Germany has begun an informal process to share power amid growing fears that Putin’s gas cuts could lead to blackouts this winter. Economy Minister Robert Hambeck put the country in the second phase of a three-stage natural gas emergency plan, warning: “We must be prepared for the situation to become critical.” Although this stage does not include the ticket, some local authorities and housing companies have taken matters into their own hands. Vonovia, the country’s biggest landlord, said it would reduce the temperature of its tenants’ gas central heating to 17 degrees between 11pm and 6am, the Financial Times reports. A housing association in Saxony has said it will start rationing its hot water supply, while Cologne is reducing street lighting. Things could still get worse. The main Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany is set to shut down for maintenance work next week, and some fear it may never reopen.

5 things to start your day

  1. Advisers make nearly £70m from Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties merger – Shareholders set to vote on £5bn merger on July 29
  2. HSBC banker quits, says ‘cancellation culture destroys wealth and progress’ – Stuart Kirk suspended in May after climate change attack on ‘nut jobs’
  3. PwC partners receive record £1m payout – Windfall discounts and ‘outstanding’ annual returns to new highs
  4. Facebook threatened with European ban over data handling – Facebook said sending user data to the US violates EU data laws
  5. Bank of England hawk urges ‘front-load’ rate hikes – Businesses are losing faith in Bank’s ability to keep inflation under control, new survey shows

What happened in the night

Hong Kong stocks jumped early this morning, with the Hang Seng index climbing 1.5%. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.5 percent while the Shenzhen index on China’s second bourse rose 0.4 percent. Tokyo stocks opened higher after gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.5% in early trade.

It’s coming today

Corporate: Vistry Group (transaction statement) Economics: Nonfarm payrolls, unemployment rate, average hourly earnings, labor force participation rate (US)