Summary

  • US says Airbus subsidies cost it billions in lost trade

  • FTSE races ahead as US keeps rates on hold

  • Three former Tesco executives appear in court

  • Korean Air Lines confirms Hanjin Shipping loan

  1. Getting stories...published at 21:30 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    BBC business reporter Jamie Robertson - signing off

    Been a busy afternoon getting business stories: Airbus getting a beating from the WTO, Yahoo getting hacked, the Brazilian former foreign minister getting arrested and the FTSE getting close to 7,000 - oh,and Jack Lew getting upset about the EU taxing what he thinks the US ought to be getting. Anyway I'm getting tired - what's more I meant to be getting in at 6 am tomorrow for Business Live on the News Channel. So - I'm. well, I'm getting out of here....

  2. Not that we're in a hurry or anything...published at 21:28 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Martin SchulzImage source, G

    Another EU politician, another prod for Britain. Martin Schulz, the European Parliament says it's important to finish Brexit negotiations before European elections, which are scheduled for mid-2019.

    If it takes two years from invoking Article 50 to complete negotiations, and as we haven't got close to invoking anything so far - Mr Shulz looks unlikely to get what he wants. But he has a point. It would be a bit odd voting in a raft of Members of the European Parliament - just before we leave. 

  3. German politicians worry over Deutsche Bankpublished at 21:26 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Deutsche Bank head officeImage source, Reuters

    German politicians are growing increasingly concerned about Deutsche Bank’s finances, according to Bloomberg, external.

    The bank has been weakened by low profitability and mounting legal costs, and could be facing a $14bn fine in the US over mortgage problems.

    At a private session of Social Democratic finance lawmakers this week, Deutsche Bank’s woes came up alongside a debate over Basel financial rules, according to the financial news website.

  4. Was BP disaster compensation misspent?published at 21:24 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Deepwater Horizon rig on fireImage source, AFP

    Some of the millions of dollars in compensation that BP gave to Louisiana after the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster has been misspent, according to an Associated Press report.

    The news agency says it has seen an auditor's report claiming that the state spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on unnecessary iPads, cameras, boats and fishing equipment (some of which has now gone missing).

    The BP money was intended for a safety programme to ensure that fish catches were fit to eat. The fatal oil rig explosion led to the US's worst environmental disaster.

    Citing the report, AP said the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office found "insufficient sampling of fish for contamination from the oil spill, excessive costs and missing property''.

  5. Offshore tax comes onshorepublished at 21:15 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Santorini and swimming poolImage source, G

    Greece is basking in the afterglow of a good tourist season. Now autumn is here the Greek revenue authority is counting up how much it's made, and to everyone's astonishment, revenues from sales tax are up 10%. 

    And it's the islands that have been raking in the cash. Overall, revenue from the main tourist islands increased by 62.3%. Mykonos's tax take rocketed 170%, Rhodes' went up over 165% percent and Santorini's rose 114%. 

    There is a reason for all this. Amidst howls of protest the government last year scrapped tax breaks for the top tourist islands, and this year increased the maximum sales tax, and introduced a temporary shutdown for businesses caught evading tax. 

  6. US markets rise for third daypublished at 21:13 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Wall StImage source, Getty Images

    All of the three main US stock market indices rose for the third day in a row. 

    The central bank, the Fed, provided the main catalyst for the upbeat mood by holding off from raising interest rates on Wednesday. 

    But the Labor Department also surprised everyone by saying that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to a two-month low. The benefits claimant count has kept below 300,000 for 81 weeks, which is generally considered to be a sign of pretty robust growth.

    Boeing was one of the top gainers, up over 1% after the WTO gave its rival Airbus a lashing over its subsidies record.

    The Dow jumped 98.76 points (0.54%) to 18,392.46, the S&P 500 gained 14.06 points,(0.65%) to 2,177.18 and the Nasdaq Composite added 44.34 points(0.84%), to 5339.52.

  7. Brazil's ex-Finance Minister releasedpublished at 20:54 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Guido MantegaImage source, Getty Images

    The former finance minister of Brazil has been freed hours after being arrested while his wife has cancer surgery. 

    According to his attorney, Guido Mantega had actually been arrested at a hospital in Sao Paulo where he had gone to accompany his wife while she underwent an operation. 

    The arrest is part of the investigation into alleged overpricing in the construction of oil platforms at state-run oil giant Petrobras.

  8. Lew: hands off Apple's taxespublished at 20:25 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Jack LewImage source, Getty Images

    US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has told the BBC that it is unacceptable for the European Union to grab revenue intended for US coffers with the Apple ruling.

    You'll remember (who could forget) the world's biggest company was ordered to pay $14bn in back taxes, after the EU decided its sweetheart deal with Ireland amounted to illegal state aid.

    Lew told the BBC's Michelle Fleury: "Taking taxes that should be collected in the United States causes deep, deep concerns here."

  9. Yahoo data hackpublished at 20:20 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Eye with Yahoo reflectedImage source, Gett

    Yahoo says information associated with at least 500 million user accounts was stolen from its network in 2014 by what it believed was a "state-sponsored actor." 

    It says it can't find any evidence that the "actor" is still in any of its networks. It's notifying potentially affected users and has taken steps to secure their accounts, but it adds that it "is also recommending that users who haven't changed their passwords since 2014 do so". 

    The company says the data stolen may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth and hashed passwords, but may not have included unprotected passwords, payment card data or bank account information. It said it was working with law enforcement on the matter. 

