FTSE 100 closes at 14-month high
Pound hovers around $1.30 and €1.17
Bank reforms will give customers "better deal": watchdog
Consumer groups and challenger banks say changes don't go far enough
UK trade deficit widens in June
Two of our earlier stories come together in this latest post ...
Bookmaker William Hill says it believes a UK recession before the end of 2017 is an odds-on shot and it's offering 8/11 - a 57% chance - that it will happen, but even money that it will not.
'We believe there is slightly more chance than not that the UK will experience another recession before the end of 2017' says William Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.
BBC World Service
Image source, ReutersThe American airline, Delta, said it was cancelling nearly 250 flights on Tuesday as it looked to restore operations after a power outage on Monday that hit its computer systems, reports World Service.
Delta said the airline was still recovering from the disruption, even though systems were back on line, and flights had resumed.
More than a thousand Delta flights were cancelled on Monday, with passengers stranded at airports around the globe.
Image source, ReutersMore on the news we brought you earlier about the takeover bid made for betting shop operator William Hill by rivals 888 and Rank Group ...
William Hill has just announced it's unanimously rejected the proposal as it "substantially undervalues William Hill".
"In addition, the Board of William Hill does not believe that a combination of William Hill with 888 and Rank will enhance William Hill's strategic positioning or deliver superior value for shareholders compared against William Hill's strategy, which is focused on increasing the Group's diversification by growing its digital and international businesses," the company says in a statement.
The cash and shares offer would result in William Hill shareholders owning 44.6% of the combined group.
Quote MessageThis conditional proposal substantially undervalues William Hill, is highly opportunistic and does not reflect the inherent value of the business. It is a very complex three-way combination at a low premium involving substantial risk for William Hill shareholders: execution risk, integration risk and risks of materially increased leverage. The Group has a strong team to deliver against our strategy to grow our digital and international businesses so we strongly advise that shareholders take no action.
Gareth Davis, Chairman, William Hill
BBC World Service
Image source, Getty ImagesThe European Union has agreed to waive fines for Spain and Portugal over their excessive budget deficits, reports BBC World Service.
Both governments had breached the EU rule of ensuring that budget deficits do not exceed three per cent of their economic output or GDP.
The EU Council said Spain has two more years to bring its deficit below the limit, while Portugal would be given a year to reduce its shortfall to 2.5% GDP.
The waivers come with a rising anti-austerity sentiment across Europe, and growing economic uncertainty following Britain's vote to leave the EU.
Image source, Getty ImagesWall Street opened slightly higher on Tuesday as oil prices steadied, a day after the S&P 500 index hit a record intraday high.
Oil edged further above $45 on estimates of a drop in US inventories and speculation of that some oil producing countries will freeze output.
"We expect a steady to higher opening as oil prices come back into the spotlight, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York. "Today, it seems like whatever oil does, equities will follow."
A short while ago the Dow Jones at 18,558.49 - a rise of 0.16%.
The Nasdaq was at 5,225.34 - that's up 0.23%.
And the S&P 500 was up 0.13% at 2,183.68.
Latest monthly estimates from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) suggest the economy grew by 0.3% in the three months to the end of July.
That compares with GDP growth of 0.6% in the three months to the end of June.
The think tank says the figures suggest output declined in July by 0.2%.
It adds this estimate is consistent with its latest quarterly forecast, which forecasts a contraction of 0.2% in the third quarter of this year, as a whole.
As a result, it forecasts there's an "evens chance of a technical recession between the third quarter of 2016 and the final quarter of 2017".
However, Niesr does say monthly data are volatile so it advises against relying on them too much in assessing the fundamentals of the economy.
Quote MessageWe estimate that in the three months to July the UK economy grew by 0.3%, a marked economic slowdown. The month on month profile, suggests that the third quarter has got off to a weak start, with output declining in July. Our estimates suggest that there is around an evens chance of a technical recession by the end of 2017.
James Warren, Research fellow, Niesr
Image source, Getty ImagesThe pound is trading at lows not seen since early July - before Theresa May became Prime Minister and markets were nervous about the mix of political uncertainty and an impending interest rate cut.
The fall is partly explained by this morning's weaker-than-expected manufacturing data for June, said Christ Saint of stockbroker Hagreaves Lansdown.
Sentiment towards sterling has also been knocked, he said, by comments from one of the Bank of England’s members that more monetary stimulus is likely to be needed.
The pound is 0.5% lower against the dollar at $1.2970 and is down 0.4% against the euro to €1.1709.
Image source, Getty ImagesVodafone's decision today to scrap line rental charges for UK broadband customers may have put pressure on its more established rivals to follow suit, but in reality they will have no choice but to.
In May, the Advertising Standards Authority , externaldetailed stronger rules for advertising fixed broadband price claims to avoid customers being misled.
The rules, which come into force at the end of October, mean that firms will have to:
Starbucks co-founder Zev Siegl talks about how it feels to have sold the business in 1980 before it became the world's biggest coffee shop chain.
