The Japanese yen strengthened on Monday amid concerns over US-China relations following the arrest of a Chinese telecoms executive last week, and the pound gained ahead of a vote in parliament on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

Growth in Australian home loans accelerated at a faster pace than expected in October on stronger financing for owner-occupied housing, marking a turnround from a fall in September.

Alibaba has lifted its holding in its beleaguered movies company Alibaba Pictures to just over 50 per cent, giving it majority control just a week after it tapped the unit’s chief to jointly run its in-house digital entertainment unit.

Stock markets in Asia Pacific ground lower on Monday following the worst week on Wall Street since March as concerns over US-China relations remained at the fore.

Japan’s economy shrank much more than initially reported in the third quarter, according to a revised estimate from Japan’s cabinet office.

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei at the centre of a growing conflict between Washington and Beijing, has reportedly argued she should be granted bail due to her suffering from severe hypertension while being detained in Canada.

Australia’s competition regulator is seeking to force Google to unbundle its Chrome internet browser from mobile phones and other devices, to curtail the company’s “near monopoly” position in internet search.

Women still account for fewer than 5 per cent of the chief executive positions in the US, UK and Europe, according to new research that suggests efforts to diversify corporate leadership may be stalling. 

Prosecutors called on Friday for “a substantial term of imprisonment” for Michael Cohen even as they acknowledged the one-time personal lawyer to Donald Trump had provided “useful” assistance to Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election.

Following a volatile week in markets, investors ready for further triggers as they look to next week’s Brexit vote, US data and the latest monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank, while also monitoring trade developments.

Wall Street chalked up its biggest weekly drop since March following another sell-off on Friday, spurred by concerns over the durability of the trade truce between the US and China and a dimming outlook for the global economy.

A Greek financial prosecutor has filed criminal charges against three members of the Koutsolioutsos family, founders of Folli Follie, the Athens-listed jewellery retailer facing collapse over a $1bn alleged fraud reported earlier this year.

US activist investor Elliott has built a stake in Bayer, in a move that could raise pressure on management to step up disposals or even push for a split of the sprawling chemicals and pharmaceuticals group.

Shares in US generic drugmaker Akorn dropped 21 per cent on Friday after a US court upheld its decision to allow Germany’s Fresenius to walk away from a $4.8bn takeover of the company.

Declines on Wall Street had piled up by midday with global growth-exposed stocks turning sharply and putting the S&P 500 on track for its biggest weekly drop since the sharp tech-led sell-off of October.

The boss of Ted Baker accused of giving unwanted hugs to employees has taken a leave of absence amid claims of further inappropriate behaviour.

Danske Bank completed its clear-out of top officials as it voted in a new chairman who needs to steer Denmark’s largest lender through several criminal investigations into its €200bn money laundering scandal and find a new chief executive.

The Apple price cut club welcomed a new member on Friday after Morgan Stanley blamed the Chinese smartphone market for weakening the outlook for iPhone sales.

Switzerland faces the threat of financial sanctions from the EU after failing on Friday to endorse a deal aligning the small Alpine nation more closely with the bloc.

Oil bulls were back in force on Friday after Opec’s move to cut output by 1.2m barrels per day sent crude prices surging more than 5 per cent and helped bolster currencies of oil producing countries.

The Canadian dollar jumped on Friday after the country added a record number of jobs, which helped ease some of the recent concerns over the strength of the economy amid a fresh slump in crude prices.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has topped a first round of voting in the contest to succeed Angela Merkel as leader of Germany’s Christian Democrat Union.

The broader US market was struggling for traction after the opening bell on Friday, after a volatile week of trading dominated by concerns over the durability of the trade truce between the US and China and whether the outlook for global growth may result in the Federal Reserve dialling back its expected pace of interest rate increases next year.

Heightened concerns over the impending parliamentary vote on Brexit has cranked up the nerves in currency markets, with signs that investors are bracing for the possibility of an immediate shock.