China’s cash squeeze worsened on Monday despite the central bank’s repeated attempts to calm financial markets with emergency money injections. The seven-day bond repurchase rate, an important gauge of short-term liquidity, climbed to 8.8% in early trading, up about 60 basis points from its average on Friday, a signal that banks are still hoarding cash. – Financial Times

Apple struck a long-awaited distribution deal on Sunday night with China Mobile, a partnership worth billions of dollars in extra iPhone revenues that finally opens up the largest mobile market to the world’s most valuable technology company. – Financial Times

Marks & Spencer is facing a boycott from hundreds of customers furious at the store’s decision to allow Muslim staff to refuse to serve customers buying alcohol or pork products. – The Daily Telegraph

The business secretary, Vince Cable, has warned that interest rates may have to rise to constrain a “raging housing boom” in London and the south-east. – The Guardian

Rain over the weekend may have put off some of the less hardy shoppers, but retailers are reporting anything but an austerity Christmas. In the West End of London, where hotels were reporting strong occupancy for a weekend of shopping, stores reported queues forming early yesterday to take advantage of pre-Christmas discounting. – The Times

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The proportion of UK online retailers facing “significant” financial problems is almost double that of all shopkeepers, according to the restructuring group Begbies Traynor, which monitors signs of distress in companies. The total number of retailers with problems has risen 15% to 15,792 over the past year. But there has been a sharper rise, of 28% – from 1,421 to 1,816 – for web-only outlets. – Financial Times