Zev Siegl co-founded the Seattle coffee in 1971, but sold up in 1980. How does that feel?
BBC presenter Ben Thompson quizzes Anthony Browne, the chief executive of banking industry body The British Bankers' Association, on what may change following the report.
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Yet another person has come out to say that today's banking report from The Competition and Markets Authority, aimed at making retail banking more competitive, doesn't go far enough.
Treasury Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie says he's not optimistic the report's suggested remedies will work:
“The CMA is relying on the rolling out of new technology to do the heavy lifting on competition. But many customers will not have the tools or skills to do this. Customers are also – understandably – wary of the data-sharing required for this to be effective.
"The Committee has been at this issue for six years. Its recommendations, and those of the Banking Commission, were unequivocal on the need for much greater choice. We are not giving up now.”
Image source, AFPThe UK government's surprise decision to delay a decision on Hinkley Point until early autumn could threaten China's relationship with Britain, its ambassador to the UK has warned.
BBC business correspondent Simon Jack says the £18bn project, of which China is expected to fund a third, is now the "the litmus test for Anglo-China relations under the new regime at number 10".
"There may be legitimate security concerns over having sensitive infrastructure assets under Chinese management but a decision to back out will clearly take the shine off the 'golden era' of collaboration between the two countries proclaimed during Xi Jinping's state visit last year," he says.
The FTSE 100 is close to its highest level in 14 months.Currently up 0.3% at 6830.18, the index, which has gained around 9% so far this year, is just below a high reached in June 2015.
Most of today's gains have been driven by financial and insurance stocks.
The FTSE 100 is mainly made up of large, global firms, a factor which has driven its rise, says City Index analyst Fawad Razaqzada:
"Sentiment remains upbeat for global equities mainly because of the (stimulus) actions of central banks, rebounding oil prices and the mostly better-than-expected US corporate earnings results."
Image source, Getty ImagesJob listing website Monster, which was an early pioneer in e-commerce, has been bought for $429m (£330m), external.
Randstad, the world's second largest staffing company, is buying the US firm in a bid to expand its presence in America.
Monster Worldwide, a dotcom-era survivor, also owns jobs.com and made $309m in revenue in the first half of the year.
The deal strengthens Dutch firm Randstad as it looks to take on rival employment agency Adecco, and comes just weeks after Microsoft agreed to buy networking website LinkedIn for $26bn.
BBC producer Johny Cassidy tweets
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Image source, Getty ImagesMobile-phone giant Vodafone says it is scrapping line rental charges for new and upgrading home broadband customers in the UK.
The move means customers will not be billed the current £18 ($23) monthly charge, but only if they commit to an 18-month contract. Prices will start at £22 a month.
Redburn analyst Mandeep Singh says the change makes Vodafone's prices cheaper than all its rivals - at £25 a month for 38mb speeds and £28 a month for 76Mb speeds.
But BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones says it is unlikely that consumers will find they are paying much less overall.
"Shop around for a new broadband deal, and you can easily miss the fact that there's something nasty hidden beneath an attractive offer - the chunky monthly line rental fee.
"It now seems inevitable that the others will follow [Vodafone] - and that should help consumers by making the complex deals a little easier to understand.
"But the UK's broadband market is already pretty competitive compared with many across Europe."
Image source, William HillThe UK's biggest betting shop operator, William Hill, has received a takeover offer from rival gambling firms Rank and 888, according to the Financial Times, external.
William Hill said last month it had been approached by the two companies about a possible merger.
Since then a formal bid has been tabled, which values William Hill at up to £3.6bn, the FT reported.
Shares in the bookmaker have risen 2% following the report. 888 shares are 0.6% higher so far today, while Rank is 2.5% lower.
Image source, Getty ImagesThis morning's industry and trade figures give a picture of the UK's performance before the EU referendum.
But for an idea of how things have gone since the Brexit vote, we've got this handy summary on the main developments so far for the economy, and housing and jobs markets.
With the UK about to trigger Article 50, the BBC looks at how the economy has fared since June 2016.
Read More
Image source, PABank shares have been left largely unscathed by the Competition and Markets Authority's attempted "shake-up" of the industry.
Most banking shares on the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are higher as they have largely "brushed off" the report, said Jasper Lawler, an analyst at CMC Markets.
RBS shares were up over 2% before dropping back slightly, Barclays is up 1.5%, while challenger banks Aldermore, Virgin Money and Shawbrook are all currently flat.
The FTSE 100 as a whole is 0.3% higher at 6,831 points.
Image source, ReutersUK stockbroker Cenkos has been fined by the financial watchdog for its failings relating to troubled insurance group Quindell.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) hit Cenkos with a £530,000 fine, external for not doing enough research into the firm.
In particular, the broker wasn't thorough enough when it recommended Quindell, now renamed Watchstone, for a premium stock market listing, the regulator ruled.
Cenkos "failed to act in its sponsor role with the level of diligence and professional care that the FCA expects", the watchdog said.