Image source, AA/PA

The AA said this morning it will be updating the market on its strategy review on 21 February.

The company said in a trading update that 2017 profits should be in line with expectations of between £390m and £395m.

Last year was torrid for the firm. The company fired its executive chairman, Bob Mackenzie, for "gross misconduct" last August and held talks about merging its insurance division with rival Hastings around the same time.

Last month it said it would cut 100 jobs and close its national training centre.

This morning it said that new members grew 7% year-on-year, although paid members fell by 1% to 3.29m. The company blamed the fall on the ending of free roadside membership for AA insurance customers. "we no longer had this pipeline of free-to-paid conversion," it said.

Image source, Getty Images

The housing market got off to a subdued start in 2018, as new buyer inquiries fell in January for the 10th month in a row, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.

The average number of properties on estate agents' books continued to slip back towards the record low levels seen around the middle of last year.

The more expensive tiers of the housing market continue to experience tougher conditions, the report said.

Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist, said a lack of properties on the books continues to provide a "major challenge with the number of valuations being undertaken not suggestive of a pick-up in new supply anytime soon".

Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest lender, has seen its restructuring efforts take their toll on its balance sheet. It posted a net profit of €156m (£191m) for 2017, which was in line with expectations, but nearly half what it made the previous year.

Operating, or underlying, profit was €1.3bn ($1.15bn), down 7% year-on-year. The group said it would resume paying dividends in 2018.

Image source, Reuters

Meanwhile The Daily Telegraph leads with a report that the billionaire financier, George Soros, is backing what it calls a "secret plot to thwart Brexit."

The article - co-written by Theresa May's former chief of staff, Nick Timothy - says Mr Soros is one of three senior figures linked to the Remain campaign group "Best for Britain."

The paper says it's seeking to build support for a second referendum, to keep Britain in the EU and - Mr Timothy says in a separate comment piece - bring down the government. In a statement, Best for Britain, denies it's subverting democracy - as the paper alleges.

Image source, Alamy

Looking at today's papers, The Guardian goes big on the story that gambling companies have "defied calls to stamp out sexist behaviour" at an industry conference.

The Totally Gaming conference, in London, featured a "Playboy-themed dance show" and pole dancers, the paper says -- despite criticism from the chief executive of the Gambling Commission, including during an interview on this programme yesterday.

The Daily Mail reports from the same conference, and describes seeing women in low cut dresses with company logos painted on their backs. However, the organisers of the event insist they're trying to encourage the "respectful representation of women on exhibition stands."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Today is the deadline for final bids for the rights to screen UK Premier League football games from 2019 to 2022. Between them, Sky and BT Sport paid an unprecedented £5.1bn for the rights to the previous three seasons in 2016. This time around, rumours have been swirling that tech companies such as Amazon and Facebook could enter the fray.

Kieran Maguire, specialist in sports finance at Liverpool University, told the Today programme it was "highly unlikely" that the likes of Facebook would be competing for the rights to show matches in the UK, since the domestic market was a "relatively small" one for the social media giant.

However, the right to broadcast UK football internationally, such as in India, might be a significant prize for a company such as Netflix, he said.

Mr Maguire suggested that the Premier League might be trying to flush out a few extra pounds from broadcasters domestically" for match rights. However, he added: "I don't think Sky and BT have the appetite to pay more money."

Image source, Getty Images

Hong-Kong listed shares in Wynn Macau casino were up as much as 7% in afternoon trade despite news that the Wynn Resorts board was being sued by shareholders.

The lawsuit, filed in the US by Norfolk County Retirement System, a Wynn Resorts investor, claims the board knew of sexual misconduct allegations against former chief executive Steve Wynn for years and failed to investigate.

The suit follows Mr Wynn's resignation from his post as chairman and CEO of the giant casino conglomerate he founded.

He said the negative publicity around the sexual misconduct allegations, first reported by the Wall Street Journal in January, meant he could not continue to be effective in his current roles.

Mr Wynn has denied any wrongdoing.

George Godber, fund manager at Polar Capital, commented on the Fox Disney deal on Wake Up To Money.

"When you look at the TV market, content is everything," he pointed out. "Disney has plenty of it while Sky has a loyal customer base and good distribution network but it hasn't got content."

Image source, Reuters

Oil prices eased this morning, taking Brent crude to a 2018 low, as soaring US output undermined OPEC efforts to tighten markets.

Brent crude futures were at $65.39 per barrel at 5.25am, down 12 cents, or 0.2%, from the previous close. Brent slipped to its lowest for the year at $65.12 a barrel early in the session.

Levels of personal debt has risen by a quarter in the last three years, according to BBC research.

Petert Tutton, head of policy at the debt charity Step Change, told Wake Up To Money that the charity had a record number of people coming for help in the second half of last year.

"It was the highest we've even seen in any six month period," he told the programme.

"Credit becomes a problem when people come to rely on it or get trapped in a persistent cycle of debt."

Image source, Getty Images

China's export and imports both climbed in January by more than was expected.

Exports last month climbed 11.1% from a year earlier, up from a 10.9% gain in December, official data showed. Analysts had expected growth to cool to 9.6%.

Imports soared 36.9%, the General Administration of Customs said, the fastest pace since last February and much higher than analysts' forecast of 9.8%.

Welcome to Business Live where we'll be bringing you all the latest city and financial news today.

We'll have final results from Beazley and trading updates from Smith & Nephew, AA, Bellway, Compass, DFS, On the Beach, TalkTalk, Tate & Lyle and Thomas Cook.

At 9.30am there'll be mortgage arrears and repossession figures from Finance UK and at noon there's the Bank of England quarterly Inflation Report and interest rate decision to look forward to.