Market Pulse
MJ Gleeson on track for full year amid strong demand
Urban regeneration and land development group MJ Gleeson said on Thursday that it was confident it would achieve full-year 2019 results in line with expectations amid strong demand.
DS Smith plans sale of plastics arm as interim profits rise
Packaging company DS Smith grew profits 27% in the first half of the year and said it was exploring the potential sale of its plastics division.
Science in Sport completes 'transformational' acquisition
UK-based sports nutrition company Science in Sport wrapped up its "transformational" acquisition of protein brand PhD Nutrition on Thursday, effectively doubling its size.
Eve Sleep crashes on discounted fundraising
Shares in Eve Sleep crashed on Thursday as it emerged that the mattress retailer's planned fundraising, announced last month, would actually be at a big discount rather than the "significantly" higher price it had talked about previously.
Boohoo responds to claims about misleading promotions
Boohoo confirmed on Thursday that it continues to review its promotional offers so they comply with applicable regulations, as it responded to recent media commentary about its time-limited promotions.
Ted Baker confirms 'hugging' probe as revenues dip
Scandal-hit Ted Baker confirmed on Thursday that it has appointed an independent law firm to carry out an investigation into reports of "forced hugging" by founder and chief executive Ray Kelvin, as it posted a dip in revenues.
Just Eat surprisingly demoted from FTSE 100, replaced by Spirax
Just Eat will be demoted from the FTSE 100 along with Royal Mail when the quarterly index reshuffle is completed later this month, resulting in Hiscox and Spirax-Sarco Engineering making their debuts on the blue chip benchmark.
London open: Stocks drop as Huawei CFO arrest sparks jitters
London stocks fell in early trade on Thursday, taking their cue from heavy losses in Asia amid renewed concerns about trade relations between the US and China.
Ferrexpo declares decent special dividend
Ferrexpo announced a special dividend on Thursday, after reporting that it had continued to trade as expected in the second half of 2018.
ContourGlobal sells minority interest in Spanish solar assets
ContourGlobal has reached an agreement to sell a 49% interest in its 250 MW concentrated solar power facilities in the south west of Spain, it announced on Thursday, to a fund advised by Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners.
Euromoney to buy BoardEx and The Deal for $87.3m
Business information and events group Euromoney Institutional Investor has agreed to buy BoardEx and The Deal from parent company TheStreet for $87. 3m in cash.
Vodafone invites bondholders to sell up to £300m of their bonds
Vodafone Group announced an invitation to holders of the zero-coupon equity-linked bonds to offer to sell their bonds for cash on Thursday, at a purchase price to be determined pursuant to a modified Dutch auction procedure.
AstraZeneca offloads ciclesonide rights to Covis in $350m deal
AstraZeneca has completed an agreement with Covis Pharma to sell its rights to the medicines Alvesco (ciclesonide), used for the treatment of persistent asthma, and Omnaris and Zetonna (ciclesonide), used for the treatment of nasal symptoms associated with rhinitis.
London pre-open: Stocks seen lower as Huawei CFO arrest prompts trade war fears
London stocks were set for a downbeat open on Thursday, taking their cue from heavy losses in Asia amid renewed concerns about trade relations between the US and China.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Huawei CFO, Facebook, KMPG, Capita
Canada has arrested Huawei’s global chief financial officer in Vancouver, where she is facing extradition to the US in a move likely to exacerbate tensions between the US and China. Meng Wanzhou, one of the vice-chairs on the Chinese technology company’s board and the daughter of the company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on 1 December and a court hearing has been set for Friday, according to Canada’s department of justice. The arrest is reportedly related to violations of US sanctions.