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Live Reporting

Daniel Thomas

All times stated are UK

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  1. Good night

    Thanks for tuning in to Business Live. We'll be back tomorrow at 6am sharp.

  2. S&P and Nasdaq hit fresh records

    The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at records on Monday after an agreement between major oil exporters boosted crude prices and petroleum-linked shares. 

     At the closing bell, the S&P 500 stood at 2,402.34 points, up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq reached 6,149.67, also up 0.5%

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 20,982.28. 

  3. Murray - the start-up VC?

    Andy Murray

    Tennis star Andy Murray has backed two British start-up companies on the crowdfunding platform Seedrs. 

    The world number one has invested undisclosed sums into tech start-up Den and helmet maker Morpher, taking the Scot's portfolio on Seedrs to more than 20 companies.

    Morpher's helmets fold and unfold, and are aimed at cyclists who do not wear a helmet because they are too cumbersome to carry. It has raised more than £659,000 from almost 400 investors on Seedrs. 

    Den meanwhile is a smart home system that can help users saves electricity and alert you when you've left your lights on. It has now raised more than £2.1m from more than 1,150 investors.

    Murray said: “Den is exactly the kind of innovative smart technology households around the globe will utilise in the future, and Morpher is a product that the modern cyclist should own - one that has been dutifully perfected by an award-winning inventor.”

  4. Snap shares jump 7% on investor disclosures

    Snap

    Shares in Snap  - the owner of Snapchat  - have jumped 7% after several major investment houses disclosed they held stakes.

    Regulatory filings showed hedge funds including Third Point, Citadel Advisors and Och-Ziff Capital Management each owned shares in the firm as of 31 March.

    Investment funds Fidelity Management & Research, T Rowe Price, BlackRock and Vanguard also held stakes in the company, filings showed. 

    Shares in Snap jumped after its IPO last year, but have since plummeted on fears of slowing user growth and mounting competition from Facebook.

  5. Philadelphia sues Wells Fargo over lending practices

    A Wells Fargo branch

    More bad news for Well Fargo. The City of Philadelphia is suing the bank, accusing it of predatory mortgage lending practices.

    Philadelphia accuses Wells Fargo of having steered minority borrowers into higher-cost, riskier loans than white borrowers, even if they qualified for loans with more relaxed terms. It also said the bank had refused to let minority borrowers refinance.

    Wells Fargo called the claims unsubstantiated and vowed to "vigorously" defend its record.

    It adds to legal woes afflicting the US bank, which has since September been beset by a scandal over its employees' creation of unauthorised customer accounts to meet sales targets.

  6. List of German firms hit by ransomware grows

    Berlin

    More German institutions were affected by the WannaCry attack than initially thought, the German federal cyber agency, BSI, has said.  

    It also said it expected additional variants of the virus to surface. 

    BSI President Arne Schoenbohm urged companies hit by the virus to report attacks through normal confidential channels and avoid payments to hackers under any circumstances. 

    Since Friday, the attacks have infected around 200,000 PCs in 100 countries, locking user data and demanding a ransom for its release. 

  7. No US federal agencies hit by ransomware

    No federal systems were affected by the ransomware attack, according to President Donald Trump's top cyber and homeland security advisor, Tom Bossert.

    He added that the "less than $70,000" of ransom money paid to release data locked by the virus worldwide appears not to have "led to any data recovery".

  8. AB InBev plans $2bn investment in the US

    Budweiser bottle

    AB InBev plans to invest $2bn in the US in the next few years, as it tries to bolster flagging sales of its core brands in the face of rising competition from craft beer. 

    The firm, which recently bought rival SABMiller for nearly $100bn, says it will invest close to $500m this year in its supply chain and expanding its breweries. It will also push further into non-alcoholic drinks.

    Sales of its best known tipple, Budwiser, have been falling in the US as consumers opt for more complex tasting craft beers. AB InBev has tried to adapt by taking over more than ten independent brewers since 2011. 

  9. AirAsia agrees deal for China budget airline

    Simon Atkinson

    Asia Business Reporter

    AirAsia

    In 1982 there were fewer than four million air passenger journeys made within China. Last year, that number had reached 487 million.   

    And it's this booming demand for domestic air travel that has prompted AirAsia to sign a joint venture agreement to set up a new low-cost carrier in China. 

    Based in the central eastern city of Zhengzhou, the airline will be run in partnership with the Everbright Group. 

