Government delays airport decision
VW blames 'chain of errors' for emissions scandal
Sport Direct staff searches criticised
Benefit sanctions 'cause homelessness'
VW says customers will be compensated for loss of value
Bank of England keeps interest rates on hold at 0.5%
Glencore to accelerate debt reduction plan
It looks like the Cabinet sub-committee meeting at Downing Street to discuss whether to delay a decision on airport expansion may have concluded.
Our reporter at the coal face says transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has left Number 10.
The use of streaming services may be at an all-time high, but CDs and vinyl haven't been killed off yet.
That's according to the British Phonographic Industry and the Entertainment Retailers Association.
However, two thirds of music fans use streaming to find new music, rather than physically buy their favourites.
It's a habit they call "multi-channelling" and say 66% of the 1,000 people surveyed by AudienceNet do it.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe rand is at a record low against the US dollar in the wake of President Jacob Zuma's shock decision yesterday to replace South Africa's finance minister, who had been seen as an advocate of financial discipline.
David Rees of Capital Economics comments:
"This will add to a sense that the ANC lacks the appetite to deal with South Africa’s dire fiscal position. That, coupled with high inflation and a fragile balance of payments position, all point to a further depreciation of the rand against the dollar in 2016/17."
Image source, Getty ImagesSteve Ells, the boss of Chipotle, says he is "deeply sorry"' about the customers who became ill after eating at the Mexican chain in recent weeks. "I'm sorry for the people who got sick. They're having a tough time and I feel terrible about that,'' he told NBC's Today show.
Sales at Chipotle have been hit by high-profile food scares in recent weeks. At least 52 people in nine states were affected by an E. coli outbreak, with 47 of them having eaten at Chipotle. The most recent case happened on 13 November.
Image source, Getty ImagesYahoo boss Marissa Mayer is pretty hardcore when it comes to not letting things get in the way of work.
So, having just announced the birth of twin girls, when might she get back to the task of reviving Yahoo's fortunes?
When here pregnancy was announced, she wrote in a blog post: "Since this is a unique time in Yahoo's transformation, I plan to approach the pregnancy and delivery as I did with my son three years ago, taking limited time away and working throughout."
Mayer, aged 40, was pregnant when she joined Yahoo as chief executive in July 2012. She gave birth to a baby boy in September that year. She worked from home after the birth and went back to the office two weeks later.
Sports Direct shares dived 11% after the retailer's half-year results fell short of expectations. Revenues of £1.43bn for the six months to 25 October and underlying earnings of £218.5m were below analysts' forecasts, making the stock the worst performer in the FTSE 100.
The index closed down by 38.63 points at 6,088.05. Shares in financial services group Old Mutual, which has interests in South Africa, sank more than 10%. South African's President, Jacob Zuma, sacked Finance Minister Nhalnhla Nene late on Wednesday, and South Africa's currency fell close to a record low against the dollar in reaction.
Shares in mining giant Glencore jumped 7% after it announced plans to speed up the rate at which it cuts its debts.
After a Sports Direct investor tells 5 live of his concerns about the retailer's treatment of staff, the BBC's Harry Kretchmer tweets:
Image source, Getty ImagesYahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer has given birth to identical twin girls.
"Our whole family is doing great! Thanks to everyone for all of the support and well wishes throughout my pregnancy," she said in a post on Tumblr, external.
It comes a day after Yahoo decided not to spin off its $30bn stake in Alibaba.
BBC Radio 5 Live
A shareholder in Sports Direct has raised concerns about the retailer's treatment of staff. It follows a Guardian investigation and 10% fall in Sports Direct's share price.
Ashley Hamilton Claxton, corporate governance manager at Royal London Asset Management, told 5 live:
Quote MessageWe want to see them improve their relationships with employees and to address some of the allegations that have come in front of them, if they are in fact true. That would be quite important for us as shareholders. We also have some concerns about management having almost what we see as unfettered ability to trade in the shares of other retailers. It's a major red flag for us. It is definitely one of the companies we have the most concern about and that is why we are speaking publicly about it. These concerns are shared by many other shareholders as well."
BBC Radio 5 live's Rob Young tweets:
Image source, PAAfter IAG airline boss Willie Walsh today criticised the proposed cost of expanding Heathrow, the airport has responded.
