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Usdaw, the shop workers' trade union, cautiously welcomed the BHS pension settlement with Sir Philip Green .

General secretary John Hannett said: "We are pleased that Sir Philip has finally put his hand in his pocket, having promised to 'sort' the pension scheme last June. It is difficult to understand why this saga has been allowed to drag on for so long.

"Whilst the details are still not clear, we sincerely hope that this settlement does provide the BHS pensioners with a better deal than they would have got through the Pension Protection Fund."

He added: "Through no fault of their own, 11,000 loyal BHS staff lost their jobs after people at the top of the business seemingly played a wild game of monopoly with their livelihoods."

The pension settlement for former BHS staff is a positive outcome but Nathan Long, senior pension analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says there are still some challenges.

He said: "It appears members will have to elect to transfer to the new scheme to get the better benefits. Many will elect to do this, but the challenge is contacting all the former employees many of whom may have changed address and be hard to track down."

There are 19,000 members of the BHS pension schemes.

Mr Long adds: "Whilst this is a positive outcome for BHS Pension members who were otherwise headed into the PPF, there remains unanswered questions about the role of the Pension Regulator when it comes to mergers and acquisitions.’

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Iain Wright, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said: "The news that Sir Philip Green may be paying up to £363m is welcome and goes some way toward righting the failures and greed that we saw during the entire BHS saga.

"I'm pleased that the cross-party committees worked together and kept the pressure on Sir Philip Green for him to "sort it", as he promised. The 20,000 BHS pensioners should find themselves at least no worse off as a result of the collapse of this iconic British store.”

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The Pension Protection Fund, which provides a safety net for members of pension schemes when an employer goes bust, also commented on the BHS pension scheme settlement .

Chief executive Alan Rubenstein said: "This settlement for the BHS pension schemes, agreed between Sir Philip, the Pension Regulator (TPR) and the trustees, with the involvement of the PPF, relieves the PPF’s levy payers of the cost of meeting the initially reported shortfall."

He added: “TPR will be monitoring the new scheme and members will be protected by the PPF.”

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Traders appeared to take a wait and see approach to US stocks today as President Donald Trump prepared to give his first speech to Congress.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 6.63 points to 20,830. The Nasdaq fell 17.13 points to 5,844.77 and the S&P 500 edged 3.5 points lower at 2,366.18.

On Monday, Mr Trump said the Government would increase military spending by 10% as part of his budget for 2018.

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The Pension Regulator said today that BHS pension scheme members now have three options following the £363m settlement with former owner Sir Philip Green.

They can:

1) Transfer to the new independent pension scheme which will give them the same starting pension that was offered under the original BHS scheme. 

2) Opt to take a lump sum if they have a small pension pot of up to  £18,000 in total value.

3) Remain with their current scheme which is currently being assessed by the Pension Protection Fund.

The Pension Regulator said members will soon have access to a helpline to help them understand the options.

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Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee and a vocal critic of former BHS owner Sir Philip Green, said: "I very much welcome this out-of-court settlement which is an important milestone in gaining the justice for BHS pensioners and former workers that we have been pushing for since beginning our inquiry into the downfall of BHS.”

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The BHS pension trustees said today's deal with the company's former owner, Sir Philip Green, "gives members the opportunity to improve the benefits payable compared with the current Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levels of compensation".

Chris Martin, chair of the BHS pension trustees said: “The Pension Protection Fund has done an excellent job in providing a safety net for members, giving them certainty of pension income since the insolvency of BHS. We have however now reached a final deal which provides long-term certainty combined with the option of improved benefits for members."

He said: “The injection of cash from Sir Philip puts the new scheme on a stable footing. The trustees have carefully considered all aspects of the deal and we are confident that this is a robust scheme that delivers improved and sustainable benefits.

He added: "I want to thank Sir Philip, the Pensions Regulator and PPF for their efforts over the last year and am pleased that this agreement delivers for all members."

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In a statement Sir Philip Green said: " The settlement follows lengthy, complex discussions with the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund, both of which are satisfied with the solution that has been offered. To achieve a significantly better outcome than entering the PPF, the contribution required to achieve this long-term solution was arrived at by the actuaries for both the regulator and the trustees."