  10. Carney on climate-changepublished at 19:46 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Mark CarneyImage source, PA

    Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has backed green finance saying it is an opportunity to boost financial stability while also tackling climate change.  

    Speaking, external at the Arthur Burns Memorial Lecture in Berlin, he urged policy makers to make early, predictable moves towards climate-friendly reform.

    But he warned that a premature move towards a climate-friendly, low-carbon economy could "materially damage financial stability".

    He warned "too rapid a movement" towards climate-friendly reforms could catch markets unprepared.

    "Sudden changes in policy, technology and physical risks could prompt a reassessment of asset values as costs and opportunities become apparent," he said.      

  11. Wells Fargo accused of breaking labour lawspublished at 19:25 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    A Wells Fargo Bank branchImage source, AP

    More woes for the US' biggest bank.

    A group of US senators has asked the country’s Labor Department to investigate accusations that Wells Fargo Bank violated wage and hour laws.

    Eight senators have asked for a probe into whether the bank failed to pay overtime to tellers and sales representatives who worked late to meet sales quotas.

    Earlier this month Wells Fargo was fined $185m for illegally opening accounts to boost sales targets.

    Bank workers had signed up customers for more than 2 million deposit and credit-card accounts without their knowledge, according to US regulators.

  12. Barclays hit by record-keeping settlementpublished at 19:08 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Barclays logoImage source, PA

    The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has forced Barclays Bank to pay a $500,000 settlement over charges of record-keeping deficiencies, reports Reuters.

    As part of the settlement, which covered record keeping for trades over a three-year period ending in October 2012, Barclays is required to cease and desist from committing further violations of relevant CFTC regulations.

  13. FTSE heading towards 7,000 barrier again?published at 18:54 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Stock market chartsImage source, PA

    The  FTSE 100 index closed today at 6,911.40, a climb of 1.1%. That put it close to its year peak of 6,955 which it reached in August. That in turn was its highest level in more than a year.

    Will the index push past the 7,000 barrier again? It last did so in late April 2015.

  14. Boeing Airbus verbal dog-fight over... an egg?published at 18:44 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    The 777X aircraftImage source, Getty Images

    Airbus and Boeing have always found it hard to be polite to each other when the word subsidy is mentioned. Now the WTO has ruled that the EU has been subsidising Airbus to the tune of billions over decades, the gloves, which were barely on anyway, have well and truly come off.

    Airbus has now accused Boeing of using "abusive and illegal subsidies", in particular for its new 777X aircraft. 

    It chose a curious metaphor to explain why: "Boeing ... has laid the biggest egg in subsidy history with what is expected to be the very first finding in any of our cases of a prohibited subsidy for 777X.”

  15. Airbus to appeal WTO rulingpublished at 18:29 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Airbus A350Image source, Getty Images

    Airbus' latest comments of the WTO ruling. A spokeswoman told the BBC: “We only needed to make limited changes in European policies and practices to comply with the [WTO] report. 

    "We did what we needed to do and did it in the agreed time frame. We will address the few still remaining points indicated by the report in our appeal. As a point of fact Airbus and its European partners met their obligations to withdraw any subsidy elements or eliminate adverse effects. 

    "The only open point is final ruling on the interest rate benchmark for the government loans. We are confident that we will win that point on appeal.”

  16. BHS pension: 'Plenty of meetings'published at 17:59 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    BBC Radio 5 live

    More from Baroness Karren Brady's 5live interview. 

    Arcadia boss Sir Philip Green has been accused of dragging his feet over helping to plug the hole in the BHS pension scheme.

    But Baroness Brady, who sits on the board of Arcadia's owner Taveta Investments, said: “It's a voluntary contribution they are asking the board to make, and I think the board very much want to make that contribution. 

    "We will have to wait and see what the outcome is but I can assure you there's plenty of meetings and plenty of discussions and the hope is that the matter gets resolved.”

  17. Airbus - the numberspublished at 17:21 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    airbus and Boeing flagImage source, Getty Images

    More details on EU subsidies to Airbus. The WTO says they were worth $22bn, including $4bn for the A350. European industry officials say the figures are way out of line. US Trade Representative Michael Froman says it's all cost U.S. workers tens of billions of dollars in lost exports.

    Don't imagine it's all over yet. Airbus says it's considering an appeal. The whole investigation is some three years behind schedule. It could take take months or years to sort it all out.

  18. FTSE races aheadpublished at 17:17 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Trader at deskImage source, Getty Images

    America called the tune on the market today. The Federal Reserve's decision not to raise interest rates on Wednesday gave stocks round the world a healthy upwards shove. 

    The London stock market came close to its highest level for the year ending up 1.1% at 6,911.40. 

    Lower interest rates in the US are good for commodity prices - oil prices moved up about 2%, Metals prices rose too, all helping the big mining stocks like Glencore and Fresnillo which were the best performing stocks on the FTSE 100

  19. This could get expensive...published at 16:47 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    Boeing now says that since the EU has been subsidising Airbus, it's time for the US to levy retaliatory duties of up to $10 billion against the EU. Boeing's statement reads: "The next step for the US government is to obtain WTO authorization to impose billions in retaliatory duties."

  20. EU: WTO ruling 'unsatisfactory'published at 16:36 British Summer Time 22 September 2016

    The EU Commission, unsurprisingly, does not see eye to eye with the World Trade Organisation on the question of Airbus subsidies. The WTO says the EU subsidised Airbus to the tune of billions over decades. The EU says: "There are certain findings of the panel that we consider to be unsatisfactory."