Chipotle’s first quarterly report under new chief executive Brian Niccol has given investors something to sink their teeth into, and the fast-casual burrito chain’s shares heated up in after-hours trading following better than expected earnings.

Qualcomm saw its profits cut in half as a painful legal dispute with Apple over iPhone royalties drags on, but it still beat Wall Street estimates for the quarter.

Facebook earnings and revenue beat expectations in the first quarter, showing the social network’s advertising business continued to grow ahead of the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal.

Wall Street fought back from early declines despite a further rise in benchmark borrowing costs, with the Dow Jones ending its longest losing streak in over a year.

French billionaire Vincent Bolloré has been placed under formal investigation relating to suspected bribery of foreign officials in Africa, according to a statement from his spokesman on Wednesday evening.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber is feeling the squeeze from higher oil prices.

A plan by the New York Stock Exchange to extend floor trading to securities listed on rival exchanges hit a snag on Wednesday.

ConocoPhillips, the US exploration and production group, has been awarded $2.04bn in compensation from PDVSA, Venezuela’s national oil company, in an arbitration decision by the International Chamber of Commerce.

LendingClub shares hit a record low on Wednesday after the Federal Trade Commission accused the online lender of duping consumers by concealing “hundreds of even thousands of dollars” in hidden, upfront fees.

No end in sight for the peso’s woes.

The head of the French regulator has hit out at one of the fast-growing areas of European equities trading, saying its levels of transparency were “very limited”.

Metro Bank hit a six-month low after results from the lender showed a continued weakening of its capital ratios, which raised fears of a cash call by the year end. “We think management would be well advised to act ahead of its current stated plan of not raising fresh equity capital until 2019,” said Investec.

Heading into the final stretch of its first foray into bond markets, WeWork was on track to sell 7-year notes at a yield between 7.75 per cent and 8 per cent, according to four investors, though that figure could change before banks close their books at 1pm.

KPMG’s continued role as auditors at General Electric has been backed at its annual meeting by investors with 64.9 per cent of the shares voted, an unusually low level of support in a decision that is usually a formality.

It is only the fifth time that the appointment of auditors has won less than 90 per cent support at S&P 500 company since 2015.

Aluminum enjoyed a rare moment of calm on Wednesday following a wild ride that saw prices catapulted into the stratosphere before plunging in a violent sell-off.

Whitbread has said it will spin-off its Costa Coffee business after pressure from two hedge funds, but the process will take up to two years, frustrating some investors.

Edward Bramson’s activist investment fund has increased its interest in Barclays ahead of a meeting with the British bank’s chief executive that is due to be arranged after its quarterly results on Thursday.

The chips are down for semiconductor makers on Wednesday after a media report said the US Department of Justice is investigating whether China’s Huawei Technologies has violated sanctions related to Iran.

Stocks and Treasuries were down in early trade as the yield on benchmark government bond pushed back above 3 per cent.

Labour has dropped a controversial parliamentary candidate who had speculated on social media that the Manchester Arena bombing and the murder of Jo Cox may not have happened.

Sugar prices were melting on Wednesday, falling to a new multiyear low on the falling Brazilian real and continued concerns about the global supply glut.

The sell-off in US Treasuries continued on Wednesday, with the yield on the 10-year back above 3 per cent while US stock futures were mixed.

The European Central Bank is scheduled to deliver a policy decision on Thursday at a time when economic data have suggested the eurozone has started 2018 on shaky footing after a blockbuster performance last year.

fastFT has put together a guide on what analysts are watching.

Airbus and France’s Dassault Aviation have agreed to join forces for the development and production of Europe’s Future Combat Air System.