Premier Foods receives new offer, Morgan appoints CFO

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to rise 54 points on Wednesday morning after it finished almost perfectly flat the day before.

Stocks to watch

US spice giant McCormick has upped its offer for Premier Foods from 60p to 65p per share, valuing the Mr Kipling to Oxo Cubes group at £1.5bn. McCormick called on the Premier board, which has rejected two lower offers, to now "engage fully" and agree a cash recommended offer.

Morgan Advanced Materials announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer on Wednesday, appointing Peter Turner to the role. The FTSE 250 company said the 45-year-old had a strong track record of driving improved business performance, having been finance director at Smiths Group from 2010 to 2015.

Newspaper round-up

Senior engineers at French utility EDF have called for at least a two year delay at the controversial Hinkley Point nuclear project in the UK and recommended a redesign of the reactor technology. An internal white paper written by dissenting EDF engineers, which has been seen by the Financial Times, argues that Hinkley Point is so complex and untested that the company should announce a later completion date than the target of 2025. – Financial Times

The steel industry was dealt a hammer blow as it emerged that Tata plans to completely withdraw from its British operation, putting thousands of jobs at risk. The Indian conglomerate’s board decided to pull out of the UK after rejecting a turnaround plan for Port Talbot, the nation’s biggest steelworks. The South Wales plant employs around 4,000 who face an uncertain future as Tata now seeks a buyer for its British steel assets. – Telegraph

Sports Direct has upped its stake in Findel to nearly 30%, in the latest stage of its battle to wrest control of the online specialist. The sports retailer, controlled by Mike Ashley, announced it had acquired contracts for difference – a form of derivative – relating to 12.57% of Findel’s shares. That takes its total interest in Findel to 29.79% - just below the 30% level at which it would have to launch a full takeover bid. – Guardian

Twenty-five million savers with National Savings & Investments face a big fall in their incomes after the Treasury-controlled organisation said that it would cut interest rates, as well as reducing the number of premium bond prizes by nearly 300,000. NS&I announced yesterday that it would reduce the rates on five of its variable products, as well cutting the fixed interest part of its index-linked savings certificates. – The Times

US close

US stocks reversed early losses, finishing in positive territory on Tuesday after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said caution in raising interest rates was especially warranted.

The Dow Jones closed 0.56% higher at 17,633.11, the S&P 500 gained 0.88% to 2,055.01 and the Nasdaq rose 1.58% to 4,467.72.

"I consider it appropriate for the Committee to proceed cautiously in adjusting policy," Yellen told the Economic club of New York. "This caution is especially warranted because, with the federal funds rate so low, the FOMC's ability to use conventional monetary policy to respond to economic disturbances is asymmetric.

"One must be careful, however, not to overstate the asymmetries affecting monetary policy at the moment. Even if the federal funds rate were to return to near zero, the FOMC would still have considerable scope to provide additional accommodation."