negative response to borisjohnson's new brexit strategy. it says the plan to set a one—year deadline for talks re—opens the possibility of a no—deal brexit — which is why the pound has lost all the gains it made following the election result. the times has a warning for all of us night workers, highlighting new research showing that middle—aged britons with the healthiest sleeping patterns had fewer heart attacks and strokes. and finally, with the christmas party season in full swing, the bbc website features a company that's abandoned the annual party for — wait for it — a conference. apparently, the traditional do that involves "getting off with somebody behind the photocopier" no longer appeals to staff. that was a quote by the way. i thought it was what was taken on the photocopier or whatever. with me is fiona cincotta, senior market analyst with the spread betting company, city index. you've been to your christmas party,

i've been to mine. let's start with the new york times. it looks at the 6—page letterfrom the new york times. it looks at the 6—page letter from donald trump to nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the new york times looks at the six elements within this letter they found to be untrue or whatever. regardless of doubt, this is a huge moment, a historic moment. donald trump will be the third president to be impeached if it were to happen today, and it is expected to happen. that's right. and it's interesting because he's going into this fighting steel. when we look back historically... that is his style, isn't it? it is just historically... that is his style, isn't it? it isjust what historically... that is his style, isn't it? it is just what we would have expected from donald trump, com pletely have expected from donald trump, completely different to other presidents who have been impeached and had a more apologetic approach to the date. but, no, trumpet goes down fighting and he says he is

being portrayed as the victim and the enemy is determined to destroy him with false allegations —— trump. strong words from trump as we approach this potentially historic day. absolutely. the vote will be taking place later today in the house of representatives and it is expected to be a done deal, that this impeachment process will go ahead, which is why he has written this letter talking about his discussed and how the democrats are trying to hijack democracy in the united states. i think this is interesting. the timing, let's not forget that 2020 is the year of the presidential election, so it will be really interesting to see what impact this actually does have on the way that people are going to be voting next year. the new york fiona ci ncotta voting next year. the new york fiona cincotta highlighting his comments, the new —— american people will not soon forget the perversion of power and abuse. it's interesting, our north american editorjohn sopel, gauging the mood to this, it's a

mixed picture of course. you sort of get a snapshot of what people are thinking but there is such a divide between those who feel this is the absolute right way to go and those who are saying, hang on a second, we have an election next year, let us decide what we want. completely, exactly. it's an interesting situation, isn't it? in the meantime, politicalturmoil situation, isn't it? in the meantime, political turmoil in france continues. we have two of the main dailies, le figaro and liberation with this on their front pages. the protests are causing chaos for many, they are very widespread, it's been going for two weeks now and it would seem at the moment that there is not much to bring the sides together. no, that is right. just over two weeks, going on three and the situation is getting worse. rather than just the transport sector, you also have teachers, hospital workers and other public employees joining the

transport workers on tuesday. this is clearly a topic that is provoking strong reactions across the country. it's something that needs to be top of the agenda and it hasn't been, and that is what we're seeing now, the frustration over. liz figaro says faced with unions, philip shows his determination —— le figaro, the government is digging in its heels, but now liberation is saying now is the time to talk and find compromise on this widespread, huge pension reforms proposed by the government. have you been trading the pound? it's been busy! it has lost all of its gains, no big surprise? that's right. all of those gains from the

resounding conservative victory, the pound was assuming that transition period, which takes us to the end of 2020 would be extended in order to get through the trade deals we need to leave the eu in a solid position. now, borisjohnson yesterday said that would not be the case, that transition period would not be extended. so there will be a brexit come the end of 2020. that obviously brings a hard brexit back to the table. if there is no trade deal agreed between now and the end of 2020, which is an ambitious ask, then the uk will be leaving the eu without a deal in place and that is what the pound has been fearful of since this whole debate began. and we will watch it. the pound will forever be the barometer of peoples' sentiment regarding brexit. now, the

times, a story we are a bit obsessed with, those of us who work shifts andi with, those of us who work shifts and i am one of those. a restful night because the risk of heart attack and stroke. i'm not surprised to read this. this kind of health survey to read this. this kind of health survey oi’ to read this. this kind of health survey or health story has been around for years, is just more evidence to show why a good night's sleep, eight hours, uninterrupted, is the best thing for your help. and it's so simple! so simple, yet often so it's so simple! so simple, yet often so unattainable. this was researched with almost 400,000 middle—aged britons. 7— eight hours sleep is supposed to be crucial in order to prevent heart disease and strokes and for general health and wellbeing. but as you said, it is so much easier said than done. if you have shifts or different patterns in your work life. all young children! they keep interrupting your night's

sleep or whatever it might be. there are so many sleep or whatever it might be. there are so many reasons. but there are so many reasons when it comes to health. right. we swap the christmas party for a conference. this is craig unsworth, who runs a business travel app and he had so many people who don't celebrate christmas religiously or culturally, people who don't necessarily want to drink and go out and get smashed, the old traditional thought bases for christmas parties. they are running a conference, a two day away, and a p pa re ntly a conference, a two day away, and apparently for tax purposes it works as well? —— traditional thought basis. it is not all work and no play, they do pottery and other bonding activities with a little party in the evening. i think it's not the traditional blow—out party.

