Brexit talks have seen significant movement – UK minister Gove

LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Britain’s Brexit negotiations with the European Union have seen significant movement in recent weeks, Michael Gove, the minister in charge of coordinating ‘no-deal’ preparations, said on Wednesday.

In parliament, Gove also said the government’s top economic priority was to maintain the free flow of goods into and out of the EU. (Reporting by William James; editing by Stephen Addison)

CANADA STOCKS-TSX opens lower as energy shares slide

Sept 25 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index dipped at the open on Wednesday, as energy shares came under pressure from lower oil prices but losses were capped by a rise in healthcare stocks.

* At 9:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite index was down 23.5 points, or 0.14%, at 16,774.83.

* The energy sector slid 1.1%, while the healthcare sector gained 0.5%.

Ottawa police investigating ‘suspicious’ death in Bells Corners

Ottawa police are investigating what they describe as the “suspicious” death of a man in Bells Corners on Tuesday.

Police have not released the identity of the man who died nor any information on the circumstances of his death.

The force’s major crime unit is investigating.

More to come.

Brazil loan defaults rise to 4.0% in August, highest since January – central bank

BRASILIA, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Loan defaults in Brazil rose to 4.0% in August, the central bank said on Wednesday, up from 3.9% the month before and the highest level since January.

The amount of outstanding loans in Brazil rose 1.1% in August from the previous month to 3.3 trillion reais ($788 billion), while lending spreads held steady at 31.6 percentage points, the central bank said. ($1 = 4.1850 reais) (Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Toby Chopra)

EBay C.E.O. Steps Down

EBay said on Wednesday that Chief Executive Officer Devin Wenig has stepped downand the e-commerce company named its finance head Scott Schenkel as interim C.E.O.

The company said its board will undertake a search for the next C.E.O.

Activist wants Marathon Petroleum to split off Speedway gas stations and is gaining support

• Billionaire Paul Singer's hedge fund Elliott Management sent a letter to the board of Marathon, urging the refiner to divide into separate retail, midstream and refining companies.
• Hedge fund D.E. Shaw is supporting the breakup of Marathon, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC's David Faber.

The call for Marathon Petroleum to split into separate businesses is gaining momentum among activist investors.

Billionaire Paul Singer's hedge fund Elliott Management sent a letter to the board of Marathon on Wednesday, urging the refiner to divide into separate retail, midstream and refining companies to "remedy the company's chronic underperformance." Elliott owns about 2.5% in Marathon.

Hedge fund D.E. Shaw, which owns a similar sized stake in Marathon as Elliott, is also supporting the breakup of Marathon, including spinning off Speedway gas stations, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC's David Faber.

Shares of Marathon jumped more than 5% following the news.

Elliott said the company can unlock more than $22 billion in value for shareholders with the split-up, which could give the stock a 61% boost.

Marathon has plunged more than 34% in the past 12 months, underperforming its peers including Phillips 66 which is down 13% during the same period.

Here are the 12 candidates who qualified for the next Democratic presidential debate

HONOLULU (AP) — Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is the latest Democratic presidential candidate who has qualified for the next Democratic debate. Gabbard qualified for October’s debate after failing to make the threshold for the last one.

A Monmouth University poll released Tuesday shows Gabbard has the support of 2% of registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters likely to participate in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary in February.

To earn a spot in the mid-October debate, candidates must receive 2% or more support in at least four recognized polls. Candidates must also have donations from at least 130,000 unique donors and 400 unique donors in at least 20 states.

See also: Why Trump impeachment threat is rattling stock-market investors — at least for now

The candidates who have qualified for the debate are: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Yang, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, Julián Castro, and Tulsi Gabbard

Criteria will be stricter for November’s debate. Candidates will need at least 3% support in four national or single-state polls and 5% in two single-state polls. Candidates will need at least 165,000 unique donors.

Abbott’s Newly Approved Blood Test Could Help Identify Heart Attacks Sooner

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) said Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its Architect Stat High Sensitivity Troponin-I blood test that could help detect heart attacks faster and more accurately than the standard troponin tests.

The doctors typically use a troponin blood test to help aid in diagnosing heart attacks. Troponin-I proteins are released from the heart and can be found at increased levels in the blood when the heart muscle is damaged.

The company noted that the newly approved test can measure very low levels of troponin thereby helping doctors evaluate heart attack in patients within two to four hours of admission.

This will benefit women greatly as they often have lower levels of troponin than men, making it difficult to diagnose hart attack with the contemporary troponin tests.

“With this clearance, the blood test may be sold in the U.S. for use on Abbott’s fully-automated ARCHITECT analyzer,” the company said in a statement.