That is all from the Business live page for today. Join us again at 6am on Tuesday.  

Image source, Reuters

Another analyst, another view.

Richard Tullo at Albert Fried reckons the rumoured tie-up between Walt Disney and Twitter looks a bad idea.

"On the surface a deal makes no sense," he said in an email to clients.

But he added: "But if you think streaming video is potentially disruptive to live sports then there is a strategic case to be made."

Disney investors have done less well out of the rumour than Twitter's, whose shares have climbed 3.22%.

Walt Disney shares are down 1.43%.

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Microsoft may also be interested in buying Twitter, according to CNBC, external.

However its source is "a source". 

But the news site has definitely ruled out Facebook making a bid. 

"According to sources familiar with the matter Facebook is unlikely to have interest in buying the social network," it says.

Who next is likely to be reported as throwing their hat into the ring?

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Basketball team The Philadelphia 76ers has become the first North American traditional sports franchise to move into electronic games.

It's snapped up both Team Dignitas and Apex Gaming e-sports businesses, reports The Rift Herald, external.

“The attractiveness of this deal is as much about the people as it is the opportunity,” said Philadelphia 76ers chief Scott O’Neil. 

“Bringing together gaming industry luminaries including Greg Richardson, Michael O’Dell and David and Michael Slan puts us on track to build the most respected and dominant franchise in the eSports space."

Image source, Reuters

US Treasury debt prices are climbing as investors seek the safety of government bonds, Reuters reports.

Investors are frightened by falling equities across the world, led by financials on continuing bad news from Deutsche Bank.

The German bank's $14bn demand from the US Department of Justice to settle a mortgage mis-selling case has helped dragged its shares to record lows. 

Debt prices also climbed ahead of the first US presidential debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, analysts said.

Image source, Getty Images

There's sense in a Twitter sale to Walt Disney, according to TechCrunch, external.

It says that Disney, which owns media properties like ESPN and ABC, is hoping that the social media platform could amplify their reach. 

"Twitter has also been dabbling in content partnerships, including one with the NFL. 

"Successful implementation of these partnerships could also prove to be beneficial to a media conglomerate like Disney," the report says.

Meanwhile, James Cakmak, an analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt & Co, told Bloomberg: “It’s a video distribution play.

"What Disney has to think about is what is its place in a post cord-cutting world. 

They are investing in technology for distribution - and this would give them the platform to reach audiences around the world.”

Image source, Reuters

Embraer, the Brazilian plane manufacturer will cut nearly 8% of its workforce through a voluntary redundancy plan, says Reuters.

And in Germany, Commerzbank - the country's second biggest lender - is planning to cut about 9,000 jobs over the next few years as part of a restructuring plan. 

That's according to the newspaper Handelsblatt.

Image source, Reuters

Brexit will be more difficult for the rest of Europe than it will for Britain, reckons the boss of German media giant Axel Springer.

Mathias Döpfner said Britain was bound to experience short-term pain as a consequence of its vote to quit the EU, “but in three to five years from now, my bet would be that England will be better off than continental Europe”.

He told The Financial Times, external that Britain would move towards a “more free market-oriented model, while Europe is step by step transforming into a transfer union” where financially successful countries prop up struggling ones.

Image source, Getty Images

More fuel for those speculating on a Twitter-Disney tie up: Twitter's chief executive officer Jack Dorsey is also on the board of Disney.

The notion of a sale to Walt Disney seems to be popular with investors: Twitter's shares have climbed 0.84%, following Friday's 21% leap when rumours of a Twitter sale first appeared. 

Reality Check verdict: Adjusting cost of living calculations for inflation means that you can get to £10 an hour by the scheduled time of the next election, but there may be an impact on jobs. 

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Alton Towers operator Merlin was at fault for the Smiler rollercoaster crash, a court has heard.

Two teenagers were left needing leg amputations, while several others were also seriously injured in the crash on 2 June last year.

