JP Morgan 'considering Dublin move' as Lloyd's of London picks Brussels - as it happened

All the day's economic and financial news, as City firms prepare to move jobs out of London after Brexit

• Latest: JP Morgan eyeing move to Dublin
• Bank may buy enough space for 1,00 workers
• Lloyd's to create Brussels subsidiary for life after Brexit
• Lloyd's picked Belgium as it's unlikely to quit EU
• S&P still give UK negative outlook

4.48pm BST

It's not been the most exciting day in the financial markets, with traders distracted by reports of banks and insurers preparing for life after Brexit.

And it's ended with the main European markets posting small gains, with Germany's DAX hitting a new two-year high.

Stocks are still in a bit of a holding pattern with traders lacking a bit of conviction to follow through on the last two days of dip-buying. A positive open in the US, helped by further recovery in crude oil prices improved sentiment in European markets by the afternoon.

A bigger than expected fall in German inflation during March assured investors who have been buying the country's shares in hopes of an extended period of easy money policies. The German benchmark DAX index touched a two-year high for a second day.

4.31pm BST

Theresa May's decision to activate Article 50 yesterday has also encouraged City firms to trigger their own contingency plans, says Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG.

He predicts short-term pain for London, as the Brexit process rumbles on.

Lloyds of London's decision to relocate jobs to Brussels, coupled with rumours of potential relocations for the likes of Citi and JP Morgan do little to inspire confidence in the City of London.

There is no doubt that London will be the main loser from the coming two years of negotiations, much in the same way it was the UK's main beneficiary from our EU membership. While the UK's loss may be the EU's gain in the short-term, the long-term picture of a more open, globalised UK should mean that perhaps the EU and the UK will be better off further down the line.

3.40pm BST

Another investment bank, Citigroup, has told its staff that some London-based jobs will move overseas due to Britain leaving the EU.

"A hard Brexit would require certain changes, including relocating certain client-facing roles to the EU from the UK, and the possible creation of a new broker-dealer entity within the EU."

3.00pm BST

In another Brexity development, Luxembourg has thrown its hat into the ring to become the new home of the European Banking Authority.

Luxembourg claims right to host London-based European Banking Authority after Brexit. @AFP story https://t.co/0LRBvTIxK5

2.14pm BST

Here's our news story about JP Morgan's plans:

Related: JP Morgan in talks to buy Dublin building that could hold 1,000 staff

2.13pm BST

The Liberal Democrats are worried that JP Morgan and Lloyd's could be signalling an exodus from the City.

Susan Kramer, the Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman, says:

"David Davis has already gone back on his assurances that British firms would continue to enjoy all the benefits of single market membership in his post-Brexit utopia. Now reality is starting to intervene, with JP Morgan reportedly looking to move 1,000 jobs out of London. This follows Lloyd's of London saying it will open an office in Brussels due to Brexit and become, at least in part, Lloyd's of Brussels.

"It is the prime minister's choice to drive Britain out of the single market, and that is driving jobs and wealth creation out of the UK. Estimates suggest leaving the single market could cost Britain up to 200bn over 15 years.

1.33pm BST

Banks aren't the only companies considering moving jobs out of the UK after Brexit.

Two fifths of computer games companies based in the UK are considering relocating out of the country, a new survey has found.

UK games industry: 40% of companies considering relocating after Brexit https://t.co/msOURmqBYd

1.06pm BST

Newsflash: Germany's inflation rate has fallen, and by even more than expected.

The German Consumer Prices Index rose by just 1.5% annually this month, down from the four-year high of 2.2% scaled in February.

German inflation miss.

German (core) inflation slowed a bit more than expected, but that's mostly due to Easter effects, likely to be reversed next month. https://t.co/sRWnyDyWDE

12.25pm BST

We mentioned earlier that Lloyd's of London is planning to shift "tens of jobs" to Brussels, rather than whole floors of staff from London.

Reuters's George Hay has dubbed this an example of the "phantom exodus", and suspects that fewer staff will leave the City than feared.

