10.09 EU statistics agency Eurostat has published member state government trade deficit and debt figures at as they stood at the end of 2012. As a whole, the eurozone saw its deficit decrease to 3.7pc from 4.2pc. However government debt as a proportion of GDP rose to 90.6pc from 87.3pc. 09.56 The Bank of Cyprus bail-in - which will dock 27.5pc off any savings over €100,000 to help fund a eurozone rescue for the island - has been extended to affect groups who were previously immune from the measures, such as Cypriot insurance companies and charity organisations. Cypriots walk outside a Bank of Cyprus branch on the island's capital Nicosia. Photo:Reuters 09.51 Latest figures from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the US show that hedge funds and other major speculators are betting on a gold rebound. Investors increased so-called long positions in gold - those which will make money if the price rises - by 9.8pc in the week ending April 16. 09.44 Questor editor Garry White notes that fund manager Blackrock has used the gold price plunge to grow its stake in miner Rangold Resources. 09.35 As Mike Van Dulken of Accendo Markets points out, the FTSE 100 - now up 0.6pc at 6322, does seem to have shrugged off Fitch's Friday night downgrade of Britain's treasured AAA rating. But, he adds that the blue-chips are struggling to make a big leap: Friday's rebound has continued after G20 refrained from criticising BoJ and earnings optimism rises. This has undone some of the damage done by the prior weekend's weak Chinese GDP readings, however, one of the resistance hurdles we had been eluding to has, has kicked in, seeing the index pull back from this morning's best levels. We also remain 100 points adrift over the last 6 trading sessions. The UK's loss of the Fitch AAA rating (that makes 2 out of big three) at beer o'clock on Friday has been digested without much discomfort but it is unclear whether this is a function of Moody's moving first (end-Feb) or because the former's stable outlook trumps the latter's negative. Big data this week from UK with Q1 GDP estimate. Triple dip? Barclays kicks off UK banks reporting too. 09.30 Airports across Germany are in disarray this morning as ground staff at Lufthansa stage a one-day strike in a dispute over pay. The airline, Germany's biggest, plans to operate only 32 of the 1,700 scheduled flights today, affecting some 150,000 passengers. Lufthansa last week rejected union demands for wages increases of 5.2pc and job guarantees over the next year. Union members take part in a warning strike of German air carrier Lufthansa's ground personnel at the Fraport airport in Frankfurt on Monday. 11 Reckitt Benckiser has put on 8p to £47.17 this morning after the maker of Mr Sheen and Durex condoms said it had made a strong start to 2013. The household goods giant, which also makes Strepsils throat lozenges and Mucinex decongestant, continued to benefit from a severe cold and flu season in America. Reckitt has been shifting its focus towards the fast-growing health and hygiene sector, and said on Monday that revenue growth at its recently-acquired Schiff business was "well ahead" of the US vitamin market. Total net revenues in the three months to the end of March were £2.5bn, up 7pc. 09.03 Shares in gambling group Betfair have risen 2.5pc to 825p in early trading after announcing it has rejected a 880p a share offer on Friday saying it "fundamentally undervalues the company." The takeover bid, by private equity group CVC Capital Partners valued Betfair at around $1.4bn (£920m). 08.55 Birkin-bag maker Hermes has posted a 10.3pc rise in sales in the first quarter to €856.8m. While revenue grew across all regions, Asia led the way with a 17pc jump in sales in the region, excluding Japan, whose lower sales growth pulled the total down to 14pc. Even in crisis-engulfed Europe, sales rose 12pc. Last week, Burberry posted a 15pc jump in Asia Pacific sales on sustained appetite for luxury goods. Hermes' iconic Birkin Bag 08.43 The Financial Times reports that the US is "rewriting its economic history" by changing the way it measures GDP to include billions of dollars in intangible assets such as research and development funding and film royalties, in a move which will automatically boost the world's biggest economy by 3pc. The changes will also be applied retrospectively, back as far as 1929, and will "force economists to revisit policy debates about everything from corporate profits to the causes of economic growth." 