Money Minute Friday 31 January: Britain leaves the EU

Britain leaves the European Union today. It won’t have much impact on markets – we knew it was coming and this just kicks off a long negotiating process - but it’ll probably inspire quite a few headlines.

We also get the latest reading on consumer confidence, which will give an indicator of whether getting the election over with has lifted spirits more generally.

Meanwhile, on the corporate front, broker Hargreaves Lansdown releases its half-year results.Investors will be looking out for any lingering impact that the Neil Woodford debacle has had on the popular investment platform.

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Elsewhere we get the first estimate of eurozone GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2019. Growth is expected to come in at 0.2% for the period. Inflation data for January is also due. Markets expect an annual rate of around 1.2%, still well under the European Central Bank’s target of just below 2%.