The 10 things to watch in business on Friday September 11

Google rolls out Apple Pay competitor in the US ; Pub chain JD Wetherspoon reports a 25 per cent fall in pre-tax profit ; John Lewis bounces back with 11 per cent rise in department store sales

Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California (Getty Images)

1.The FTSE 100 has opened down slightly - around 0.19 per cent, at 6,143.95. Top losers were Vodafone Group and BT Group, down 1.45 per cent and 1.06 per cent respectively.

2. We will get an update on the health of Britain's builders this morning. At 09:30am. July figures on the state of the building industry will be released. Economists think there could be some cheer after the gloom from manufacturers and have predicted a 0.5 per cent output rise.

3. Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has reported a 25 per cent fall in pre-tax profit for the year to 28 July, although revenues were up 7.4 per cent to £1,513.9 million and like for like sales rose 3.3 per cent. Founder and chairman says living wage will mean more pub closures particularly in less affluent areas.

4. John Lewis bounces back with 11 per cent rise in department store sales in the last week thanks to a damp Bank Holiday and back to school shopping.

5. Government-owned Japan Post announced plans to raise as much as 1.39tn yen ($11.5 billion, £7.4 billion) through a stock market listing in Tokyo, that would be one of the world's biggest this year.

6. A former China Resources chairman has been hit by the country's anti-corruption campaign. China will prosecute the former chairman of state-owned conglomerate China Resources on suspicion of corruption, the country's main anti-graft watchdog said on Friday.

7. SoftBank chairman has considered taking the company private. The billionaire Masayoshi Son considered a management buyout of Japan’s SoftBank Group earlier this year and entered talks with an overseas partner, Bloomberg reports.

8. Wynn Resorts shares fell on an analyst’s report from Asia that a junket group operating out of the company’s Macau casino may have lost as much as HK$2 billion ($258 million) to thievery, adding concerns to the already battered industry.

9. Angry Birds creator Rovio is launching a completely new gaming franchise just weeks after laying off 260 staff

10. Google is rolling out its Apple Pay competitor in the US. Android Pay lets users pay for items at real-world locations using their smartphones.