Market Report
US close: Stocks end session lower on back of weaker industrials
Fears of a partial government shutdown saw US stocks close lower on Thursday as weaker industrials also weighed on investors.
Sector movers: Real estate stocks picked apart brick by brick
Some of the most defensive areas of the market came under pressure on Thursday, weighed down by a mix of negative company-specific news-flow and broker commentary, against a backdrop of rising Gilt yields.
Evraz reports higher steel product output
Shares in Evraz jumped after the steelmaker reported that consolidated crude steel output was at 3. 5m tonnes during the final three months of 2017, unchanged from the prior quarter.
Results round-up
Property services group Countrywide warned on Thursday that 2017 income will be down on the previous year following a disappointing performance from its sales and lettings business.
Europe close: Stocks climb despite bounce in euro
Stocks on the Continent ended the session higher as Wall Street steadied, albeit with traders keeping a close eye on government bond yields on both sides of the Atlantic as some of the world's top policymakers met in Frankfurt to discuss the challenges facing Germany.
Hargreaves Lansdown's growth drivers remain in place, says Barclays
Barclays reiterated its fondness for Hargreaves Lansdown shares on Thursday, saying drivers for the business remain in place in 2018.
Bitcoin veterans unshaken by South Korea ban, as analysts battle over theory
Some of the most experienced Bitcoin investors are defying regulator's threats to ban trading in the cryptocurrency and say the restrictions can be circumvented easily, while the prices began to rebound after the huge recent crash.
Director dealings: Polar Capital Holdings director collects nearly £2m from share sale
Brian Ashford-Russell, a non-executive director of investment management firm Polar Capital Holdings, let go of 375,000 ordinary shares in the firm on Thursday, picking up nearly £2m in the process.
Malaysian investors pour $2.2bn into Battersea Power Station as costs rise
Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) has agreed to buy a stake in London's Battersea Power Station building as costs continued to rise for the project development.
FTSE 250 movers: AA stalls on broker note; NewRiver keeps rolling along
Shares in motor rescue and insurance group AA were under the cosh on Thursday as Barclays retained its 'overweight' stance on the group but slashed the price target to 200p from 270p as it lowered its 2019 EBITDA forecasts.
BP and Shell eyeing first purchases of Libyan crude in four years
Royal Dutch Shell and BP are said to have agreed to annual purchase deals of Libyan crude on Thursday as recovering production levels from the North African nation and decreased security fears began to draw in several of the world's largest oil companies.
Ten Entertainment strikes it rich after expanding bowling offer
Ten-pin bowling company Ten Entertainment Group said profits would be at the top end of expectations after diversifying its sales offering helped shielded sales from losses suffered on other sectors of the leisure industry.
Treasury owes British SMEs £8.4bn in research and development tax relief, says Catax
Specialist tax relief firm Catax said on Thursday that Westminster owed small businesses across the UK as much as £84bn in unclaimed research and development tax relief.
Alcoa falls short of Wall Street expectations
US aluminium producer Alcoa's fourth-quarter profit and revenue fell short of market estimates as higher power prices in Spain coupled with ongoing droughts in Brazil that hampered bauxite production, increased expenses.
Amazon narrows list of potential locations for second headquarters down to 20
E-commerce giant Amazon has shortened its list of potential host cities for its second headquarters from 238 down to just 20.
US open: Risk of federal government shutdown looms over stocks
Wall Street is trading on the back foot ahead of a House vote on the legislation needed to avert a government shutdown and amid another leg lower in the Treasury market, amid reports that Apple might unload some of its holdings of US government debt to pay its tax bills.
Most Ryanair pilots accept increased pay offer
Ryanair pilots have mostly agreed to accept pay increases from the budget airline of up to 20%, which will be put in place for January's payroll.
E-commerce focus a winner for Eddie Stobart
Eddie Stobart issued a trading update for the financial year to 30 November 2017 on Thursday, reporting that group revenues for the year were £618m, representing year-on-year growth of 12%.
Inspiration Healthcare gets CE-mark for new cerebral function monitor
Medical device company Inspiration Healthcare Group announced on Thursday that its new-generation cerebral function monitor (CFM) unit, the Unique+, designed for use in neonatal applications has been granted a CE mark.