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Live Reporting

Daniel Thomas

All times stated are UK

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  1. Until tomorrow...

    That's all from me folks, and thanks for reading Business Live on what has been a momentous day in US politics. We'll be back tomorrow with more news and views on the markets, along with further reaction to today's election result.    

  2. US markets close higher after Trump win

    US traders

    US markets closed higher today, defying expectations of a slump following Donald Trump's election win.

    The Nasdaq index was 1.1% higher at 5,251.07 points, the Dow Jones was up 1.4% at 18,589.69 and the S&P 500 was up 1.1% at 2,163.26 points.

    Pharma stocks performed strongly as Hillary Clinton's defeat allayed fears of a clampdown on industry pricing. Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc jumped 23.5% while Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc was up 21.87%.

    Suppliers of raw materials and machinery also did well, buoyed by Mr Trump's plans to invest heavily in US infrastructure projects. Caterpillar Inc was up 7.72% while United States Steel Corp jumped 17.17%.

  3. Mexican peso hits all time low

    Mexican bureau d'exchange

    Mexico's currency took a battering today following the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to build a wall between the two countries and tear up trade agreements.

    In late afternoon trade, the peso was down by around 8% at roughly 20 pesos to the dollar, its lowest value against the US currency in history. The Mexican stock market was also down by more than 2%.

  4. 'Inequality drove Trump victory', says Resolution Foundation

    Voting patterns/ income

    This interesting blog from the Resolution Foundation explores the connection between inequality and Donald Trump's win.

    Torsten Bell says the move towards Mr Trump and away from the Democrats "was entirely amongst middle and low income voters, with a huge 16% point net move". 

    He blames two big trends that have been building in the US for the last 40 years.

    First is "the simple fact that wages for the typical worker have not kept pace with the growth of the economy during that time – and indeed have simply flat-lined for large chunks of that period" (see chart below). 

    The second is the falling rate of workforce participation, as opposed to employment.

    "In America today many more people are neither working nor looking for work than was the case in the past. This partly reflects a failure in the US to bring women into the labour force in the way that has been done in much of Europe, but it is driven by more and more men dropping out of the world of work entirely," Mr Bell says.

    Wage chart
    US workforce participation chart
  5. Shell shuts down Nigerian flow station

    BBC World Service

    The oil giant Shell says it has shut down one of its flow stations - where oil from the well flows for treatment - in Nigeria's Delta region due to a protest at the facility, reports BBC World Service. 

    Demonstrators at the Escravos station said this was their eighth day of protest against the lack of good roads, electricity and water supplies. 

    Militants demanding a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth have attacked a number of pipelines in recent days. A pipeline carrying crude oil from Shell's Forcados terminal has been sabotaged three times in the past week.

  6. Trump must keep up 'positive tone'

    Mohamed El-Erian

    Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, says there are three things Donald Trump should do in the coming days to sooth market volatility. 

    Firstly he should keep up a positive tone; second, he should stress the pro-growth elements of his programme such as corporate tax reform and infrastructure; and third, he should avoid references to "dismantling" the North American Free Trade Agreement and "slapping tariffs on Mexico and China".

    If he focuses on trade protectionism, however, it could risk 'stagflation': lower growth and higher inflation. "Markets do not like stagflation... it will create instability, both economic and financial," says Mr El-Erian.

  7. 'The Tans-Pacific Partnership is in the dustbin'

    Gary Hufbauer

    Gary Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics says a Trump presidency means the end of big free trade deals.

    He told the BBC: "The [recently signed] Tans-Pacific Partnership is in the dustbin and the ones that are in negotiation, like the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is in the freezer, and there are a couple of others that are also in the freezer. 

    "The real question is how fast and how far Mr Trump cuts back on existing trade arrangements by putting up new tariffs and terminating, for example, the North American Free Trade Agreement." 

    However, Mr Hufbauer does not think Mr Trump will start a trade war with China, as this would dampen market enthusiasm about his fiscal stimulus plans in the US. 

  8. Dollar up against euro

    The dollar dived after the US election result was called, but has continued to recover against the euro during the day.

    By late afternoon it was trading 0.92% higher at €0.915, although it was down 0.29% against the pound at £0.805 

    Dollar to euro
    Dollar to pound
  9. Edinburgh hotel up for sale

    Some more non-US election news...

    The Scotsman Hotel

    An Edinburgh five-star hotel has been put up for sale.

    The Scotsman Hotel, on North Bridge, went into liquidation in June, but the owners, JJW Hotels and Resorts group, were allowed time to look for a way to salvage the business.

    However, they failed to find a solution so now the 69-bedroom hotel has been put on the market.

    It is being allowed to keep trading and none of the 150 staff have lost their jobs. Read more here

  10. How realistic are Donald Trump's aims?

    BBC World Service

    Donald Trump's aims of doubling economic growth and creating 25 million new jobs may sound great. 

    But are they realistic? And can they really be achieved with Donald Trump's massive tax cuts? Economist Dr. Irwin Stelzer of the Hudson Institute has seen a fair number of Presidents come and go and he's been talking to World Business Report on World Service.

