Markets like merger newspublished at 16:15
Speculation that Dow Chemical and DuPont are in talks about a merger has ignited the shares. Dow is up 11.4% to a record $56.8 and DuPont rose 12% to $74.62.
Summary
Neil Woodford sells Rolls-Royce stake
Yahoo abandons spin-off of Alibaba stake
Brazilian inflation rises above 10%
Volkswagen cuts number of cars affected by emissions scandal
Dupont and Dow Chemical reportedly in advanced merger talks
North Face founder dies following kayaking accident
Markets like merger newspublished at 16:15
Ross McEwan in fullpublished at 15.49
BBC Radio 5 LiveHere's the 5 Live interview with RBS bank boss Ross McEwan. He's been talking about "forgiveness", among other things.
Let's raise a glass to English winepublished at 15:30
Image source, Getty ImagesFrance's Taittinger is becoming the first champagne house to produce premium English sparkling wine with the purchase of farmland in Kent.
The Reims-based firm, established in 1734, is joining British wine company Hatch Mansfield and private investors to purchase 69 hectares (170 acres) of farmland at Stone Stile Farm.
"We have dreamt for a number of years of working with our dear friends in the UK to create a special Franco/British project," said Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, president of Champagne Taittinger.
"Our aim is to make something of real excellence in the UK's increasingly temperate climate, and not to compare it with Champagne or any other sparkling wine," he added.
Bank bonuses: 'A pragmatic necessity'published at 15:02
BBC Radio 5 LiveMore from RBS boss Ross McEwan's interview on radio 5 Live, who has (bravely) been taking calls from listeners. He understands why the issue of bonuses raises hackles, but they're necessary.
“If we just say to ourselves let’s pay no bonuses, I lose really good people that are creating value for this business. I have to be pragmatic. I know the public don’t like that. But unfortunately I’ve got to be paying reasonable amounts of money for people... to do the jobs that I want them to do.”
Retailer dumps Trumppublished at 14:44
Image source, EPADonald Trump's call to stop Muslims entering the US hasn't gone down too well with Dubai-based retailer Landmark. It has suspended sales of the US presidential candidate's range of Trump Home products across its Middle East outlets.
The billionaire property and reality TV star said on Monday that he would block Muslim tourists, students and immigrants from entering the US following the shootings in California last week.
So, if you're after a "table lamp in antique brass with crystal drops" or a decorative box with a "brilliant plume of a peacock... redecorated in gold finish for an exclusive look", try another retailer.
Financial crisis 'not a forgiving matter'published at 14:20
BBC Radio 5 Live
Image source, Getty ImagesBank boss Ross McEwan is on 5 live radio as part of a series of interviews on the theme of forgiveness. Unsurprisingly, the chief of Royal Bank of Scotland is asked about the banking crisis.
For him, it's not a question of forgiving anyone. It's about trust. "This was the biggest financial crisis since the '30s and I don’t think there’s a moment of forgiveness. It’s just not that straight forward," he says.
"The banking fraternity, and all of the people in it, are having to work very hard to rebuild trust because that trust was really broken for many customers. It’s a matter of rebuilding trust and you do not rebuild trust in a matter one year or two years. It takes a long time.”
Katy Perry made 'over $2m a night'published at 14:00
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End of twitter postCoutts settles tax evasion allegations for $26m in Germanypublished at 13:38
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Swiss division of Coutts bank has reached a €23.8m settlement with German authorities, for allegations of tax evasion, the company confirmed. The RBS-owned bank had already announced that some of its former and current staff were under investigation.
Warning: market volatility aheadpublished at 13:25
BBC Business editor Kamal Ahmed blogs:
Image source, Getty ImagesQuote MessageWhen skiing, it is always advisable to keep your skis approximately parallel. If they start travelling in different directions, at first it might be manageable. Then it gets painful. And then catastrophic. Investors fear we are at stage two. The collapse in the share prices of the mining companies over the last year could be a warning of market pain ahead."
