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We are back tomorrow at 6.00am with all the breaking business and economics news.

Will the Singapore-based Broadcom ever succeed in buying Qualcomm?

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has weighed in on the possible deal between the two semiconductor and telecoms equipment makers, outlining a number of concerns about the hostile bid.

In a letter the committee, external, which reviews deals for potential national security concerns, says a reduction in Qualcomm's competitiveness "would significantly impact US national security" and "leave an opening to expand its influence on the 5G standard-setting process".

US stocks closed narrowly higher on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 9.09 points at 24,883.85.

The S&P 500 ended up 6.84 points at 2,727.78.

The Nasdaq closed 41.30 points ahead at 7,372.01.

Image source, Getty Images

Royal Bank of Scotland has reached a $500m settlement with New York state to resolve claims over the sale of risky residential mortgage-backed securities.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said it includes a $100m cash payment to the state, plus $400 million of consumer relief for homeowners and communities.

Mr Schneiderman said RBS admitted to having sold investors securities that did not meet underwriting guidelines, contrary to its representations, and did not comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Image source, Getty Images

Dyson has unveiled its newest cordless vacuum cleaner, which the firm says is the reason it will no longer make vacuums with cords.

The new V10 Cyclone, which will cost £400, has a digital motor.

"A strong performing machine starts with an efficient motor. The Dyson digital motor V10 is Dyson's most advanced," founder and chief executive Sir James Dyson said.

"It has enabled us to entirely change the format of a vacuum cleaner, and to achieve Dyson's best ever cord-free machine performance.

"The Dyson Cyclone V10 TM vacuum is so light, so powerful, it can deep clean anywhere in your home, on any floor type. "It is the reason I've stopped developing full-size vacuums."

Image source, Getty Images

The chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been told to appear before MPs to answer questions on closure plans.

The Scottish Affairs Committee wants to ask Ross McEwan about proposals to shut 62 RBS banks across Scotland and plans for a partial reprieve for 10 of these.

In a letter, committee convener Pete Wishart said the committee is "disappointed" Mr McEwan has not "meaningfully engaged" with previous requests to set a date to appear. It added: "Should you not respond positively to this letter the committee will have no alternative but to consider using its formal powers to summon you to appear before it."

An RBS spokeswoman said: "We would like to thank Mr Wishart for his latest correspondence and we can confirm that Ross McEwan will appear before the Scottish Affairs Committee.

"We have engaged fully with the Committee and provided very detailed responses both in person and in writing. We look forward to continuing a positive dialogue with the Committee and providing further answers as required."

BBC World Service

The communications company Blackberry has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States against Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp saying they have copied technology and features from its own Blackberry Messenger, reports BBC World Service.

A spokeswoman for Blackberry said the two companies had been in dialogue for several years but they had an obligation to their shareholders.

Since losing its market share in the smartphone market Blackberry has shifted its focus to cyber-security software and software for self-driving cars.

A lawyer for Facebook said it would fight the lawsuit saying it reflected the state of Blackberry's business and lack of innovation.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has criticised China's economic engagement in Africa, which he said encouraged dependency, featured corrupt deals and was endangering the continent's natural resources, reports BBC World Service.

Speaking ahead of a visit to six African nations, Mr Tillerson said Chinese investment had the potential to improve Africa's infrastructure.

But he said its approach had led to mounting debt whilst creating few jobs.

Over the past two decades trade between Africa and China has soared driven by China's demand for the continent's minerals. Chinese construction firms have made significant improvements to long neglected infrastructure, including roads.

Image source, Vauxhall

Earlier today the head of Vauxhall said lack of clarity over Brexit threatens the future of its Ellesmere Port operation. Carlos Tavares, chief executive of PSA, which owns Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroen, said clarity over the terms of the UK's departure was "a big concern".

He told the BBC that uncertainty undermined Ellesmere Port's chances of getting more work after 2021.

"We cannot invest in a world of uncertainty," he said.

Now the Business Department has responded saying it had been "clear" in its "commitment to ensuring the automotive sector continues to go from strength to strength", a spokesperson said.

"Through our modern Industrial Strategy and our landmark Automotive Sector Deal, we are working with industry to put the UK at the forefront of new automotive technologies and future investment decisions.

“The Prime Minister made clear in her Mansion House speech that the government’s vision for post-Brexit Britain is a UK that champions free trade based on high standards and forges a bold and comprehensive economic partnership with our neighbours in the EU.”

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Aggreko, the Scots-based temporary power provider, has announced a drop in profits while it expands into more battery and solar provision.