    Video content

    Video caption: Dr Irwin Stelzer of the Hudson Institute assesses Donald Trump's economic plans.
  11. Goldman 'considering Frankfurt move' on Brexit fears

    Some non-Trump business news...

    Goldman Sachs

    Goldman Sachs is considering moving some of its assets to Frankfurt due to concerns about Brexit, Reuters has reported, quoting sources. 

    The bank is said to be nervous about the prospect of a "hard Brexit" - whereby the UK quits the single market - and sees the step as a way to maintain its EU trading rights.

    However, sources said the move would be uncharted legal territory and the bank had not yet taken a decision on the matter.

    It follows warnings from the British Bankers' Association in October that large banks were getting ready to relocate out of the UK early next year over fears around Brexit. 

  12. Fed 'likely to raise rates' despite election result

    Janet Yellen

    Donald Trump is no fan of US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, but despite his victory, analysts still believe the central bank will raise rates in December. 

    According to a Reuters poll of 62 economists taken today, 85% said they believed the Fed would go ahead with a hike, its first in a year. 

    "We are not going to rush into changing our call for a rate hike at the December meeting," said Jim O'Sullivan, US economist at High Frequency Economics, a forecaster.

    Chicago Fed president Charles Evans said only a "pretty sizeable" negative surprise would convince the Fed to change course. 

    And Jeremy Schwartz, economist at Credit Suisse, said: "We think economic conditions and Fed rhetoric both point to going in December." 

    Most said Mrs Yellen is likely to serve the remainder of the 15 months left in her four-year term, but that Mr Trump is unlikely to reappoint her.

  13. President Obama seeks 'successful transition' with Trump

    President Obama

    President Obama has been speaking about the election result. 

    He said he had congratulated Mr Trump and invited him to the White House to talk about creating a "successful transition between our presidencies".

    It is no secret the pair have "significant differences", he said, but that was also the case with George W Bush and the transition in 2008 worked well.  

    He added: "We are now all rooting for Donald Trump's success in uniting and leading the country."

  14. Wall Street stocks turn positive

    US traders

    Taking their cue from European markets perhaps, US stocks have now turned positive, defying fears of a slump.

    The Nasdaq is up 0.67% at 5,228.03 points, the S&P 500 is up 0.74% at 2,155.31 and the Dow Jones has risen 0.84% to 18,487.07.

  15. FTSE 100 closes higher

    FTSE 100

    The FTSE 100 closed 1% higher at 6911.84 points, as investors appeared to shrug off concerns about the US election result. 

    Miners and pharma companies did particularly well as Mr Trump's victory augured business-friendly policies for both industries.  

    Miners Fresnillo and Antofagasta were up by 10.69% and 8.91% respectively, while pharma business Shire climbed 8.29%.

    The biggest faller was Sainsbury's, down 6.58% after a poor set of results. 

    The pound was also holding its own, trading 0.67% higher at $1.246.

  16. 'We owe Donald Trump an open mind'

    Mrs Clinton

    Mrs Clinton has said the result of the election is painful - for her and for her supporters - and would be for a long time. 

    "We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought," she added.

    But she said the US people owed Donald Trump "an open mind and the chance to lead".

    She also urged the country to "make our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top; to protect our country and our planet; and to break down the barriers that hold Americans back from achieving their dreams". 

  17. BreakingHillary Clinton gives her concession speech...

    Mrs Clinton

    Hillary Clinton has been giving her concession speech, which had been postponed.

    She said she hoped Donald Trump would be a successful president "for all Americans", and that she wanted to work with him.

    She also said she was proud and grateful for having had the opportunity to run. 

  18. Moody's weighs pros and cons of Trump win

    Mr Trump

    Credit rating Moody's has been weighing the pros and cons of a Trump presidency for US business.

    It says Mr Trump's protectionist trade policies could hurt industries such as oil and gas, technology and automotive - but may also be positive for industries facing "severe import competition", such as steel and manufacturing.

    On banking, it says Mr Trump's plan to suspend all new regulation and eliminate the Dodd-Frank Act - established in 2010 to bolster the US financial system - could boost lenders' earnings in the short term.

    But it says this reduced oversight could weaken "banks' capital and liquidity positions" and would be credit negative.

    Finally, it says Mr Trump's tougher immigration rules would "reduce the applicant pool for companies in sectors including technology, automotive and aerospace and raise employment costs". But his proposed cuts to corporate taxes would broadly benefit the business world. 

  19. Trump advisor: 'Trade deals must be renegotiated'

    Dan DiMicco

    In October, BBC economics editor interviewed Dan DiMicco, Donald Trump's trade advisor.

    At the time, Mr DiMicco said many people in the US are angry:

    "Folks that have gamed the system benefit from it, and the average citizen doesn't. They may get bought off with cheap underwear, but they've lost the ability to have a good paying job, that can provide for themselves, their family.

    "Trade deals are going to be walked away from if they can't be renegotiated to the point where they are a net positive for our GDP, and a positive for good paying job growth."