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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 today.

    We hope you have a great weekend and we look forward to bringing you all the breaking business and economics news from 6.00am UK time on Monday.

  2. Greenback rides high

    Dollar and pound notes

    The dollar made its biggest daily gain in a month on Friday - benefiting from the same increase in confidence about US tax reforms that boosted Wall Street stocks.

    The dollar hit a three-month high against the Japanese yen - at above 113 yen - and a five-month high against the Swiss franc, touching 0.9858 francs.

    It was also up 0.7% against the euro to come close to €0.85 - but it was down against the pound at just under 76p after sterling benefited from stronger UK government borrowing figures.

  3. Wall Street closes at fresh highs

    US stock market trader

    US stocks have been breaking records all week - and it's no different as the closing bells sounds on Wall Street.

    All three major indices finished at fresh record highs on increased confidence that Washington will enact tax cuts after a Senate vote eased the proposal's road on Capitol Hill.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7% at 23,328.63. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5% to 2,575.20, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4% to 6,629.05, narrowly eclipsing the previous record.

  4. Bitcoin boom prompts mining malware growth

    Bitcoin

    The booming price of Bitcoin and other crypto-coins has kicked off a gold rush among malicious hackers keen to cash in, warn security firms.

    Many sites are now harbouring code that secretly uses a visitors' computer to mine the valuable e-cash coins.

    The code is inserted by hackers who exploit poor site security or web software bugs.

    Read more here.

  5. Watch: Where the streets have no name

    In parts of Africa, street names are rare and house numbers non-existent. Most people use local landmarks, like bars, fuel stations and even trees to give directions, but in Ghana the government is introducing a digital solution.

    From the Ghanaian capital of Accra, the BBC's Thomas Naadi reports.

    Video content

    Video caption: The app helping people navigating Ghana's nameless streets
  6. Ryanair pilots reject pay offer

    Ryanair

    Ryanair says that pilots at London’s Stansted airport, the Irish airline's largest base, have rejected an improved pay and conditions offer.

    Ryanair has had to cancel thousands of flights after it .

    It said: “Ryanair will continue to engage with the London Stansted ERC to understand how it can address their remaining concerns.”

  7. BMW comments on Munich raid

    BMW

    Earlier on Friday, Business Live reported (2.41pm) that BMW's offices in Munich had been raid by EU anti-trust personnel.

    Here's what the German carmaker has to say:

    Quote Message: This week, European Commission staff conducted an inspection of the BMW Group in Munich in connection with cartel allegations against five German automobile manufacturers, which have been reported in the media since July 2017. The BMW Group is assisting the European Commission in its work. The European Commission has not opened a formal proceeding against the BMW Group.
    Quote Message: The BMW Group wishes to make clear the distinction between potential violations of antitrust law on the one hand and illegal manipulation of exhaust gas treatment on the other hand. The BMW Group has not been accused of the latter. The company stands by its previous statements: As a matter of principle, BMW Group vehicles are not manipulated and comply with all respective legal requirements.
  8. Trump close to naming Fed chair

    Donald Trump

    Has US President Donald Trump narrowed down his preferred candidates to become chair of the Federal Reserve?

    He told Fox Business on Friday: "Well, as you know, I've been seeing a number of people and most people are saying its down to two - Mr Taylor, Mr Powell.

    "I also met with Janet Yellen who I like a lot, I really like her a lot. So I have three people that I'm looking at and there are a couple of others. I'd say I will make my decision very shortly."

    Current chair Ms Yellen is on the shortlist with: Stanford University economics professor John Taylor; current Fed member Jerome Powell; Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council and chief economic advisor to Mr Trump and former Fed board member Kevin Warsh.

  9. US stock markets extend gains

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average has extended gains as it heads towards the last hour and a half or so of trading.

    The index is now up 144.07 points at 23,307.11.

    The S&P 500 is 12.19 points ahead at 2,574.29.

    Meanwhile the technology-heavy Nasdaq has added 33.54 points at 6,638.60.