An investigation found human error caused the crash, which saw a carriage smash into an empty car.

Operator Merlin Attractions has been warned to expect a "very large fine" for health and safety breaches.

Full story...

Image source, AP Photo/Disney Home Entertainment

Walt Disney is the latest name to be linked with a bid for Twitter, this time according to Bloomberg, external.

The business news site suggests that the entertainment giant is working with a financial adviser to evaluate a possible bid for Twitter, "according to people familiar with the matter".

Disney is famous for its theme parks and movies, which have included some wonderful tunes such as "Let's Go Fly A Kite", featured in the 60s film Mary Poppins.

Image source, EPA

There seems to be a lot of it about - alleged financial fraud that is - among international big-wigs.

A former IMF chief, Rodrigo Rato, and 64 other bankers have gone on trial in Madrid over an alleged credit card racket at Spain's troubled Bankia bank.  

Read all about it here.

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Live Page reader Dan writes: "If any business cannot afford to pay its employees a ‘living’ wage, then it is perhaps not really a viable business."

"At present, a large number of people have to have their income topped-up by the government via mechanisms such as tax credits, etc.

Why not change the system such that:

• All employees get a ‘living’ wage (and then perhaps depend rather less on applying for “tax credits”)
• Those businesses which claim that they cannot afford these wages have to negotiate (showing why they need this) with the tax authorities with a view to obtaining some sort of ‘business tax credit’?"

Image source, Reuters

The proposals from Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell has attracted more attention from Live Page readers.

Roger Wood asks: "Why do Labour feel workers in the UK will need £10 per hour minimum wage when currently Germany's minimum wage is only 8.50 euros (approx. £7.40 ) and large groups are exempt from the minimum wage?"

"I can think of many businesses, especially small ones and the service industries, where there will be bankrupts and reductions in staff, less profits so less taxes collected, fewer staff employed and less creation of jobs." 

And John Urwin adds: "So Labour wish to burden every business with £10 per hour but no relief for hiring, no productivity goals, just an unsupported ambiguous statement that the media will offer to the public."

Image source, Julia Quenzler

There have been some spicy claims at the HBOS trial which started today at Southwark Crown Court.

Six people are accused of fraud and corruption involving a department of the Halifax Bank of Scotland.

The court was told that the six were involved in a racket led by another man, Lynden Scourfield, the former head of the HBOS "impaired assets" division in Reading.

Prosecutors alleged that Scourfield received "huge rewards" including cash, gifts, luxurious holidays and sex with "high class escorts" in return for persuading struggling businesses to employ a favoured firm of "turnaround" consultants".

Full story here...

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Fed up Wells Fargo workers tell CNN Money, external that whistleblowers were retaliated against.

The US' biggest bank was earlier this month fined $185m for illegally opening accounts to boost sales targets. 

But workers claim they were targeted if they raised concerns about the issue.

"They ruined my life," Bill Bado, a former Wells Fargo banker in Pennsylvania, told CNN Money.

He said he called an ethics hotline and sent an email to human resources in September 2013, flagging unethical sales activities he was being instructed to do.

Eight days after that email Mr Bado was terminated, he said. The reason? Tardiness, according to the report.

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The pound fell to a five week low against the euro.

It slipped 0.33% to €1.151, getting ever-closer to its post-Brexit low of €1.146, which it hit in interday trading in August.

Sterling also traded close to a five week low against the dollar, at $1.2985.

"We're just three months past the June Brexit vote, and the  pound is sitting awfully close to its post-Brexit lows," said DailyFX currency analyst Christopher Vecchio.

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The FTSE 100 closed down 1.32% today, falling 91 points to 6818.04.

Hotel group InterContinental was the biggest faller, down 5.69% on the day after broker Morgan Stanley cut its recommendation on US worries.

Pearson fell 4.22%, continuing last week's downward trend, while builders Barrett Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon all fell more than 4%.