UK posts stronger than expected GDP, China bites Apple and Japan’s geriatric time-bomb

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The UK has posted a stronger-than-expected GDP growth of 0.5 per cent, defying Treasury warnings of the threat of an imminent recession sparked by the vote to leave the EU.

Although growth during the three months from July to September was slower than the 0.7 per cent recorded in the previous quarter, the figure was significantly stronger than the average forecast of 0.3 per cent.

The new figures reduce the chances that the Bank of England will announce a further rate cut next week and contributed to a brief pop higher in sterling.

Despite the news, economists continue to expect growth to slow over the next few months as rising inflation and weak earnings growth are expected to reduce consumers’ spending power. Consumer spending has been an important contributor to recent growth. (FT)

In the news

Trudeau cancels Brussels trip Efforts to revive Ceta, the ill-fated Canada EU trade deal, are resuming in the Belgian capital after Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau abruptly cancelled a planned visit, which had been arranged long ago so that he could sign the deal. (FT, Global News)

Deutsche Bank profit The bank has surprised analysts by reporting a small profit for the third quarter. The bank — which has been plunged into turmoil following the revelation that the US Department of Justice’s wants it to pay $14bn to settle claims that it had allegedly mis-sold mortgage securities — reported a net profit of €278m. (FT)

China’s bite out of Apple Apple’s profits in China fell by almost a fifth in its latest financial year, a stark reversal after operating income there more than doubled in 2015. Chief executive Tim Cook said he was expecting China sales to recover but also revealed high hopes for India. (FT, VentureBeat)

Tesla reports surprise profit The electric carmaker has unexpectedly reported its first quarterly profit since 2013 as it moves ahead with the development of its first mass-market vehicle. (FT)

BoE seeks details of UK exposure to Deutsche and Italian banks The Bank of England has asked large British lenders to detail their exposure to the German lender as well as some of the biggest Italian banks, including Monte dei Paschi, amid mounting market jitters over the health of Europe’s financial sector. (FT)

It’s a big day for

US tech groups With Google parent Alphabet, and Twitter, reporting earnings. Twitter lowered revenue expectations three months ago but investors will still be looking for any sign of deal talks. (FT)

Keep up with the important business, economic and political stories in the coming days with the FT’s Week Ahead

Food for thought

Physics tweak explains dark matter An academic has changed the standard model of particle physics so that it can explain the mysterious substance that makes up 84 per cent of the universe’s mass. Now the challenge is to find the experimental evidence to prove it works. (New Scientist)

Advantage Trump in email leak Donald Trump is loving the latest email leaks that reveal a top Hillary Clinton adviser has written that the Democrat’s instincts can be “terrible”. (FT)

Keep track of the 2016 presidential race with our daily US politics newsletter. Sign up here.

The people behind Amazon’s ‘human cloud’ Mechanical Turk, an online marketplace for chores done by people sitting in front of a computer, has been around for more than a decade but workers are now teaching the computers to do those jobs themselves, amid the rise of artificial intelligence. (FT)

Patient Zero did not bring Aids to the US For decades, a gay French-Canadian flight attendant named Gaetan Dugas was accused of bringing the virus to North America. But a new study in Nature definitively traces how HIV first spread to the US, clearing his name. (BuzzFeed)

Japan’s geriatric time-bomb Japan’s rapidly ageing population reached a new milestone last year. There are now more people aged 75 or older than there are 14 years old or younger. Data also reveal one-sixth of people over 65 live alone and the number of elderly people who die on their own is rising. (NAR)

Video of the day

Why China is worried about its lending There is growing concern in Beijing about China’s development lending in risky countries. (FT)