That's all on another busy day of Brexit developments. Join us from 6am tomorrow for more on this, and other news from the world of business and finance.
That's all on another busy day of Brexit developments. Join us from 6am tomorrow for more on this, and other news from the world of business and finance.
Wall Street enjoyed a third straight day of gains as Britain's central bank raised the prospect of stimulus and consumer stocks gained on news of Mondelez International's $23bn bid for Hershey.
The Dow Jones ended up 235.31 points, or 1.33%, at 17,929.99, and the S&P 500 gained 28.09 points, or 1.36%, to 2,098.86. The Nasdaq added 63.43 points, or 1.33%, to 4,842.67.
All ten S&P sectors ended higher, led by a 2.2% climb for consumer staples shares.
US markets fell sharply last week after the UK voted to leave the European Union.
The BBC's Zoe Thomas has been to the Atlanta HQ of the world's largest delivery company, UPS. Chief executive David Abney tells her that the Brexit vote seems to have brought more "emotion" than "change".
The firm is used to trading across different jurisdictions and under different trading rules.
He says: "We're not going to change our investment plans whether it be in Europe or in the UK. So we feel very comfortable that our customers are still going to have some very complex supply chain needs and our strategies and investments are going to continue to take place.”
Safety regulators in the US have called for the urgent repair of more than 300,000 aging Honda vehicles fitted with Takata air bags.
Japan's Takata and the car companies that use its air bags have faced huge problems over the risk of the inflators rupturing in a crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cited new test data that shows some Honda models from 2001-2003 have as high as a 50% chance of an air bag rupture.
Takata air bag inflators have been linked to as many as 14 deaths worldwide, including 13 in Honda vehicles, because they can deploy with too much force and send deadly metal fragments flying.
The European Union's top trade official says the UK cannot begin negotiating terms for doing business with the bloc until after it has left.
"First you exit then you negotiate," Cecilia Malmstrom told BBC Newsnight.
After Brexit, the UK would become a "third country" in EU terms, she said - meaning trade would be carried out based on World Trade Organisation rules until a new deal was complete.
A recent trade deal with Canada took seven years to negotiate.
The Canadian agreement will also require ratification by all EU countries, adding another one to two years before it takes effect. Read more here
Confectionery giant Hershey has rejected a $23bn (£17.3bn) takeover bid by Mondelez International.
Mondelez - which owns Cadbury's and Kraft and makes Oreos cookies - wants to expand its presence in the US and create the world's biggest confectionery company.
"The board of directors of the company unanimously rejected the indication of interest and determined that it provided no basis for further discussion between Mondelez and the company," Hershey said in a statement.
By taking over Hershey Mondelez would gain control of the production and distribution of its Cadbury brand chocolates in the US, which Hershey currently holds the licence to produce, paying royalties to Mondelez.
It would also mean Mondelez had the rights to produce and distribute Kit Kat in the US.
Hershey's shares jumped 15% following the bid.
With just an hour of trading to go on Wall Street - what's the picture over there?
Well, the major indexes are all still up ... buoyed by that speech earlier by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney hinting at an interest rate cut and/or further quantitative easing.
A short while ago the Dow Jones stood at 17,898.42 - a rise of 1.15%.
The Nasdaq was up 1.06% at 4,829.86.
And the S&P 500 was at 2,094.56 - up 1.15%.
The price of Brent crude oil fell by more than 2% today - pushed down by in part by the prospect of Nigeria and Canada pumping more oil.
Nigerian oil production has risen following pipeline repairs and the fact that there haven't been any new big militant attacks in the Delta region, the state oil company said earlier this week.
The news helped Opec's oil production climb in June, as did increased supply from Iran and the Gulf.
And the supply disruptions caused by the Canadian wildfires are expected to be virtually over by September.
Ratings agency Standard and Poor's has cut its credit rating for the European Union following last week's Brexit vote.
S&P Global Ratings said it was cutting its long-term rating on the EU from AA+ to AA because the UK's leave vote meant "greater uncertainty" over the EU's revenue forecasting, long-term capital planning and adjustment to key financial buffers.
S&P said it had to review its "previously favourable opinion of solidarity within the EU" from positive to neutral because its previous view was based on all 28 member states remaining inside the European Union.
Will the UK financial technology sector be poached by a European rival? Lawrence Wintermeyer, head of industry body Innovate Finance, gives the BBC's Manuela Saragosa his view.
