Market Pulse
Non-core activities still dragging the chain at Barclays
Barclays reported a dip in profit in its first quarter on Wednesday, with group profit before tax at £793m in the three months to 31 March, down from £1. 06bn a year earlier.
German consumer sentiment set to improve markedly in May
German consumer sentiment is set to improve markedly in May from April, according to the latest findings by market research group GfK.
London Stock Exchange lifts income 9% in first quarter
London Stock Exchange delivered a solid increase in total income in the first quarter as it battled to keep its merger with Deutsche Börse on track and neared completion of sale of Russell Investment Management.
Croda first-quarter sales up 7.7%; outlook reaffirmed
Croda International reported a rise in first-quarter sales and reaffirmed its outlook for the full year amid continued growth in the group’s core businesses.
Door closing on Darty bid party as Steinhoff refuses to raise bid
Steinhoff International's Conforama said it would not increase its offer for Darty from its recent offer of 160p, which could leave the door open to bidding rival Fnac in the battle for the France-focused electronics retailer.
London pre-open: Stocks seen touch lower as eyes turn to Fed
London stocks were expected to open a little lower on Wednesday following a lacklustre session on Wall Street and losses in Asia, as investors digested disappointed earnings from tech giant Apple and looked to the Federal Reserve rate announcement.
Apple crunched as iPhone's quarterly sales fall for first time
Apple lost a titanic $46bn in market value as its shares fell 8% in after-hours trading as the tech company confirmed the iPhone's first ever quarterly decline in sales and so missed analysts’ expectations for sales and earnings.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Oil, Brexit, BHS, Apple, Twitter
The World Bank has boosted its forecast for global oil prices by 10pc for 2016 but at the same time warned that commodity prices will remain well below last year’s levels inflicting further pain on resource-rich countries. In January the World Bank pointed to a price of $37 a barrel for the benchmark oil price but in its latest quarterly report raised the forecast to $41 due to “improving sentiment and a weakening dollar”. - Daily Telegraph.