That's it for tonight. Join us tomorrow for figures showing the health of the Chinese economy over the last three months, as well as results from First Group and Citi. 

Image source, EPA

President Obama's administration has started preliminary talks with the UK about how they might pursue a trade deal following Britain’s exit from the EU, according to the Financial Times, external.

The newspaper quotes Washington’s top trade official, Mike Froman, and says it coincides with a growing push by Republican Brexit supporters for the President to quickly launch talks on a commercial pact.

It also highlights how swiftly the President has backed away from his warnings before the referendum that Britain would be at the "back of the queue" if it voted to leave the EU, the FT reports.   

US stocks have notched new record highs on the back of big gains for financial stocks. 

Strong results from KFC owner Yum Brands (whose shares rose 3%) and Delta Air Lines (shares up 4%) also helped to fuel optimism among traders.

The Dow Jones finished 0.7% higher at 18,506.41, while Nasdaq gained 0.6% to 5,034.06, and the S&P 500 closed 0.5% up at 2,163.75.

Image source, AP

Pop stars' earnings have nearly doubled in the last four years to $800m (£600m), according to Forbes.

Pop music - driven by global stars like Beyonce - is the only genre to see its earnings grow steadily over that period, the US magazine reports.

However, the genre’s overall growth may be slowing, as global markets begin opening up to newer genres like electronic dance music and foreign pop scenes like K-Pop, Forbes adds.  

A quick look at the currency markets, and sterling is holding its ground after strong gains against the dollar and euro. 

The pound shot up after the Bank of England's decision not to cut interest rates this month. 

It's currently 1.4% higher against the dollar at $1.334, and is trading at just under €1.20 after rising 1.2% against the euro today.

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde says at an event in Washington... 

After BP puts its total bill from the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster at nearly $62bn, BBC New York Business Editor John Mervin tweets...

Image source, AP

On its first day of trading, shares in Line - an Asian messaging app similar to What's App and Facebook Messenger - jumped more than 25%.

It's seen as the biggest US stock market listing so far this year.

Executives had been worried that the $7.3bn company's listing would be derailed by market turbulence following the Brexit vote.

However, shares have traded strongly all day and are currently at around $41.70 - compared with the listing price of $32.84.

Image source, Getty Images

Wall Street is still trading at record highs as we go into the final hour.

Bank stocks are leading the way after JP Morgan reported higher profits than expected. Its shares are up 2.8%, while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are each 3% higher.

"Optimism is starting to creep into the market," said Brad Sorensen, director of the Schwab Centre for Financial Research.  

The Dow Jones is up 0.7% to 18,505.42.

The S&P 500 is up 0.5% to 2,163.93.

The Nasdaq is 0.6% higher at 5,033.73.

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

BP has put the total pre-tax cost from the enormous oil spill at the Deepwater Horizon rig at $61.6bn (£46.2bn).

The oil firm said, external it has made "significant progress" in recent months resolving outstanding claims from the 2010 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

That includes a charge of around $2.5bn after tax in its second quarter results this year. 

The explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 men and led to more than 125 million gallons of oil spewing into the Gulf.  

Image source, Getty Images

Theresa May's new Conservative government revamps the Department of Business, which will be led by Greg Glark.

Image source, Reuters

The US government cannot force Microsoft to turn over customer emails stored on servers outside the United States, a federal appeals court has ruled. 

It is a defeat for the US Department of Justice, but a victory for privacy advocates and technology companies offering cloud computing, Reuters reports. 

One of the three judges, Susan Carney, said communications held by US service providers on servers located outside the United States are beyond the reach of domestic search warrants. 

Sajid Javid, the new Communities and Local Government Secretary, tweets:

Still no tweets from his successor as Business Secretary Greg Clark since this one on 5 July though:

A bit more from Simon Jack's interview with Next boss Lord Wolfson, who is a leading pro-Brexit voice.

He says fears about the effect on UK businesses of leaving the European Union have been overdone.

Chris Johnston
Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Plenty of nods for UK actors and shows in the Emmy award nominations announced today. The gongs are dished out in Los Angeles on 18 September. 

The final series of Downton Abbey gets a nod in the best drama series category. 

BBC drama The Night Manager is nominated for best limited series. 

Benedict Cumberbatch and Idris Elba (pictured) are nominated for Sherlock and Luther respectively in the actor in a limited series or movie category, while Tom Hiddleston also get a nod for The Night Manager.

Welsh actor Matthew Rhys is up for best actor in a drama series for his turn in The Americans.

The UK also has two runners in the variety talk series category in the form of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (an HBO show broadcast in the UK on Sky Atlantic), and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Games of Thrones, which is sort of British given it's partly shot in Northern Ireland, leads the pack with 23 nominations. See the full list here., external

Next chief executive Lord Wolfson says Theresa May's plans to put consumer groups and unions on company boards "won't make an enormous difference to the economy".

Image source, Getty Images

Theresa May's new Conservative government revamps the Department of Business, which will be led by Greg Glark.

Image source, Getty Images

Shares in Monsanto have gained 3% to $104 after German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer said it had made an improved offer for the genetically modified crops-maker.

The stock is still trading below the $125 that Bayer has offered, suggesting the market doesn't think it's a done deal yet.

Bayer boss Werner Baumann said: "We are convinced that this transaction is the best opportunity available to provide Monsanto shareholders with highly attractive, immediate and certain value. 

"Bayer is fully committed to pursuing this transaction." 

Monsanto rejected Bayer’s $62bn bid in May, saying it was “incomplete and financially inadequate”, but that it was open to further discussions.