The FTSE 100 has failed to pick up after lunchtime. It's still trading 0.5% lower at 7,422.59.

The blue-chip index is now at its lowest level for four-and-a-half months.

Analysts are blaming growing fears about emerging market economies and trade tensions for investors' gloom.

"It doesn’t look like things are going to improve this afternoon. The Dow Jones is sent to drop 100 points when the bell rings on Wall Street," says Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

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Pimco, the world's largest bond investor, has hired John Studzinski (pictured) as managing director and vice chairman.

Previously with Blackstone Group, Mr Studzinski will report to Pimco chief executive Emmanuel Roman.

Mr Roman said: "I have known John personally and professionally for 20 years and have huge admiration for his enviable breadth of experience, expertise, integrity, wisdom and relationships. He’s a true statesman in the world of global finance."

Danny Shaw
BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

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BBC News understands that two of G4S's most senior managers are leaving the company.

The decision was made in the wake of a damning inspection of G4S-run Birmingham Prison.

It led the Government to take over responsibility for the troubled jail for at least six months in an unprecedented move.

Peter Neden, chief executive of care and justice services, will depart next September. Sources said Mr Neden, who joined G4S 17 years ago and was at one stage Regional President for the UK and Ireland, wanted to pursue "other opportunities".

Jerry Petherick, who heads G4S's custody and detention division, will also leave next year.

Mr Petherick, a highly-respected figure who's worked in the prison sector for more than 30 years, is retiring. It's believed the decision had been discussed some time ago.

There has been no official statement from the company yet, although staff were informed of the departures this week.

G4S's share price fell 1.5% to 246.1p.

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Samsung's head of mobile has said it is "time to deliver" foldable smartphones, fuelling speculation the company is about to reveal a bendable device.

In an interview with CNBC, DJ Koh said Samsung's consumer research suggested there was demand for a foldable phone.

Several phone-makers are rumoured to be developing devices with flexible screens that can be folded in half, without a hinge or seam in the middle.

Read more here.

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Gaucho is to be sold to lenders Investec and SC Lowy subject to a rescue deal being agreed with landlords and other creditors.

The meeting where creditors vote on the deal is on 19 September.

Creditors will then have 28 days to challenge the deal, taking us up to mid-October.

After those 28 days, the sale will complete, if it is not challenged.

Image source, Gaucho

A bit of background on the Gaucho sale which is conditional on an insolvency process called a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) being reached with landlords.

It's quite unusual for a CVA to be launched after a company goes into administration.

But the Cau restaurant chain, which was part of the Gaucho group, has closed, leaving Gaucho able to try to reach a deal with creditors.

Sky News

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The Gaucho restaurant chain has been sold to the company's lenders Investec and SC Lowy subject to a successful rescue deal being agreed with landlords and other creditors.

The lenders will acquire Gaucho's 16 restaurants, securing the jobs of about 750 employees, administrators Deloitte said.

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Unite the union says that RBS's decision to close another 54 bank branches with the loss of more than 340 more staff is "utterly disgusting".

Unite national officer Rob MacGregor, says: “It is utterly disgusting that Royal Bank of Scotland has the audacity to announce that yet more important local bank branches will permanently close their doors.

“The latest round of branch closures will reduce the RBS brand presence to just 51 sites, with the North West region yet again losing the largest number of branches.”

Image source, Reuters

The former chief executive of Steinhoff, the South African owner of Poundland in the UK, has told lawmakers in Cape Town that he was not aware of any accounting irregularities at the company when he left in December.

He said: "When I left Steinhoff... I was not aware of any accounting irregularities at the company.

"I was not aware of anyone that acted deliberately or knowingly in violation of Steinhoff's code of conduct."

After revelations of accounting irregularities late last year, Steinhoff's share price collapsed.

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While the UK's services sector enjoyed a decent August, concerns of a trade war with the US weighed on business confidence in the eurozone.

IHS Markit's eurozone composite final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) nudged up in August to 54.5 from July's 54.3. But an index measuring optimism sank to a near two-year low of 61.6 from 63.1.

Jack Allen, senior European economist at Capital Economics, says: "The composite PMIs were pretty encouraging.

"The trade war has had some effect. The policies that have been implemented so far by the U.S. hitting the euro zone are pretty small, but worries about protectionism escalating in the future could have had an impact on businesses."

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The FTSE 100 has extended falls and is now trading down 0.53% at 7,418.49.

Royal Mail is now leading the blue chip risers, up 2.4% at 469.5p while bottling group Coca-Cola HBC is the biggest faller, down 2.7% at £25.85.

William Hill is now up 5.7% at 262.7p after signing a partnership deal with Eldorado Resorts to expand its US operation.

The wider FTSE 250 is down 0.25% at 20,498.64.

Reuters

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The highest August new car registrations this century "appear to be an extraordinary achievement" at first glance, says Ian Gilmartin, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays Corporate Banking.

"However, we need to consider this result more cautiously, as regulatory changes that came into force at the start of September led to some very generous deals being offered in August which will have brought sales forward.

He adds that September sales "are typically five or six times bigger than August, with buyers rushing to snap up new plate models" - so we need to look at next month's data "to get a better picture of where we stand and the likely overall annual performance for 2018".

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Sterling has bounced off a two-week low after a stronger than expected services PMI report, but the pound remains set for a fifth day of losses as broader concerns over Brexit negotiations hurt investor demand.

The UK's dominant services sector picked up more than forecast last month, bucking a slowdown for manufacturers and construction firms, but Brexit worries are dampening investment plans and confidence for the year ahead.

"We are approaching crunch time for the Brexit negotiations and that will be a key driver for the currency going forward rather than the cyclical changes in data," said Lee Hardman, a currency strategist at MUFG in London.

Sterling came up off an early low of $1.2804 and climbed to $1.2821, but still remained a quarter of a percent down on the day.

Broad dollar strength, especially against emerging market currencies, also acted as a brake on investor appetite for the pound.

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Growth in the UK's dominant services sector in August beat analyst expectations says David Cheetham, chief market analyst for XTB.

"This faster pace of growth for the sector in August keeps the economy on track for growth of 0.4% in the third quarter, but it should be pointed out that increasingly pessimistic business expectations do take the shine off of it a little," he says.

While the pound is still down a bit this morning, "sterling bulls will be hopeful that this positive news can see the market gain traction and recoup some of the losses seen so far this week," he adds.