Market Pulse
Vodafone takes Dutch telecoms incumbent KPN to court
Vodafone has taken Dutch former state telecoms company KPN to court to claim damages of €115m for anti-competitive behaviour.
Ocado reports double-digit sales growth but momentum slowing
Online grocer Ocado reported double-digit sales growth in a “challenging and competitive” grocery retail environment.
Centrica says full year earnings will hit target
Centrica said its full year earnings would in-line with forecasts in a pre-close statement at the end of a what the British Gas owner admitted was a difficult year.
Sacking of South African finance minister sends rand to 1971 lows
South Africa’s president on Wednesday evening fired the country’s finance minister, Nhlanhla Nene, a decision that weighed on financial assets from the country, including shares of London-listed Old Mutual and Investec.
TUI soars despite turbulent travel market
TUI Group was flying high on Thursday, posting sizeable growth in its annual report despite a turbulent year for the industry.
London pre-open: Stocks to start lower ahead of MPC, commodities in focus
Stocks were being called to start the session slightly lower with investors’ attention squarely on the recent gyrations in global commodity and high-yield debt markets and their implications for next year’s financial markets outlook.
Glencore increases debt reduction targets
Glencore has increased its planned target of reducing debt and preserving capital to the tune of $13bn (£8. 6bn).
Thursday newspaper round-up: Brazil, Rolls-Royce, Shell, house prices
Brazil’s woes deepened on Wednesday as Moody’s Investors Service downgraded all ratings for embattled oil group Petrobras, and the country faced the threat of losing its investment grade credit rating from the agency. Moody’s downgraded all ratings for Petrobras to Ba3 from Ba2, and placed them on review for possible further downgrade. – Financial Times .