Market Report
Breedon to buy Belfast-based Lagan for £455m
AIM-listed Breedon has agreed to buy Belfast-based construction materials business Lagan Group for £455m.
PBoC cuts reserve requirement ratio by 100 basis points
China's central bank has announced a reduction in its legal reserve requirement for some of the country's main financial institutions, but some economists believed that would only partially offset the tighter financial conditions resulting from Beijing's increased macro-prudential measures.
Asia report: Markets mostly lower as China beats on first quarter GDP
Markets in Asia finished Tuesday’s session mostly lower as investors sifted through a tsunami of data from China, with forecast-beating GDP growth at the top of the agenda.
Ascent Resources open to takeover offers as it announces strategic review
AIM-listed Ascent Resources said on Tuesday that it is open to offers as it announced it has decided to conduct a strategic review of the various options available to maximise value for shareholders.
Europe midday: Shares hold onto early gains
Stocks are holding higher despite a wobble in Asian markets overnight, instead tracking gains overnight on Wall Street, amid a flurry of news on the M&A front and on the back of an upbeat update from US technology high-flyer Netflix.
London midday: Retailers lead equity gains as pound slips back on wage data
London stocks were higher by midday on Tuesday as the pound slipped back following the latest wage growth figures for the UK.
Italian March CPI revised lower
Consumer prices in Italy jumped last month, but still fell short of economists' forecasts.
IHG shows 'immaterial' effects of accounting changes
InterContinental Hotels said new accounting standards had negligible effect on its underlying results, but shares in the Holiday Inn owner ticked up as revenue for 2017 was shown to more than double.
Investment Association tells companies to appoint more women managers
The Investment Association (IA) has written to one in 10 companies in the FTSE 350 – including BP – urging them to set out plans to appoint more senior female managers or face unrest at shareholder meetings.
Anglo African Oil & Gas approaches production at two Congo wells
Independent oil and gas developer Anglo African Oil & Gas is close to recommencing production at the TLP-101 well at its 56% owned Tilapia oil field in the Republic of the Congo.
North and South Korea close to ending 68-year war
The two Korea’s are discussing plans to finally bring an official end to their almost 68 year war according to the South Korean Munhwa Ilbo newspaper.
US pre-open: Stocks seen up after Netflix impresses; Goldman earnings eyed
US futures pointed to a solid open on Wall Street on Tuesday following blowout earnings from Netflix and as investors eyed the latest numbers from investment banking behemoth Goldman Sachs.
Wage growth edges above inflation in 'final piece of puzzle' for BoE hike
British wage growth numbers disappointed the market on Tuesday but finally crept higher than inflation, meaning real wage growth has turned positive for the first time in 13 months to give the Bank of England more confidence about raising interest rates.
AppScatter inks collaborative partnership with ironSource
Business-to-business software as a service platform appScatter has agreed to a collaborative partnership with leading mobile monetization and marketing business ironSource as part of an effort introduce itself to the latter's significant app developer customer base.
German ZEW tumbles in April as trade war fears, Syria situation weigh
German investor sentiment tumbled in April amid worries about the trade spat between the US and China and the situation in Syria, according to the latest survey from the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim.
Europe open: Stocks move higher despite losses in Asian trading
Stocks have started the morning higher despite a wobble in Asian markets overnight in the wake of a barrage of mixed economic data out of China, instead tracking gains overnight on Wall Street, amid a flurry of news on the M&A front.
TP Group earnings surge after focus on margins and delivery
Specialist services and engineering company TP Group issued its audited results for the year ended 31 December on Tuesday, reporting a 39% improvement in revenue to £29. 5m.
Gulf Marine Services wins two-year vessel contract
Advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels provider Gulf Marine Services announced a new long-term contract award for one of its mid-size class vessels on Tuesday.
Findel expecting top-end results after improved second half
Online value retail and education business Findel updated the market on its trading on Tuesday, following the close of its financial year on 30 March, reporting that its performance was expected to be at the upper end of market expectations.
Novartis kicks off AveXis cash tender offer, commits $100m to malaria research
Novartis announced on Tuesday that its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Novartis AM Merger Corporation, has commenced a cash tender offer to purchase all the outstanding shares of common stock of Nasdaq-listed AveXis for $218 per share, net to the seller in cash, without interest and subject to any tax withholding.