Wall Street firms retreat from office, holiday parties as virus spreads

Wall Street banks and investment firms are retrenching from their push to get staff back to the office, with Citigroup Inc (C.N), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), Carlyle Group Inc (CG.O), Blackstone (BX.N) and MetLife (MET.N) among the latest to adjust plans as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads.

CBI cuts UK economic growth forecasts on supply chain hit

Britain’s economy looks set to grow more slowly than previously thought this year and in 2023 due to global supply chain problems and the government must encourage longer-term business investment, an employers group said on Monday.

Oil rebounds above $71 on Omicron hopes, Iran talks

Oil rose by more than $1 a barrel to above $71 on Monday as hopes that the Omicron coronavirus variant may cause mostly mild symptoms boosted riskier assets and as the prospect of an imminent rise in Iranian oil exports looked less likely.