"January's sharp decline in output would be painful at any time. But compared to the collapse triggered by the first nationwide lockdown, this latest contraction is modest ... the crucial question is whether the apparent resilience is because the economy is tougher than it was a year ago, or simply because it has shrunk so far already there is less scope for further falls."

The thoughts of Ulas Akincilar at Infinox Capital indicate that analysts are unsure quite what to make of the first set of data from the UK economy, post-Brexit. 

The UK's exports to the EU slumped by more than 40 percent in January, while the first month of trading as an independent nation also saw UK GDP shrink at its fastest rate since last Spring.

The temptation for the British government and others to seek capital for a post-pandemic spending boost through a debt sale is also fading fast. U.S. bond yields are up again. 

Inflation-wary investors are seeking bargains in equities instead, with tech stocks continuing to boom in 2021. 

Data just out shows close-to-record sums are also flowing into other growth areas, like emerging markets. 

Southeast Asia's Grab Holdings is in $40 billion flotation talks with potential backers in what could be the biggest special purpose acquisition (SPAC) fund deal to date.

A great time to be running a tech start-up, it would seem? We speak to the boss of one "unicorn" firm that has just secured 150 million dollars in new funding in London. 

And our graph shows the best cities in the world to be in if you want to follow his example.

Read on for more of the day's business news in full. 

Louise Greenwood 

Digital correspondent 

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The UK's exports to the EU slumped by more than 40 percent in January, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. Imports from the bloc to the UK over the same period fell by over 28 percent compared with December, making the combined monthly decline the largest since comparable records began in 1997. Meanwhile, UK exports to Ireland fell by almost half in the same month, the biggest fall across all of its main overseas destinations.

While the drop has partly been blamed on manufacturers stockpiling materials ahead of the UK's exit from the EU, the biggest declines in imports were in automotive and pharmaceutical products, while food products were responsible for the decline in exports. 

Separate data just out shows the UK economy shrank in January at the fastest rate since last Spring, as the latest lockdown measures forced businesses to close. Output was down 2.9 percent compared with December, but the figure is not as bad as some analysts had predicted.

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Elsewhere, EU watchdogs have warned that close scrutiny of the European operations of UK financial firms will continue indefinitely now that Britain has left the trading zone. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is checking the license applications from new secondary office hubs set up in locations like Frankfurt and Dublin, warning of "a high risk of regulatory competition" among the twenty-seven member states. 

Nevertheless, post-Brexit Britain has overtaken India to become the fourth most favored investment destination according to a survey of top bosses just out. Accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers says the attractiveness of the UK to CEOs of leading firms has changed as a result of it "becoming a separate country and location."

There's been a fresh round of sell-offs in the U.S. bond sector as the approval of the Biden $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package raises fears over rising inflation in the world's biggest economy. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds were selling at 1.6 percent in early London trading, with concern among investors about the possible depreciation of fixed interest assets if the cost of living goes up. 

Investors put $31.5 billion into equities last week. Data from Bank of America shows that the flow into emerging market stocks was the third-largest ever recorded and second-largest into value stocks.

German luxury carmaker BMW saw profits rise in the second half of 2020, up 10 percent to $5.6 billion. The result failed to offset the impact of COVID-19 on annual sales, with profits down 27 percent overall, but the figures are ahead of expectations. 

Meanwhile, rival Daimler is recalling 2.6 million Mercedes-Benz vehicles in China over software issues. In the latest recall by the firm, China's State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement that concerns centered on whether the position of a vehicle during a crash could be communicated correctly. Last month Mercedes-Benz USA said it was recalling 1.29 million vehicles for similar reasons.

Commodities giant Royal Dutch Shell says profitability at its oil-trading unit almost doubled to $2.6 billion last year. The figures were revealed as part of the group's annual report, despite a poor year for the firm. Rival BP a similar disclosure last year when CEO Bernard Looney said the ordinarily secretive oil trading part of operations had boosted returns by as much as $2.5 billion. 

(ROK) Republic of Korea's e-commerce giant Coupang has made a strong start on its first day of trading on Wall Street. Shares rose 40 percent rise from their float price on Wednesday. They closed up $49.25 each after hitting $69 by midday, briefly valuing the firm, which is backed by Japan's SoftBank, at $118.3 billion. 

