The 10 things to watch in business on Wednesday August 26

Chinese stocks are having a chaotic morning; the FTSE 100 dropped 86.08 points; Paddy Power and Betfair set to merge

A Chinese investor holds prayer beads as he monitors stock prices at a brokerage house in Beijing (AP)

1. Chinese’s stocks are having a chaotic morning. Stocks opened higher, then tanked, then roared higher again. Shanghai Composite index currently sits up 1.50 per cent, an amazing achievement given it was down nearly 4 per cent shortly before the mid-session break. In just three hours of trade the index has seen a 8 per cent trading range, and briefly fell to the lowest level seen since December 10.

2. Crude oil futures edged up on Wednesday, but were still not far off 6-1/2 year lows after China's central bank moved to support the country's stumbling economy, while concerns about a supply glut capped gains.

3. At the open, the FTSE 100 dropped 86.08 points or 1.42 per cent to 5,996.26. The plunge added to fears of a Chinese-led global slowdown, dashing hopes that Tuesday's 3 per cent rise had marked the end of the crisis.

4. Paddy Power and Betfair set to merge to create one of the world’s largest betting and gaming companies. A combined group will command over £1.1 billlion of revenue with the firms believing that their combined scale and capabilities would leave it better placed to compete in new and existing markets.

5. Gold slipped this morning as equities bounced back after China eased monetary policy further to shore up faltering stock markets.

6. Advertising giant WWP, which handles the advertising needs of brands such as Ford and Unilever, reported a 2.3 per cent rise in first half like-for-like net sales, in line with forecasts, and a 3.7 per cent jump in July, which it said indicated a likely stronger third quarter.

7. Telmex, owned by América Móvil, is being investigated by Mexico's telecoms regulator over whether it breached the terms of its concession by being involved with a satellite television service

8. After more than 15 years of digging, Switzerland on Tuesday completed construction on the world's longest tunnel, the 35-mile NEAT Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is set to open next June.

9. Hire group HSS profits rise from £11 million to £14 million after profits warning in June

10. Profitability soared at OneSavings Bank in the first half of the current year as the lender managed to improve several of its key performance metrics. The volume of loans and advances jumped 17 per cent to reach £4.6 billion driving the cost-income ratio to 26 per cent, down from the 29 per cent seen in the comparable period of 2014.