Market Report
US pending home sales slump in January
US pending homes unexpectedly declined in January, according to figures from the National Association of Realtors.
Tesco's Booker takeover given go-ahead by shareholders
Tesco and Booker Group shareholders have both voted through the supermarket giant's contentious £3. 7bn takeover of the country's leading wholesaler.
US GDP slows a tad more than expected in the fourth quarter
Economic activity in the US slowed down a tad more quickly than expected during the third quarter, but continued to point to a robust end of the year, according to economists.
Europe midday: Stocks edge higher on the last day of the month
Stocks on the Continent are edging higher on the last day of the month and ahead of the release of a barrage of economic data Stateside due out in under a half hour's time.
Chicaco PMI falls to six-month low in February
Economic activity in the Chicago area deteriorated more than expected in February, according to figures released on Wednesday.
FTSE 100 movers: St James's Place rallies on results, miners and ITV drop
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0. 1% to 7,288. 27 in afternoon trade on Wednesday, keeping its head just above water as miners retreated.
Phoenix Global acquires majority stake option at Gordon Lake
North America-focussed base and precious metals exploration and development company Phoenix Global Mining has entered into an exclusive option to acquire 80% of the high-grade Gordon Lake gold property in the Northwest Territories, Canada, from ExGen Resources, it announced on Wednesday.
Osirium Technologies adds support for Microsoft Azure
Cyber-security software-as-a-service provider Osirium Technologies announced support for the Microsoft Azure cloud platform on Wednesday.
Midatech liver cancer drug candidate gets Orphan Drug Designation
Specialty pharmaceutical company Midatech announced on Wednesday that the European Medicines Agency has granted Orphan Drug Designation for its advanced liver cancer drug candidate, MTD119.
Asiamet the 'best kept secret in copper', says Liberum
Copper explorer Asiamet Resources was tipped as a 'buy' by Liberum on Wednesday as it has assets near to production and "globally significant" in scale, with its valuation implying it is the "best kept secret in copper".
EU plan assumes Northern Ireland will stay in customs union
The UK must accept the prospect of Northern Ireland staying in the EU customs union with oversight by the European Court of Justice after Brexit, a draft European commission treaty shows.
UN report says North Korea aided Syrian chemical weapons projects
A leaked report from the UN sanctions panel says North Korea sent Syria missile specialists and over 40 items used in ballistic missile and chemical weapons programmes between 2012 and 2017.
Savannah investigates potential lithium mine at Portuguese asset
Development company Savannah Resources has appointed engineering group Hatch to conduct a scoping study on the potential development of a lithium mine on its Mina do Barroso asset in Portugal, with results expected to be available towards the end of its second trading half.
Liberum downgrades Safestyle after profit warning
Liberum cut its stance on AIM-listed windows and doors specialist Safestyle to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ after it warned on 2018 revenue and profits on Wednesday, reducing the target price to 130p from 200p.
Asia report: Markets finish lower on disappointing China, Japan data
Markets in Asia finished lower on Wednesday, after disappointing data came out of China and Japan.
Ironveld shares boosted as company tunnels closer to production
Ironveld announced the Department of Water Affairs' successful statutory inspection of its project at the Bushveld Complex in South Africa on Wednesday.
Official China PMI surprises to the downside in February
The weak prints on two closely-followed surveys of activity in China's economy for February likely overstate the extent of the slowdown seen during the month of February, economists said, possibly as a result of the Lunar New Year holidays.
Foxtons profit plunges as London property transactions seize up
Foxtons' annual profit fell by almost two-thirds as the estate agent suffered from the seizing up of transactions in the London property market.
US pre-open: Stocks seen touch higher after Powell-fuelled losses
US futures pointed to a marginally firmer open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with stocks set to recover from a late selloff the day before on the back of hawkish comments from new Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.
London midday: Miners, ITV and Taylor Wimpey weigh on FTSE
London stocks were still in the red by midday on Wednesday, weighed down by weakness in the mining sector and disappointing earnings from ITV and Taylor Wimpey, as the City was covered in a blanket of snow.