Market Report
M&C Saatchi expects progress in 2019, sells Walker stake
Ad agency M&C Saatchi told investors on Friday that it expects its full-year results to be in line with board expectations.
Lok'nStore to dispose of document storage business
Self-storage company Lok'nStore has announced the disposal of its document storage business, Saracen, to Iron Mountain UK for £7. 64m in cash.
Europe midday: Stocks dip at the start of the month, investors eyeing US jobs data
Stocks on the Continent are giving back early gains as investors await the release of the all-important monthly US non-farm payrolls report, amid another down day for lenders' shares.
US pre-open: Stocks seen slightly lower ahead of payrolls
US stock futures pointed to a flat to lower open on Wall Street on Friday as investors looked to the release of the latest non-farm payrolls report.
London midday: Stocks push higher as manufacturing data dents sterling
London stocks had extended gains by midday on Friday as the pound was knocked lower by a disappointing reading on the UK manufacturing sector, as investors eyed the release of the latest US non-farm payrolls report.
Springfield Properties acquires Edinburgh's Walker
Scottish house builder Springfield Properties has acquired Edinburgh-focussed private housing firm Walker Group for a net consideration of up to £31m.
Begbies Traynor snaps up Croft Transport for £4m
Professional services consultancy Begbies Traynor acquired Manchester-based Croft Transport Planning and Design in a £4m deal on Friday.
Comptoir trades in line in 2018, second half strong
Comptoir Group, the owner of the Comptoir Libanais restaurant chain, said on Thursday that it traded in line with market expectations in 2018.
Midwich to buy 80% of Italian AV products distributor Prase
Specialist audio visual distributor Midwich has agreed to buy 80% of Italian value-added AV products distributor Prase Engineering for an initial cash consideration of €7m (£6. 1m).
Trump proposes new summit with Xi to end trade war
US President Donald Trump proposed a new summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to try and settle the trade war for good as both sides claim progress at the end of the latest talks in Washington.
Cabot Energy tumbles ahead of proposed fundraising
Oil and gas outfit Cabot Energy is in the process of wrapping up discussions with High Power Petroleum and other significant shareholders regarding an equity fundraising of roughly $3m.
Sumo acquires former Rockstar man's studio
Video games developer Sumo Group has acquired work-for-hire studio Red Kite Games for a total of £2m in order to support the group's growth strategy across West Yorkshire.
RPC Q3 revenues up but operating profit flat after weak Christmas
Plastic packaging company RPC Group, is now being eyed up by US packaging group Berry Global as well as Apollo Global Management, posted a rise in third-quarter revenue on Friday and flat operating profit.
London open: Stocks edge up ahead of payrolls; TalkTalk tumbles
London stocks rose in early trade on Friday but gains were fairly modest as investors digested a downbeat reading on the Chinese manufacturing sector and eyed the release of the latest non-farm payrolls report.
Informa to sell Life Sciences Media Brands portfolio for over $100m
Exhibitions, events and business intelligence group Informa has announced the sale of its Life Sciences Media Brands portfolio, previously part of UBM, to US-based healthcare, education and market research company MJH Associates for just over $100m.
Euromoney trading in line, outlook unchanged
Euromoney Institutional Investor said on Thursday that trading between 1 October and 31 December 2018 was in line with the board’s expectations and its outlook is unchanged.
Glencore reports production, Paddy Power enters Georgia
London open The FTSE 100 is seen climbing 10 more points on Friday morning after finishing the previous day at 6,968. 85.
London pre-open: Stocks seen muted ahead of payrolls
London stocks were set for a fairly muted open on Friday as investors digested a downbeat reading on the Chinese manufacturing sector and eyed the release of the latest non-farm payrolls report.
Friday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Npower, RBS, Patisserie Valerie
Nearly one in three British businesses are planning to relocate some of their operations abroad or have already shifted them to cope with a hard Brexit, according to a leading lobby group. The Institute of Directors (IoD) warned that 29% of firms in a survey of 1,200 members believed Brexit posed a significant risk to their operations in the UK and had either moved part of their businesses abroad already or were planning to do so. – Guardian.