Spirax-Sarco to acquire Durex International, Riccardo Tisci to leave Burberry

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 61.7 points lower ahead of the bell on Wednesday after shedding 0.52% in the previous session to 6,984.59.

Stocks to watch

Manufacturing firm Spirax-Sarco Engineering has agreed to acquire US custom electric thermal solutions specialist Durex International in a deal valued at $342.2m.

Spirax-Sarco said on Wednesday that it will acquire the group on a cash and debt free basis, with the transaction to be financed through acquisition bank facilities. The FTSE 250-listed group added that the addition of Durex will be accretive to earnings in 2023, thanks to the business' "strong track record" of top line growth and profitability.

Luxury fashion brand Burberry said on Wednesday that chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci will be stepping down at the end of the month after five years at the helm.

Burberry said that under Tisci's creative leadership, the company had "re-energised its brand image, introducing a new visual identity and reviving the Thomas Burberry Monogram". Tisci will be succeeded by Daniel Lee, who will join the group on 3 October.

Newspaper round-up

The International Monetary Fund has launched a stinging attack on the UK's tax-cutting plans and called on Liz Truss's government to reconsider them to prevent stoking inequality. In rare public criticism of a leading global economy, the Washington-based fund said Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget risked undermining the efforts of the Bank of England to tackle rampant inflation amid the cost of living emergency. – Guardian

Royal Mail workers are to hold a further 19 strikes in October and November in a deteriorating and long-running dispute over pay and conditions. The Communication Workers Union announced that the industrial action in the run-up to Christmas will be a mixture of single days and rolling action across Royal Mail Group's network. – Guardian

The Daily Mail and its gossipy sibling Mailonline are to merge under plans unveiled by their publisher as it attempts to forge a digital future for titles that frequently overlap and compete. In a memo to staff that sparked newsroom fears of significant job cuts, their editors said they would be "ending unnecessary duplication". – Telegraph

Building societies could be forced to stop offering fixed-rate mortgages for months as soaring lending costs cause havoc among smaller lenders, brokers have warned. Some of the UK's biggest mortgage lenders, including Skipton Building Society, Virgin Money and Paragon Bank, have withdrawn new mortgage products this week due to spiralling borrowing costs. – Telegraph

City chiefs have expressed concern that an unprecedented rise in yields on long-dated government bonds is inflicting huge and sudden cash calls on traditional pension funds that could damage the gilts market. Investors dumped 30-year gilts yesterday, sending their price sharply lower and their yield soaring 45 basis points to 4.97%, a huge rise for a single day. – The Times

American regulators have fined 16 financial firms including Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup more than $1.8bn over "widespread and longstanding failures" to track employees' messages. A wide-ranging investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission found "pervasive" communications on unofficial channels, the agency said. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday after the blue-chip Dow Jones closed at its lowest level in more than two years in the previous session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.43% at 29,134.99, while the S&P 500 was 0.21% weaker at 3,647.29 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.25% stronger at 10,829.50.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com