1 - Big day for small-cap funding
Alaska oil explorer Pantheon Resources had the stand-out small-cap funding deal, raising US$96mln through a mix of equity and convertible debt, though elsewhere cloud-based video editor Blackbird banked £8mln to develop and grow its platform into new markets, and Cornish Lithium confirmed a £9mln tranche to advance its portfolio.
2 - TUI and travel stocks slapped lower
TUI warned fears over the omicron variant of Coronavirus (COVID-19) could impact its winter holiday programme, although it predicted bookings for next summer will return to near pre-pandemic levels.
The weak outlook, storms and Omicron also weighed on airlines IAG, Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz
3 - FTSE treads water after rebound
At the close, the UK blue-chip index was 2.55 points, or 0.01% lower at 7,337.35, below the day's peak of 7,378.92 but above the session low of 7,333.56.
4 - Deutsche surprised by BATs
Deutsche Bank analysts admitted surprise at British American Tobacco positive results, saying the cash conversion figure of ‘well in excess of 90%’ caught the eye of the research team.
5 – MGC talks growth
MGC Pharmaceuticals Roby Zomer joins us in the studio to give Proactive’s Katie Pilbeam insights into the cannabis and health products group’s growth plans, following its recent £5.5mln funding.