So now we know - Boris Johnson won't stand in the Conservative Party leadership contest.
However, five other candidates had come forward by today's midday deadline.
Throwing their hats into the ring are Justice Secretary Michael Gove, Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom and ex-defence secretary Liam Fox - all of whom backed the Leave campaign in the run up to the EU referendum.
Home Secretary Theresa May and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb - both of whom supported the Remain camp - are also standing.
But whether the candidates were pro- or anti-leaving the EU, the employers' organisation, the CBI, has the same message for all of them.
What’s needed now is a plan which sets out the principles that should underpin our new relationship with Europe and how they will be achieved. It’s imperative that each of the candidates sets out clearly their detailed plan for this new relationship. First and foremost politicians must commit to openness. This means tariff and barrier free access to the single market; maintaining trade deals around the world; attracting and keeping skills; and working out the trade-offs between these three. In the immediate term, politicians of all persuasions must confirm that those people from the EU already working in the UK can stay. And businesses want them to get on with key infrastructure and spending decisions, which demonstrate that Britain is open for business. We need an urgent focus on productivity, innovation, skills and exports.
Let's quickly return to that interview that Jes Staley, chief executive of Barclays gave to the BBC earlier.
Here you can listen to what he said about how Brexit would affect the bank's jobs in London.
The post-Brexit debate rumbles on ...
Here are some interesting thoughts about what happens now from Chatham House - the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
The Bank will update its forecasts and make a full assessment of the economic picture in its August Inflation Report. This probably leaves August as the likeliest date for a rate cut ... Carney and his MPC colleagues could face a delicate balancing act over the coming months, balancing higher inflation caused by the weaker pound with the need to stimulate growth. If history is anything to go by, growth will be the priority – remember the Bank was willing to ‘look through’ elevated inflation in the first phase of the financial crisis and cut rates to their current lows.
Once again we seem to be in a world where a few words from a central banker can move markets in an instant. Earlier this afternoon, before Mark Carney’s speech, the FTSE and sterling were broadly flat on the day. Following the governor’s words, the FTSE has just closed within a whisker of its highest level year-to-date, while sterling has lost a cent and a half against the dollar and more than a cent against the euro. Stock markets clearly love monetary stimulus far more than they hate Brexit-related uncertainty.
Shares in London have closed up strongly following comments by the Bank of England governor Market Carney that interest rates could be cut as soon as next month, a move which could be seen as beneficial to companies which need to borrow.
That would help companies that need to borrow money. There was a market rise in the markets as he delivered his speech, however the pound fell by more than 1% against the euro and the dollar.
The FTSE 100 has closed up by 2.27% at 6,504.33.
The FTSE 250 which is more representative of UK companies, has closed at 16,271.07 - a rise of 1.68%.
Any cut in interest rates would mean cheaper borrowing for UK householders, but a further period of low returns for savers, he writes.
But Mr Carney accepted there were risks to taking such action, and the effects on businesses and individuals.
“As we have seen elsewhere, if interest rates are too low - or negative - the hit to bank profitability could perversely reduce credit availability or even increase its overall price,” he will say.
He said the Bank would take “whatever action is needed” to support growth” but also stressed that the Bank could not in itself affect the direction of the economy.
“Monetary policy cannot immediately of fully offset the economic implications of a large, negative shock,” he added.
“The future potential of this economy and its implications for jobs, real wages and wealth are not the gifts of monetary policy makers.
“This will be driven by much bigger decisions; by bigger plans that are being formulated by others.”
He assured the UK that it had one of the most flexible economies in the world.
“The question is not whether the UK will adjust but rather how quickly and how well,” he said.
The Bank’s predictions are that growth will be slower than previously expected next year, he writes.
Until now the Bank had been predicting a fall from 2.3% to 1.6%, and that predicted slowdown was based on a vote to remain in the EU.
It now seems plausible that uncertainty could remain elevated for some time, with a more persistent drag on activity than we had previously projected.”
Interest rates are likely to be cut next month in response to Brexit, according to Bank of England governor Mark Carney.
A deteriorating economic outlook means action from the Bank is likely during the summer, Mr Carney says.
The Bank rate - currently at a record low of 0.5% - is the Bank’s chief weapon. Mr Carney is speaking to business leaders in his second speech since the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
“In my view, and I am not pre-judging the views of the other independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members, the economic outlook has deteriorated and some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer,” he says.
This points to the likelihood of a cut to interest rates from their already record low.
