Some late news: the IMF Executive Board has Selected Kristalina Georgieva as its next Managing Director, to succeed Christine Lagarde.

After that early wobble, the FTSE 100 has recovered to end the day flat, at 7,289.99 points.

But that’s due to the slide in the pound, down a cent below $1.24 as investors shy away from political drama, no-deal Brexit fears, and the possibility of an election before Christmas.

Speaking of dubious finances, the cost of Britain’s new nuclear power plant continues to swell alarmingly:

Here’s the details of Thomas Cook’s perilous finances:

Most European and American stock markets are still in the red, held down by political worries.

The Dow, though, is being lifted by Nike -- up 5% after a strong earnings report.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets, sums up the day:

Stocks are in the red today as President Trump is under political at home. The Democrats are pushing to impeach Mr Trump over the admission that he applied pressure to the president of Ukraine to investigate the Biden family – Joe Biden is running against Mr Trump in the 2020 US presidential election. In 2017 there was talk of impeachment, which obviously didn’t happened, but there was a ripple out effect in global stock markets, as traders despise political uncertainty.

Yesterday President Trump reminded the world he wouldn’t accept a ‘bad’ trade deal from China, while Beijing has made it clear they wanted the US to ‘remove all unreasonable restrictions’. The tone of the trade dispute has hardened a little, which is part of the reason that stocks are lower too. The two sides are due to meet next month, and traders aren’t overly optimistic about a deal being brokered.

President Trump also told President Zelenskiy that his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and attorney general William Barr, would be in touch, to assist with an investigation into the Bidens....

More details and reaction to the transcript:

Another problem emerges -- Thomas Cook staff who take a holiday using their employment benefits aren’t covered by ATOL.

Grant Shaps says he’ll look at this.

He also says it’s “absolutely disgusting” that fraudsters are trying to trick people to hand over their bank details, by claiming to be offering compensation.

Q: Why can’t we bring in emergency legislation now to change the rules for insolvent airlines?

Lets talk about it, Shapps replies.

There’s plenty of anger in parliament towards Thomas Cook’s former management -- its last three CEOs received over £35m in pay and bonuses since 2007.

Rachel Reeves MP, for example, says they should be banned from serving as directors elsewhere until the Insolvency Services’s review is complete.

There’s also criticism of the government for not implementing the recommendations of its own review.

Transport secretary Shapps pins the blame on his predecessor:

Q: Can anything be done under competition regulations to tackle rival airlines who hiked their prices after Thomas Cook collapsed?

Grant Shapps replies he asked the CCA to investigate this very issue yesterday.

They suspect that automatic pricing kicked in, and was then overwritten.

He also praises easyJet for cutting its prices for Thomas Cook customers by 15%.

The government is now being criticised for not reforming the rules for when airline fail, to bring the UK into line with many other countries.

That review, published in May, made three important recommendations:

• proposals for a new Flight Protection Scheme amounting to less than 50p per person, which would protect passengers if an airline became insolvent while they were abroad
• reforms to the UK’s airline insolvency regimes so an airline’s own aircraft can be used to repatriate its passengers should it fail
• improve awareness and take up of safeguards which protect customers with future bookings, when airlines collapse

Shapps says he only started in his job in July, but he understands the importance of implementing the review (too late for Thomas Cook now).

Q: What support is being provided to people in Peterborough, where 1,000 jobs are being lost at Thomas Cook’s HQ?

Grant Shapps says the government is providing a “bespoke service”, with rapid response advice and support such as childcare if people get an interview.

Q: Shouldn’t we seize the assets of the bosses who “plundered” Thomas Cook?

The Transport Secretary says the Insolvency Service has the power to halt certain payments such as bonuses (as happened when Carillion failed in 2018). But it’s important for the investigation to run its course.

Q: Are other holidaymakers being held captive, as we’ve heard in Cuba?

Grant Shapps says it is a “live and moving” situation, but he’s not aware of similar incidents.

ATOL are sending letters to hotels, who are owed money by Thomas Cook, reassuring them that they’ll be paid.

Q: Why didn’t the government provide the £250m needed to keep Thomas Cook afloat, and save jobs?

Grant Shapps says Thomas Cook had a £1.7bn debt burden, reported a £1.5bn loss in the summer, and had issued a profits warning since. A bailout would have been “good money after bad”.

In response, transport secretary Grant Shapps tells MPs Thomas Cook was the architect of its own downfall:

In the end it was a very poorly run business, going in the wrong direction in the wrong time.

Shapps points out that Thomas Cook bought MyTravel in a huge deal in 2007, just as internet travel business was taking off, and compounded the error by acquiring the Co-op’s travel shops.

