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FTSE 100 movers: Hargreaves Lansdown rallies; WPP slumps
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0. 1% at 7,456. 92 in afternoon trade on Friday.

Amazon to buy Roomba robot vacuum maker iRobot in $1.7bn deal
Amazon said on Friday that it has agreed to buy iRobot in a $1. 7bn cash deal.

London midday: FTSE little changed ahead of payrolls
London stocks were still little changed by midday on Friday as investors erred on the side of caution ahead of the latest US non-farm payrolls report.

Jefferies downgrades Go-Ahead, lifts price target after improved takeover offer
Jefferies downgraded Go-Ahead on Friday to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ as it lifted its price target to 1,550p from 1,320p to reflect the increased takeover offer from Kinetic and Globalvia.

Barclays downgrades Hikma to ‘equalweight’ on Generics concerns
Barclays downgraded Hikma Pharmaceuticals on Friday to ‘equalweight’ from ‘overweight’ and cut the price target to 1,750p from 2,250p as it said a lack of visibility in the generics division was a real concern.
Pendragon terminates potential takeover talks
Car dealership Pendragon said on Friday that it has terminated potential takeover talks after one of its shareholders failed to engage with the proposal.

London open: Stocks steady ahead of non-farm payrolls report
London stocks were steady in early trade on Friday as investors eyed the release of the latest US non-farm payrolls report.

UK house prices fall in July for the first time in a year - Halifax
UK house prices fell in July for the first time in a year amid rising interest rates and surging inflation, according to a survey released on Friday by Halifax.
Tullow Oil plugs and abandons well offshore Guyana
Tullow Oil said on Friday that it has plugged and abandoned an exploration well offshore Guyana.

LSE announces £750m share buyback as H1 profits rise
London Stock Exchange announced the launch of a £750m share buyback on Friday as it posted a jump in first-half profit and lifted its dividend.

London pre-open: Stocks seen up ahead of US payrolls report
London stocks were set to edge up at the open on Friday following a positive session in Asia, as investors eyed the latest US non-farm payrolls report.

Friday newspaper round-up: Twitter, Diageo, Meta
British taxpayers are now shareholders in a further 65 companies because of a government rescue funding scheme set up during the Covid crisis – including a medical cannabis firm, a video game studio and a chain of bars offering activities like ping pong. A list published by the government’s development bank reveals an eclectic range of firms that have received convertible loans as part of the Future Fund. – Guardian.

FTSE 100 movers: Glencore rallies; Rolls-Royce retreats
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0. 1% at 7,445. 79 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

RBC Capital cuts Travis Perkins target price after Toolstation miss
RBC Capital Markets cut its price target on shares of Travis Perkins on Thursday following the company’s first-half results earlier in the week.

Bank of England makes biggest rate hike since 1995
The Bank of England announced its biggest rate hike on Thursday since 1995 in the face of surging inflation, as it warned of a long recession.

London midday: FTSE maintains small gains as BoE lifts rates to 1.75%
London stocks were still a touch higher by midday on Thursday after the Bank of England announced its biggest rate hike since 1995 as it looks to tackle surging inflation.
Petrofac consortium awarded $300m Algeria contract
Petrofac said on Thursday that its consortium with Genie Civil et Batiment (GCB) has been provisionally awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Sonatrach for the Tinrhert EPC2 Development Project in Algeria.

UK construction sector contracts in July
Activity in the UK construction sector contracted in July, falling at its sharpest pace in more than two years, according to a survey released on Thursday.

Mears lifts full-year outlook after strong first half
Mears upgraded its full-year outlook on Thursday following a "strong" first-half performance.

Kinetic lifts takeover offer for Go-Ahead by £22m
Australian bus group Kinetic and Spanish infrastructure specialist Globalvia have lifted their takeover offer for London-listed transport operator Go-Ahead by £22m.