  10. Police conduct inquiries into RBS unit

    RBS

    Police are looking into a division of Royal Bank of Scotland set up to help failing businesses, the BBC has learnt.

    Officers in Scotland are conducting inquiries into the bank unit - called GRG - but are yet to open a formal investigation.

    RBS said it would co-operate with any request for information.

    Separately, the BBC has obtained a memo written by a GRG employee which appears to show staff were incentivised to extract money from struggling firms.

    Read the full story here.

  11. GE boss: Managers will be held accountable

    GE manufacturing plant

    Fresh from announcing disappointing third quarter results, and a poor profit outlook, GE chief executive John Flannery says he wants to change the company's culture to hold managers more accountable.

    He also says he would demand better performance from divisions and reduce the complexity of its portfolio.

    Mr Flannery says that GE's stronger businesses are being held back by others that "drain investment and management resources without the prospect for a substantial reward."

    He says: "We will have a simpler, more focused portfolio" in coming months. We are driving sweeping change."

  12. Oil prices slip

    Oil prices

    Oil prices are heading lower in late trading.

    Brent crude is down 0.2% at $57.12 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate is marginally lower at $51.50.

    Gene McGillian, director of market research for Tradition Energy, says: "We've continued to see signs that the market needs a steady drumbeat of positive information.

    "This week's Department of Energy report where gasoline demand dropped to its lowest since March gave a little pause to that."

  13. No hard sell for the iPhone X

    Angela Ahrendts

    Shares in Apple stabilised on Friday following rocky trading on Thursday over rumours that demand for its recently launched iPhone 8 and 8 Plus was anemic.

    Analysts said they were hopeful about the new iPhone X which hits shops on 3 November.

    But don't expect a hard sell if you go into one of Apple's stores.

    Its retail chief Angela Ahrendts, the former chief executive of Burberry, tells CNBC that Applpe will not try and upsell customers to the iPhone X.

    Apple iPhone

    She says: "Internally we said the tagline was 'an iPhone for everyone'.

    "I prefer that we ask you who you're buying it for. If they're 6 or 7 years old, what do they need? If it's someone who's leaning into something else, what do they need? We do that with Mac, we do that with iPad, why wouldn't we do that with [the] phone?"

  14. Tech Tent: Will AI and Blockchain be game-changers?

    Rory Cellan-Jones

    Technology correspondent

    Game

    Artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrencies - three terms you need to scatter through your conversation if you want to come across as a tech guru.

    On Tech Tent this week we examine these trends and ask a futurologist to predict which of them will make rapid progress over the next decade.

    Read more here.

  15. Senate tax vote lifts US markets

    US stock market trader

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now trading 108.44 points higher at 23,271.48.

    Sentiment has been helped by the US Senate approval of a budget blueprint that will pave the way for Republicans to pursue a tax-cut package without Democratic support.

    Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management, says: "It clearly is a positive and has added to the sentiment.

    "Any legislative action that promotes economic growth, clearly will be additive to not only sentiment but presumably earnings."

    The S&P 500 is ahead 8.81 points at 2,570.91.

    The Nasdaq is up 26.85 points at 6,631.92.

  16. Muted close for London markets

    The FTSE 100 finished Friday back where it started at 7,523.23.

    Bank Standard Chartered ended the day as the biggest riser, up 3.15% at 772.3p after the US Senate passed a budget blueprint seen as a key step towards tax cuts.

    Silver miner Fresnillo led the fallers down 3.53% at £13.68.

    The FTSE 250 closed up 15.36 points at 20,146.88.

  17. Tech firms to remove extremist posts within hours

    IS militants have used social media to spread propaganda
    Image caption: IS militants have used social media to spread propaganda

    Tech giants including Facebook, Twitter and Google have agreed to do more to remove extremist content within hours of it being posted.

    The accord was decided at a two-day meeting between the G7 nations and the tech firms, hosted on the Italian island of Ischia.

    The aim, according to officials, is to remove jihadist content from the internet within two hours.

    Read the full story here.