He added: "Once again I would like to apologise to the BHS pensioners for this last year of uncertainty, which was clearly never the intention when the business was sold in March 2015.

"I am also happy to confirm that any of the pensioners that have faced cuts over the last year will now be brought back to their original BHS starting level pension and will all be made whole.

"I hope that this solution puts their minds at rest and closes this sorry chapter for them.”

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Lesley Titcomb, chief executive of the Pensions Regulator, said: "The agreement we have reached with Sir Philip Green represents a strong outcome for the members of the BHS pension schemes. It takes account of the interests of both pensioners and the PPF, and brings a welcome level of certainty to present and future pensioners.

“Throughout our discussions with Sir Philip and his team, we have always been clear that we were determined to achieve the right outcome for members of the schemes both in terms of the amount and the structure of the settlement.”

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Sir Philip Green has agreed to provide funding of up to £363m into a new independent pension scheme for the 19,000 members of BHS's two pension schemes.

The trustees of both BHS schemes have backed the arrangement and it means the Pensions Regulator has closed its enforcement action against Sir Philip. 

The Pensions Regulator has agreed a cash settlement worth up to £363m with Sir Philip Green, ending a long-running row over the BHS pension scheme.

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The US economy will continue to experience slow and steady economic growth, according to Nancy Curtin, chief investment officer at Close Brothers Asset Management, helped by consumer spending.

Ms Curtin said: "Robust growth is paving the way for interest rate rises if employment and inflation remain on track.

"However, it is fiscal rather than monetary policy that is likely to be the star of the show in 2017. President Trump has promised a change in fiscal policy, with tax cuts likely to form a central pillar of his long-term plans. If successful, it could provide the fiscal boost needed to see economic growth move up a gear, supporting the case for further interest rate normalisation.”

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US GDP growth remained at 1.9% in the fourth quarter.

The second reading of America's economic output revealed that consumer spending rose at a faster rate between October and December.

However, expenditure by state and local government shrank as did business equipment purchases.

Growth for the year as a whole was 1.6%. US President Donald Trump has promised GDP will expand by 4% under his administration. 

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Ryanair is moving into Lufthansa's personal space in Frankfurt.

This summer the Irish carrier will - for the first time - be flying from the main airport in Frankfurt rather than Frankfurt-Hahn, the hub 75 miles away.

Ryanair says it's planning to offer 20 new routes from Frankfurt to "sexy" destinations across Europe next winter. So where's that exactly?

Apparently Rome, London and Madrid are floating Michael O'Leary's boat. Ryanair's adding flights to those cities as well as some sunnier destinations. 

And while he's there Ryanair's chief executive is sharing his views on Brexit. It's no secret that he thinks it's a bad idea. 

He says ministers in London "don't have an idea" when it comes to the changes to air travel rules it will entail adding "You can't re-regulate this industry" without causing massive disruption.

Technology correspondent Rory-Cellan Jones tweets from Barcelona, which is hosting the Mobile World Congress.

Boris Johnson has denied that leaving the Single Market would be "the biggest single protectionist act in the UK's history" - a claim made by former chancellor George Osborne earlier.

The Foreign Secretary told the BCC conference the UK had a "great opportunity" to once again be the world's leading "agitator for free trade".

"It is our strong, strong view that a global Britain.... campaigning for a global open world, is the way forward," he said.

Boris Johnson says that on a recent visit to a school in the Punjab region of Pakiston he asked school children who their favourite author was.

Any guesses?

JK Rowling of course.

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Nissan may have to "adjust" its operations in the UK, depending on the outcome of Brexit negotiations, senior vice-president Colin Lawther has told MPs.

Last October, the car giant said it would continue building certain models in Sunderland after receiving government assurances that Brexit would not affect its competitiveness.

But it has since said it would "re-evaluate" its position once Brexit was finalised. 

Echoing this, Mr Lawther told the House of Commons International Trade Committee: "At the moment we have got a set of circumstances we are happy with.

"But if anything materially changes, we would review constantly."

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is speaking at the BCC conference: He said: 

"We can be that great free trading nation again, and we can be ever more internationalist, indeed we can ever more European, but we can change our relationship with the EU from one of membership to one of friendship and partnership."