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Microsoft delivers better than expected results, cloud sales stay strong
Microsoft delivered better than expected quarterly profits and sales on the back of another strong showing for its 'cloud' business.
Apple posts bumper sales growth, but component shortages set to impact on Q3
Apple soundly beat earnings estimates on the Street on the back of bumper sales of its iconic iPhones, but put a damper on things by guiding lower for the next quarter.
Boeing posts massive second quarter earnings beat
Boeing was among the top gainers on Wall Street on Thursday after the aerospace giant blew past the Street's estimates with a surprise profit.
Fed surprises, says more progress has been made towards start of 'tapering'
The US central bank dropped a small hint that policymakers had come a bit further down the path towards announcing the start of tapering its purchases of government debt.
US close: Stocks weaker as earnings season rolls on
Wall Street stocks finished in the red on Tuesday, as market participants digested earnings from some of the nation's biggest firms and held their breath ahead of a flurry of tech results after the close.
United Oil agrees sale of Central North Sea assets
United Oil & Gas announced the signing of non-binding heads of terms on an agreement to sell UK Central North Sea licences P2480 and P2519 to Quattro Energy, it announced on Wednesday, for headline consideration of up to £3. 2m.
Santander on track to beat full-year earnings estimates
Santander beat analysts' estimates for second quarter profits and said that it might surpass its own guidance for the full-year.
Thursday preview: US GDP, BT Group in focus
Financial markets' focus on Thursday will be on a preliminary reading for US gross domestic product in the second quarter.
Europe close: Stocks end higher ahead of Fed policy decision
European stocks extended gains on Wednesday even as investors waited on the US central bank's latest policy announcement scheduled for after the close of trading.
London close: Stocks firmer on travel news as investors await Fed
London stocks closed in positive territory on Wednesday, with travel shares higher, but gains were muted as investors closed their pocketbooks ahead of the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve.
Broker tips: Ascential, Reckitt Group
Analysts at Liberum raised their target price on media firm Ascential from 410. 0p to 500. 0p on Wednesday after the group's digital commerce unit's recent outperformance.
Director dealings: New Sureserve chairman makes share purchase
Sureserve revealed on Wednesday that chairman Nick Winks had acquired 100,000 shares in the AIM-listed asset and energy support services group.
Deutsche Bank beats analysts' estimates, but only due to strong trading results
A good showing for Deutsche Bank's markets division allowed the lender to beat its revenue targets for the second quarter of the year.
GlaxoSmithKline Q2 profits, revenue jump
GlaxoSmithKline said on Wednesday that it expects full-year earnings to be towards the top end of its guidance range as it reported a jump in second-quarter profit and revenues amid a recovery in the vaccines business.
ITV interim profits improve as advertising revenues recover
Broadcaster ITV reported rise in interim profit and revenue on Wednesday as it said it was "emerging from the worst effects of the pandemic", with a recovery in advertising revenues.
US visible trade deficit rises in June due to petroleum imports
America's shortfall on trade in goods with the rest of the world continued widening last month.
FTSE 100 movers: Barclays rallies; ITV in the red
London’s FTSE 100 was 0. 2% higher at 7,012. 77 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
FTSE 250 movers: Wizz flies higher; Lancashire loses ground
London’s FTSE 250 was 0. 6% higher at 23,009. 45 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Spotify posts better than expected Q2 loss, MAU growth falls short of guidance
Streaming giant Spotify posted a £24. 1m second-quarter loss on Wednesday and revealed it had failed to hit its own growth targets.
VR Education makes solid operational progress in first half
Virtual reality (VR) technology company VR Education updated the market on its first half of trading on Wednesday, reporting that it had continued to trade in line with market expectations.