The EU’s three biggest member states have agreed a deal with Russia and China to set up a special payments system to facilitate trade with Iran as global powers step up measures to protect a nuclear deal with Tehran after the US reimposed sanctions.

Russia and the US will hold talks on a potential extension to the New START nuclear weapons treaty in Geneva in October, a Russian official said on Tuesday.

Sweden's centre-left prime minister Stefan Lofven has lost a vote of confidence in parliament, firing the starting gun on government negotiations that are expected to be tricky and protracted.

Louis Dreyfus Company, one of the world’s biggest traders of coffee, sugar and wheat, has been rocked by the sudden resignation of both its chief executive and chief financial officer.

Pharmaceuticals group Novartis has announced 1,700 job cuts in Switzerland as well as up to 400 job losses in the UK and the end of manufacturing in Grimsby, as part of a global programme to slash production costs and boost profitability.

Next half-year results

For most retailers this year, it never rains but it pours. For Next, however, it never shines but it scorches. That is what it suggested in its second-quarter trading update, last month. According to the FTSE 100-listed clothes store group, full-price sales increased by 4.5 per cent in the first half, with online sales up 15.5 per cent and retail sales down 5.3 per cent.

High street chocolatier Hotel Chocolat has bucked the high street trend, reporting rising profits for the year to July and plans to open new UK and international stores.

Swiss asset manager GAM said concerns raised by an internal whistleblower had prompted an investigation into one of its top fund managers which ultimately led to his suspension.

Labour will vote against Theresa May’s Brexit deal, the opposition party confirmed ahead of its major debate on the issue on Tuesday morning.

Shares in Card Factory lost a tenth of their value on Tuesday morning after the discount greetings card and gifts retailer reported falling half-year sales and earnings and described business conditions as “challenging”. 

The US has approved a $330m arms sale to Taiwan, in a fresh sign of Washington’s support for the government in Taipei amid rising Chinese pressure on the country and growing tension between the Trump administration and Beijing.

Confidence among French manufacturers deteriorated in September, as industrialists cut their expectations about how much they would produce.

Big six energy provider SSE is to acquire Sea green Wind Energy, increasing its exposure to offshore wind energy, it said on Tuesday.

CMC Markets, the online trading platform, issued a first-half profit warning on Tuesday, blaming low market volatility over the summer and the impact of a recent regulatory crackdown on its staple speculative trading products.

Glencore, the miner and commodity trader, has announced plans to repurchase a further $1bn of its own shares.

British American Tobacco has named a new chief executive just days after current chief Nicandro Durante announced he was stepping down in the wake of share price weakness.

The retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone is to shift its focus from growth to cost-cutting after elderly people proved reluctant to downsize into its homes.

Next, the UK mid-market fashion retailer, upgraded its profit forecast for the year after a predicted slowdown in summer sales did not materialise. 

Instagram’s two founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, are leaving the photo-sharing app they sold to Facebook for $1bn six years ago. 

Oil was holding onto its sharp overnight gain in early Asia-Pacific trading on Tuesday with the key US and international price both in positive territory.

Shares in HNA Technology slid on Tuesday after it dropped plans to acquire a Chinese ecommerce platform, in the latest knock to the financially distressed aviation-to-finance conglomerate HNA Group.

Stocks in Asia diverged after a weak showing from Wall Street and as some markets returned from a Monday holiday while others took Tuesday off.

Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s nominee for the US Supreme Court, reiterated his vow not to withdraw in an unusual television interview ahead of his testimony on Thursday.

Oil prices rose above $81 a barrel to fresh four-year highs on Monday after global producers decided against further output increases despite demands from Donald Trump for action to cool prices.