Welcome to FirstFT, here today is Top Stories.

A violent earthquake has struck central Italy, killing at least 8 people,

and destroying dozens of buildings across the regions of Lazio, Umbria, and Marche.

The Epicenter of the quake, which took place around 3:36 a.m. local time,

was in the Northeast of the Lazio region.

The quake was followed by a series of aftershocks,

and was felt across central Italy, as far as Rome.

Four of the world's biggest banks have teamed up to develop a new form of digital cash

that they believe will become an industry standard to clear and settle financial trades over block chain,

The move is one of the most concrete examples of banks cooperating on a block chain technology,

to improve the efficiency of financial market plumbing.

And WPP, the world's biggest advertising company,

said a sharp fall in Sterling following Britain's vote to leave the EU,

may have helped a post-Brexit recovery at the group.

In July, like-for-like revenue was up 4.6% year on year.

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Big banks plan new digital currency, Italy Earthquake | FirstFT