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National Lottery operator Camelot is to conduct an in-depth review of its strategy following an 8.8% drop in ticket sales.

Camelot said total ticket sales fell to £6.9bn for 2016/17 from a record £7.5bn the previous year.

Total returns to good causes were lower than the previous year, mainly because of a "disappointing" performance across the National Lottery's range of draw-based games - especially on Lotto.

EuroMillions also had a soft first six months in 2016/17 but its performance improved significantly over the second half.

Although the latest results reflected Camelot's fourth highest yearly sales, the company is facing increased competition from secondary lottery products such as Lottoland.

The cost of playing EuroMillions increased by 50p to £2.50 a line and players had to choose from an extra number under changes introduced in September that decreased the odds of winning the jackpot but promised bigger prizes and double the number of UK millionaires.

Changes to the Lotto draw in 2015 saw the number of balls increase from 49 to 59 and the chance of winning the jackpot decrease from one in 14 million to one in 45 million.

The strategy review will focus on four key business areas: commercial plans to boost sales performance, investment in technology and systems, the current business structure, and long-term succession.

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The British aerospace industry has rejected Theresa May's Brexit mantra of "no deal is better than a bad deal".

In a further sign that business lobby groups feel more emboldened since the Conservative Party lost its majority last week, trade body ADS warned that "no deal is the worst outcome for the UK".

ADS, which represents the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors, added that since the "political context" has changed, a fresh approach to Brexit is needed for the £31.8bn sector.

Chief executive Paul Everitt said: "The political context in the UK and elsewhere in Europe has changed.

"Last week, the country signalled it wanted a more collaborative approach. The Government needs to build a strong consensus on the priorities and options for a successful Brexit.

"No deal is the worst outcome for the UK and Europe. Finding the best agreement will require compromise and pragmatic decisions by the UK and its European partners."

BBC media editor Amol Rajan tweets:

London's index of leading shares looks to be going into reverse. Most of the gains made during the morning have been lost, with the FTSE 100 up just 0.06% at 7,504.6 points.

The FTSE 250 has fared better. It has been broadly about 0.7% higher for the past few hours.

Egypt has scrapped currency controls in a bid to lure back foreign investment.

The central bank had a $100,000 limit on individual bank transactions that was imposed in 2011 after the political uprising.

"This decision comes as the central bank continues to take steps in the framework of economic reform which it began to implement last year, and in order to strengthen confidence in the Egyptian economy," a central bank statement said.

US stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones hitting a record intraday high as technology stocks rose.

The rise comes ahead of what many analysts believe will be an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve later today.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 19.35 points, or 0.09%, at 21,347.8, the S&P 500 was up 3.14 points, or 0.12%, at 2,443.5 and the Nasdaq was fractionally higher at 6,226.9.

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Oil prices fell on Wednesday after reports showed global supply was rising and US crude inventories were still increasing, raising concerns the market could stay oversupplied for longer than expected.

Brent crude oil fell by 28 cents to $48.44 a barrel, while US crude futures were down 29 cents on the day at $46.17.

Crude prices have fallen more than 10% since late May, pulled down by heavy global oversupply that has persisted despite a move led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to curb production.

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A falling in petrol prices pushed US consumer prices lower in May, the Labor Department has reported.

The Consumer Price Index, which tracks changes in the cost of household goods and services, fell 0.1% compared to April.

The news comes just hours before the Federal Reserve finishes its two-day monetary policy meeting and is widely expected to increase interest rates, despite weak inflation and tepid wage growth.

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Spain's dock workers have started a two-day nationwide strike, stepping up a months-long fight to preserve their jobs after the adoption of an EU-triggered reform they say puts them at risk.

The stoppage risks impacting the economy of a country in which more than 60% of exports pass through its main ports, particularly in the food and auto sectors, which are key engines for growth.

The new decree deregulates the hiring of dock workers to load and unload ships in Spain at the request of the EU, which ruled that Madrid must reform the sector or face sanctions.

All 6,150 dockers around Spain are on strike, bar those who will ensure a minimum service for activities deemed essential, a spokeswoman for their main CETM union told AFP.

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US retailers in May reported the biggest decline in sales in 16 months, largely because of lower petrol prices and fewer Americans buying new cars and trucks.

Sales fell 0.3%, the biggest drop since January 2016, after rising 0.4% in April.

The only ray of light was online, as sales jumped 0.8%, although traditional department store sales dropped 1%.

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Struggling German airline Air Berlin says it has enough money to stay solvent despite suffering heavy losses and a string of cancellations.

The carrier has posted losses of 1.2 billion euros over the last two years and depends financial support from key shareholder Etihad airlines.

A report this week, external claimed that on average 24 flights per day had been cancelled or seriously delayed this month.

But on Wednesday a spokeswoman said customers could keep booking Air Berlin flights "without worries".

"We are flying reliably again and have a grip on operational problems," she said.

She said "insolvency is not an issue" and that Etihad had pledged its support through to October 2018.

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TheCityUK has welcomed the appointment of Steve Barclay, the new City Minister, and urged him to champion the interests of the financial services sector.

The lobby group campaigned vigorously against Brexit and now wants to keep the closest relationship possible with the EU. Mr Barclay, who has a long track record in the financial services industry, was a Leave supporter.

Miles Celic, chief executive of the TheCityUK, said: “The industry’s continued success relies on the UK remaining an attractive and competitive place to do business and the right policy environment will be critical to this."

Image source, AFP

The FTSE 100 is up 0.5% at 7,540.18 thanks in part to the falling pound.

Among the strongest performers are energy firm Centrica, up 3.2%, miner Fresnillo, up 2.8%, and investment group Old Mutual, up 2.3%.

Sterling has slipped on weak wage growth figures from the ONS and currency traders are nervous ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting later.

A weak pound means the international profits of FTSE 100 firms are worth more when converted back in sterling.

Some nice video below of BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones using virtual reality technology.

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The International Monetary Fund has raised its forecast for China's economic growth this year to 6.7% from a previous forecast of 6.6%.

IMF first deputy managing director David Lipton said China had the "potential to safely sustain strong growth over the medium term".

However, he said this would require deep reforms to transition from its current growth model that relies on "credit-fed investment and debt”.

When an obscure or new term enters the mainstream, journalists tend to leap on it.

So the deployment of the chess term zugzwang has been quite exciting.

Zugzwang describes the situation where your next move can only make your position worse.

It has been used to describe, external the Conservative's position following the election result.

Today's UK wage figures were "astonishingly" weak says Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"The painful experience of 2011/12, when inflation surged but wage growth weakened, appears to be repeating; firms are responding to rising raw material costs and uncertainty about the economic outlook by doubling down on pay awards. The fall in wage growth also partly reflects the fading of support from the National Living Wage."

Why are wages not rising more quickly, given that unemployment is so low?

Well according to Mr Tombs that's because there are many workers who want to work more hours but can't. Also the UK can still draw on workers from the European Union, were unemployment is much higher.

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The EU is investigating Nike, Universal Studio and Hello Kitty-owner Sanrio over claims they stopped retailers from selling merchandise across Union borders.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the probe would explore whether the firms broke competition rules, by restricting a retailer's ability to sell licensed goods cross-border and online.

"We are going to examine whether the licensing and distribution practices of these three companies may be denying consumers access to wider choice and better deals in the Single Market," she said.