Kamal Ahmed, BBC Business editor
Heavy losses for Anglo American and Stagecoach sharespublished at 12:55
The FTSE 100 has been hovering around break-even for much of the session.
Heavy losses for some mining shares have been weighing the market down. Anglo American is currently down by almost 8%.
On the FTSE 250, shares in Stagecoach Group are the biggest losers, down 13%.
Earlier the company trimmed its forecast for annual profits, blaming a fall in its inter-city coach business.
Help to Buy 'propping up UK housing market'published at 12:45
Image source, Getty ImagesThe UK government's Help to Buy scheme for new homes has become a critical factor underpinning the market, according to housing experts, writes the BBC's personal finance correspondent Simon Gompertz.
In September, 2,252 purchasers - mostly first-time buyers - used the scheme, giving it a record third quarter.
Buyers are given an interest-free loan to top up their deposits, financed by the taxpayer.
But there is concern that the popularity of Help to Buy could fuel further increases in house prices.
Cross-border portability for digital contentpublished at 12:35
Image source, APEuropean Union residents will be able to use digital content they have bought at home, anywhere in Europe under EU proposals announced today.
At the moment, for example, a Dutch Netflix customer visting Germany would only be able to watch content offered to German customers.
"Cross-border portability, a new EU right for consumers, is expected to be a reality in 2017, the same year as the end of roaming charges in the EU," a press officer from the European Commission said.
Yahoo confirms end of Alibaba stake spin-offpublished at 12:15
Image source, Getty ImagesYahoo has confirmed, external that it has scrapped a plan to spin-off its stake in Alibaba Group (which by some measures is the world's biggest internet retailer).
Instead Yahoo's assets, other than the Alibaba stake, will be transferred to a new company.
The deal was a central part of the strategy of chief executive Marissa Mayer and there are likely to be questions about her future as head of the firm.
£50 million fund for floodingpublished at 12:09
The Chancellor, who is filling in for David Cameron at PMQs, has announced that the Government is to make a £50 million fund available for families and businesses affected by the floods in Cumbria and Lancashire.
It will be managed by local authorities.
Inflation concerns for Brazilpublished at 12:08 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2015
Brazil is in recession and is suffering rising inflation: BBC South America business correspondent Daniel Gallas tweets.
House of Fraser sales risepublished at 12:06 Greenwich Mean Time 9 December 2015
Retail analyst Nick Bubb tweets:
Apple suspends new TV service - reportpublished at 11:54
Image source, Getty ImagesApple has suspended plans to launch a live internet-based television service, reports Bloomberg, external.
It was planning to sell a package of around 14 channels for $30 to $40 a month, but could not reach deals with other media companies, the report says.
The article quotes CBS chief executive Les Moonves, who said that Apple had put the plans "on hold".
Volkswagen statementpublished at 11:35
This from Volkswagen's statement today.
Quote MessageFollowing extensive internal investigations and measurement checks, it is now clear that almost all of these model variants do correspond to the CO2 figures originally determined"
Quote MessageThis means that these vehicles can be marketed and sold without any limitations. The suspicion that the fuel consumption figures of current production vehicles had been unlawfully changed was not confirmed"
Volkswagen statement
This from BBC business reporter, Theo Leggett:
VW shares jump on new emissions scandal estimatepublished at 11:17
Volkswagen shares have jumped 3%. That's after the company said that far fewer cars are affected by the emissions scandal than originally thought.
VW estimates the number of diesel cars affected is around 36,000 vehicles. Last month it put the figure at 800,000 cars.
It expected costs of at least €2bn related to the scandal.
Business should save from cap on card feespublished at 11:06
BBC BreakfastThere are around 11 billion transactions using credit and debit cards every year in the UK. To process them a fee is paid by the retailer's banks to the cardholder's bank, known as an interchange fee. From today this will be capped at 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards.
Guy Shone from financial website explainthemarket.com tells BBC Breakfast's Steph McGovern why this could save businesses up to £480m a year.
Media caption, Transaction charges will be capped at 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards