Good morning from London where the FTSE 100 is moving higher after taking a big hit at the open. The index wasn’t helped by a fall in the value of BP PLC (LSE:BP.) after its chief executive Bernard Looney resigned last night after revealing he hadn’t been "fully transparent" about historical relationships with colleagues.
Zooming out now and fresh data from the ONS shows Britain’s economy shrank in July, hit by a drop in the value of the services sector. Its more evidence that interest rate rises are slowing down the UK’s main growth engine. The UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 0.5%, with falls in all three main sectors following growth of 0.5% in June.
Housebuilder Redrow PLC (LSE:RDW) is slashing its dividend as it predicted profits could halve in the coming financial year as rising mortgage rates take their toll on the housing market.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) meanwhile has unveiled its latest iPhone mode, the 15, with the quiet dropping of smaller screen options one of the few things that weren’t leaked in advance. Prices will start at £799 for the new model.
And finally in small caps, Versarien PLC (AIM:VRS, OTC:VRSRF) shares rose in early trading as its Spanish arm was awarded a grant to design a new line of ecofriendly conductive inks. That’s all for this morning