Before closing up for the day, some good news from Toys R Us where about 2,000 jobs are expected to be saved.

The news follows an eleventh hour solution after the ailing retailer agreed to pump more than £9m into its pension plan over the next two years in a last-minute deal with the state-backed pensions lifeboat. Without the deal, the retailer would probably have gone into administration.

The Pension Protection Fund joined landlords and other creditors in backing Toys R Us’s voluntary insolvency (CVA) plan, which involves the closure of at least 26 loss-making stores from next spring as well as reducing the size of others. Consultations with affected employees will commence in the new year.

While up to 800 people could still lose their job as a result of the restructure, more than 2,000 jobs will be saved as Toys R Us tries to turn its remaining UK business around.

Read the full story here:

There were 245,000 new US jobless claims in the latest week, more than the previous week and more than the 231,000 predicted by economists.

The US economy grew by an annual rate of 3.2% in the third quarter, slightly slower than the 3.3% estimated previously.

Despite the downgrade, it was the quickest pace of growth since the first quarter of 2015 and an improvement on the 3.1% growth in the second quarter.

The FTSE 100 is up 35 points and outperforming its major European peers this afternoon, as investors remain fairly subdued.

The latest scores:

• FTSE 100: +0.5% at 7,560

• Germany’s DAX: -0.1% at 13,057

• France’s CAC: flat at 5,352

• Italy’s FTSE MIB: flat at 22,113

• Spain’s IBEX: -0.1% at 10,197

• Europe’s STOXX 600: +0.1% at 389

Billionaire property developers the Candy brothers have won a bruising high court battle after a judge dismissed all claims brought against them by a former friend for extortion, blackmail, intimidation and breach of the data protection act.

Read our full story here:

John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has given his take on this morning’s public finances figures, which showed borrowing fell in November.

He says they are another reminder of broken Tory promises:

These figures are further bad news just before Christmas following on from the IMF’s gloomy outlook issued yesterday. They only remind us yet again of the broken Tory promises to eliminate the deficit by 2015. The national debt continues to grow despite the tricks the Chancellor attempted in his Budget last month with Housing Association debt to hide his failure on the economy. This continued failure by the Tory Government over these past seven years is simply unacceptable.

These figures today reaffirm why we need an urgent change of course next year, halting the growing emergency in our public services and ending the failed Tory austerity cuts.

The next Labour government will set out a serious plan for the public finances with strategic investment underpinned by our fiscal credibility rule, to help build a high-wage, high-skill economy for the many not the few.

The jewel in Britain’s manufacturing crown is at risk because of Brexit uncertainty and falling wages according to Britain’s largest union, Unite.

The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show the number of cars made in British factories destined for the UK market plunged 28% in November to 24,276. It was the fourth month in a row that cars built for the home market fell.

Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary, said it was terrible news for Britain:

This is awful news in the run-up to Christmas for the British car industry and the UK economy. The continued falling demand in the UK market because of Brexit uncertainty and falling wages is yet more evidence of the government’s economic incompetence.

When other economies around the world are motoring ahead, the UK is stuck in the slow lane hobbled by the biggest squeeze in wages since the Napoleonic era. Meanwhile uncertainty around Brexit is leaving motor manufacturers stalling on the investment needed to maintain Britain’s world leading status in car making.

The motor industry is the jewel in the UK’s manufacturing crown, sustaining communities with decent well paid jobs. Government ministers need to rid themselves of their economic complacency and tackle falling incomes which are putting people’s wallets and the UK economy into reverse.

The UK government borrowed £8.7bn last month, which was £200m less than the same month last year and the lowest November net borrowing since 2007, on the eve of the financial crisis.

It was lower than the £8.9bn predicted by economists. The figure for October was also revised down, to £7.8bn from £8bn, topping off some decent news for the chancellor, Philip Hammond.

Borrowing in the fiscal year so far (April to November) was £48.1bn, down £3.1bn on the same period last year, and also the lowest since 2007.

