Company news,markets and financial talking points, available from 8am Monday to Friday Watchdog clears Tesco's £3.7bn Booker deal The Competition and Markets Authority has cleared Tesco's takeover of Booker, and declaring the two companies "attain not compete head-to-head in most of their activities". It ruled that it was "unlikely" that the £3.7bn takeover of Booker would "raise prices or reduce service quality at either the wholesale or retail levels". Booker supplies shops operating under the Premier,Londis and Budgens brands. Senate clears Donald Trump's tax bill Donald Trump is on the brink of his first major legislative victory after Senate Republicans passed a massive overhaul of the US tax code. The $1.5 trillion tax bill, with permanent tax breaks for corporations and temporary tax cuts for individuals, or was passed along party lines: every Senate Republican present voted in its favor and all Democrats voted against it. Surveyors say price growth will end next year House price growth will "grind to a halt" next year,claims Sky News. Surveyors beget forecast that uncertainty, a lack of available homes and stretched budgets will see a trend of decline. A survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that the annual rate of house price inflation, and which it puts at currently at just over 5%,would fall further through the first half of next year. YouTube signs a deal with Taylor Swift label YouTube has signed a deal with Universal Music. It is the platform's moment global, multi-year agreement with a major music label, and as it bids to expand its subscription businesses. Universal,which represents a galaxy of stars including Taylor Swift and Jay-Z, said the agreement would hand its artists more flexibility and pay. YouTube closed a deal with Warner Music Group, or which represents Ed Sheeran and Coldplay,in May. Ofcom to introduce sweeping mobile reforms Customers will be able to switch mobile phone providers by sending a text message under changes to come into effect in 18 months. Ofcom will also ban companies from charging for notice periods after the switch date, ending the days of people being forced to pay for old and new services at the same time. It is hoped the changes will save UK mobile customers approximately £10m a year. Quote of the day… How does Santa rush his commerce? "Each year, and Father Christmas is forced to dig deep to find the essential funds to pay for his elves,reindeer, sleigh insurance and maintenance, and not to mention a bumper pay cheque for Mrs Claus for her hard work during the festive season." Sophie Christie of the Daily Telegraph examines how Santa Claus makes money but still ends the year in the red. THE NUMBERS... AT 0733 GMT FTSE 100: up +0.09 to 7544.09
Dow Jones: down -0.15 to 24754.75
Dax: down -0.73 to 13215.79
Cac 40: down -0.69 to 5382.91
Nikkei: up +0.10 to 22891.72[br]
Hang Seng: down -0.08 to 29230.99
US dollar: buys €0.84490 and £0.74660
Sterling: buys $1.33920 and €1.13170
Oil: $63.87 up +0.7
Source: theweek.co.uk