The London Rush: Rio plugs in

Rio Tinto buys Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion.

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Hi, I'm Louise from Bloomberg UK's breaking news team, catching you up on this morning's business stories. Lithium — like copper — has become a key ingredient for electric cars, and Rio Tinto is keen for a slice of the action. The Anglo-Australian miner is set to buy US-based Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion. It is Rio's biggest deal since 2007 and will create one of the world's largest lithium producers. Arcadium has operations in Argentina, Australia and Canada serving customers like Tesla and BMW. Lithium prices have slumped recently on oversupply and some of the headiness coming out of EV demand. But at a 90% premium, Rio's deal for Arcadium is a bet that the shift to electric vehicles is only going to go up a gear — and lithium will be a hot commodity. What's your take? Ping me on X, LinkedIn or drop me an email at lmoon13@bloomberg.net. Oh, and do subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted business journalism on the UK, and beyond.

What We're Watching

Paper and packager Mondi (shares up 3%) is buying €634M worth of assets in Western Europe from Schumacher Packaging, growing capacity by over one billion square metres. Marston's full year sales outperformed the market, led particularly by food. There was a slight slowdown more recently, with the pub operator nodding to the "very wet weather". CMC Markets (shares up 7%) forecast a swing to pretax profit for the year. It says the number of Revolut clients live and actively trading is increasing "steadily", via a partnership.

Global Catch Up

US weighs forcing Google to breakup in landmark antitrust case. Israel's defence chief postpones US trip on objections by Netanyahu. Boeing withdraws pay offer to striking union, extending shutdown.

Markets Today: Gilts in the Spotlight

Here's your daily snap analysis from Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog: UK gilts are back in the headlines at a rather inopportune moment for Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The nation's 10-year yields are above those on Treasuries and the highest relative to Germany's in over a year. Borrowing costs are also hovering around the highest since Labour's election victory in July. While a big part of the story behind the spike in yields is the paring of bets on interest-rate cuts (and particularly the idea that the BOE will move slower than its peers), the recent, stormy relationship between the nation's fiscal policy and its bond market means the move is inevitably being read through the prism of the looming budget. With exactly three weeks to go until that is delivered — and speculation over tax and spending measures only likely to increase — that means the securities could be in for a rough ride.  For Reeves and her party, who made the Truss market meltdown a key plank of their election campaign, it could make the next few weeks a pretty nervy time. — David Goodman Check Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog for updates all day.

What's Next

Just after midnight comes RICS' house price balance — an indicator of the expected monthly change. It is forecast to rise 10% in September, from 1% in August, implying more surveyors see house price increases. That would be consistent with Halifax data earlier this week.

Pub Quiz

John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday, for being pioneers in which field? [Yesterday's answer: Premier League football team Tottenham Hotspur is sponsored by US-based crypto exchange Kraken.]

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