Business news live - Pound drops sharply against dollar as Ireland warns Brexit deal is 'not close'

Follow live business updates

Related video: Boris Johnson arrives for lunch with Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg (PA)

The pound has fell more than a cent against the dollar from a high today of $1.258 to $1.245 after Ireland's foreign minister warned that a Brexit deal is not close.

Simon Coveney told the BBC that "everyone needs a dose of reality" about the negotiations. “We need to be honest with people and say that we’re not close to that deal right now,” he said. Mr Coveney acknowledged that the "mood music" around Brexit talks had improved but said there was still a "wide gap" between what the UK has proposed and what the EU would accept.

The comments reversed a rally sparked last night by optimistic remarks made yesterday by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load...

Key Points

• RBS appoints Alison Rose as chief executive
• Thomas Cook in race to find £200m to stave off collapse
• Dover is 100 per cent ready for no-deal Brexit, says port chief executive
• Offshore wind no longer needs subsidies after costs tumble
• Pound falls as Irish foreign minister pours cold water on Brexit deal hopes

[20 September 2019 15:10 · ben.chapman]

Rogue oil trader causes $320m loss at Mitsubishi

Japanese financial firm Mitsubishi said a rogue oil trader at its Singapore unit lost $320m in unauthorised transactions disguised as legitimate hedges for customers.

The employee, a Chinese national working at Petro-Diamond Singapore, has been fired and reported to police, Mitsubishi said in a statement, declining to name him.

The trader, hired in November 2018 to handle oil business with China, “repeatedly” engaged in the unauthorised deals since January, disguising them to “look like hedge transactions,” the parent company said.

A person familiar with the matter identified the trader as Wang Xingchen, also known as Jack Wang. Calls to Wang’s mobile phone wouldn’t connect, while a person who answered the phone at Petro-Diamond’s Singapore office said he has left the company. No other current contact details were available.

Bloomberg