Shapps also explains that Britain’s insolvency rules must be reformed, so that an airline’s planes can keep operating when a company is insolvent (currently they must be grounded, meaning other airlines must lend their jets).

He also insist she didn’t receive any rescue approach from Turkey’s government, while the only approach from Spain wasn’t a viable plan, and came so late that Thomas Cook’s administration was getting underway.

Andy McDonald MP also cites the collapse of bus-maker Wrightbus this morning:

Isn’t it the case that this government is guilty of industrial neglect of this country?

Ministers have stood by and let some of our great companies wither and die.

Labour’s shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, responds.

Thomas Cook’s collapse is due to mismanagement, he says, but he also criticises the UK government for sitting back and letting the company fail.

Other governments have provided help, McDonald points out - citing Germany’s €380m loan for Condor.

McDonald asks why the government wouldn’t work with Spain and Turkey to save Thomas Cook, by providing financial guarantees.

He says nothing has been learned from the collapse of Monarch Airlines two years ago.

McDonald also demands that Thomas Cook bosses repay their bonuses.

The government is providing help to Thomas Cook’s staff who have lost their jobs, Shapps continues.

He says the government has asked the Insolvency Service to examine the causes of the collapse, and the conduct of directors and auditors.

Shapps says affected passengers won’t pay anything for being returned home, but the government has “entered into discussions with third parties to recover some of the costs of the repatriation.”

That will include credit and debit card issues, and companies who sold Thomas Cook holidays, as well as considering a claim on the company’s assets.

Shapps also denies that the government should have saved Thomas Cook with a £200m bailout.

“Given the perilous state of the business”, including a large first-half loss and a profit warning, there was “no guarantee” that a cash injection would have ensured the future of the company.”

He says Thomas Cook simply didn’t up with the pace of change in the travel industry -- putting more money into the high street, when rivals were going the other way.

Shapps also says the government needs to see if any individuals have failed in their duties.

Operation Matterhorn has been a lot more challenging than previous repatriation operations, Grant Shapps continues.

He said 95% of repatriated customers have returned to their original departure.

But differences in size and shapes in the planes being used means that some people came back to other airports, so the government has provided 2,300 passengers with onward transport -- plus an extra flight from Gatwick to Glasgow.

Back to Thomas Cook, and the head of the Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that some hotels are “suspicious and angry” about getting the money they’re owed.

Press Association has the details:

CAA chairwoman Dame Deirdre Hutton told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday that the authority had issued guarantees to the 3,000 hotels with Atol-protected British tourists.

When it was suggested the total owed by Thomas Cook to hotels was 338 million, she said: “Yes, we have learned of one hotel in Mexico that is owed 2.5 million, so it is hardly surprising they are worried. That hotel is working very closely with us, which is great.”

Dame Deirdre added: “It’s very distressing for people who are finding difficulties with their accommodation.

“We have got more than 200 staff working here together with Thomas Cook staff and we have already started making the first payments. But, as you say, given how much those hotels are owed by Thomas Cook, it is hardly surprising that they are suspicious and angry.”

UK slowdown (2): British retailers are still finding life tough.

The CBI’s distributive trades survey has found that a net balance of -16% of retailers reporting sales volumes up year-on-year (ie, more are seeing lower sales than higher, for the time of year).

Economist Howard Archer of EY Item Club says:

The softness in sales was widespread. Furthermore, a balance of 11% of retailers considered sales poor for the time of year in September. The survey does little to dilute suspicion that consumers have recently become more cautious in their spending amid heightened Brexit, domestic political and economic uncertainties.

The CBI also found that web spending fell, but wholesalers were busier (perhaps due to some Brexit stockpiling?)

UK slowdown (1): Growth in credit card lending in Britain has slowed to its weakest level in four years.

UK Finance, the industry body, reports that credit card lending by major banks slowed to an annual growth rate of 3.3% in August from 3.8% in July, the slowest
rate since February 2015.

That may show lenders are being more cautious about pushing credit card deals, or that consumers are too nervous to borrow more.

The smaller FTSE 250 index is also having a bad day, down over 1%.

The FTSE 250 contains more smaller, UK-focused companies than the FTSE 100, so can be a better bellwether of confidence in Britain’s economy.

One of the biggest fallers is Aston Martin, the luxury carmaker, down 5%. It has just raised £120m in a bond issue, priced at a rather juicy 12% per year.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, says:

The car manufacturer is known for its high end prices and that situation now also applies to its debt.

“Aston Martin is taking on $150 million of extra borrowing with a 12% interest rate, as well as an option to have another $100 million at 15%.

“These rates are very high and are a major red flag that investors consider the car company to be a high risk entity.

