10,626 in July to September this year, Checkatrade’s inaugural UK Home Improvement Index found,However the increase has not dampened consumer demand, with the number of building jobs up by 1% between quarters one and three, the data, based on more than 10,5 million jobs carried out by tradespeople in the UK, shows.

The average cost of a kitchen fitting has gone up by 12% on the previous quarter – now £7,376 compared with £6,574, while insulation installation costs are up 20% to an average £4,634,The average cost of a plastering job in the third quarter was up 16% to £2,343 and gardening jobs increased by 10% to £679,The average “handyman” job – typically of a smaller scale than building work – increased by 25% from to £563,Shares in Disney have jumped almost 10% at the start of trading in New York, as traders welcome its forecast-beating results,They’re up 9.

8% at $112,77, their highest level since May,The UK and Scottish governments are to pump £100m into new energy and economic regeneration projects around the closure-hit Grangemouth oil refinery and the neighbouring town of Falkirk,The deal, which is being signed in Falkirk by Scottish and UK ministers today, includes a new “carbon utilisation” centre to reuse waste CO2, and a bioeconomy accelerator pilot project for the whisky and food sectors at Grangemouth, where Petro-Ineos plans to close down Scotland’s last oil refinery in June 2025,Its closure, which will lead to more than 400 direct job losses and hit several thousand people in the wider economy, is the most serious immediate challenge to the UK government’s green jobs and energy transition agenda in Scotland, where the oil industry is a powerful force.

Highly skilled workers may emigrate, as most face significant uncertainty.There are proposals for carbon capture pilots, and sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen production projects there but widespread scepticism about their likely success.The Scottish and UK governments are co-investing £80m in the overall growth deal and £20m on new energy projects at Grangemouth; Falkirk council and Scottish Canals are spending a further £49m.Forth Valley college will receive funding for a skills transition centre, while money will also be ploughed into regenerating brownfield sites in Grangemouth, new transport hubs and upgrading of the Forth and Clyde canal and its workshops, and an arts park alongside it.Kate Forbes, Scotland’s deputy first minister, said:“The growth deal will support the region to grasp the opportunities of the transition to net zero and remain at the forefront of innovation and manufacturing in Scotland, complemented by a community-led programme of projects in Grangemouth.

”Today’s results from Disney show that CEO Bob Iger’s “quality-over-quantity approach” is paying off, says Adam Vettese, analyst at investment platform eToro:A particular bright spot was the company’s entertainment segment, which enjoyed double-digit growth in revenue and a big bounce in operating income, in part thanks to strong box office results over the summer from such global hits as ‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’,“Disney’s streaming business as a whole turned a profit for the first time ever in the previous quarter and the company has seen profits continue to climb in this area, which is quite the turnaround – just a year ago, the streaming business was bleeding hundreds of millions of dollars per quarter, but now it is making hundreds of millions instead,At this stage, Disney is deep into its shift in focus from linear media networks towards streaming, so a reported 6% decline in revenue from traditional networks is no great cause for consternation, though an accompanying plunge in operating income, including a more than 50% drop for its international linear networks, may still give investors pause,“There was a small rise in profit at its experiences segment, which includes Disney’s famous theme parks, with healthy growth in domestic income offset by sharp falls in profitability at its various international parks,Forward guidance for the overall company was encouraging, predicting ‘high-single digit adjusted EPS growth compared to fiscal 2024’ and a $3 billion buyback plan.

As a whole, it’s an upbeat earnings report and shares in Disney rose more than 9% in pre-market trading.”Over in the US, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment support has fallen.In a sign that Joe Biden is handing a solid labor market onto Donald Trump, there were 217,000 fresh ‘initial claims’ for jobless support last week.That’s down from 221,000 the previous week.Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann is warning that the UK economy is likely to face elevated “macroeconomic volatility” in the next few years.

In a speech to the Annual Conference of the Society of Professional Economists in London this lunchtime, Mann is examining the last forty years of the ‘Great Moderation’, which brought low inflation and macroeconomic stability.Mann points out that experts disagree on whether good policy or good luck was the prime cause of the Great Moderation (while central bankers tend to believe policy was responsible)One risk that could help unwind the Great Moderation is climate change, she points out, saying:The introduction of various uncoordinated climate mitigation policies may introduce volatility.Price-based instruments such as carbon taxes create volatility in output, and quantity-based instruments such as an ETS create price volatility.In addition, there is added uncertainty about future changes to policy stringency that may further accentuate macroeconomic volatility.A second risk is global trade fragmentation, as shocks can be transmitted to the UK via the exchange rate, imports and exports, as well as financial markets.

Mann points out that uncertainty about trade policy in itself may have damaging economic effects and increase volatility, adding:The latest political developments across the Atlantic have not made a disorderly trade scenario less likely, which would have consequences for output and inflation in the UK.Financial Market volatility and policy-induced volatility and spillovers are also potential threats, she adds.Mann – who opposed last week’s cut to UK interest rates - concludes that these risks, and uncertainty about the economic outlook, are a reason to leave borrowing costs on hold:In the face of uncertainties about the outlook for inflation and output, waiting buys time to learn more about developments, to make a better assessment of whether the inflation risk has subsided sufficiently to justify changing the policy stance.In the current context, an activist stance holds the policy rate firmly until sufficient evidence on diminished inflation persistence is revealed; and then to move forcefully.Disney’s Experiences division, which includes its theme parks, resorts and cruise ships, has achieved record revenue and operating income for the last year.

In today’s results, the company says:In Q4, Experiences revenue increased $0.1bn, or 1%, and operating income of $1.7bn was a decline of $0.1bn, or 6% compared to the prior-year quarter.Domestic Parks & Experiences operating income increased in Q4, on comparable attendance to the prior-year quarter, driven by higher guest spending, partially offset by higher expenses and costs related to new guest offerings driven by Disney Cruise Line.

International Parks & Experiences operating income declined in Q4.