There is no way to spin this outflow as a good thing. Even if every financial firm moves only 10 percent of staff, that could still risk a tangible proportion of the 71 billion pounds of tax from financial services companies generated in 2016. UBS has said a fifth of its 5,000 London staff could be affected by Brexit, while a quarter of JPMorgan's 16,000 UK staff could be.

Still, anecdotally bankers at the big firms think the exodus will be less, and London will retain its financial hub status. While a free trade agreement between the EU and the UK on favourable terms for finance seems far-fetched, it's not impossible - and Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday said that a future free trade agreement ought to cover financial services. More simply, not many financial types want to leave London. As such, Lloyd's is merely doing what every other firm is doing - acquiring an option that it hopes will expire, out of the money.

Lloyd's of London Brussels move: Brexit parachutes are ready, but it's a long way from threatening City's dominance https://t.co/W0xQGV5bmg

11.30am BST

Just in: A former investment banker has been fined over 37,000 for sharing confidential client information over the WhatsApp messaging service.

The FCA found that Mr Niehaus, who was a managing director in the Investment Banking division at Jefferies International Limited, received client confidential information during the course of his employment and, on a number of occasions between 24 January and 16 May 2016, shared that information with both a personal acquaintance and a friend, who was also a client of the firm. In one of the instances where Mr Niehaus shared client confidential information with his friend, who was also a client of the firm, that information was about a competitor. Mr Niehaus used the instant messaging application WhatsApp to share this information. The information was shared by Mr Niehaus because he wanted to impress the people that he shared the information with.

The details of the information he shared included the identity of the client, the details relating to the client mandate and the fee Jefferies would charge for their involvement in the transaction. Mr Niehaus also boasted about how he may be able to pay off his mortgage if one of the deals was successful.

10.55am BST

Bloomberg is also reporting that JPMorgan is in talks to buy office space in Dublin in response to Brexit.

It believes the bank wants enough room for over 1,000 workers.

The lender is negotiating the potential purchase of a building in Dublin's Capital Dock that's being developed by a venture between Kennedy Wilson Holdings Inc. and Ireland's National Asset Management Agency, the people said, asking not to be identified because the plans are private.

The building, at 200 Capital Dock, has about 130,000 square feet (12,000 square meters) of space, the people said. That's enough for more than 1,000 workers.

JPMorgan is in talks to buy a Dublin office building that holds 1,000 people, sources say https://t.co/i24NfXIwvF pic.twitter.com/TpmiR9CMW5

10.50am BST

In another potential blow to the City, JP Morgan is reportedly considering moving hundreds of jobs to Dublin.

US investment banking giant JP Morgan is understood to be considering the relocation of hundreds of its employees from London to Capital Dock, the 31,600 sq m (340,000 sq ft) office scheme currently being developed by Kennedy Wilson in Dublin's docklands.

News of JP Morgan's potential post-Brexit move will be welcomed, coming as it does in the wake of the decision by two major insurance companies, Lloyd's of London and AIG, to choose Brussels and Luxembourg instead of Dublin for their respective European Union bases.

10.29am BST

Economic confidence across the eurozone has dipped a little this month, according to the latest survey from the European Commission.

The EC's index of investor and consumer sentiment in the region dipped to 107.9 this month, from 108 in February. That's weaker than expected, but still close to a five-year high.

Euro-area economic confidence unexpectedly slips https://t.co/rXjonRvQH1 pic.twitter.com/U62xHpIAWC

10.17am BST

Standard & Poor's isn't planning to revise Britain's credit rating, even though it has a better idea of Theresa May's Brexit strategy.

Kraemer...said May's speech was largely as expected and there had been "no surprises", though her tone was "more conciliatory than it could have been".

"The (EU) governments know that they have to hold the (Brexit) discussions in good faith," he told Reuters.

10.01am BST

There's not much drama in the foreign exchange market either.

Sterling is hovering around the $1.241 level, a dip of 0.2% today, and slightly below its level before Britain formally triggered Article 50.

