Indivior gets restraining order against another generic, Vodafone keeps underlying growth positive

Stocks to watch

Pharmaceutical company Indivior said the New Jersey District Court had granted it a temporary restraining order (TRO) that prevents Alvogen Pine Brook from launching its generic buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film product. The TRO will remain in place until February 7 when a preliminary injunction hearing will take place, the company said.

Vodafone managed to keep underlying growth positive in the third quarter as it stemmed some of the customer losses in Italy and Spain. Organic service revenues of €9.8bn in the three months to 31 December were up 0.1% compared to the same period a year earlier, beating analyst expectations for a decline of 0.7%.

Drinks manufacturer A.G. Barr updated the market on its trading for the financial year ending 26 January on Friday, reporting continued positive performance across the period, with revenue expected to be £277m - up 5% year-on-year. The FTSE 250 company described “strong” trading execution across its core brands, and the continued success of its “key innovation”, as leading to further market share volume gains in a UK soft drinks market which saw volume up 3.0%, while value increased by 8.0%.

Newspaper round-up

British taxpayers face a £24bn bill for tax relief awarded to oil and gas companies removing hundreds of North Sea wells, rigs and pipelines, the UK public spending watchdog has said. The National Audit Office (NAO) said the figure would climb if companies collapse and are unable to pay for cleaning up their operations, leaving the government to pick up the tab. – Guardian

The struggling clothing retailer New Look may be forced to put itself up for sale in order to complete a rescue refinance. New Look, which has 500 stores, will hand bondholders up to 92% of the company in return for reducing its £1.35bn debt pile to about £500m. The company closed 85 stores last year through an insolvency procedure after an annual loss of nearly £235m, which its chairman blamed on its product range becoming too young and edgy and on an ill-starred international venture. - Guardian

The City's top lobby group has warned MPs there is "no appetite to take a bulldozer" to banking rules after Brexit as an inquiry into the future of financial services kicks off. The Treasury select committee said it had begun an investigation into the impact Brexit could have on the industry, where bosses are growing increasingly concerned about the negotiations. - Telegraph

BT has become the first international company to secure a licence to sell its services directly to Chinese customers, representing a potential thawing of relations between the UK and China. The telecoms company received a nationwide licence from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology that will allow it to directly sell to customers in China and bill them in the Chinese Yuan. – Telegraph

HM Revenue & Customs raised concerns with Patisserie Valerie’s parent company that some of its invoices and cheques had been forged more than two years before the café chain revealed an alleged fraud that led to its collapse, The Times has learnt. The tax authority sent letters to Patisserie Holdings in 2016 questioning the authenticity of documents submitted as part of its tax return. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday as investors thumbed through even more earnings reports.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09% to 24,553.24, while the S&P 500 was 0.14% firmer at 2,642.33 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.68% at 7,073.46.

Trump's State of Union address was cancelled after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to allow the speech to go ahead until the 34-day long government shutdown has been ended.

A plan to reopen the US government sans funding for Trump's Mexico border wall was shot down in the Senate on Thursday, sending lawmakers back to the drawing board.

While six Republicans crossed the aisle to vote for the measure, the tally still fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance.