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Ouch. The pound is now down 0.6% at $1.2290. 

Some traders cited a Financial Times report that Russian bank VTB may move its European hub to Frankfurt, Paris or Vienna as having added to worries of financial sector cutbacks in London due to Brexit.

Tobias Davis, head of corporate treasury sales at Western Union in London, said: "There is nothing to go on on the data front today, but concerns surrounding our ever-increasing current account deficit have reignited discussion around the widespread impact such a hole can create. Liquidity is also a cause for concern as present." 

A spot of corporate news closer to home for a moment. Profits at recruitment firm PageGroup have been hit by Brexit, with financial services bearing the brunt of the pain. 

The group said that UK profits fell 4.7% to £37.8m in the third quarter, with financial services profit falling 14%. Chief executive Steve Ingham said: "In the UK, confidence levels remained fragile and below levels seen earlier in the year."

However, PageGroup said it will be boosted by the collapse in sterling, which will add £45m to gross profits and £10m to operating profits over the full year. The company, formerly known as Michael Page International, said technology was its best-performing sector in the UK, with growth of 22%. 

Globally, profits rose 1.3% to £158.6m, driven by a strong performance in Europe. 

Shares are up 3.9% at 362.5p.

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The Galaxy Note 7 recall could cost Samsung as much as $17bn after it stopped selling the $882 smartphone for a second time. 

"In the worst case scenario, the US could conclude the product is fundamentally flawed and ban sales of the device," said Song Myung-sub, an analyst at HI Investment Securities. 

If Samsung stops selling the Note 7s, that would translate into as many as 19 million lost sales worth about $17bn that the firm was expected to generate during the Note 7's product cycle, according to analysts including those at Credit Suisse. That's a big increase from $5bn in missed sales and recall costs analysts initially expected Samsung to incur. 

"This has probably killed the Note 7 brand name," said Edward Snyder, managing director of Charter Equity Research. "By the time they fix the problem they have to go through recertification and requalification and by the time that happens, they're going up against the [Galaxy] S8 launch." 

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The FTSE 100 has opened fractionally down at 7,092.27 - that's a fall of 5 points or 0.07%.

Business presenter Ben Thompson tweets:

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More on Samsung halting sales of its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.

Ben Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies in California, tells 5 Live Breakfast that Samsung's competitors stand to gain from its woes.  

"From Google's perspective the timing couldn't have worked out better for them in that they're essentially trying to compete now in the premium sector against the likes of Apple and Samsung. Now with this issue around Samsung and perhaps I guess some questions and stigma around the brand, the product itself, could certainly help Google out," he says. 

"But I think Apple's definitely the biggest beneficiary from here. If there were people on the fence about whether or not to get an iPhone 7 Plus, for example, which is in kind of in the same size range as the Note 7, that was one of the things that we think is benefitting Apple the most, just because that's a competitive product and its and established brand," Mr Bajarin adds. 

Evening Standard business reporter Jamie Nimmo tweets:

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The South Korean finance minister said Samsung's deepening crisis over its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone would hurt exports if the device is scrapped altogether. 

"Right now we can't tell what the impact will be in the long term. It's up to the company and the government cannot interfere," Yoo Il-ho said. "But if they do scrap the model, it will have a negative impact on exports." 

Samsung Electronics halted sales of the Note 7 smartphones earlier in the day and told owners to stop using them while it investigates reports of fires, fuelling expectations the tech giant will scrap the flagship device.  

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Not a great morning for sterling thus far - the pound is down 0.35% at $1.2320. 

Marc Chandler, head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, said: "Economic data does not help very much to explain sterling's movement. The fact of the matter is that the UK has fared well in the three and half months since the referendum. 

"The depreciation of sterling will have an impact on the UK current account balance. It will be reduced, but do not be surprised if it comes from reduced volume of imports as much as an increase in value of exports." 

Ben Morris
Business reporter

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Pure Gym has abandoned, external its plan to sell shares on the stock exchange. It's a pretty quick change of heart as the company only announced plans to list back on 14 September.

Pure Gym blamed "challenging" conditions in the market for newly listed shares.

The chain has 163 gyms, including 40 within the M25, and more than 780,000 members who pay about £20 a month.  

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It's Ireland's Budget today and there'll be plenty of talk of measures to "Brexit-proof" the economy from the knock-on effects of its key trading partner leaving the European Union. After all, there are significant worries about the impact of a hard Brexit on a soft border. 

Joe Tynan of PwC's Ireland tax team, tells Wake up to Money it will be a "real challenge" to Brexit-proof the Budget.  

"Because of Brexit the country's going to be a lot more cautious in its growth forecasts so our growth forecasts have recently been reduced from just over 4% to below 4% and next year we're looking at about 3.5%. They're going to restrict spending and perhaps restrict some of the tax cuts that they would have given," he says.

"Secondly, they'll be very careful about things like excise duties because we share a soft border with the UK and there's a very significant amount of cross-border trade so they won't want to do anything that's going to exacerbate the change that's happened with the currency.

"And thirdly I think they'll look to do something for exporters, something perhaps around maybe export credit insurance to try and help them adjust to the pretty significant exchange rate movements that we've seen in the last few weeks," Mr Tynan adds. 

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China's quality watchdog said Samsung Electronics would recall all 190,984 Galaxy Note 7 phones that it has sold in the mainland. 

The latest recall in China includes the 1,858 early-release Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that the watchdog ordered to be recalled on 14 September.    

Earlier on Tuesday Samsung halted sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones and told owners to stop using them while it investigates reports of fires. The move has raised expectations the company will scrap the device altogether. 

Technology journalist Charles Arthur tweets:

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After closing at 7,097 points yesterday, the FTSE 100 could set a new record today, says Michelle McGrade of TD Direct Investing. Why? A falling sterling is good for many of the companies listed on the blue-chip index because they make 70% of their profits outside the UK. 

She points out that the FTSE 100 was just under the 7,000 point level back in the days of the technology boom some 16 years ago, meaning it has "done nothing" over that period.

However, the FTSE All-Share - which include those on the 250 index and other smaller firms - it is much higher. "It's been a great place to invest," Ms McGrade notes. 

Lower sterling is creating some problems for small and mid-size firms, though, particularly those that mainly source abroad.   

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Michelle McGrade, chief investment officer at TD Direct Investing, tells Today that Apple has said nothing about the problems Samsung is facing, but then again, it doesn't have to.

The US firm is likely to benefit, she says, and its shares have jumped 20% over the past three months in response to its arch rival's woes.

"The Apple share price was doing nothing for over a year - it was considered ex-growth - now it's possibly the only game in town when it comes to buying a mobile phone," Ms McGrade adds. 

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More on that legal battle between Apple and Samsung: the US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over financial damages the South Korean company owes Apple for allegedly violating design patents by producing copycats of the iPhone. 

Observers are watching the case closely to see how the court - which has not taken up a design patent case in more than a century - tips the balance between technological innovation and protecting intellectual property. A ruling is expected in several months. 

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a $400m verdict that found Samsung had copied the iPhone's distinctive front screen and touchscreen user interface. Apple had protected those features with US design patents that concern the way items look. They are distinct from utility patents, which protect how articles are used and work, and do not concern copyrights or trademarks.

Samsung is challenging the verdict, disputing how damages are calculated in design patent cases.     

Image source, AFP

Also in terms of markets, all eyes were on Samsung this morning. Stocks in the world's biggest smartphone maker fell by more than 6%, they've been on a steady downward slope since the open in Seoul. 

South Korea's Kospi index is down by 0.9%. 

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is up by 0.9% while Takata shares have crashed by 8% on reports the company faces bankruptcy in the US. 

In China, the Shanghai Composite is up by 0.3% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng is down by 1.3%

Australia's ASX 200 is currently flat. 

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Spending by foreign tourists has jumped by £800m in the past year - that's about 4%, taking the total to £22bn. According to the government agency Visit Britain, China has become a key market, with its citizens making a record number of visits.

Rebecca Clay from the Roman Baths in Bath is on Wake up to Money. 

The attraction measures numbers of Mandarin speaking visitors by counting the number of audio guides which are hired. 

Last year was a record-breaking year with 84,000 Mandarin speakers visiting the Baths, against just 12,800 in 2005. Numbers are up again this year.  

 "It's a really big market for us," she confirms. 

Samsung Electronics is likely to stop permanently stop selling its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones following the latest halt of sales and production, South Korea's Hankyoreh newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources. 

The paper said Samsung would likely seek to make up for lost Note 7 sales through its Galaxy S7 models as well as the Note 5, which was the 2015 predecessor for the Note 7. 

Samsung did not immediately comment on the report.