After the Supreme Court rejects the government's Brexit appeal, what happens next?

That's all for another day on the Livepage. We will as usual be back from 6am tomorrow. 

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq set record highs on Tuesday in a broad rally led by financial and technology stocks. 

The advance comes as the quarterly earnings season hots up and investors become optimistic that clarity on President Donald Trump's economic policies will be forthcoming. 

The Dow Jones rose 0.57% to 19,912.71 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.66% to 2,280.07, and the Nasdaq was up 0.86% to 5,600.96.

Carmakers' shares advanced, with GM up 1%, Ford up 2.4%, and Fiat Chrysler surging 5.8%. It followed meetings with Trump over his demands that the manufacturers invest more in the US.

Image source, Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg has no plans to run for US president. Who says? The man himself - according to BuzzFeed. 

There's been much speculation recently that the Facebook billionaire planned to run for the White House. 

But the news website managed to get a reply, external from Zuckerberg to questions about his presidential plans. "No. I’m focused on building our community at Facebook," he emailed back.

The US Senate's top Democrat has vowed to oppose any infrastructure plan by President Donald Trump that would rely on "tax credits for developers" to rebuild the nation's roads, bridges, airports and other such structures.

Trump has promised heavy investment in infrastructure as part of his plan to boost the economy.

Senator Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer made the comments in a press conference to unveil a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that Democrats say would generate 15 million jobs.

Trump earlier on Tuesday signed an executive action to expedite environmental approvals for high-priority infrastructure projects.

But Schumer told reporters: "We will not support tax credits for developers." He also warned that Democrats would work to include environmental protections in any infrastructure measure that moves through the Republican-controlled Senate. 

Image source, Ikea

Ikea is recalling a beach chair sold in the UK following reports that it can collapse and cause injury. The Swedish furniture giant is urging customers who bought any model of the Mysingso beach chair to return it for a full refund as part of the global recall. 

The company said it had received five reports - from Finland, Germany, the US, Denmark and Australia - that users had received injuries to their fingers that needed medical treatment.

In a statement, Ikea said the chair posed a risk to users of falling or finger entrapment. It said: "After washing the fabric seat it is possible to re-assemble the chair incorrectly leading to risks of falls or finger entrapments.

"Ikea has received five incident reports in which a Mysingso beach chair collapsed during use due to incorrect re-assembly. All five reports included injuries to fingers and required medical attention." 

Image source, EPA

The augmented reality smartphone game Pokemon Go that was a hit around the world in the summer of 2016 has finally been released in South Korea - one of the world's biggest gaming markets. 

The delay was caused by security fears over Google Maps, according to Reuters.

In South Korea, functions on Google Maps are limited by the government for national security reasons.

The makers did not specify how they had worked around the problem but some reports suggested that they had to use publicly available data to fill gaps. Read more here

Shares in top US car companies have been given a boost following President Trump's meeting with their bosses (see earlier post).

General Motors' shares climbed by 1.5%, Ford's were up by 2.3% and Fiat Chrysler's rose by 6.7%. 

The aim of the breakfast meeting was to push for more cars to be manufactured in the US. 

Bernie Ecclestone has been behind the wheel of Formula 1 for four decades. But he has now been replaced in the driving seat of the sport by the vice president of 21st Century Fox, Chase Carey. The move was announced by the American company, Liberty Media, which has completed its $8bn takeover of the sport. Mr Ecclestone, who's 86 and has turned Formula 1 into a lucrative business worldwide, said he'd been forced out. He's been moved from the post of chief executive to a role of chairman emeritus. Simon Chadwick is professor of sports enterprise at Salford University Business School in the UK, and the BBC's Susannah Streeter asked whether Mr Ecclestone might be feeling a little put out by the latest developments.

(Picture: Bernie Ecclestone. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Image source, Google

Up to 80 jobs are under threat at one of Scotland's biggest life sciences companies, which makes products to treat diabetes.

Staff at Inverness-based Lifescan Scotland, which employs 1,100 people in the city, were told by management on Tuesday.

It comes after parent company Johnson and Johnson announced it was reviewing its strategic options for the business.

Johnson and Johnson reported slower than expected sales, external to the financial markets on Tuesday and said they were looking to sell or find partners or other options for Lifescan.

Ian Pollock
Business reporter

Image source, PA

As if by magic, hard on the heels of HMRC’s figures showing that property sales hardly rose in the UK last year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published some views on the restricted level of transactions.

The CML says: “We now see an average of 1.2 million transactions annually, with prospects of a meaningful recovery in the number of transactions looking increasingly slim.”

“Our own forecasts, external expect transaction numbers to fall this year and next.

“While the number of first-time buyers has increased by 63% since its post-crisis low, mover numbers [people moving from a home they already own to another one] have only gone up by 17%.

“If this cohort of people can’t move, they don’t put properties on the market, which means they hold up everyone behind them.

“This undersupply of properties for sale also pushes up prices, as a growing number of would-be buyers bid for a small pool of available properties,” the CML adds.

There is no easy fix, the CML concludes.

One of the largest suppliers of bespoke homes in the north of Scotland ceases trading after getting into financial difficulties.

Milan prosecutors have opened an investigation into BT's Italian unit over alleged false accounting and possible embezzlement, two sources have told Reuters, external. BT declined to comment the news agency said. 

Earlier in the day it emerged that BT had been forced to write down the value of its Italian unit by £530m after years of "inappropriate behaviour".

Shares in BT plummeted by 21% on Tuesday, following the news that the Italian scandal would cost far more than the £145m originally anticipated. 

Article 50 bill, which will trigger the process of leaving the EU - could come on Thursday says BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.

Sources have told the BBC the bill to trigger Article 50 will be introduced to Parliament this Thursday, with an expectation that it could be concluded in the Commons in a fortnight.

BBC World Service

A quick reminder of the big story of the day from BBC World Service - and it's reporting the UK government will introduce legislation within days to start the process of leaving the EU. 

Ministers are complying with a Supreme Court ruling that parliament must have a say on triggering Brexit. 

The politician overseeing the process, David Davis, said the new law would not delay the government's plan to start the leaving procedure by the end of March. 

Eight of the 11 judges said that leaving the EU altered British law, so parliament must give its approval. 

But they unanimously rejected claims that politicians in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should also be consulted.

One of the guests at President Trump's breakfast was the boss of Fiat Chrysler and afterwards he issued a statement in which he said the President's desire to build a strong manufacturing base in the United States was a common goal shared by Fiat Chrysler in the US. 

Fiat Chrysler also said it had invested more than $9.6bn in its US manufacturing facilities since 2009 and created 25,000 new jobs. 

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump held a breakfast meeting with the bosses of three big car makers on Tuesday.

The aim - to persuade them to ramp up US production and increase jobs in the country. T

General Motors' chief executive, Mary Barra, Ford chief executive, Mark Fields, and Fiat Chrysler chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, were all at the event at the White House (Pictured L-R). 

The President told them he wanted them to build new car plants in the US. 

"We have a very big push on to have auto plants and other plants - many other plants," he reportedly told the press ahead of the meeting with the car bosses. "It's happening." 

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump has infuriated environmentalists by signing executive orders that support two controversial oil pipelines.

The new Republican president backed the Keystone XL and Dakota Access projects, provided American steel is used.

The Obama administration in late 2015 halted Keystone, which would carry crude from Canada to Texas.

The Army decided last year to explore other routes for the Dakota pipeline amid huge protests by Native Americans. Read more here