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Live Reporting

Dearbail Jordan

All times stated are UK

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  1. Good night

    Test card F

    Thank you for joining Business Live.

    We'll be back on Thursday from 6.00am with all the breaking business and economics news and comment throughout the day.

  2. eBay sees revenues jump

    eBay

    EBay has just reported an 8.7% increase in quarterly revenue as revamps to its e-commerce platforms helped attract more customers.

    The online auction site's net income rose to $523m, or 48 cents per share, in the third quarter ended 30 September, from $413m, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier.

    Revenue rose to $2.41bn from $2.22bn.

  3. American Express sees profit jump

    American Express

    Credit card issuer American Express has just reported a 19% jump in quarterly profit as higher billings and loan growth helped offset a jump in costs.

    Net income rose to $1.36bn, or $1.50 per share, in the third quarter ended 30 September from $1.14bn, or $1.20 per share, a year earlier.

    Total revenue rose 9% to $8.44bn.

  4. Dow ends above 23,000

    US stock market trader

    The Dow has ended over 23,000 points for the first time following strong earnings from IBM that boosted confidence about the rest of the quarterly reporting season.

    At the end of the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 23,156.84, up 0.7%.

    The S&P 500 rose to 2,561.25, while the Nasdaq edged up to 6,624.22.

    Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also at records at the closing bell.

  5. Watch: Xi Jinping's progress

    China's president Xi Jinping will be confirmed for a second five-year term this month.

    Robin Brant asks what he has delivered so far on key areas like the environment, debt and market reform.

    Video content

    Video caption: The cost of China's economic boom
  6. Budget sneak preview

    A photographer has managed to secure a snap of an "unknown" official entering Downing Street with some Budget proposals.

    The partially obscured document suggest plans to raise the income tax threshold may be put on hold.

    The Conservatives promised in their manifesto to raise the income tax threshold to £12,500 by 2020, up from its current rate of £11,500. They have also promised to increase to £50,000 the point at which people begin paying the higher 40p tax rate by 2020, up from £45,000 now.

    One option which appears to be on the snapped paper would be to meet the 2020 manifesto commitment but then to pre-announce a freeze thereafter until the end of the parliament in 2022, according to The Financial Times.

    The Treasury has refused to comment.

  7. Trump to name Fed chair soon

    Janet Yellen
    Image caption: Janet Yellen is the current chair of the Federal Reserve

    White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has confirmed that the chair of the Federal Reserve will be named in the coming days.

    The current chair Janet Yellen is believed to be part of a shortlist of five which is also understood to include: Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council and chief economic advisor to US President Donald Trump; Stanford University economics professor John Taylor; former Fed board member Kevin Warsh and current member Jerome Powell.

    Mr Trump is expected to name his pick in early November.

  8. Ford recalls trucks in the US

    New Ford F-150 pickups

    Ford has announced that it is recalling 1.3 million vehicles in the US.

    The car-maker is calling in 2015-17 Ford F-150 and 2017 Ford Super Duty trucks to add water shields to side door latches. It will cost the business $267m which will reflected in its fourth quarter results.

    Ford said it was not aware of any accidents or injuries associated with the issue but said because of the fault, the door may appear closed, increasing the risk of the door opening while driving.

  9. Oil prices edge higher

    The Havana oil field, west of Kirkuk
    Image caption: The Havana oil field, west of Kirkuk

    Oil prices have clawed back a little ground.

    Brent crude is now up 0.4% to $58.11 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate is also ahead 0.4% at $52.07 a barrel.

    Despite unsettled trading on Wednesday, oil prices have been strong so far this week after Iraqi forces retook the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk and its oilfields.

    Crude oil travels through a pipeline between Iraq and Turkey. Analysts at Commerzbank, said: "It remains to be seen whether the Kurds, after withdrawing from the region they claim to be entitled to, will allow crude oil to be transported by pipeline across their territory to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan."

  10. YouTube star attacks site's leaders

    Casey Neistat

    One of YouTube's most influential vloggers has attacked the service's leaders, claiming they are failing many of their most popular video creators.

    Specifically, Casey Neistat criticised the way the platform had made it impossible for some videos to generate advertising revenue, without clearly explaining the rules to its community.

    One of his own videos - an interview with Indonesia's president - was temporarily "demonetised" last week.

    Read the story here.

