Rail fares in England to rise 4.9%; UK economy on brink of recession; US PCE inflation slows – as it happened

Passengers at King's Cross railway station in London yesterday, as Storm Pia caused transport disruption. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

2.36pm GMT

Closing post

Right, with London’s stock market closed until the 27th December, it’s time to wrap up for today.

And what a day it has been, with Britain’s economy sliding closer to the long-feared recession after growth fell slightly in the July-September quarter.

Should the economy also contract in October-December, the UK will be in a technical recession.

Here’s the full story, and our analysis:

Here’s our news story on the latest fare rises which will hit passengers in England next March:

And here’s the rest of today’s stories:

We’ll be back after the festive break, next week. Have a lovely Christmas! Good luck if you’re trying to get home. GW

2.33pm GMT

Over in New York, the S&P 500 index of US stocks has opened a little higher, as investors welcome the drop in the US PCE inflation measure:

DOW JONES DOWN 42.11 POINTS, OR 0.11 PERCENT, AT 37,362.24 AFTER MARKET OPEN

S&P 500 UP 10.07 POINTS, OR 0.21 PERCENT, AT 4,756.82 AFTER MARKET OPEN

NASDAQ UP 40.79 POINTS, OR 0.27 PERCENT, AT 15,004.65 AFTER MARKET OPEN

— First Squawk (@FirstSquawk) December 22, 2023