The FTSE remains in positive territory this Friday afternoon as Wall Street opens in the green with inflation coming in as expected. The British bourse is still up around 20 points as we enter the final hour of trading here in the capital.
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LON:JD.) was the lead riser in the index, jumping 3% after sportswear giant Nike posted record results - with quarterly sales slam-dunking the US$12bn mark for the first time its history.
The travel sector is in the spotlight this Friday with more developments on the convoluted rules. British Airways owner IAG (LON:IAG) and travel operator TUI (LON:TUI) are both down as confusion continues on restrictions for Brits travelling into countries now on our green list.
Malta has announced quarantine for UK tourists not fully vaccinated against coronavirus, anyone arriving from the UK from 30 June will need to present a COVID vaccine certificate. Iceland and France have also imposed mandatory self-isolation on UK arrivals who haven’t received a full course of an approved COVID-19 jab, while the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, the US, Croatia, Poland, Italy and Germany require quarantine for all people coming from Britain.
Pregnant women may be given £400 worth shopping vouchers if they give up smoking, as part of a new NHS campaign. Evidence shows offering pregnant women financial incentives to stop smoking would be ‘both effective and cost effective’ according to the The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) and Public Health England.
And finally, staying with health, A Californian company called Grail has developed a blood test that can detect over 50 types of cancer.The NHS will start a pilot scheme using the assay on 140,000 people aged over 50 this year.