Quote MessageHeathrow expansion is critical to the future of the British economy. It is the only way the whole nation will be connected to all of global growth. The Airports Commission has confirmed that expansion can be financed and with low-cost airlines such as easyJet already committing to provide routes from Heathrow, it is clear that operating costs from the airport will be competitive.”
Image source, ReutersFour top-level executives at insurance giant American International Group, including its finance head, are leaving as part of a massive management shake-up aimed at simplifying operations and cutting costs.
The news comes as tensions mount between AIG chief executive Peter Hancock and activist investor Carl Icahn over the billionaire's suggestion in October that the company split into three and improve profitability.
Image source, PAHere's more from IAG airline chief Willie Walsh, speaking this lunchtime about airport expansion. He's in favour of expanding Heathrow with another runway, but can't understand the costs.
Quote MessageHeathrow is currently the most expensive hub airport in the world costing £20 per passenger for each take-off and landing. IAG estimates that this will double, peaking at £40 each way. £80 a return trip in airport charges will turn Heathrow into a white elephant. A £17.6bn pound project where only £182 million – around one per cent of the cost - is for the actual runway is not sustainable and we will not pay for it. What airlines want is a new runway, so how come a new terminal, handling the same number of passengers as Terminal Five, would cost £3bn more in today’s money? Why do you need a 6.5 kilometre underground train track to Terminal 2 when the majority of transfer passengers come from Oneworld airlines mainly in Terminal 5, with some from Terminal 3? Why does a new car park cost more than £800m to build? Yet again, we see a monopoly airport supplier looking to gold-plate facilities and fleece its airlines and their customers.
US shares started with gains after three days of losses, despite oil prices remaining at seven-year lows.The Dow Jones index rose 45.37 points to 17,537.67. The wider S&P 500 was up 6.27 points at 2,053.89, and the tech-focused Nasdaq index was up 18.17 points at 5,041.04.
GoPro rose 3.5%, but Yum Brands lost 2.4% after the company's same-restaurant sales in China fell some 3% last month.
The political mood music suggests the government is about to delay a decision on airport expansion. Here are the thoughts of Willie Walsh, boss of British Airways owner IAG, speaking this lunchtime.
"I am not going to pre-judge what the government will say though a decision to undertake further consultations will underline what we have said all along - that there is no political will to build a new runway and that, yet again, the opportunity to harness aviation’s economic benefits for Britain will be lost."
Image source, Getty ImagesChipotle founder and co-chief executive Steve Ells says he is "deeply sorry'' about the customers taken ill after eating at the chain in recent weeks.
"I'm sorry for the people who got sick. They're having a tough time and I feel terrible about that,'' Ells said in an interview on NBC's Today show.
The public apology comes after a series of food scares at Chipotle outlets across the US.
Ireland's economy grew 7% for the year ending September, leaving it on course to be the fastest-growing in Europe for the second year running. That's compared with growth of 5.2% the year before.
"Today's figures are once again very strong and provide further confirmation that economic recovery is now firmly embedded," Finance Minister Michael Noonan said in a statement. "The figures also confirm that the increase in economic activity is broadly based."
Image source, Getty ImagesRousing stuff from Apple boss Tim Cook. Accepting the Ripple of Hope Award at a benefit in New York for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, he spoke passionately about the need for social change, according to the Bloomberg news agency.
“Today, more than half of the states in this country still don’t offer basic protections to gay or transgender people, leaving millions of people vulnerable to being fired or evicted because of who they are or who they love.
"Today, some in our country would turn away innocent men, women and children seeking refuge,” Cook said, “regardless of how many background checks they may submit to, simply based on where they were born. Victims of war and now victims of fear and misunderstanding.
"Today, too many children are denied access to quality education simply because of the zip code they live in. They begin their lives facing strong headwinds and disadvantage they did nothing to deserve. We could do better, Robert Kennedy would say, and because we can do better, we must act."
Former miner Samuel Atafo tells the BBC's Ed Butler about the dangers of illegal mining in Ghana.
Former illegal miner Samuel Atafo explains the literal pitfalls of the profession.
Image source, Getty Images"Self-sabotage", or working in a place that doesn't fit your own values, and over-commiting, could be ruining your health and your career in the long term. BBC Capital looks at the story of Thomas Sommer who, after years of over-working himself at Credit Suisse, felt "exhausted, fenced in and rudderless".