Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish first minister, has insisted Scotland must be able to hold a second referendum on independence from the UK before 2021 if Brexit goes ahead, but stopped well short of committing to organising such a vote.

Wall Street’s S&P 500 held around its record high on Wednesday, with sentiment steady as the run of corporate updates from big-name US stocks gathered pace.

Higher demand in its mining and construction businesses helped industrial bellwether Caterpillar beat forecasts for first-quarter sales and prompted it to boost its full-year earnings outlook.

Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Wednesday to allow residents of Moscow-backed rebel-held territories in eastern Ukraine to obtain Russian passports.

Cyprus has seen strong demand for its inaugural 30-year bond sale in the latest sign of the country’s dramatic rebound since a fiscal and economic crisis six years ago.

Nasdaq topped Wall Street expectations in the first quarter with growth in data and technology sales helping to offset weakness in the traditional trading business.

Boeing has revealed it suffered a hit of more than $1bn of revenues from the worldwide grounding of its troubled 737 Max aircraft.

AT&T on Wednesday reported a first-quarter revenue miss as its premium TV and streaming service lost subscribers while the US telecoms group said it was on track to meet its deleveraging goals.

Occidental Petroleum has launched an unsolicited $55bn bid for Anadarko Petroleum, in an attempt to stop its planned acquisition by Chevron, starting a takeover battle for highly-prized US shale oil assets.

Biogen beat expectations on earnings and revenue as international sales of Spinraza, the first drug approved for treating spinal muscular atrophy, soared.

Twitter will encourage users to report false voter information in the EU and Indian elections as part of the platform’s attempts to combat threats to electoral integrity.

German business leaders this month took a gloomier turn as their confidence in the eurozone’s biggest economy weakened unexpectedly, a leading indicator revealed.

Saudi Arabia will not rapidly ramp up its oil output after the US ended the sanctions waivers for buyers of Iranian crude, the kingdom’s energy minister said on Wednesday.

The UK government’s borrowing hit a 17-year low during the financial year that ended at the start of April, according to preliminary figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.

Dutch brewer Heineken has reported an increase in beer volumes in all regions, driven in particular by double-digit growth in Africa, Middle East and eastern Europe, but maintained its mid-single digit growth outlook for the full year.

UK chancellor Philip Hammond has fired the starting pistol on the government’s search for a new Bank of England governor to replace the central bank’s current chief, Mark Carney.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the country has no choice but to resist US sanctions because Washington has no genuine intention to negotiate with the Islamic republic.

Sri Lanka's defence minister said the death toll from a series of bombings on the island on Easter Sunday had risen to 359, adding that 60 suspects had been arrested a day after Isis claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Aviva has announced a host of management changes as Maurice Tulloch, the newly appointed chief executive, puts his mark on the London-based insurer.

Nissan issued a second profit warning in two months on Wednesday as the embattled carmaker grapples with the fallout in Japan from the ousting of ex-boss Carlos Ghosn and weak sales in the US. 

Novartis upgraded its earnings outlook for 2019 after net sales and core operating income exceeded forecasts, as the drugmaker doubled down on its medicines business. 

Norwegian energy major Equinor has made new pledges to align its business with the Paris climate goals amid pressure from investors but fell short of promising binding long-term targets.

Credit Suisse reported an 8 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit, beating estimates, as its wealth management unit continued to grow and it reversed the decline in its securities trading business.

Four of the UK’s largest real estate investment trusts are heavily exposed to struggling retailers and CVAs, the rising insolvency trend which has become synonymous with the decline of the high street, UBS has warned.