FTSE 100 opened higher in spite of warnings about chicken prices, Christmas gifts and more gas supplier failures. London’s blue-chip index was up 30 at 7.172 in early trading.
The UK housing market slowed slightly last month as a shortage of homes for sale offset the end of the stamp duty holiday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its house price balance fell to +68 in September from a downwardly revised +72 in August.
The government meanwhile is doing everything it can to solve the supply chain problems ahead of Christmas, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told the BBC. “I'm confident there'll be a good amount of Christmas presents,” he said.
The most famous split infinitive in history became a reality last night as Hollywood actor William Shatner aka Captain Kirk from Star Trek boldly blasted into sub-orbit. The 90-year-old made the 10 minute trip on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spaceship.
discoverIE Group PLC (LSE:DSCV) performed ahead of expectations in the first half despite strong foreign exchange headwinds. Revenue in the first half of the year well ahead of the same period of last year and in 2019 said the components specialist.
Among the small caps, Poolbeg Pharma PLC (AIM:POLB) (AIM:POLB) has made new UK patent filings for its PredictViral diagnostic platform. The patents would protect how the technology predicts how patients have been exposed to the virus and the severity of the disease.
Ariana Resources PLC (AIM:AAU) (AIM:AAU) has received approval for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report at the Tavsan gold-silver mine in Western Turkey. Construction will start once the final permits come in.