BHP to top up Samarco fund, GVC and Ladbrokes agree deal

London open

The FTSE 100 was being called 17 points lower on Friday, giving up the gains made finishing at 7,603.9 the previous session.

Stocks to watch

Ladbrokes Coral has agreed to be taken over by GVC Holdings for a sum of £3.2bn that could rise up to £4bn. GVC said it sees at least £100m of efficiencies from the deal that should lead to a double-digit boost to earnings.

BHP Billiton has agreed to provide $181m in financial support to the Renova Foundation and Samarco until the end of June next year, following the deadly dam failure in 2015.

Newspaper round-up

Dave Lewis, the chief executive of Tesco, has “some explaining to do” about why the company did not reveal its inspectors had unearthed “major” process issues at a second 2 Sisters Food Group factory, an influential MP has said. The supermarket chain conducted a series of emergency inspections of 2 Sisters poultry factories as a direct response to a Guardian and ITV undercover investigation into its West Bromwich site at the end of September. – Guardian

Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google and a key figure behind its colossal growth, is stepping down as executive chairman at the search engine's parent company Alphabet. He will leave in January, and is taking on a technical adviser role for the board, Alphabet said this evening. – Telegraph

Vauxhall is insisting that it will not have to cut jobs or production shifts at its Luton factory despite the slowdown in British motor manufacturing. A day after car production figures for British factories in November revealed a 28 per cent drop in domestic demand, monthly commercial vehicle manufacturing figures showed the van market was in recession, with a 34 per cent slump in assembly. – The Times

Tax inspectors delving into people’s estates have increased their inheritance tax take by nearly 15 per cent in the current financial year. Experts believe it shows a much more aggressive approach towards tackling avoidance. Figures released by HMRC show that inheritance tax receipts from the start of the 2017-18 tax year to the end of last month stood at £3.6 billion, a rise of £472 million or 14.6 per cent compared with the equivalent period last year. – The Times

US close

US stocks ended Thursday’s session a little higher as investors digested the latest readings on growth, jobs and manufacturing, although volumes were thinner than usual as we head towards the Christmas break.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 24,782.29 and 2,684.57, respectively, while the Nasdaq ticked up 0.1% to 6,965.36, with banks and energy shares among the best performers.

On Wednesday, stocks closed little changed overall after the House and the Senate passed a $1.5trn tax reform bill, sending it to President Trump for his signature. The bill, which Trump hailed as a “historic victory for the American people", will see corporate tax cut to 21% from 35%, while income tax rates will be reduced across all seven individual tax brackets.