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Wednesday newspaper round-up: Covid support schemes, Brexit, BoE
The business department’s handling of Covid support schemes left an “open goal” to fraudsters and embezzlers that has added “billions to taxpayer woes”, parliament’s spending watchdog has found. In its review of the annual report of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it recognised that the government offered crucial support to businesses at the height of the pandemic. - Guardian.
US close: Dow loses almost 1,200 points as equities tumble again
Wall Street stocks tumbled by the closing bell on Wednesday, with both the Dow and the S&P booking their worst single-day losses in almost two years.
Europe close: Sell-off on Wall Street carries across the Atlantic
European shares finished lower as heavy selling on Wall Street hit investor sentiment across the Atlantic following hawkish remarks from Fed chief Jerome Powell the night before.
London close: Stocks weaker, sterling slides as inflation surges
London stocks closed lower on Wednesday, after data showed that UK inflation hit a fresh 40-year high in April.
Director dealings: City Pub Group operations chief spends £56k on shares
The City Pub Group was on the list of director buys on Wednesday, after its chief operating officer spent over £56k on a tranche of shares.
Thursday preview: Philly Fed survey, Easyjet in the spotlight
Another batch of US economic data on Thursday may help to further shape the ongoing debate around recession risks in the US towards the end of 2022.
Sector movers: Global rate hike talk bolsters defensives, boosts US dollar
Investors sought out the defensive areas of the market again on Thursday amid hawkish comments from top officials at the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.
ECB's Rehn, De Cos show support for interest rate hikes
Two more of the European Central Bank's top policymakers added their voices to those showing support for interest rate hikes and more than one at that.
Broker tips: WH Smith, Convatec, Reckitt
JPMorgan Cazenove upgraded WHSmith on Wednesday to 'overweight' from 'neutral' and hiked the price target to 1,900. 0p from 1,760. 0p, saying it sees both an inflection point for the business and consistent momentum in the recovery data.
FTSE 100 movers: Experian in the red; Aviva gains
London’s FTSE 100 was down 0. 7% at 7,468. 15 in afternoon trade on Wednesday as investors mulled the latest UK inflation data.
Power Metal upbeat on latest work at Ditau Camp
Metals exploration company Power Metal Resources updated the market on the Ditau Camp Project in southwest Botswana on Wednesday, which is prospective for carbonatite-hosted rare-earth element, base-metal and possible precious-metal mineralisation.
Sopheon buys Solverboard in deal worth an initial £0.75m
Enterprise software company Sopheon announced the acquisition of the business and assets of Solverlink on Wednesday, a UK-based cloud business trading as Solverboard.
Invinity appoints corporate advisor as part of US strategy
Energy storage technology company Invinity Energy Systems announced the appointment of EAS Advisors as its corporate advisor in the United States on Wednesday.
Open Orphan wins £7.3m human flu study contract
Specialist contract research organisation Open Orphan announced on Wednesday that its hVIVO subsidiary has signed a £7. 3m flu human challenge study contract with an unnamed biotechnology company, to test its antiviral product using hVIVO’s influenza human challenge study model.
Clontarf reports progress towards drilling at Sasanof
Clontarf Energy updated the market on the drilling of the Sasanof-1 exploration well on Wednesday, reporting that the Valaris MS-1 rig had started mobilising to the Sasanof Prospect, 200 kilometres away on the North West Shelf, offshore Western Australia.
US open: Dow Jones erases yesterday’s gains at the bell
Wall Street stocks traded lower at the open on Wednesday and threatened to put an end to the Dow Jones' recent winning streak.
Atalaya files technical report for Proyecto Masa Valverde
Atalaya Mining announced the filing of a technical report for its wholly-owned Proyecto Masa Valverde (PMV) on Friday.
EKF Diagnostics making 'good' investment progress
EKF Diagnostics said in an update on Wednesday that it has already made “good progress” with its investment plans to support growth in the new financial year.
Aquaculture firm Benchmark posts strong first half
Aquaculture biotechnology company Benchmark described an “excellent” first half performance on Wednesday, with revenues rising 33%, or 32% at constant exchange rates, to £79. 2m.
Alliance Pharma in 'good health' amid strong demand
Alliance Pharma said in an update on Wednesday that its business was in “good health”, with demand for its brand strong.