The global company is headquartered in Glasgow and assembles temporary power units at its Dumbarton plant.

Investment there is expected to remain steady this year, though it fell below plan last year, and the firm intends to push for further cost reductions.

Pre-tax profit for 2017 fell 11% to £154m. Revenue was up 14% to £1.7bn.

Aggreko, which grew out of the Christian Salvesen food has won the contract to provide power to the Glasgow 2018 European Championships.

Read the full story here

Image source, Net-a-Porter

Online luxury fashion retailer Yoox Net-a-Porter saw full year revenues rise by 11.8% last year to €2.1bn (£1.9bn) compared with €1.9bn in 2016.

Net profits came in at €17.3m, compared with €33.9m in 2016.

The company said the fall was mainly due to exchange rate losses.

Its results also revealed that the site had 842.2 million visits in 2017, compared with 715.5 million in 2016.

There were 9.5 million orders, compared with 8.4 million in 2016 and there were 3.1 million active customers, compared with 2.9 million in 2016.

However, unfavourable exchange rate movements meant that the average order value fell to €328 compared with €334 in 2016.

South Sudan's government has rejected claims in a report by Global Witness that the leadership has diverted millions of dollars from the national oil company to fund the ongoing civil conflict.

"The report was intended to damage the image of the president and the government of South Sudan," Information Minister Michael Makuei told the BBC.

“We all know that Global Witness is US-funded and America has taken an anti-government stance, and Global Witness is an anti-government organisation," he added.

The report in question, external linked the state oil company Nile Petroleum, or Nilepet, directly to arms transfers and the financial benefit of President Kiir’s closest advisers.

The company, it says, operates in secrecy, and the report details how this secrecy has been used to finance military operations, arms transfers to ethnic militias, and conceal the looting of millions of dollars meant to help imports of essential goods.

South Sudan’s security forces have also been accused of atrocities in the country’s civil war, including ethnic cleansing and rape.

Nilepet has denied the allegations, and suggested the evidence collected may have been forged.

BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

Mexico's economy minister has said that if the United States pushes ahead with trade tariffs on steel and aluminium, his country would be obliged to respond, reports BBC World Service.

Ildefonso Guajardo also stressed that the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) between Mexico, Canada and the US could not be replaced by a series of bilateral deals.

That prospect was rejected by both Mexico and Canada on Monday, after being touted by the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

There has been fierce international reaction since President Trump last week said he intended to impose tariffs of 25% on steel products and 10% on aluminium.

Image source, Getty Images

The benchmark FTSE 100 closed at 7,146.75, a rise of 31 points or 0.43%.

The biggest climber on the index was packaging group Smurfit Kappa Group which closed up 19.7% following a bid from US rival International Paper.

Just Eat was the biggest faller, losing 12.6%. Its results were positive but its boss said it would spent an extra £50m this year to fight off competition from rivals like Deliveroo and Uber Easts.

BBC World Service

More than $20bn (£14bn) is spent on chewing gum around the world each year.

A lot of that gum will end up stuck to the streets. That's why gum is the second most common kind of street litter after cigarette materials.

In the UK councils spend around £50m each year cleaning up the mess. But British designer Anna Bullus had an idea - what if the sticky stuff could actually be recycled and turned into useful objects?

The boss of BA-owner IAG Willie Walsh has hit back dramatically at a story that appeared in the Financial Times earlier today.

Mr Walsh told an airline industry conference that he doesn't believe anything that's written in the FT, and that the F in the title stands for "Fake".

The cause of his ire? The paper reported that the US was being tough over a post-Brexit deal on flights between the US and the UK (see post at 6:46am).

The US was insisting that to qualify for an "Open Skies" deal, airlines need to be majority owned and controlled by parties from their country of origin, according to the paper.

That would be a problem for British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Norwegian UK which all fall short of that criteria, the FT said,

However, the report also said negotiators were confident that they can reach a deal which will allow those airlines to keep their slots.

Image source, PA

As many as 14,000 investors in the collapsed stockbroking firm Beaufort Securities (see post at 1:13pm) should get a "substantial" amount of their money back.

The official administrators, PwC, said that the firm's clients should see between 85% and 90% of their cash returned to them.

However, it will be at least a month before any returns go through.

Beaufort Securities was put into administration last Friday, after the regulator declared it insolvent.

Read the full story here

BBC Radio 5 live

Wake up to Money interviewed brewing and pub company Marston's chief executive Ralph Findlay as part of its Boardroom Stories series.

Get his thoughts on how drinkers’ tastes have changed and why so many restaurants are struggling at the moment.