Doug Lebda, the 55-year-old founder and CEO of LendingTree, has died in a tragic all-terrain vehicle accident at his family’s farm in North Carolina. The online lending platform confirmed his death on Sunday and said the company was mourning the sudden loss of its leader.“Doug was a visionary leader whose relentless drive, innovation and passion transformed the financial services landscape, touching the lives of millions of consumers,” the board of directors said in a statement. “His passion will continue to inspire us as we move forward together.”Following his death, the company has appointed Scott Peyree, its chief operating officer and president, as CEO with immediate effect. Steve Ozonian, who serves as lead independent director, will take over Lebda’s position as chairman of the board.News of his passing hit the markets, with LendingTree’s shares falling more than 4% in afternoon trading on Monday, AP reported.Lebda launched LendingTree in 1996 after struggling to get his first mortgage, aiming to make loan shopping easier for consumers. The platform went national two years later and became a public company in 2000. It was later bought by IAC/InterActiveCorp before becoming independent again in 2008. Over the years, LendingTree expanded its services to help users compare options for mortgages, credit cards, insurance and more, and also acquired brands like CompareCards and Value Penguin.Beyond his work at LendingTree, Lebda co-founded Tykoon in 2010, a financial platform designed for children and families. Earlier in his career, he worked with PriceWaterhouseCoopers as an auditor and consultant, according to AP.“All of my ideas come from my own experiences and problems,” he told The Wall Street Journal in an interview in 2012.He is survived by his wife, Megan, and their three daughters: Rachel, Abby and Sophia. In her statement, Megan described him as “an amazing man with a heart so big it seemed to have room for everyone he met.”“Our hearts are broken, but we are also deeply grateful for the love and support that has poured in from across the world,” she said.

BP has said it expects to be boosted by higher oil and gas production for the third quarter but warned of weak oil trading.

It told investors on Tuesday that upstream production is now expected to be higher between July and September, compared with the previous three months.

This incorporates its oil production and operations, as well as gas production and low carbon energy coming in higher.

BP previously said upstream production would come in lower quarter-on-quarter.

The updated guidance came as average Brent crude oil prices edged higher over the third quarter.

However, BP flagged that its “oil trading result is expected to be weak” in the third quarter while gas trading was set to be “average”.

Net debt at the end of the third quarter is expected to be broadly flat compared with the end of the second quarter at around 26 billion US dollars (£19.6 billion).

The energy giant recently revealed a major cost-cutting drive, with thousands of roles to be axed as it comes under pressure to boost profits.

Chief executive Murray Auchincloss has pledged that the FTSE 100 firm would do “better for its investors” and said there was “much more to do” under its current three-year plan.

The business earlier this year unveiled a new growth strategy focused on extracting more oil and gas, pivoting away from a focus on green energy and heavily reducing spending on renewables.

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, opened in green on Tuesday. While Nifty50 was near 25,300, BSE Sensex was up over 180 points. At 9:19 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 25,291.80, up 64 points or 0.26%. BSE Sensex was at 82,508.52, up 181 points or 0.22%.Market experts anticipate range-bound trading ahead, as investors monitor second-quarter results and international tariff situations.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “A significant takeaway from the last one year market performance is the outperformance of large caps (Nifty up by 1.05%) and the underperformance of smallcaps ( Nifty Smallcap index down by 4.77%). Equally significant is the outperformance of PSU banks ( Nifty PSU bank index up by 16.77%) and the huge underperformance of IT ( Nifty IT down by 16.5%).”“One common feature in these trends is the valuation. IT stocks, particularly the largecaps, are viewed as overvalued by the market since they are facing many headwinds and some strong structural issues. On the other hand PSU stocks have been trading at very low valuations despite decent growth and robust balance sheets. This anomaly in valuations has been corrected by the market. This trend is likely to continue. However, in growth stocks like digital companies and renewable energy, their long-term growth potential will continue to attract investment despite high valuations. With Muhurat trading approaching, there is room for a mild rally.”US stock indices finished notably higher on Monday, driven by Broadcom and other semiconductor companies, after President Donald Trump’s conciliatory stance on US-China trade relations alleviated investor concerns.Gold reached unprecedented levels on Tuesday due to heightened US-China trade tensions, which increased uncertainty and drove investors towards safe-haven assets. The anticipation of US interest rate reductions provided additional support, whilst silver also achieved its highest value ever.Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 240 crore net on Monday, whilst domestic institutional investors made net purchases of Rs 2,333 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market and other asset classes given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)