The Monday note - 4 December 2017

• The FTSE 100 closed on Friday at 7,300.5, down by 83 points on a week earlier, as the pound rallied on signs of compromise on Brexit. The ten year Gilt yield stood at 1.23%. 
• MSD, a global pharmaceuticals company, announced plans to develop a new research facility in London. Also, German pharma group, Qiagen, said it plans to expand in the Manchester area. 
• The Financial Times reported that Facebook plans to create an additional 300 jobs in London. The news comes at a time the tech company is looking for additional office space in the capital. 
• Bitcoin had a volatile week, breaking first the $10,000 barrier, then $11,000, slumped to $9,000, then rebounded to over $11,000. The cryptocurrency began the year at just under $1,000. 

Chief Economist comments: 

It is quite remarkable that at a time some people are cautious on the outlook for UK real estate, we have a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin hitting record highs on massive inflows of money. After all, weight of money is the only thing that can drive Bitcoin, as there is no underlying national economy to support its value, as is the case for a normal currency. UK real estate is supported by the fundamentals of an economy that is growing without QE (unlike the Euro Area), has low unemployment, and is attracting overseas investment. I think we have a case study on just how wrong herd sentiment can be.