The UK government borrowed £20 billion in September, £2.2 billion more than expected, and that news helped to push the pound down again, by 0.6%, to $1.12. Gilt yields also rose once more. The continuing political instability didn’t help either.

The FTSE 100 spent most of the day in negative territory but had edged up 0.3% at the end to 6,969.73. The FTSE 250 closed down 1% at 17,206.55.

As mortgage holders fret about rising interest rates, a Bank of England official, Ben Broadbent, said that rates were unlikely to go above 5%. This may offer some very modest comfort to homeowners.

In today’s movers, we look at several retailers on the slide, and at a small currency manager where the share price has soared 7% today.

Shares in Deliveroo (ROO) rose 3.5% to 84.79p after the food delivery company said that it expected full year losses would be lower than expected. To be precise, it said that its "adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of transaction value" would now come in between -1.2% and -1.5%, an 0.3% improvement on previous guidance. (EBITDA is a measure of profits, and this margin figure is the opposite of a profit margin – a "loss margin" if you like.)

Deliveroo doesn’t just deliver restaurant meals – it also delivers groceries – and it announced today that its delivery partnership with Boots is now operating at more than 125 stores.

Clearly today’s improved guidance on full year performance is encouraging, but the company still remains very vulnerable as the economy continues to slow down over the winter.

Consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR) had a good day on the back of better than expected numbers from its Indian subsidiary. Profits for the quarter rose nearly 20%.

The Ukraine war pushed up costs for Unilever, but it’s successfully passed on those rising costs to Indian consumers. India accounts for around 9% of Unilever’s total sales, so these numbers are significant. What’s more, more than half of Unilever’s sales are in emerging markets, so investors will be hoping that Unilever can repeat the same trick in other emerging eonomies. The shares closed 1% higher at £39.43.

At a time when markets are falling, it’s impressive to see an asset management firm with a rising share price – and that’s what Record (REC) has. Shares are up 7.5% at 764p.

The company specialises in currency management and helps clients in two ways. It can manage a portfolio of currencies for a client purely for the purpose of making money. Or it can help a client hedge against currency movements. So if, for example, you’re a clothing retailer sourcing all your clothes from China, a big rise in the Chinese renminbi could hurt you badly. So Record could effectively provide you with an insurance policy to reduce that risk.

Record said today that net inflows in the latest quarter were $6.6 billion, taking assets under management to just under $81 billion. The company earned £500,000 in performance fees. CEO Leslie Hill said: "heightened volatility and inflationary pressure… offers new hope for growth and diversification". Record’s balance sheet is strong, and analysts expect the company to pay a dividend of 4.95p this year, so there’s much to like here. Perhaps the only worry is that Record is relatively small and could be hurt by bigger competitors in future.

Specialty chemicals company Synthomer (SYNT) was up almost 6% yesterday and it’s risen a further 3% today to 102p. Today’s boost was helped by an upgrade on the stock from "hold" to "buy" from analysts at Berenberg. The analysts have also set a 160p price target.

Most retail shares suffered today after the Office for National Statistics said that retail sale volumes fell 1.4% in September, well below an expected decline of 0.5%. The fall may have been partly caused the Queen’s death and funeral, but worries about the cost of living crisis probably also contributed.

Next (NXT) is one of the UK’s biggest retailers and its shares are down almost 3% to £47.38 on the back of the ONS data. The chain has an army of fans in the City because it has a long-serving and successful management team who have successfully coped with the shift from the high street to online. What’s more, Next is currently trading on a dividend yield of 4% and the expected dividend for this year of £1.92 looks fairly safe. But even with a good management team, Next will inevitably be hit by further declines in consumer spending.

ASOS (ASC) was another retail faller, closing at 508.6p, a 5.3% fall.

Sports clothing retailer JD Sports (JD.) was another victim of today’s retail figures but it was also hit by another announcement. Adidas warned European investors this morning that it was seeing lower demand in major Western markets, and that warning helped to drive down the JD Sports share price by 6.1% to 94.1p.

Last month’s annual results weren’t too bad – pre-tax profits fell by less than 20%, so you might think that a 55% fall in the share price this year is overdone. But it’s clear that investors are looking ahead and are worried that fewer expensive trainers will be under Christmas trees this year. Fellow sports retailer Frasers (FRAS) was also down, falling 3.5% at 623p.

Estate agents sold far fewer houses in September as the market slowed down following the end of the COVID stamp duty holiday. Transactions fell by nearly 40%, according to HMRC numbers.

Shares in property portal Rightmove (RMV) fell 3% to 458p as a result. The company’s supporters argue that estate agents will be obliged to carry on using Rightmove, and to pay the same fees, even if the property market slows down further. However, that ignores the likelihood of some agents going bust and inevitable pressure from agents to cut fees.

The firm also announced a new CEO today. Johan Svanstrom will take over as boss early next year.

Intercontinental Hotels (IHG) announced some decent third quarter numbers this morning, so today’s 2.1% fall in the share price to £44.64 is perhaps a bit of a surprise. IHG, which owns Holiday Inn, said that the crucial Revpar (revenue per room) figure was up 28% year-on-year and 2.7% higher compared to 2019. IHG has been able to boost prices and also benefit from higher demand.

On the downside though, IHG said that fewer hotels would be opening in China, partly as a reaction to ongoing COVID restrictions. Also on the downside, the company’s CFO, Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, will be stepping down in six months’ time. According to Citi, "he was widely respected by investors".

Now take a look at our weekly share tips