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Week ahead: US non-farm payrolls, Chinese manufacturing in focus
The coming holiday-shortened week is likely to be focused on the next monthly non-farm payrolls reports in the States, with any upside surprise versus economists' forecasts likely to be very well received by investors.
Europe close: Stocks head into weekend with gains on recovery hopes
European shares held onto their moderate gains on Friday, driven by hopes of a strong US recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and positive UK retail sales data.
Leaked memo proves Amazon knows delivery workers forced to urinate in bottles
Leaked memo on Friday proved that Amazon knew that its delivery workers have resorted to urinating in bottles despite having denied such reports on Thursday.
Airport slots main obstacle in EU-Italy negotiations on Alitalia
Negotiations between the European Union and Italy over the restructuring of airline Alitalia have hit a snag over airport slots.
Volkswagen seeks dieselgate damages from former CEO
Volkswagen announced on Friday it plans to claim damages from its former chief executive officer, Martin Winterkorn, and former Audi boss Rupert Stadler over the diesel emissions scandal.
London close: Stocks firmer after rise in retail sales
London stocks finished in positive territory on Friday, following encouraging UK retail sales data, with Smiths Group pacing the advance after well-received interim results.
Weekly review
The FTSE 100 ended the week 31. 88 points higher, closing on Friday at 6,740. 59.
Director dealings: WPP CFO makes share purchase
WPP said on Friday that chief financial officer John Rogers had acquired 43,068 ordinary shares in the FTSE 100-listed advertising firm.
Broker tips: Ocado, Next, IQE
Berenberg downgraded Ocado shares to 'hold' from 'buy' on Friday and cut the price target to 2,390. 0p from 2,925. 0p as it said the grocer was a great company but noted that expectations were high.
Sound Energy refutes reports on Morocco LNG deal
Morocco-focussed upstream gas company Sound Energy responded to media reports in the north African country on Friday, confirming that it had not signed an agreement on a proposed liquefied natural gas project.
Totally subsidiary Vocare secures new contracts
Healthcare service provider Totally said on Friday that urgent care subsidiary Vocare has been awarded a place on the regional ‘Integrated Urgent Care Clinical Support Framework’ hosted by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
FTSE 250 movers: Oxford Instruments surges; Cineworld recovers
London’s FTSE 250 was up 0. 9% at 21,469. 94 in afternoon trade on Friday.
US open: Stocks rally following inflation data
Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Friday, with the Dow Jones hoping to end what has been a volatile week for trading on somewhat of a high note as fears of rising inflation eased following data that pointed to tamed price pressures.
US consumer confidence edges past forecasts in March, University of Michigan says
Consumer spirits in America were buoyed in March by government stimulus checks arriving in their mailboxes and as the country's vaccination programme rolled on.
FTSE 100 movers: Smiths Group rallies on results; utilities fall
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0. 8% at 6,728. 90 in afternoon trade on Friday.
IAG hopeful about transatlantic restart, BofA says
IAG thinks successful vaccine programmes in the US and UK bode well for transatlantic travel restarting, Bank of America said.
Safestay to sell Edinburgh hostel to pay down debt, shore up cash
Hostel operator Safestay has entered into conditional sale and purchase agreements to sell its Edinburgh Hostel to a&o Hotels and Hostels, it announced on Friday, for £16m in cash on completion, representing a 22% premium to its £13. 4m book value.
Nio suspends production temporarily over chip shortage
Chinese electric carmaker Nio said on Friday it would halt production for five days at its Hefei plant due to the shortage of semiconductor chips.
Norway extends AstraZeneca vaccination halt for another three weeks
Norway is set to delay its decision on whether to resume Covid-19 vaccinations with the AstraZeneca jab by another three weeks, the country's Institute of Public Health (FHI) said on Friday.
Capital Metals makes progress on Eastern mineral sands project
Sri Lanka-focussed natural resources company Capital Metals reported progress on the Eastern mineral sands project on Friday, confirming that the public consultation period had now ended.