Losing 20% in the wake of the referendum vote, the weaker sterling has provided the UK with a strong exports boost.

Strengthening of the pound is now very likely especially as Europe faces a veritable minefield with the upcoming French and German elections. Time to reload GBP. [Great British Pounds]

9.36am BST

Britain's Brexit secretary, David Davis, is touring the broadcasting studios this morning.

He's denying that the UK is blackmailing Europe by using security co-operation as a bargaining chip, and trying to play down the idea of a huge exit bill.

Related: Brexit: Davis rejects claims article 50 letter contained 'blackmail' threat - Politics live

9.30am BST

You might have expected European financial markets to be rattled by the formal opening of the Brexit process. But no.

Trading is extremely sluggish across the continent's stock exchanges this morning. The Stoxx 600, which tracks the 600 largest companies in the region, has crept up by a mere 0.09%.

The European markets are looking pretty sleepy this morning, lacking the direction provided by the Trump slump and Article 50 earlier in the week. However, with the real Brexit negotiations looming these kinds of placid opens may soon be a distant memory.

In the UK dawn has broken over the new post-Article 50 environment. A beautiful red sunrise greeted me as I arrived at work, warning of rain even as the weather forecasters promise me the warmest day of the year so far. The bickering has already started over the order in which the exit can be negotiated and the uncertainty about the economic impact isn't going away.

9.04am BST

Now this is interesting.... Inga Beale, Lloyd's CEO, has revealed that they chose Brussels partly because Belgium is unlikely to follow Britain out of the EU.

8.56am BST

Lloyd's of London chairman John Nelson has said the new Brussels operation will employ "tens" of staff; a mixture of new hires and existing workers who will transfer to Belgium.

He adds that it's "too early to say" whether other insurers will make a similar move, but points out that other Lloyd's hubs have created their own ecosystems.

8.46am BST

Lloyd's decision to open a new EU hub in Brussels is causing a stir.

Bloomberg points out that other companies will be considering similar action:

British companies and international financial firms are considering how to continue serving European clients should the U.K. withdraw not just from the EU, but also from its single market and customs union, both of which can accommodate countries that aren't in the bloc.

329 years ago the insurer Lloyd's was founded in London. #Brexit means it's moving awayhttps://t.co/K4EjrOyw0Y
by @OliverSuess @Smudla62 pic.twitter.com/5a2Q6TmeyB

Lloyds of London to move its European business to Brussels. That will go down well at number 10.

Maybe a rebranding - "Lloyd's of Brussels " https://t.co/UXQKxq6081

8.31am BST

That didn't take long.

"It is now crucial that the UK government and the European Union proceed to negotiate an agreement that allows business to continue to flow under the best possible conditions once the UK formally leaves the EU. I believe it is important not just for the City but also for Europe that we reach a mutually beneficial agreement."

Related: Lloyd's of London plans to open Brussels office by start of 2019

8.05am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

The City feels rather subdued this morning after the drama of seeing Britain hit the exit button to quit the European Union yesterday.

Related: Brexit: EU condemns May's 'blackmail' over security cooperation

Related: Angela Merkel rejects one of Theresa May's key Brexit demands

Wednesday marked the official countdown of UK's divorce from the EU, ending a 44-year relationship with its neighbors. The end of this relationship is of course painful, but many agree that this marriage was not a case of love at first sight after all. Investors decided not to take any significant action on Wednesday, the GBP-USD traded within 70 pips trading range, and all major European equity markets closed higher.

Predicting currency movements was never an easy task, and in the pound's case it's even a more complicated situation given that we never experienced such a divorce in the past. Economic conditions in the U.K. are in a much better shape than what was anticipated nine months ago, with most economic indicators surprising to the upside. Meanwhile, the BoE is likely to turn more hawkish as the depreciation of sterling continues to feed through to increased prices. These factors helped the pound to find a floor in the past 6-months, but the forward outlook will much depend on how negotiations progress in the next couple of months.