AstraZeneca's Forxiga recommended for EU approval, James Fisher sells three businesses

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 20 points higher on Monday, having closed down 1.27% on Friday at 7,332.12.

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AstraZeneca’s Forxiga drug has been recommended for approval in the EU for symptomatic chronic heart failure, the pharma company said on Monday. If approved, the treatment will be the first heart failure therapy indicated across the full ejection fraction range with proven mortality reduction, it added.

James Fisher announced the sale of three businesses in two separate transactions on Monday. The London-listed marine service provider said Mimic and the UK operations of Strainstall were sold to the BES Group for initial cash consideration of £13.6m. In addition, it completed the sale of Prolec to Kinshofer - part of Lifco.

Spire Healthcare Group is to move into occupational health after agreeing to acquire the The Doctors Clinic Group. The London-listed firm said on Monday that it had agreed to acquire the business, which provides occupational health services for corporate clients as well as operating 22 private GP clinics, for a total consideration of £12m. Spire, which has 39 private hospitals, said the deal was part of a wider strategy to expand the healthcare services it offers.

Newspaper round-up

Elon Musk has asked Twitter users whether he should step down as the head of the company, promising to abide by the results of his poll. Musk assumed the role of CEO at the end of October after firing a host of senior executives and dissolving its board of directors. Within minutes of posting the poll, more than one million people had voted. – Guardian

The energy company SSE has begun work to develop an underground cavern in east Yorkshire to store hydrogen, aiming to stockpile the renewable source of power for when the freezing, windless conditions experienced in the last week occur in future. The project will produce hydrogen using renewable energy in a 35-megawatt electrolyser which will be stored in a cavern the size of St Paul’s Cathedral located a mile deep at an existing SSE site in Aldbrough on the Yorkshire coast. – Guardian

One of the co-founders of Roman ­Abramovich’s telecoms company Truphone is preparing to launch an audacious late $250m (£205m) bid to buy back the business, The Telegraph can reveal. Alexander Straub, one of the company’s two original co-founders, is in talks with financial backers about gatecrashing the sale of Truphone to Turkish-born entrepreneur Hakan Koç. The effort is backed by a publicly listed special acquisition vehicle from the US, The Telegraph understands. – Telegraph

The UK has already entered a “shallow and protracted recession” that will hit living standards and last until the end of next year, according to a new analysis. KPMG estimates that the economy entered a recession in the third quarter of this year and will contract by 1.3 per cent next year owing to a sharp drop in consumer spending amid rising interest rates. – The Times

Ikea UK enjoyed record revenues of £2.2 billion for the year to August 31 as its pandemic recovery continued. The figure was up 13 per cent year on year. Growth was seen across all areas, particularly within kitchen and dining equipment, textiles and storage, and included online and in-person sales. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks were in the red at the closing bell on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.75% at 32,920.46.

The S&P 500 lost 1.11% to 3,852.36, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.97% at 10,705.41.