FTSE 100 gained more than 1% ahead of today’s US rate rise, the first in four years. The blue-chip index took Wall Street’s lead, which rallied over hopes inflationary pressures have peaked and added 98 to 7,273.
Boris Johnson arrives in the UAE in an attempt to end the West’s “addiction” to Russian oil and gas. The Prime Minister is expected to try and persuade Gulf states to ramp up their production to add a further blow to Putin.
Queues of container ships outside major Chinese ports are lengthening as Covid outbreaks in manufacturing export hubs pose a threat to global supply chains. It’s the country’s biggest spike in cases since the pandemic began.
NortonLifeLock Inc’s £6bn merger with Avast is facing an in-depth investigation by UK watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority due to possible reduced competition in the fast-growing cyber security market. Shares in Avast dropped almost 9% on the news.
The Restaurant Group hailed a much-improved performance for 2021 and said its Wagamama restaurants, gastropubs and ‘Leisure’ arms are all outperforming the market this year so far. Profits rose to £81.2mln from £8.7mln, with net debt cut to £171.6mln from £340.4mln.
Bradda Head Lithium told investors it received conditional permission to commence drilling at its Eureka project in Nevada. The permission is for a 23-hole programme to identify a lithium clay resource.
Creo Medical hailed the success of its Albyn Medical acquisition after the first tranches of the deal's earn-out agreement were triggered. It paid an upfront €24.8mln for the sales operation and offered its former owners the chance to earn a further €2.7mln over two years.