The Market Report with Katie Pilbeam. FTSE 100 dropped early as investors reflected that it is a year since the first UK lockdown. London’s blue-chip index shed 37 points to 6.688 but has still risen by more than 20% over the past twelve months. It was March 23rd 2020 when Boris Johnson outlined lockdown measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The UK's official death toll since then has risen from 364 to over 126,172. Aa part of new coronavirus laws, a new £5,000 fine will be introduced next week for anyone in England trying to travel abroad without good reason.
Keen to get back to normal is Cineworld Group PLC (LON:CINE) announcing it will start reopening its US cinemas next week. The phased reopening will begin with a limited number of cinemas admitting the public for screenings of ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ and ‘Mortal Kombat’.
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet has been bought for an equivalent US$2.9m (£2.1m) by a Malaysia-based businessman. Sina Estavi, the buyer, said it was like buying a Mona Lisa painting. He paid for it with the cryptocurrency Ether.
PensionBee Limited has announced plans to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The online platform has around 130,000 active customers and timed the announcement to coincide with Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s first ever tax day where pensions are expected to feature heavily.
Among the small caps, Oriole Resources PLC (LON:ORR) jumped on an agreement with joint venture partner IAMGOLD over funding at the Senala gold project in Senegal. The money will pay for an exploration programme.
ADM Energy PLC (LON:ADME) has agreed to invest in the development of the Barracuda oil field located in an existing discovery offshore Nigeria. The investment company will pay up to US$1.3mln and plans to raise US$500,000 via a subscription.
Medica Group PLC (LON:MGP) is buying RadMD, a US-based imaging contract research organisation, for up to £15.6mln. It will allow the teleradiology specialist to expand into the fast-growing clinical trials market.