it's important to remember that the christmas get—together is an important — it's for morale as well in the company, so it doesn't have to bea go in the company, so it doesn't have to be a go out, drink lots and do nothing else, there can be other ways to approach that and i think it's a good point. it is a good point. and we've heard from many of you who have been in touch about the subject, the christmas party. just giving us your take. 0ne view is as, i love it and i loathe it in equal measure. that is dora. thank you for your thoughts on that. many others have said, one is saying, as long as there is a photocopier in the office there is a photocopier in the office there will always be a christmas party, that is nancy, who gave us that view. and, festival celebrations are a good way to connect with peers and solve differences or strengthen team spirit. i have to agree. whether it bea spirit. i have to agree. whether it be a christmas party or any other type of social get—together, it's a

great way of bonding with your colleagues, isn't it? definitely. some companies have had to go back on the cost of the christmas party just because of the difficulty they have been facing financially. retailers, for example, have had such tough times. in this article it says one in 20 expect their christmas party to be cancelled because of financial reasons. and i think again it goes back to — it doesn't need to be a massively expensive party, and also there are other ways to cut costs. i think cutting the christmas get—together or that bonding session — it can have a big effect on morale. or that bonding session — it can have a big effect on moralem absolutely can. thank you fiona for being with us on the briefing. and thank you for your company, whatever you are doing today. even if it is the christmas party, have a good time and! the christmas party, have a good time and i hope we will see you very soon.

hello. well, wednesday morning is going to be quite foggy across some parts of england so the advice is to take it steady on the roads almost anywhere in england and the fog could linger right through the morning and possibly into the early afternoon, particularly across northern parts of england but as i say, but the south, the midlands, the north are at risk of getting the fog. at the moment, we are in between weather systems. there is a band of wind and rain heading our way but that's not going to reach our shores until a little bit later on wednesday so in the short—term, its quiet out there, the winds are light, that fog is forming, you can see it here across the south, the midlands as well, patches in the north too and on top of that, the temperatures are around freezing or below, particularly across northern parts of the uk so the risk of some icy patches early on wednesday as well. so here is that fog again, you can see it across the midlands but it could in the south too and then basically that fog will drift a bit further north into northern england and it will do

that because the winds will be blowing out of the south. it should disperse some of that fog so there will be sunshine around eastern areas but you can't miss this in the west, this is our wet and windy weather sweeping into many western parts of the uk during the course of wednesday afternoon and wednesday night. low pressure here, that here spells gusty winds as well. around western coasts, we could see winds gusting to 16mph and these are warm southerlies as well, the orange colour blowing out of the southern climes and that can mean only one thing, that those temperatures will be rising. so we are in for a very mild, wet day on thursday, almost anywhere, rain likely across the uk and the temperatures could get up to 13 or 14 degrees across the south—east of the country, really mild for the second half of december. and then double figures with the rain in scotland as well, and we keep those southerly winds through the course of thursday night into friday. but there is an indication, as we head into friday the temperatures will ease just a little bit or rather they'll drop away back down to maybe

10 degrees or so. you can see around about 9 there, for example, in liverpool and there will be some rain around, too. so i think really unsettled run—up to christmas at least this week for many of us and those temperatures up into the teens across the south of the country. let's have a sneak peek of what the weekend might bring. so temperatures back down to around 9—10 degrees and it is going to remain unsettled but details as far as the weather goes this weekend are still a little uncertain. that's it from me, bye—bye.

good morning. welcome to breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. 0ur headlines today: a wait of months for hundreds of thousands of washing machine owners who've been told their appliances are dangerous and need replacing. jeremy corbyn faces fury from some labour mps at a meeting held to to discuss the party's poor election result. doctors test a new type of chemotherapy, which could be more effective and have fewer side—effects for cancer patients. a shake—up of the rules on overd rafts. new measures come into force today for banks and building societies, and they could cost you much more. i'll have the details.