08.19 Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation is one of only a handful of stocks on the decline this morning, with the mining giant down 0.2pc. The Financial Times reports this morning that three senior executives have resigned and a fourth has taken leave of absence. Controlling shareholders are currently considering removing the the miner, which has been the subject of corporate governance concerns, from the FTSE 100 via a buyout. Over the weekend, The Telegraph reported Mehmet Dalman was prepared to stand down as chairman of ENRC even before its founders deliver an offer to buy out the miner. 08.15 Louise also notes that a group of 500 business leaders have launched a campaign calling for David Cameron to deliver his promise to negotiate a better deal for Britain with the European Union. Business for Britain, which is being led by Sir Stuart Rose, Lord Wolfson and Lord Harris, said in a statement: "Far from being a threat to our economic interests, a flexible, competitive Europe - with more powers devolved from Brussels - is essential for growth jobs and access to markets." The UK International Financial Services Forum opens in London with speakers set to include Boris Johnson, the London Mayor; Andrew Bailey, head of the Prudential Regulation Authority; Doug Flint, boss of HSBC, and Anthony Browne, head of the British Banking Association. Meanwhile, Vince Cable and David Willetts are leading a trade mission to Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. It's back to business for the newly enthroned Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby who is leading a Bible Society debate in Parliament this evening on ethics in finance and "long term solutions to the financial crisis." Welby, who recently sat on the Banking Standards Commission, will be joined by Lord Myners, the former City minister; Robert Peston, the BBC Business Editor; Andrea Leadsom, MP; Jayne-Anne Gadhia, head of Virgin Money; and economist Paul Mills. And the European Union is expect to lift trade sanctions on Myanmar (formerly Burma) following "remarkable" political reforms. The decision is expected after a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, attended by William Hague. Archbishop Justin Welby will lead a Bible Society debate in Parliament this evening on ethics in finance and "long term solutions to the financial crisis" this evening. 08.10 Chief Business Correspondent Louise Armitstead has sent out her morning briefing on today's top City News. Here's her round-up. George Osborne is preparing to unleash yet more liquidity to small businesses through an extension of the Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). The Chancellor is thought to have turned to the plan to boost the economy in the wake of Fitch's downgrade of the UK's credit rating on Friday and the IMF's criticism of his austerity programme. Mr Osborne faces more pressure this morning as Markit's lastest Household Finances Index shows UK family spending has fallen for the first time this year, to 37.7 compared to 39.3 in March. The Bank of England is releasing its latest Asset Purchase Facility quarterly report at 930am. Official GDP figures are due on Thursday and will decide if the UK has "triple dipped." More drama from Bumi Resources this morning: the embattled miner has requested a suspension of its shares from 7.30am after admitting it needs to "review the integrity of a number of items on the balance sheet" of a subsidiary before it able to publish its accounts. The problem is in its PT Berau Coal Energy division which is being pored over by PwC and Ernst & Young. The betting group Betfair has announced it has rejected a 880p a share offer from CVC Capital Partners it received on Friday saying it "fundamentally undervalues the company." Gerald Corbett, chairman of Betfair, said the company has a "unique business with a market position, profitability, cash flow and prospects that this proposal fails to recognise." Pret a Manger has reported a jump in 2012 profits of 17pc to £443m. The sandwich chain, owned by the private equity group Bridgepoint says it is creating 1,000 new jobs worldwide, of which 500 will be in the UK. Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Durex, Dettol and Nurofen, has said net revenues rose 7pc in the first quarter to £2.5bn. Later in the US, Ameriprise Financial is issuing its first quarter results. Over the weekend, the group, which owns Threadneedle Investments, was linked to a possible bid for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, the asset management arm of Lloyds Banking Group. 