Stephen Carroll

And I'm Stephen Carroll.

Macron's push for a robust EU response came as the US president directly threatened France with a 200% tariff on its wines and champagne.

The move came after Emmanuel Macron declined Trump's invitation to join a proposed board of peace for Gaza.

Trump also posted screenshots of messages from the French leader on social media, which proposed a meeting with the leaders of Ukraine, Syria, Denmark and Russia in Paris on Thursday.

Here's what the US president told reporters a little earlier.

President Trump also confirmed that Russia's President Vladimir Putin had also been invited to join the board.

The US President also posted messages to social media that he said were from the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, praising his handling of a range of diplomatic issues.

In the screenshot, Rutte also says he's committed to finding a way forward on Greenland.

UK wages grew at their slowest pace in three and a half years in the three months to the end of November, as British firms cut jobs at the fastest pace since 2020.

Pay growth, excluding bonuses, cooled to 4.5%, down from 4.6% in the period through October.

Meanwhile, tax data show the number of employees on payrolls falling by 43,000 in December.

That figure was double market expectations and came the month after Rachel Reeves' revenue hiking budget.

In London, James Wilcock, Bloomberg Radio.

And those are your top stories on the markets.

The stock 600, 7 tenths of 1% lower.

The Cat Caron down by 8 tenths.

The FTSE 100 also 8 tenths lower.

The DAX in Frankfurt is 9 tenths lower.

Wall Street futures are sinking further now as well.

Investors catching up after being closed yesterday for a holiday.