The latest financial headlines from the UK:
- Rise in US private sector jobs raises hope
The US shed 54,000 jobs in August as the government dismissed more temporary census workers, but a rise in private sector employment offered hope that the economy could fend off a second recession - Investors buoyed by better US jobs data
Traders are piling into risky bets after a better than expected US labour market report reinforced hopes that the US economy can avoid sliding back into recession. - Weak service data add to slowdown fears
Service sector activity grew at the weakest pace in 16 months in August, heightening fears that the economy is beginning to stall - BP disaster costs rise to $8bn
BP said it had spent almost $2bn in the last month responding to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, even as it plugged the leak, taking its total bill for the catastrophe to $8bn. - France and UK seek closer military ties
France and Britain have stepped up their talks about strengthening bilateral defence co-operation but ruled out the idea of sharing aircraft carriers as ‘utterly unrealistic’ - Nadir remanded on bail after Old Bailey appearance
Asil Nadir could face a trial as early as next October after he was remanded on bail at his first appearance in a British court since he fled the country 17 years ago. - China and US stage Yellow Sea wargames
China and the US stage near-simultaneous naval exercises this week in the oceans around the Yellow Sea in one of the most open displays of the rising competition between the two rival forces in north Asia - HSBC in clearest warning over relocation
Warning given over British banks moving their headquarters abroad if UK government-appointed Commission on Banking were to decide that big groups should be broken up - Hamas threatens to step up attacks on Israel
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement, threatened “more effective” attacks on Israel as the launch of a new Middle East peace process triggered opposition on both sides. - Fears grow over global food supply
Wheat prices have risen further in the wake of Russia’s decision to extend its grain export ban by 12 months, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08