Shares in Europe and Asia fell on Monday in trade thinned by holidays in a number of financial centres, hit by slumping oil prices and concerns over Chinese growth and finances – two of the year’s major factors. Prices of both Brent and U.S. crude fell 1.8 percent LCOc1 CLc1, reversing a brief rebound that helped shares in the Middle East over the weekend, while Chinese stocks fell almost 3 percent after a weak batch of industrial profits data. While most bank dealing rooms in Europe were on skeleton staffing, and London shut, that had repercussions for a range of assets, driving the Australian and Canadian dollars down about a third of a percent and pushing bond yields lower. Profits at Chinese industrial companies in November fell 1.4 percent from a year earlier, […]