Catch up with the latest business & finance news in our weekly round-up…

Trump and EU’s Junker pull back from all-out trade war

The US and EU have avoided an all-out trade war and work to lower tariffs after the two met at the White House on Wednesday.

Insured losses from global natural disasters fall in first half of 2018

According to new data from Aon, natural disasters cost the global insurance industry approximately £16bn in the first half of 2018, far less than the average recorded over the last decade.

Facebook $100 billion-plus rout is biggest loss in stock market history

Facebook’s market capitalisation plummeted by $119 billion at Wednesday close. No company in the history of the US stock market has lost $100 billion in market value in just one day.

Gin craze boosts sales by 22% across Europe for Diageo

Diageo reports that total UK sales rose 8% in the year to the end of June. This is down to the introduction of pink gin and other launches which caused a double-digit rise in sales of Tanqueray and Gordon’s.