Market Pulse
London open: FTSE retreats ahead of BoE interest rate decision
London stocks were in the red on Thursday ahead of the Bank of England’s latest policy decision.
ITV in deal talks with Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One, no offer made yet
Broadcaster ITV has held takeover talks with Entertainment One, the FTSE 250-listed owner of Peppa Pig and distributor of the new David Brent film, according to reports.
JD Sports Fashion sneaks to new high on natty final results
Full year results from JD Sports Fashion were well ahead of market expectations, which combined with confidence about continued growth to send the company's shares to a new peak.
LondonMetric sells Taunton Odeon for £9.1m
Real estate investment trust LondonMetric announced the sale of its freehold Odeon multiplex cinema in Taunton on Thursday, to the Asda Pension Fund, for £9. 1m.
Capita and Galliford Try win extension to Salford council JV
Capita and Galliford Try have been awarded an extension to their technical services joint venture with Salford City Council to 2020 that will add up £90m more in total value.
Hays reports good growth despite UK pressures
FTSE 250 recruitment firm Hays described its third quarter growth as “good” on Thursday, with like-for-like fees climbing 4% in the three months to 31 March despite a 2% negative impact due to the early Easter.
PZ Cussons trading in line but Nigeria difficult
In an update for 27 January to 13 April, PZ Cussons said overall trading has been in line with expectations and the company is on track for the full year, but warned of difficult conditions in its main market of Nigeria.
Persimmon talks up year-to-date performance
Persimmon updated the market on its year-to-date operations on Thursday morning, ahead of its annual general meeting in York at midday.
Debenhams interim profit up, CEO resignation confirmed
Department store chain Debenhams posted a rise in first half profit as it confirmed the resignation of chief executive Michael Sharp.
Volumes up and turnover down at Unilever
FTSE 100 consumer goods company Unilever reported growth in underlying sales and volume on Thursday, though its top line declined in its first quarter update.
London pre-open: Stocks seen flat ahead of BoE announcement
London stocks were set for a broadly flat open on Thursday as investors looked to the Bank of England rate announcement.
Thursday newspaper round-up: RBS, ITV, Tata, BP
George Osborne will have to consider selling the public stake in Royal Bank of Scotland at a loss because keeping it in the public sector is bad for the bank and the economy, the outgoing head of the Treasury has claimed. Sir Nick Macpherson said it was “going to be tricky” for the state to sell all of its £19. 2bn stake in RBS before the next election — a sale intended by Mr Osborne to deliver “the largest privatisation proceeds of all time”. – Financial Times.
Burberry warns on profits for 2017 amid challenging demand
Burberry warned profits for 2017 are likely to be around the bottom of the range of analysts' forecasts due to increased investment in the business and a "challenging demand environment".