Oil prices regained their footing on Wednesday following the sharp sell-off in the prior day session, as data showing a bigger-than-expected drawdown in US fuel stockpiles and a jump in refiner demand helped eased some concerns about oversupply.

The chief justice of the US Supreme Court defended the federal judiciary on Wednesday, a day after Donald Trump labelled a judge who ruled against his administration “an Obama judge”.

The recent slump in oil prices has pushed the risk premium investors demand to hold the debt of riskier US energy companies to its highest level in 15 months.

Wall Street bounced back following a steep two-day sell-off, helped by a modest recovery in oil prices and bargain hunters swooping in on beaten-up tech stocks.

Britain’s accounting watchdog has launched an investigation into the audit of café chain Patisserie Valerie, which came close to collapse last month after discovering substantial financial irregularities.

Standard Chartered, the emerging markets bank, said its business would no longer be supervised by an independent monitor following the expiration of an agreement with its regulator, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS)

US president Donald Trump praised Saudi Arabia for helping to reduce oil prices and ramped up pressure on the kingdom to maintain the decline, even as talks have gathered pace among producer nations to enact new production curbs.

Sales of existing homes in the US rose in October, ending a six-month losing streak, but the ongoing softness in the housing market has prompted the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to call for the Federal Reserve to re-evaluate its interest rate policy.

Emerging market currencies enjoyed a reprieve on Wednesday as global risk appetite showed some improvement after signs that investors were heading for havens earlier in the week amid rising market volatility and a rout in global stocks.

UK electricity and gas supplier Extra Energy ceased trading on Wednesday, becoming the sixth small provider to go bust in 2018, with regulators now moving to make licensing tighter for new entrants to the market.

The OECD on Wednesday issued its latest economic forecasts. fastFT breaks down the key points and pulls out the most important charts from the report.

A key gauge of US consumer sentiment slipped to a three-month low in November, reflecting growing worries over rising interest rates.

Americans submitted the fewest applications for home-loan refinancing in nearly 18 years last week, another sign that rising interest rates are scaring off borrowers.

BHP Group, the world’s biggest miner, is seeking a mandate to grow, telling investors and that it has learnt the lessons of past mistakes and has the rules in place to make sure it invests wisely in future.

Investors held their ground on Wednesday after the European Commission rejected Italy’s draft budgetary plans and recommended putting disciplinary procedures in place.

A key US manufacturing gauge slumped by the most in 15 months in October amid a sharp drop in demand for transportation equipment. However underlying data continue to point to strength in the American economy despite the uncertainty over Washington’s trade war with Beijing.

BMW has obtained a licence to provide ride-hailing services in Chengdu, the capital city of south-west China’s Sichuan province, making them the first foreign carmaker to do so in China.

The UK government will shift its attention away from getting professional women on to major company boards and instead focus on championing low-paid and unemployed women, Penny Mordaunt has announced.

Lloyd’s of London is to lose another senior executive, with chief operating officer Shirine Khoury-Haq deciding to leave the insurance market next year.

Babcock International shares fell sharply in morning trading as interim results from Britain’s second-largest defence contractor failed to reassure investors over its performance.

US stock futures were tipping Wall Street for a higher open on Wednesday following a brutal sell-off that wiped out two of the main indices’ gains for the year.

US farm and heavy equipment maker Deere reported strong sales growth over the past year, however concerns over rising production costs and a sales slowdown in 2019 sent shares tumbling as much as 3 per cent early in US pre-market trading.

Theresa May has cast further doubt on the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without a deal.

Albemarle, the world’s largest producer of battery raw material lithium, has agreed to buy a 50 per cent stake in an Australian lithium mine for $1.15bn, as it looks to grow its supply to meet rising demand from electric cars.