08.01 London's FTSE 100 has started the new week with a spring its step. The blue-chips ticked up 0.7pc to 6328 in early deals, with Barclays leading the way, up 1.6pc. Other financials were in demand too with Lloyds Banking Group up 1.3pc and Royal Bank of Scotland up by 1.3pc too. 07.55 Gold, meanwhile, is enjoying its longest rally this year as the fastest plunge in three decades continues to boost physical purchases. Prices for the yellow metal have been climbing since Tuesday, currently trading at $1,422 per ounce from last Monday's close of $1,348 per ounce. Last Monday the gold price hit a two-year low after plummeting at its fastest in three decades amid a panic sell-off by investors. 07.41 Now for a look across the Asian markets, which mostly climbed on Monday. Tokyo's Nikkei jumped 1.89pc, Seoul's Kospi was up 1.03pc and Sydney's ASX 200 rose 0.70pc. In China, where markets are still open, trading has been more subdued. Hong Kong's Hang Seng has edged down 0.22pc, while the Shanghai Composite is down 0.42pc. 07.34 Japan's premier Shinzo Abe's pro-growth strategy is proving popular among voters, who have given him the highest public approval rating for a leader since 2001, newspaper polls showed today. Voter support for the conservative prime minister came in at 76pc in a poll by the Nikkei business daily, up from 69pc in last month's survey and the highest rating since charismatic leader Junichiro Koizumi was in office more than a decade ago. Shinzo Abe has successfully urged the Bank of Japan to pursue more aggressive monetary stimulus, in a bid to beat deflation. 07.15 Tokyo's Nikkei index surged 1.89pc on Monday, closing at 13,568.37, near a five-year high. Japanese stocks have been on an upward march since new premier Shinzo Abe took office in December on pledges to kick-start the economy out of a decades-long slump. Monday's rally was largely driven by investor cheer amid G20 backing for Japan's aggressive monetary policy which is driving down the value of the yen and boosting exports. 07.10 We lead with warnings from Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska that growth is eluding the eurozone due to the inexplicably high euro-dollar exchange rate. Also in our business section is news that the squeeze on household income has started to intensify. Markit's monthly household finance index fell for the first time since December 2012. Lloyds Banking Group has sold its 25.3pc stake in the Marussia Formula One team after it made huge losses and failed to perform on the track. HMRC collected an extra £220m from Britain's super-rich last year, thanks to a new taskforce dedicated to pursuing high-earning tax-avoiders. Ski resorts like Chamonix and Verbier are becoming financial services centres as traders and fund managers up roots to the slopes. The euro traded at 90 US cents at launch but rocketed to a peak of $1.59 in July 2008. It has since fallen to $1.31, but Mr Deripaska believes that is still too high. 07.05 Over in the business pages: The Financial Times reports that while banks welcome George Osborne's extension of the Funding for Lending Scheme, they have warned it will not be enough to unblock the credit bottleneck, since weak appetite for credit poses the biggest obstacle to lending. The Times reports that the Serious Fraud Office has been rated "high risk" by the Civil Service Commission over concerns about the agency's hiring procedures. The Independent leads with news that fracking is "unlikely to give the UK cheap gas," according to a nine-month inquiry chaired by former energy minister Charles Hendry. The report concluded that it is too early to estimate the volume of shale gas contained in the UK and harder still to know how much will be commercially viable to extract. Meanwhile the Guardian reports that commodities giant Glencore made £430m selling goods to Iran last year. We splash on news that almost 8,000 NHS hospital managers and consultants were paid six-figure salaries last year, a third of them earning more than David Cameron's £142,500 salary. The Times leads with news that cyber security experts have written to David Cameron warning that proposals to give security services powers to monitor emails, website visits and social media sites "will be expensive, will hinder innovation and will undermine the privacy of citizens." The Independent splashes with news that, according to top government advisers, the coalition is way off course on reducing child poverty. The new chairman and deputy chairman of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, Alan Milburn and Baroness Gillian Shephard, told the Independent that child poverty could grow to three million by 2020, the year by which the coalition pledged to have eradicated the problem. The Guardian leads with news that MP Margaret Hodge, who chairs the public accounts committee, has called for longer parliamentary sessions because otherwise MPs risk accusations of laziness and poor value for money.