BUSINESS LIVE: Business confidence weakens; Entain hands activist board seat; FTSE 100 turns 40

Returning to the Square Mile after their festive break, the handful of men who gathered in a room at the Stock Exchange Tower in Old Broad Street 40 years ago today could not have imagined what they were about to set in train.

The low-key switch-on of a computer programme on January 3, 1984 heralded the birth of one of the UK’s most recognisable business brands and, more than two years before Margaret Thatcher’s momentous Big Bang deregulation, a notable City of London modernisation.

Business confidence weakened in December as executives turned more pessimistic about the outlook for the British economy in 2024, a closely-watched survey suggests.

Dr. Roger Barker, director of policy at the Institute of Directors, said:

‘Director sentiment ended the year in a relatively depressed place. According to our members, it has been more or less stuck in the doldrums since last Summer.

‘Although aspects of the business environment have improved in the last couple of months, particularly with regard to inflation, this is not yet exerting a meaningful impact on business decision-making. Business leaders remain extremely cautious about the outlook for the wider economy over the next 12 months, although they are more optimistic about the prospects for their own organisations.

‘In the coming months, the Bank of England will be considering its next step in term of interest rates. Based on the evidence of this survey, an early cut in interest rates would be justified in terms of helping to kick-start business confidence. With inflationary pressures abating, business is in dire need of a boost if it is help drive meaningful economic growth in 2024.’