Grab Holdings, Southeast Asia's biggest transport and food delivery firm is in talks about a flotation through a merger with a U.S. special purpose acquisition company. Negotiations are said to be continuing with various Silicon Valley-based backers. The deal, which could value Grab Holdings at nearly $40 billion, would be the largest transaction supported by a SPAC fund so far. 

China's market regulator has fined 12 companies over claims of a monopoly rule violation, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement. The firms, including Baidu, Tencent Holdings and Didi Chuxing, have been fined $77,000 each for behavior that it claimed caused unfair market concentration. Regulators have stepped up the scrutiny of its internet giants in recent months over both monopoly and consumer rights concerns. 

China's Sichuan province is to issue a class of special-purpose bonds to raise capital for smaller banks. The southwestern province is to issue $1.76 billion of 10-year maturities with a 3.5 percent headline coupon rate, as the impact of COVID-19 drags on lender's loan books. 

UK shopping center owner Hammerson is to sell some of its malls to survive the COVID-19 crisis, as it posts the biggest loss in its trading history. The owner of Birmingham's Bullring shopping center and London's Brent Cross center, made a loss of $2.37 billion last year as the value of its property portfolio in the UK, France and Ireland was hit by the impact of COVID-19.  Net rental income meanwhile dropped 41 percent amid increasing vacancies in malls.  

British luxury goods group Burberry said it expects profits for the year to be above expectations, after better than expected sales in the first quarter. Shares in the firm, which is seeking new sustainability targets, rose almost 8 percent in early trading in London as Burberry, famed for its signature tartan check print, said final-quarter retail sales will be almost a third higher than last year due to a strong rebound in sales since December. 

UK sports retailer JD Sports has bought a majority stake in Poland's Marketing Investment Group (MIG) for an undisclosed sum. MIG, founded in 1989 and based in Krakow, operates 410 stores and websites across nine countries. The 60 percent purchase has been described by bosses at JD Sports as "an exciting acquisition, expanding our operations into Central and Eastern Europe".

Over three million households in the UK have bought a pet since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pet Food Manufacturers' Association says the spike in sales of animals means there are now 17 million pet-owning homes in Britain, with young people driving the trend as they seek company in ongoing social isolation conditions. 

WATCH: At the supermarket but don't have your wallet and your phone? If you are in Russia, you may be able to pay for your groceries using your face. The service has been launched in 52 Perekrestok supermarkets and will expand to a total of 3,000 by the end of the year. 

A UK-based unicorn startup has just raised another 150 million dollars to fund its next stage of development. The deal values insurance provider Zego at $1.1 billion. The firm claims to be disrupting the insurance market by using technology to cover drivers in the gig economy. CGTN Europe spoke to CEO Sten Saar on his plans.

We're going to be developing more products for our customers. Secondly, we're going to be growing the team. We are planning on hiring product people, software engineers, data scientists, and so forth and currently planning to double the team over the next 12 months. And thirdly, we are going to be expanding geographically. 

Isn't insurance a bit boring? 

Insurance is now one of the most exciting industries to be in, it's been like this for hundreds of years and it's about time that we changed the insurance to fit today's customer needs. For example, we are offering policies all the way from one minute to one year. And I think it's about time that we really introduce solutions that fit customers' needs. 

Is London really still the best place for companies like you to do business? 

I think so, yes. We started the business in 2016 when the Brexit vote happened. We had been designing the business, making sure that it doesn't have any impact. And to be honest, Brexit has been a bit of a speed bump for us, but that's about it. But London is in a great place, in my opinion, in terms of even from a time-zone point of view and access to talent, and especially in insurance, because insurance actually started in London several hundred years ago. 

Estonia has an extraordinary record of producing unicorns. Why is it such a hotbed for startups? 

Well, I think Estonia doesn't have the natural resources that quite a few other countries have, and hence they need to stand out through other means. I think Estonia, with its tiny population, has incredibly hard-working, driven, and determined people. And then, in that case, one plus one equals three. And therefore, I think we see credible results. 

And finally, Zego has chosen London to seek it's fortune, but figures show the the U.S. and China are still the top global locations for unicorn start-ups. However analysts warn the heat is coming out of the market.