  11. Don't expect Brexit breakthrough, warns Tusk

    Donald Tusk

    European Council president Donald Tusk has warned the UK not to expect a "breakthrough" on Brexit talks at a summit in Brussels this week.

    EU leaders will meet on Thursday and Friday.

    Mr Tusk said: "I don't expect any kind of breakthrough tomorrow. We have to work really hard in between October and December to finalise this so-called first phase and to start our negotiations on our future relations with the UK.

    "I am absolutely sure that it's still possible to achieve this final of first phase in December but for this we need more concrete proposals from the British side to be honest."

  12. Nations can deliver on Nafta, says UPS boss

    David Abney, chairman and chief executive of UPS

    Mexico, Canada and the US expect talks about Nafta to extend into 2018. The boss of delivery giant UPS is hopeful the three nation can reach an agreement.

    Chairman and chief executive David Abney tells Reuters: "I‘m still optimistic, but I think we’re going to have to go through some difficult times just because each of the countries has issues specific to them.”

    He adds: “Not having a free trade agreement would not be something we feel anyone would benefit from."

  13. Stock market rally continues...for now

    Stock market trader

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading comfortably above the 23,000 mark.

    It has added 156.05 points to 23,153.49. The S&P 500 has gained 3.37 points to 2,562.73 and the Nasdaq is ahead 8.76 points at 6,632.42.

    Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer for equities at Charles Schwab Investment Management, says: "We continue to see solid numbers above expectations, stability in terms of economic growth and global growth.

    "Announcements by the ECB next week and decision by the Fed in December will probably have a higher impact on whether or not we continue this rally."

  14. Danone chairman to step down

    Franck Riboud

    The chairman of French food giant Danone is stepping down.

    Franck Riboud, the son of Antoine Riboud who founded Danone in 1972, will be replaced with chief executive Emmanuel Faber who will fill both roles at the company.

    The change comes into effect in December. Mr Riboud, 61, will become honorary chairman.

  15. Watch: Just 19 and loaded

    Akshay Ruparelia set up an online estate agent while he was studying for his A-levels.

    The company, Doorsteps.co.uk, is now valued at £12m and is the 18th biggest estate agent in the UK.

    Video content

    Video caption: The 19--year-old millionaire estate agent
  16. London stock markets close up

    Rio Tinro

    The FTSE 100 closed up 26.70 at 7,542.87. Education and publishing group Pearson led the risers, up 3% at 687p.

    Pharmaceutical group Shire was the biggest faller, down 3.11% to £37.19.

    Rio Tinto also dropped in value on Wednesday, when its share price fell 2.98% to £35.99 after it emerged that the mining giant and two of its former senior executives have been charged with fraud in the US.

    Shares in consumer product giant Reckitt Benckiser also fell, down 2.53% to $68.57 after it cut its full-year revenue growth forecasts for a second time this year.

    The FTSE 250 closed up 128.82 at 20,259.77.

  17. Oil prices retreat

    Hurricane Nate
    Image caption: Hurricane Nate hit the northern Mississippi Gulf Coast earlier this month

    Oil prices have retreated following higher than expected inventories of crude in the US.

    Brent crude has fallen back to its opening price of $57.89 after rising earlier on Wednesday.

    Brent crude

    West Texas Intermediate is off 0.1% at $51.83 a barrel following similar gains on Wednesday.

    WTI

    Data from the US Energy Information Administration showed that although oil production fell last week after Hurricane Nate hit the Gulf of Mexico and refining slowed because of maintenance, stocks of gasoline, heating oil and diesel rose.

    Crude inventories fell 5.7 million barrels in the week to 13 October

    Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose 528,000 barrels compared to forecasts of a 1.5 million-barrel drop.

    Gasoline inventories increased by 908,000 barrels, ahead of an expected 256,000 barrel gain.

  18. Pilots suspended over fancy farewell

    Air Berlin

    Air Berlin has suspended the pilots of a plane that performed a fly-past to mark the insolvent airline's last long-haul flight to an airport in Duesseldorf.

    According to reports, on Monday the A330 jet flew low across the runway, then pulled up and banked sharply to the left before landing on its second approach.

    One of the pilots told German broadcaster ZDF: "We wanted to make a mark, a dignified and emotional goodbye.”

    But a spokesman for Air Berlin, said: "In aviation, safety always comes first. We are taking the incident very seriously."