Bayer is selling its animal health unit to sector specialist Elanco for $7.6bn as the German pharmaceuticals and chemicals group looks to reorganise following the disastrous acquisition of Monsanto last year.

Stock markets were steady as investors digested the prospect of fiscal stimulus from some of the world’s biggest economies, while Italian assets were back in focus ahead of a possible confidence vote in the populist government.

Russia has condemned the US for its test of a ground-launched cruise missile, the first since it pulled out of a Cold War-era arms treaty that banned the development of such missiles.

Housebuilder Persimmon on Tuesday posted a slight decline in profits as its customer service expenditure rose 40 per cent and it invested about £140m in improving the quality of its homes.

Wood, the UK energy services group, will offload its nuclear business for £250m as part of a drive to cut down its debt levels.

Casino has outlined plans to sell an additional €2bn in assets as the French retailer looks to slice its debt and focus on key markets.

Britain’s energy regulator will investigate whether National Grid and a number of local electricity network operators breached their licence conditions as it launches its own probe into power cuts that affected more than a million UK homes and businesses earlier this month.

BHP reported a 2 per cent rise in underlying profit for the year to the end of June and declared a record dividend, rewarding shareholders after several years of belt-tightening and strong commodity prices. 

Baidu posted second-quarter revenue that beat expectations and swung back to a profit after its first loss in almost 15 years, driven by growth in its video streaming platform as the Chinese technology company moves to rein in costs and fend off domestic rivals.

Corporate America is still going strong, bucking Wall Street’s recent angst that an economic recession may be looming.

Shares in PG&E lost a quarter of their value on Monday after a court ruling that one analyst estimates could add $15bn to the California utility’s wildfire costs.

Wall Street advanced for the third day on Monday while government debt prices pulled back after last week’s rally, with investors squarely focused on monetary policy ahead of the Federal Reserve’s annual economic conference later this week and amid optimism on trade.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said citizens have “the right to peaceful protest” but that riots would not be tolerated in Moscow, in his first comments on five weeks of rallies that have rocked the Russian capital.

Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan on Monday renewed a three-year term for the country’s influential army chief till 2022, citing the “regional security environment” as the main reason for the rare move.

Dissident Irish republicans have been blamed for a bomb explosion in Northern Ireland after police said the attackers planned to kill officers investigating a nearby hoax. 

Jean-Claude Juncker will miss a G7 meeting in France this week where he was due to meet Boris Johnson after undergoing surgery.

Investors have cut their bets against the pound for the first time since the beginning of June as the currency has recovered off near-historic lows, but analysts warn that volatility still looms with the Brexit deadline just 10 weeks away.

Portugal is to lift fuel rationing after tanker drivers voted to go back to work seven days into an indefinite strike, agreeing to enter government-brokered talks with their private-sector employers on pay and conditions.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson will meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday to discuss Brexit and other matters, the Elysée palace announced on Monday.

British outsourcer Mitie is to sell its catering division to specialist caterer CH&CO for £85m as part of an overhaul process that has seen it look to narrow its focus.

Exports from Japan fell at a slower rate than forecast in July, marking an improvement on the previous month as shipments to Asia dipped amid global trade tensions.

Major international airports across the US warned passengers of long delays when arriving from overseas after the computer system used to process customs forms went down.

An annual gathering of central bankers in Wyoming and minutes from the latest policy meetings at the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank will give investors fresh insight into monetary policy, amid growing reservations about the health of the global economy.

Wall Street recovered some of its lost ground on Friday, but the gains were not enough to prevent US equities from posting their third consecutive weekly decline, underlining investor fears about the precariousness of the global economy.