FT Opening Quote

Mike Ashley faces Sports Direct questions from MPs on Tuesday, Janet Yellen makes a speech this evening, lobsters are on a luxury journey to restaurant tables. FT Opening Quote, with commentary by City Editor Jonathan Guthrie, is your early Square Mile briefing. You can sign up for the full newsletter here.

Mike Ashley will answer MPs’ questions after all. Lawmakers expect to quiz the entrepreneur on the employment practices of Sports Direct on Tuesday. He is likely to rebut claims that staff at the sportswear retailer’s Shirebrook warehouse were paid less than the minimum wage. The entrepreneur had previously made his appearance conditional on MPs visiting the site.

There is uncertainty over the legal force with which parliamentary select committees can summon witnesses. While the power over UK citizens is statutory, sanctions for non-attendance, which include dubbing those who stay away “in contempt of Parliament” have not been tested in recent times.

Sir Philip Green, a friend of Mr Ashley, faces his own appearance before a select committee next week, when his sale of BHS for £1 will be under the spotlight. The Pensions Regulator has meanwhile denied press reports that it is “refusing” to discuss a restructuring of BHS’s underfunded pension scheme proposed by Sir Philip.

It’s so far been a quiet morning for corporate news. EasyJet carried 6.9m passengers in May, a 5.7 per cent increase, though the load factor – a measure of capacity – was flat. Personal care business PZ Cussons has appointed Caroline Silver, an investment banker at Moelis & Co, as its chairman from January of next year. Swashbuckling gold miner Mark Bristow has stopped at the Kibali mine on a charity motor bike ride across Africa.

Beats a 5k fun run round the park.

Manufacturers believe a modest improvement in trading in the second half could falter if Britons vote to leave the EU, according to the EEF. The industry body believes output for 2016 will be flat, assuming voters opt to stay. Fed chair Janet Yellen will set out her views on the US economy later today.

Finally, lobsters are embarking on luxury cruises thanks to CMA CGM. The French shipping line has developed a container in which the crustaceans each occupy a separate berth bathed in chilled, filtered sea water. It’s part of an effort by shipping groups to bolster flagging margins, Bloomberg reports.

But disembarkation is always set to end badly for the lobsters. They are destined for top restaurants in London, Paris or Frankfurt.

Beyond the Square Mile

Germany factory orders fell 2 per cent month-on-month in April, well beyond expectations of a 0.5 per cent contraction. Year-on-year, the index also went negative, falling by 0.5 per cent against a forecast of 0.6 per cent expansion.

The pound was in retreat during early trading on Monday after polls suggested that public support for Britain leaving the European Union is stronger than the desire to remain, ahead of the June 23 referendum.

In Asian markets, Japan’s broad Topix and Nikkei 225 were both down 1.3 per cent on Monday, led lower by exporters affected by a stronger yen. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.7 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.3 per cent. On the mainland, China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.1 per cent and the Shenzhen Composite was up 0.2 per cent.

Intraday

European markets are expected to open mixed at the start of the trading week. The call from CMC Markets:

FTSE 100 is expected to open 31 points higher at 6,240
DAX is expected to open 5 points higher at 10,108
CAC 40 is expected to open 6 points lower at 4,415

With the disappointment of May’s US jobs report resonating for investors, it will be interesting to hear what Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen says about policy in a speech at 1730 BST in Philadelphia. Just two weeks ago, Ms Yellen said that it would probably be appropriate to lift rates this summer, but the non-farm payrolls number means a June rise is now off the table, according to analysts, and some are predicting a delay until September.

For a look at what’s coming up over the rest of the week, see ft.com/weekahead.

Markets at 0756 BST

Asian markets
Nikkei 225 down -62.20 (-0.37%) at 16,580
Topix down -4.80 (-0.36%) at 1,332
Hang Seng up +9.02 (+0.04%) at 20,956

US markets
S&P 500 down -6.13 (-0.29%) at 2,099
DJIA down -31.50 (-0.18%) at 17,807
Nasdaq down -28.85 (-0.58%) at 4,943

European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -11.52 (-0.85%) at 1,339
FTSE100 up +24.02 (+0.39%) at 6,210
CAC 40 unchanged 0.00 (0.00%) at 4,422
Dax unchanged 0.00 (0.00%) at 10,103

Currencies
€/$ 1.13 (1.14)
$/¥ 106.95 (106.51)
£/$ 1.44 (1.45)
€/£ 0.7887 (0.7822)

Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.35 at 49.99
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.39 at 49.01
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +0.70 at 1,241
Copper (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 2.11

10-year government bond yields (%)
US 1.71%
UK 1.27%
Germany 0.08%

CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe +0.25bps at 25.97bp
Markit iTraxx Europe +1.26bps at 76.02bp
Markit iTraxx Xover +7.55bps at 328.33bp
Markit CDX IG +0.04bps at 77.35bp

Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit