British bosses at their most optimistic in 18 months, Deloitte finds

Fourth-quarter survey finds CFOs confident, but wary of taking financial risks because of uncertainty about Brexit

Optimism among Britain's top business executives rebounded to an 18-month high at the end of 2016, but they say they are less willing to take risks in 2017 because of uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

A Deloitte survey of chief financial officers (CFOs) at some of the UK's biggest companies suggested that confidence had risen because of the unexpected resilience of the economy following the EU referendum in June.