    AirAsia already has businesses in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines and India. 

    "This Chinese venture represents the final piece of the AirAsia puzzle," said chief executive Tony Fernandes, adding it "closes the loop" in the region.

  10. Banks tighten security

    The City

    Banks have tightened their security systems and increased their surveillance after the global cyber attack.

    Russia's Sberbank, the country's biggest lender, said viruses had not got into its systems but it was nonetheless "on high alert". 

    Germany's savings banks, the largest and most powerful financial group in the country, received reminders from the group's information technology company to install updates. 

    According to Reuters, one large British bank said they had drafted people in to work over the weekend, having been subject to a similar attack earlier this year. 

    Spanish banks La Caixa, Bankinter and Sabadell said they had all taken measures. 

    And India's IndusInd Bank said on Monday the attack had affected a few systems, but those had been quarantined over the weekend and it had moved quickly to patch its systems. 

    Banks generally have more robust cyber defences than other sectors, because of the sensitive nature of their businesses - however some have lost money following cyber attacks. 

  11. BreakingLister Hospital diverts patients

    PA news reports that the Lister Hospital in London is diverting trauma cases to Addenbrooke's Hospital, part of Cambridgeshire University Hospitals; stroke patients to Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; and coronary care to Papworth Hospital. 

    The hospital is one of two still diverting patients after the major cyber attack that struck over the weekend - down from seven. The other is Broomfield Hospital, part of Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust (Midlands & East).

    Speaking of the NHS as a whole, Dr Anne Rainsberry, national incident director, said: "There are encouraging signs that the situation is improving."

  12. US cyber security shares jump

    Trader

    As we reported earlier, shares in UK cyber security firms jumped today following the global ransomware attack - and now the same appears to be happening in the US.

    Both FireEye and Proofpoint are up by more than 8%, while Symantec and Palo Alto Networks have gained almost 4%.

    According to analysts at Wedbush, the attack will "refocus IT attention on updating security infrastructure and procedures" and benefit providers in email, network and endpoint security.

  13. Poor payrises linked to productivity problem

    Payrises this year will be just 1%, according a survey of 1,000 firms by HR body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the employment agency Adecco Group.

    That is the lowest figure for three years and well below the current 2.3% inflation rate - a figure that is expected to rise sharply on Tuesday when April's figure is published. 

    So why are payrises so low?

    CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese says the issue is the perennial productivity problem - that as a nation we continue to lag, ranking just 17th or 18th in the G20 countries listing. 

    He says that firms need to invest more in training to ensure staff can contribute more. 

  14. Cyber attacks - what businesses need to know

    Cybersecurity graphic

    Paula Barrett, a partner at Eversheds, says that when it comes to data breaches, it’s a case of "when, not if" given the ease with which ransomware can now be purchased.

    She advises firms to have a contingency plan in place. Here are some of her tips: 

    • Have a crisis response team ready and geared up for communications to employees, clients and wider public
    • Mock events can be an invaluable way of stress-testing safety processes, as well as training those who will be called upon to be making the decisions in the event of a crisis
    • Team members should be drawn from across the organisation - from the legal team to IT, communications and HR as well as senior managers and, ideally, someone from the board
    • Wider reporting requirements need to be understood in advance: external reporting may be mandatory for some regulated and listed businesses, public authorities, utilities and others; you may need to act within hours
    • Understand your insurance position - are you covered and do you need to notify your insurers? Don’t assume you will be - this has to be looked at in advance
  15. Indian state power company hit by ransomware attack

    Chris Baraniuk

    Technology reporter

    Central Delhi

    While officials in India have said the country largely escaped the WannaCry outbreak, there have been some victims. Notably, a state power company in West Bengal was reported to have suffered from ransomware infections. 

    The local power minister said WannaCry had been detected on computers used in billing centres at the Electricity Distribution Company. As a result, billing for 800,000 households has been affected.

    Earlier in the day, it had been reported that the Reserve Bank of India had advised banks to take special precautions to stop the ransomware spreading. It suggested updating the software in ATMs before turning them on.

  16. Corbyn rails against cyber attack

    Corbyn at rally

    Attendees at a Labour election rally earlier made their feelings known about the cyber attack. The crowd gathered Brudenell Social Club booed en masse, as Mr Corbyn railed against the attack on the NHS over the weekend.