Aston Martin’s shares have now dropped from £19 when they floated a year to, to £5.50 today.

Britain’s FTSE 100 is now down a chunky 70 points, on track for its worst day in a month.

TUI are still the biggest faller, as the fallout from Thomas Cook’s collapse reverberates. Oil companies are also falling, as the price of crude dips following Donald Trump’s criticism of China during his UN speech yesterday.

Fiona Cincotta of Cityindex says:

The FTSE is sliding this morning taking its cue from US and Asian stocks which were hit by the prospect of President Trump being impeached. The markets had already started sliding following Trump’s speech to the UN late Tuesday in which he criticized China and said he wouldn’t accept a bad deal. The impeachment news pushed US stocks and stock futures further into the red.

On the FTSE TUI slipped more than 5% after two days of strong rises as it became clear that the demise of Thomas Cook will affect Europe’s biggest tour operator too. TUI had to cancel holidays using Thomas Cook Airlines all the way until the end of October and is struggling to find alternatives as there is a shortage of planes caused by the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.

The pound is weakening a little today, down half a cent against the US dollar at $1.243.

That means its lost all its (small gains) following Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling.

Confusion over Britain’s political crisis, and the prospects for Brexit, are rift.

Mohamed El-Erian of Allianz has tweeted that the ‘tail risks’ of Brexit [a disorderly exit, or revoking Article 50] now look more likely, as it’s so hard to tell what’s going to happen.

More Thomas Cook news: it’s German subsidiary has just filed for insolvency protection.

The plan is to restructure, and carve out a “profitable German business” out of its failed British parent, apparently.

Thomas Cook GmbH says:

“Intensive talks over the last two days with strategic and private equity investors ... have shown us that the German branches of former Thomas Cook with its brands Neckermann Reisen, Oeger Tours and Bucher Reisen have the chance to have a future”.

This comes about 12 hours after the German government approved a €380m bridging loan to keep Thomas Cook’s German airline, Condor, operating.

Investors are well used to political dramas, especially in recent years, but yesterday’s sensational scenes in London and Washington were something else.

Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank says Trump and Johnson are in unusually hot water:

Although nothing seems that abnormal these days, yesterday was pretty remarkable as two of the most powerful leaders in the world faced serious misconduct/legal charges and accusations.

After the US closing bell the day’s speculation that Mr Trump would face an impeachment inquiry materialised as Nancy Pelosi formally announced the start of the process in the US House of Representatives. This followed an unprecedented Supreme Court hearing in the U.K. which found that PM Johnson’s decision to prorogue Parliament was unlawful. They will reconvene today some three weeks ahead of the PM’s prior wishes.

European stock markets are on track for their biggest fall in almost six weeks, Reuters reports.

Ouch. The European-wide Stoxx 600 index has hit its lowest level since September 5th, down 1.2%.

Neil Wilson of Markets.com says the possibility of the US president being impeached is enough to spook investors, even though (in his view) it’s unlikely to happen.

Markets have taken a bit of tumble on fears US president Trump could be impeached, while the drama in Westminster is just as intoxicating as the Brexit drama rumbles on.

House Democrats have opened an investigation into the President and, while there have been calls to impeach the president since pretty much his first day in office, this looks decidedly more serious. The Democrats think they’ve got him on charges he enlisted a foreign power to support his re-election.

Markets won’t like the uncertainty it brings. In previous instances (Nixon, Clinton) there has been rockiness for equities and the dollar. Mr Trump says he’ll release transcripts of a call to show his innocence today. We shall see - fundamentally you can’t see this succeeding as the Republican Senate won’t touch Trump. If anything it’ll serve Trump’s cause well. Markets may not like it but ultimately it seems to have a very low chance of success. Probably a storm in a tea cup.

European stocks are a sea of red too, with stocks dropping in early trading.

The UK’s FTSE 100 has shed 43 points, or 0.6%, to 7246, its lowest level in a fortnight. Industry, technology and consumer cyclicals are the worst-performing sectors.

Holiday firm TUI are the biggest faller in London, followed by technology firm Halma (both down 3.5%).

France’s CAC has also lost 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX is down 0.5%.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region are in the red, as investors were jolted by the news of a formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump.

China fell by 1%, on fears that the probe could undermine efforts to end the trade war between Washington and Beijing, while Hong Kong shed 1.3%.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi has vowed to move ahead “expeditiously”, arguing that allegations that Trump had tried to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son were extremely serious, and a “national security issue”

Jingyi Pan of IG said:

“It would be difficult for the market to ascertain how long this matter will drag and the concurrent impact upon U.S.-China trade, which is the bigger worry at present,”