Market Pulse
Intu Properties grows top line but valuations hit profits
Shopping centre owner Intu Properties full year turnover increased on the back of strong rental growth, although profit fell due to property revaluations.
BAE Systems full-year profit, revenue rise as defence budgets recover
FTSE 100 defence group BAE Systems reported a rise in full-year profit before tax on Thursday, with revenue and order intake up as defence budgets recover.
London pre-open: Stocks seen weaker as investors mull earnings, Fed minutes
London stocks were expected to open lower on Thursday as investors faced a deluge of corporate results from the likes of Barclays and digested the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Business rates, Peugeot, AO World
Rising fuel and food prices are eating into household budgets as the impact of the Brexit vote on the value of the pound pushes up inflation, according to a Guardian analysis that casts doubt over how much longer consumers can continue to shore up the UK economy. Cracks are starting to show in the picture of economic resilience seen since last summer’s vote to leave the EU. Wage growth is slowing just as people’s living costs start taking off. Businesses are also feeling the pressures of the weak pound more intensely as it ramps up the cost of imported raw materials and energy while failing to provide the anticipated boon for exporters.
New Zealand regulator refuses Vodafone-Sky merger
New Zealand’s competition watchdog refused a merger between Vodafone’s New Zealand operations and the local Sky subscription television firm late on Thursday night, preventing the FTSE 100 firm from becoming the largest telecom and broadcaster in the South Pacific nation.
US close: Markets mixed as Fed hints at hike
US stocks finished mixed on Wednesday after of the publication of the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed the next rates rise could be just around the corner.