Jim McMahon, Labour MP for Oldham West and Royton, says that the Cabinet Office is reviewing the request to withdraw Sir Philip Green's knighthood. 

The retail tycoon has come under fire for selling department store chain BHS last year for £1 - only for the business to then fold, leaving 11,000 workers out of a job and a pension deficit of £571m. 

Image source, Getty Images

Even though fuel costs fell by a fifth in the three months to 30 June, American Airlines has reported a 44% drop in net profit to $950m - mainly due to $543m of income tax provisions. However, that was still better than analysts had expected. 

Operating costs for the world's largest airline by fleet size fell 3.3% to $8.61bn, while operating revenue was down 4.3% to $10.36bn. 

Shares are up 2.5% in New York, but the stock is still down 15% this year. 

The worst performers on the FTSE 250 one month after the 23 June referendum have been house builders, banks and retailers, says Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. 

Sports Direct, Crest Nicholson, Aldermore Group, Virgin Money and DFS were the worst performers, all down over 30%. 

Among the winners have been mining stocks as well as technology companies, manufacturers and defence contractor Cobham. 

Chris Johnston
Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Bet you didn't know it's International Busking Day. That's why London Mayor Sadiq Khan is pictured above with boy band The Vamps. At least he admits he cannot actually play the guitar. 

Although the mayor says his daughters have banned him from singing, Mr Khan says his choice would be - of course - London's Calling if he were to pick up a microphone.

Despite the Brexit vote, Mr Khan says: "London is open. We have to send a message that we are open to business and talent and investment and trade."   

Apparently the members of the Vamps all started off as buskers before forming the band, in case you're interested. His busking tips? Singer Brad Simpson says: "Wonderwall always does well. Or turn up the amp really loud so they can't ignore you."

Image source, Project Fixup

Pokemon Go, the augmented reality phenomenon, has led to people finding dead bodies, being rescued from caves and fighting in parks.  

Now it could also end up with a romantic dinner for two. It didn't take long, but a dating app has been launched for fans of the game.

PokeDates, external - which has the tag line "Gotta catch 'em all, together" - has been brought out by dating firm Project Fixup.  

"Pokemon Go is arguably the best idea of the 21st century," it says. Fans can sign up to PokeDates, share their schedule and then show up at the right place to go hunting for Pokemon together.

Now that's sorted, we just need to wait for the first Pokemon Go wedding.

Chris Johnston
Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Shares in Vodafone have gained almost 5% after the FTSE 100 telecoms giant posted its eighth consecutive quarter of rising sales, with a better-than-expected 2.2% rise in revenues.

Although the troubled southern European markets were back in growth, revenue in the UK fell a chunky 3.2%. 

Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the domestic performance was the result of changes to its billing system, which have sparked a flood of customer complaints. 

Chief executive Vittorio Colao says Vodafone was focused on improving its UK performance, but noted the good numbers in Germany, Spain and Italy.

Your fact of the day: the company is worth almost £63bn. BT, in contrast, is worth just £38bn.

Image source, Reuters

General Electric - seen as a bellwether of the US economy - is the biggest loser on the Dow Jones at the start of trading.

GE is down 2.3% even though it posted second-quarter profits that were higher than analysts' expectations.

US stock markets are generally flat so far after dipping from record highs yesterday.

The Dow Jones is 20 points lower at 18,497, the S&P 500 is unchanged at 2,165 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 3 points higher at 5,076.

Research suggests having a pet in the office helps with stress, but what impact does it have on your working day? 

Ed Butler visits the dog-friendly offices of pet charity Blue Cross to find out...

Chris Johnston
Business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

ITV will launch a rival to the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing next year - imaginatively called Dance Dance Dance. It is being made by Talpa Media, the Dutch production company that ITV bought last year. Talpa also makes The Voice, which is moving to ITV.

The commercial broadcaster has been impressed by the ratings Dance Dance Dance won in the Netherlands last year.  

The six-part series promises special effects to evoke the original "iconic dance routines from pop, movies and theatre". It adds: "Celebrities and their partners will recreate much-loved numbers with the use of the most up-to-date technology on a truly epic scale."

Does that mean holograms of the likes of Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, we wonder? Stay tuned...

The FTSE 100 is on course to beat the 11-month high it reached earlier this week. It's currently trading at 6,731.02 points, slightly higher than the 6,728.99 it finished at on Wednesday.

The blue-chip index jumped back into positive territory this morning after the pound dropped in response to a business survey showing activity and confidence at the lowest level since 2009.

However, the FTSE 250 - which is seen as a better barometer of UK business than the more international 100 index - is down 0.3% at 16,998.88.

Sterling has continued to slide following the release of figures showing a "dramatic deterioration" in economic activity. 

The pound dropped a cent to $1.3179 immediately after the data was published and has since fallen further. A short while ago it was trading at $1.3097, down more than 1% so far today.

"There will be some hopes that sentiment can recover in the months ahead, particularly if the weaker pound gives UK manufacturers a helping hand," said Chris Saint, a currency analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.     

The chart below shows how the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - which measure business sentiment - has compared with UK economic growth. 

The latest data shows the PMI fell to 47.7 in July, the lowest level since April in 2009. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Image source, IHS Markit

BBC World Service

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Paul Johnson, director of economic research group IFS, says it's "absolute nonsense" to suggest new Chancellor Philip Hammond is talking down the economy.

Mr Hammond said he may "reset" the UK's fiscal policy in the Autumn if the economy takes a hit from the Brexit vote.

Image source, Reuters

US telecoms giant Verizon is nearing a deal to acquire Yahoo's core internet business, Bloomberg has reported.

The two firms are in one-on-one talks and a deal could be announced in four or five days.

However, the deal is not yet signed and could still fall apart.

Verizon, which recently bought AOL, is seen as the front runner to acquire Yahoo's search and advertising operations.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

"We won't actually know really what is happening to the economy until the Autumn," said Paul Johnson, director of the respected economic forecasting group IFS.

"There are lots of concerns in terms of uncertainty and business reacts to uncertainty."

"It's not people talking about the uncertainty which causes the problem - it's the uncertainty itself," he said on The World At One.

Christine Lagarde's lawyer says his client is convinced that the French courts will show she is innocent.

The head of the International Monetary Fund faces trial over alleged payments to businessman Bernard Tapie. 

On Friday, France's highest appeals court rejected her appeal against the allegations.

Image source, Getty Images

IMF chief Christine Lagarde must stand trial in a case over payments made to businessman Bernard Tapie, a French appeals court has ruled.

The court rejected her appeal against a judge's order in December for her to stand trial.

Image source, AP

New UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has played down a closely-watched survey of business managers, which suggested that there was a sharp fall in business activity since the Brext vote.

The survey of purchasing managers, by Markit, pushed sterling down by more than a cent against the dollar.

Mr Hammond, on a visit to China, said: "Let's be clear, the PMI data is a measure of sentiment, it's not a measure of any hard activity in the economy. What it tells us is business confidence has been dented, they're not sure, they're in a period of uncertainty now."