It puts the chancellor on course to meet the Office for Budget Responsibility’s expectation that full-year borrowing to the end of March 2018 will be £49.9bn.

January usually brings a big surplus when annual income tax bills are due.

The figures were boosted by the Office for National Statistics’ decision to reclassify housing associations as private rather than public sector for the first time this month. This is estimated to have pushed down borrowing by about £300m.

Ruth Gregory, UK economist at Capital Economics, says she isn’t getting “too carried away” by the figures:

While a continuation of the current trend would see borrowing undershoot the OBR’s forecast by £7bn, some deterioration in the public finances should occur towards the end of the fiscal year. In particular, strong self-assessment tax receipts collected in January and February 2017 – due to changes in the dividend tax rate – won’t be repeated.

As a result, we doubt that borrowing will come in significantly below the OBR’s current £49.9 forecast for the 2017/18 fiscal year. However, if we are right in thinking that the OBR is too gloomy about the prospects for GDP growth, then borrowing should come down at a faster rate than it expects further ahead.

The number of cars made in UK factories in the first 11 months of the year was 2% lower than over the same period in 2016, at 1.58m vehicles.

If the weak trend persists in December, UK car production will have suffered its first annual fall since 2009, when Britain was in the depths of the financial crisis. In that year, production plunged 31% to 999,460 cars.

Britain’s listed house builders are among the FTSE 100’s biggest fallers this morning:

It follows the government’s decision to go further than expected by forcing developers to ban controversial ground rents for all new apartments and houses.

Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, also said the government would go ahead with a ban on leaseholds on new-build houses, first announced in July.

European investors are in no mood to celebrate this morning, with the major markets following Wall Street lower.

It turns out the markets are not as ecstatic about the successful passage of Donald Trump’s as the President himself.

Here are the latest scores:

• FTSE 100: flat at 7,526

• Germany’s DAX: -0.4% at 13,019

• France’s CAC: -0.5% at 5,324

• Italy’s FTSE MIB: -0.3% at 22,050

• Spain’s IBEX: -0.6% at 10,148

• Europe’s STOXX 600: -0.4% at 387

UK consumer confidence fell again in December according to the latest monthly snapshot from GfK.

The index fell by one point to -13, marking almost two years of declining consumer confidence.

GfK’s Joe Staton said there was nothing to suggest the mood among UK households would pick up any time soon:

We need to see several issues move on before the downward trend of the consumer mood changes. We need to have a better sense of how Brexit will pan out, and also of how quickly and how far interest rates will rise. But none of this will be resolved quickly so there’s every likelihood that 2018 will take us lower.

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

November was another poor month for Britain’s car industry, which has been hit by falling demand in 2017 as consumers faced with Brexit uncertainty and falling real pay become less willing to splash out on big purchases.

The number of cars made in British factories last month and destined for the UK market plunged 28% to 24,276 according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It was the fourth month in a row of falling domestic demand, and the biggest drop of 2017.

There was however a 1.3% rise in cars made in the UK and destined for export markets, as other economies fare better than Britain. Cars built to be shipped abroad totalled 137,214 and accounted for 85% of the total.

Overall, car production fell 4.6% in November, as 161,490 cars left UK factories.

The figures underline just how reliant on foreign trade the UK car industry is.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said:

Brexit uncertainty, coupled with confusion over diesel taxation and air quality plans, continues to impact domestic demand for new cars and, with it, production output. Whilst it is good to see exports grow in November, this only reinforces how overseas demand remains the driving force for UK car manufacturing.

Clarity on the nature of our future overseas trading relationships, including details on transition arrangements with the EU, is vital for future growth and success.

Also coming up today:

• 9.30 GMT: UK public finances data will show how much money the government had to borrow in November

• 1.30pm GMT: The third estimate of US GDP in the third quarter will give the latest snapshot of the health of the world’s largest economy

• 1.30pm GMT: US weekly jobless claims figures will provide insight into America’s labour market