It also creates the distinct possibility of further quantitative easing over the summer.
The MPC next meets in the middle of July and then again in August.
Bank of England governor signals that interest rates likely to fall as early as next month owing to the economic fallout from the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
In my view, and I am not pre-judging the views of the other independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members, the economic outlook has deteriorated and some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer.
My my, our readers are a witty and wine-literate bunch. Here are some more suggestions for the name Novak Djokovic should give his first wine (see previous posts).
Gamay set and match (Ramesh Sinha)
Gewurtz Tram-liner (Neill Halliday)
Novak D'Avola (Steve Boatright)
Serve-ignon blanc (Debbie Shipley)
Beaujolais Novak (Gerard Sorme)
Djoko-Vin (Jason Swain)
Any other suggestions: email@example.com
Brexit has created significant uncertainty and we believe this is likely to dampen growth in the near term particularly in the UK but with repercussions also for Europe and the global economy.
Another question to the boss of Barclays, Jes Staley on the bank's plans post-Brexit ...
Simon Jack asks: "Adjust (your business model) means you might have to move people, right? I am not asking you to commit to numbers but you have to move to follow your customers?"
You might have to increase your presence in another location, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to decrease your location here.
More from that interview with the boss of Barclays, Jes Staley ...
BBC business editor, Simon Jack, presses him on whether the bank will have to move jobs out of the UK.
"If your ability to sell to your European customers were curtailed, that’s an if, it would be hard to imagine that you wouldn’t have to move jobs?" he asks.
We want to be involved in the capital markets globally. Right now the best way to do that is to be anchored in London and anchored in New York as we are. We just this morning did a €750m bond issue for a major German corporation. So we want to stay connected to the European capital markets and we will adjust our business model to make sure we have access to those capital markets.
The boss of Barclays has been talking to BBC business editor, Simon Jack.
It's put to him that some his bank's neighbours in Canary Wharf - JP Morgan, HSBC - have said that in the event of the UK leaving the European Union the idea of passporting, being able to sell to customers outside Europe may be curtailed.
In fact, our correspondent point out, some people are saying passporting is dead. They have said they are going to move jobs to the EU.
He's asked what Barclays is going to do?
We are a British bank, our history is here in the UK so first and foremost we are staying anchored in London and anchored in Great Britain. … it’s early to say what is going to happen to passporting of banks crossing borders but I would say that ever since the financial crisis of 2008, the regulators globally have been very proactive in saying let’s not use regulation to build protectionist walls in the financial industry. That’s been part of the G20 discussions that has been part of the Basel discussions, so I don’t think any regulators want the US banks to be prohibited to come to Europe, or to the UK any more than the desire for the UK banks being limited in what they can do in the US and in Europe. Now whether it will take a different construct than what we have today that is possible, but right now we are not making any plans to pick and move people from one place to another it is way too early I think to be thinking about that.
US stocks have opened higher as global markets continue to shake off the impact of last week’s vote by the UK to leave the EU.
Shortly after trading began the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41.09 points at 17,735.77, while the S&P 500 index rose 4.16 points to 2,074.93.
The World Bank plans to provide $1bn to support initiatives in India to expand solar power.
By 2030 the World Bank hopes to triple the share that renewable energy has of Indian power production.
It's part of a wider project to boost solar energy in all developing countries, under a project led by the International Solar Alliance.
The alliance, which includes 121 nations, and was launched by India and France in Paris last November.
Football legend Pelé has been at Make the Future London - a festival of "ideas and innovation" at the Olympic Park that is part of Shell's drive to increase access to affordable energy.
The four-day festival showcases the ingenuity of 50 of the world’s smartest entrepreneurs, who are helping communities find ways to gain access to cleaner energy.
Shell installed the world’s first player-powered football pitch in Rio de Janeiro working with Pelé, who is pictured with Shell UK chairman Erik Bonino (left) and Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden (right).
According to the statement from Wireless, News Corp thinks the broadcaster is an "excellent strategic fit with its existing operations".
"Wireless' audience complements the audience of The Sun, and there is significant opportunity to increase engagement and monetisation through cross-promotion and leveraging Wireless' and News Corp's respective talent and advertising sales forces. The acquisition also raises the prospect of further international digital expansion for the Wireless brands."
TalkSport owns the radio and digital audio broadcasting rights for the Premier League, the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
It also owns digital stations including the revived Virgin Radio, as well as 12 independent local radio stations in England and Wales.