Market Report
ITV gains leverage after Virgin's fight with Auntie Beeb
UKTV, which is 50% owned by the BBC, will withdraw its channels from broadcaster Virgin Media on Saturday after failing to agree on retransmission fees, which saw ITV shares perk up on hopes that it could increase its own fees.
Europe close: Stocks drop as Trump ramps up trade war rhetoric; autos under pressure
European stocks ended in the red on Friday, with the auto sector pacing the decline as US President Trump ramped up his trade war rhetoric.
Broker tips: Sports Direct, Unilever, ITV
RBC Capital Markets upped its price target on Mike Ashley's Sports Direct to 360p from 325p due to a better outlook for FY19 and lower net debt, following the company's results on Thursday.
London close: Stocks end off lows even as Trump ups the ante on China
London stocks ended just a touch weaker on Friday, off earlier lows as investors took US President Trump's latest trade war rhetoric in their stride.
Week ahead: London's summer results season kicks off
Next week sees the results season kick off for London-listed stocks, with the likes of media and tech stocks BT, ITV, Pearson and Vodafone, defensive favourites AstraZeneca, BATS, Diageo and GlaxoSmithKline.
Results round-up
Acacia Mining posted a drop in first-half core earnings on Friday as it said it was not yet clear when it might resolve the dispute with the Tanzanian government over its gold exports.
US open: Stocks rise but dollar tumbles on Trump comments; Microsoft rallies
US stocks edged higher in early trade on Friday as Microsoft rallied on the back of strong results, while the dollar tumbled against its major rivals after President Trump ramped up his trade war rhetoric.
FTSE 100 movers: Gold stocks rise as dollar weakens; EasyJet flies lower
London's FTSE 100 was down 0. 2% to 7,674. 15 in afternoon trade on Friday as US President Donald Trump ramped up his trade war rhetoric.
FTSE 250 movers: Beazley blues; Sports Direct fitter
Insurer Beazley hit the FTSE 250 top 10 fallers on Friday after the company reported lower first-half profits as it paid out more for claims and investment returns declined but top-line growth was strong as rates firmed.
Unilever deserves more credit for its revamp, Berenberg says
Unilever has done more than its competitors to overhaul its business but the market has not recognised this, Berenberg analysts said as they raised their target price for UK shares of the Marmite and Dove soap maker.
RBC Capital ups Sports Direct target price on better outlook, lower net debt
RBC Capital Markets upped its price target on Mike Ashley's Sports Direct to 360p from 325p due to a better outlook for FY19 and lower net debt, following the company's results on Thursday.
EasyHotel acquires freehold site in Dublin
Superbudget hotel developer and operator easyHotel has acquired a freehold site in central Dublin to develop a purpose-built, freehold hotel, it announced on Friday.
Venture Life raising £18.75m ahead of Dentyl, BB Mints acquisitions
Consumer care products company Venture Life announced the conditional placing of up to 46,875,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 40p each on Friday, to raise approximately £18. 75m before expenses.
Apple Watch and FitBit could be hit with Trump's tariffs
The Apple Watch, FitBit and other accessories assembled in China could be affected by the latest round of US tariffs on $200bn of Chinese products, according to government filings.
Keywords Studios acquires Canadian firm Snowed In
Video games industry services provider Keywords Studios has acquired Snowed In Studios for a total consideration of up to CAD 4m, it announced on Friday, from its current owners Jean-Sylvain Sormany, Tim Vito and Evan Hahn.
CVS Group appoints Richard Fairman as finance director
AIM-listed CVS Group has appointed Richard Fairman as group finance director with effect from 1 August.
Lighthouse board pleased with first half progress
Financial advisory company Lighthouse Group updated the market on its trading for the six months ended 30 June on Friday, reporting that it continued to trade positively in the first half of 2018, in line with management's expectations and ahead of the comparator period for the six months ended 30 June 2017.
Microsoft beats forecasts as cloud service booms
Microsoft beat Wall Street forecasts for the fourth quarter as more businesses bought its cloud computing services and the latest version of its Office software.
Acacia Mining interim earnings drop amid ongoing Tanzania dispute
Acacia Mining posted a drop in first-half core earnings on Friday as it said it was not yet clear when it might resolve the dispute with the Tanzanian government over its gold exports.
Europe midday: Stocks extend losses as Trump steps up trade war with China
European stocks had fallen further into the red by midday on Friday as US President Trump said he was ready to slap import tariffs on $500bn of Chinese goods.