Bloomberg Britain’s new Brexit Czar argued this week that negotiations on the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union could begin around the end of this year, with December 2018 a probable date for departure. Appointed late on Wednesday by Prime Minister Theresa May, David Davis will now be Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union having campaigned to …

  Bloomberg Philip Hammond, the U.K.’s newly appointed chancellor of the exchequer, said the vote to leave the European Union had “rattled confidence” and that he will take “whatever measures” needed to shore up the British economy. “The number one challenge is to stabilize the economy, send signals of confidence about the future, the plans we have for the future …

  Bloomberg Germany’s government bonds lagged behind their higher-yielding peers as speculation major central banks will inject another dose of monetary stimulus curbed demand for the safest assets. Italian 10-year securities rose for a second day, while the extra yield Spanish bonds offer over German debt narrowed to the least since March. The split in the market came before an …

  Bloomberg J Sainsbury Plc was awarded £69 million ($91 million) by a London judge following a long-running dispute over fees charged on card transactions with Mastercard Inc. Mastercard charges on U.K. credit and debit card transactions restricted competition, according to a Competition and Appeal Tribunal judgment published on Thursday. The judgment is the first in a series of claims …

  Bloomberg Monsanto Co. has revived talks with BASF SE about a possible combination of their agrochemicals businesses, according to people familiar with the matter, after it rejected a $62 billion takeover offer from Bayer AG. The U.S. company is exploring various transactions, including the potential acquisition of BASF’s agriculture-solutions unit, the people said, asking not to be identified as …

Bloomberg Democrats are courting progressive-minded Americans by calling for a tax on Wall Street trades. If the party succeeds, the mom-and-pop investors they’re wooing could bear the brunt. The party supports a financial transaction tax to reign in “excessive speculation” and fast traders that have “threatened financial markets.” Small investors would probably see an increase in the cost to buy …

  Bloomberg Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler took a seat, grasped a set of controls, and guided an excavator — that happened to be 1,400 miles away. By moving dirt in Dallas through a remote hook-up from the FCC’s Washington offices earlier this year, Wheeler showed the promise of what could be the largest and most lucrative expansion of …

  Bloomberg Oil rebounded after closing at the lowest level in two months as equity markets increased and U.S. data showed crude stockpiles slid. Futures gained as much as 1.7 percent in New York, paring Wednesday’s 4.4 percent slump, as European stocks advanced. U.S. supplies fell an eighth week, the longest losing streak since June 2015, while gasoline inventories unexpectedly …

  Bloomberg Asia’s going to have to wait a little longer for the flood of U.S. shale gas to reach its shores. A global glut of liquefied natural gas has cut price differences between regions worldwide, leading traders to ship cargoes for shorter distances to save on freight costs, Citibank analysts including Anthony Yuen said in a report dated July …

  Gaziantep / AFP Brazilian steelmaker Usiminas has extended a 120-day credit standstill that was due to expire on Friday, state development bank BNDES said. Usiminas has been granted an additional 60 days to negotiate a deal, BNDES said in an e-mailed statement. Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA, as the Belo Horizonte-based company is formally known, has been in …