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The FTSE 100 has closed 64.76 points ahead at 7,476.19.

High street and online retailer Next led the risers and its share price finished trading up 9.29% at £43.86 after reporting forecast-beating like-for-like sales.

Results sent shares in medical technology company ConvaTec in the opposite direction. It was Thursday's biggest faller, when its share price fell 5.6% to 291.5p.

The FTSE 250 ended 58.20 points higher at 19,899.61.

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South African Airways (SAA) has run out of money and is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, according to information given to the country's parliament.

It is thought the national carrier may soon be unable to pay salaries.

The cash-flow statement shown to MPs and seen by the BBC paints a picture of an airline haemorrhaging cash.

Read the full story here.

Iain Duncan Smith is criticised for saying politicians who oppose Brexit should not be trade ambassadors.

Chancellor Philip Hammond is the first British Cabinet member to visit Argentina for 16 years.

Talks with President Mauricio Macri have focused very firmly on trade and not the Falkland Islands. In that vein, does closer trade ties mean cheaper Argentine steaks after Brexit? Fingers-crossed.

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Could the US soon have President Zuckerberg in the White House?

Politico is reporting, external that Facebook co-founder, chairman and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr Priscilla Chan, have hired Joel Benenson who was an adviser to President Barack Obama and chief strategist to Hillary Clinton in her run for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Benenson Strategy Group will conduct research for the couple's philanthropic fund, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Earlier this year, they also hired David Plouffe who was campaign manager for Obama in 2008.

Curiouser and curiouser...

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On Friday, the US Department of Labor will publish its all-important non-farm payroll figures.

Ahead of that, new data shows that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to 240,000 for the week to 29 July. The figure has been below 300,000 for 126 consecutive weeks - the best run since 1970.

Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG, said: "The labor market remains tight as a drum even if it is not throwing off the sparks of higher wages and more inflation."

Commenting on what it means for the US Federal Reserve's next move, he said: "The Fed can continue mopping up the stimulus provided to fight the financial crisis and recession."

Danish fishermen are told that some foreign trawlers will still have access to UK waters after Brexit.

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Two quarters of good company results have been the engine of growth behind US stock market rises, and not the current President, contrary to what he says in his tweets.

Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management, says: "Equities continue to trend higher, largely on the heels of favorable second-quarter earnings releases.

"At present, equities are in an earnings-driven market and earnings are surprising to the upside, providing valuation support for stocks at or near all-time highs."

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China held a drill with internet service providers on Thursday to practice taking down websites which the state deems harmful, according to Reuters.

The country's Ministry of Public Security called for the procedure "in order to step up online security for the 19th Party Congress and tackle the problem of smaller websites illegally disseminating harmful information", according to a document circulating online attributed to a cyber police unit in Guangzhou.

ISP were ordered to take part in the three hour drill to practice their "emergency response" skills.

They were asked to practice shutting down web pages speedily and report details to the police.

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Are diners falling out of love with Pizza Hut?

Its owner, Yum Brands, reported like for like sales growth of 2% for the second quarter, below analysts' forecasts of 2.5%.

Revenue at its Pizza Hut division fell by 1%. In contrast, its like for like sales from KFC and Taco Bell grew by 3% and 7% respectively.

Group profit fell from $266m last year to $206m. Shares in Yum declined by 2.22% to $74.92.

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The Dow Jones industrial Average opened 5.96 points lower but remained above the 22,000 mark at 22,010.28.

The S&P 500 rose 3.67 points to 2,473.90.

Conversely, the Nasdaq rose by 2.52 points to 6,365.17.

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Avon has announced that its chief executive Sheri McCoy will step down next year.

She is leaving after a tough few years for the loss-making door-to-door cosmetic company amid increased competition from major companies, independents and online shopping.

During Ms McCoy's tenure, Avon sold off 80% of its US business to investment firm Cerberus Capital Management.

Shares in Avon fell 9.04% to $3.07.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney said consumer and business spending has slowed because of uncertainty caused by Brexit.

He said after the referendum the financial markets reacted immediately by downgrading sterling.

Higher prices have now fed through to households and companies who are reining back in what is an 'otherwise very favourable' environment, Mr Carney added.

The pound is trading 0.78% lower against the dollar at $1.31200 after the Bank of England kept the interest rate on hold and warned of slower growth in both the economy and wages.

The pound is also lower against the euro, down 0.86% at 1.10590 euros.

Ex Bank of France governor Christian Noyer on how Brexit is likely to affect the City of London.

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A German reporter asks Mark Carney about the strike at the Bank of England.

A three-day strike by some support staff began on Tuesday, after talks at the conciliation service Acas ended without agreement.

"In terms of the strike here, it is regrettable, we were in talks right up to the day before... my colleagues stand ready to resume talks at any time," Mr Carney said.

"The strike is 1% of employees, it is business as usual at the institution."

He says the Bank has to make difficult decisions about how it uses its limited budget.

"Deferral of investment is going to mean that the supply capacity of the economy expands at a slower rate," Mr Carney told a news conference.

"The speed limit, if you will, of the economy has slowed... that has consequences, could have consequences for monetary policy, depending on the evolution of demand."

"If the MPC's current forecast comes to pass, the level of investment in 2020 is expected to be 20 percentage points below the level which the MPC had projected just before the referendum."