Ascential trading in line with forecasts, AstraZeneca's Imfinzi gets a US approval

Stocks to watch

Publishing, events and B2B consultancy group Ascential has said that trading is in line with expectations for the full year, helped by strong growth in marketing and fintech operations. The company, known for media titles like Retail Week and Drapers, along with events like Cannes Lions, said marketing revenues grew by more than 10% in the first half, helped by double-digit growth from Cannes Lions delegates and sponsorship. Financial technologies revenues rose by a double-digit percentage, though sales in Europe are lower than last year, reflecting the broader funding conditions in the fintech end market observed in the second half 2023.

AstraZeneca said its Imfinzi cancer treatment had been approved in the US as treatment for adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. Trials showed the drug, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel followed by Imfinzi monotherapy, reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 58% in patients that were mismatch repair deficient versus chemotherapy alone.

Newspaper round-up

The UK’s tax authority has not fined a single “enabler” of offshore tax evasion or noncompliance in five years, despite landmark powers to impose huge fines. Tory ministers claimed new laws introduced in 2017 allowed HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to pursue accountants, lawyers and bankers who facilitate offshore tax evasion and would “create a level playing field”, with potential fines of several millions of pounds. – Guardian

Britain’s largest manufacturers are expecting orders and output to increase dramatically in the second half of the year, even as a chronic shortage of skilled workers is threatening the ability of some companies to do business. Manufacturing is returning to normal business conditions after wild swings in demand during the pandemic, disruptions in prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the effect on supply chains of blockages and conflict around the Suez canal, according to a survey of 320 companies by the trade body Make UK. – Guardian

Labour’s plan to strike a security pact with the European Union will threaten British sovereignty, Grant Shapps has warned. The Defence Secretary claimed the proposal would hand control over key defence decisions to Brussels and sow division within Nato, at a time when the EU is seeking to set up separate military structures to the transatlantic alliance. – Telegraph

Landlords will be hoping for a welcome boost from the Euros and Olympics this summer, but for many pubs it will come too late. Pubs are disappearing at a rate of 80 a month across England and Wales so far this year, according to analysis of official figures by property consultancy Altus Group. The monthly rate of “vanishing” pubs has jumped by 56pc compared to last year. The analysis measures the number of premises that have been either demolished or repurposed and includes some that were sitting vacant or up for let before disappearing. – Telegraph

Blackstone has taken the unusual step of paying directors at Hipgnosis Songs Fund an extra £250,000 in fees for the “increased workload” associated with getting the £1.2 billion sale of the music rights specialist over the line. The private equity firm improved its offer for the music rights owner to $1.6 billion this month and restructured the deal to make it easier to complete, ending a long-running takeover saga. – The Times

US close

Stocks closed in a mixed state on Wall Street on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing down 0.15% at 38,589.16.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.04% to 5,431.60, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.12% to 17,688.88.