Britain’s stock markets slipped in cautious trading on Christmas Eve after attempts by the US treasury secretary to ease market fears only made investors more nervous. Steve Mnuchin called the heads of America’s six biggest banks to reassure markets about liquidity over the weekend after a partial government shutdown following an impasse in Congress over President’s Trump’s demand for more funds to build a wall on the border with Mexico. He will also convene a call today with the president’s working group on financial markets. The group, which met during the financial crisis, includes officials from the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission and is sometimes referred to as the “plunge protection team”. “It provides more than enough fodder for perceptions of chaos…

Source: The Times December 24, 2018 12:00 UTC