Xpediator PLC (AIM:XPD) announced that non-executive chairman Mark Whiteling and deputy chairman and founder Stephen Blyth both have resigned from the board.
Both resigned with immediate effect, with the company noting that major shareholder Cogels Investments has the right to appoint a nominated non-executive director to the board and will do so, subject to the satisfactory completion of requisite due diligence checks.
Advanced Oncotherapy PLC (LSE:AVO, OTC:AONCF) has raised £2mln for its LIGHT proton therapy system for cancer treatment from Odey Asset Management, which has subscribed for 8mln shares at 25p or a 6% premium to the market price.
Advanced added that it has also received £1.5mln through a loan from Nerano Pharma, which is controlled by Seamus Milligan who is a significant shareholder in the company.
A group of UK financial watchdogs, including the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator, will help oversee how open banking technology is regulated and rolled out.
The Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee will also include the Competition and Markets Authority and the Treasury, in measures designed to improve competition in the banking industry with fintechs through the secure sharing of financial data.
In the UK there are more than 5mln users of services powered by open banking technology and its estimated that by late 2023 about 60% of the population will be open banking payments.
Open banking measures were introduced in 2017 after a CMA probe into retail banking, in an industry in which the established players accounted for 80% of the current account market.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the boss of P&O Ferries should quit for his “brazen, breath-taking arrogance” in admitting breaking the law over a mass sacking.
The cabinet minister also said he would change legislation to force a U-turn and prevent the ferry operator from paying a minimum wage to its employees, according to the Sky News.
Lloyds Bank, AstraZeneca and Unilever are apparently three of the ways you can become an ISA millionaire, according to the latest study of the portfolios of its customers by Hargreaves Lansdown.
The number of ISA millionaires on its books has jumped by two-thirds to 973, while overall there are now 2,000 in the £1mln club said the wealth platform.
JP Morgan sandbagged the housebuilders today as in addition to the cladding issue the US bank said every 5% of raw material inflation impacts earnings by 5% and needs house prices to rise by 1% to offset.
As a result, the US bank cuts its 2023 earnings targets across the sector by 5%.
Internet searches for electric cars reached new heights this month in the UK, according to initial data from Google Trends, as oil prices surged.
The early search figures, which are subject to change, come as the government this week set a new target to increase the number of electric car chargers tenfold to 300,000 by 2030 amid concerns that the introduction of the infrastructure has been too slow.
With the backing of a £1.6bn Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy, charging will become easier and cheaper than refuelling a petrol or diesel car, the Department of Transport said.
Sales of alternatively-fuelled vehicles comprise of more than a third of the market in 2022, and were double the level of a year earlier at the end of February, according to the most recent data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
“The EV infrastructure strategy points in the right direction, addressing problems with the current customer charging experience and setting out a nationally co-ordinated, locally delivered plan,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
Sales of new cars and vans with petrol engines are to be banned from 2030 and one in 10 drivers plan to go electric when buying their next car, according to the AA.
Wedbush Securities analysts published a research update on Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), saying that based on the current demand trajectory for the company’s electric vehicles they are seeing so far in the March quarter, “we believe unit deliveries are trending well ahead of Street expectations” and Tesla “could now be on a 2 million unit run-rate exiting 2022”.
“While China will be a key growth driver, we believe demand is rapidly building for Tesla's Model Y with 2022 so far looking like another ‘breakout year’ for Tesla and the EV (electric vehicle) industry,” the analysts wrote.
Gas and oil prices eased lower as the US and European Union signed a landmark deal to reduce the dependence of the EU on Russian gas.
The US said it will work with other friendly countries to deliver an additional 15bn cubic metres of liquified natural gas (LNG) this year to Europe.
MBH Corporation said its four UK construction companies aided its robust growth in 2021.
The investment holding company said Du Boulay, Guildprime, Gaysha, and GS Contracts contributed to a combined revenue increase of 60% compared with 2020.
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) and HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA) are among the lenders best positioned to benefit from a rise in interest rates under the coverage of equity analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS).
The lenders are net-interest-income-sensitive over three to five years from a 100 basis point move, analysts including Omar Keenan and Jon Peace wrote in a note to clients.
“While growth concerns after the Russia-Ukraine crisis have increased, policy rate expectations for the next 12 months have continued higher in March as the market digests messages from central bankers,’’ the analysts wrote.
“Rate sensitivity will be an important feature in sector revenue trends and stock selection in the next 12 months.”
The Bank of England raised its key base rate last week for a third time in four months to curb inflation. The market anticipates rates may rise from 0.75% to 2% by the end of the year.
The European Union is to adopt landmark new anti-trust regulations designed to curtail the dominance of some of the world’s biggest tech companies.
The Digital Markets Act sets a new rulebook for the Big Tech giants with Google, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)., Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB)., Apple and Microsoft Corp. among the companies falling under its scope after an agreement by the European Parliament with member states on Thursday.
The rules are expected to come into force as early as October and apply to so-called “gatekeeper” companies with a market value of at least €75bn.
The legislation is meant to curb tech giants from abusing their market position to harm smaller competitors.
Firms will be prohibited from giving preference to their own services over others. It follows concerns that software companies can set their software as the default option when a user sets up a device.
Restrictions will also be imposed on combining personal data from different sources in addition to mandates to allow users to install apps from third-party platforms.
Gatekeepers that violate the rules could face potential fines of up to 10% of their global revenue, increasing to 20% for repeat offenders.
P&O Cruises again reiterated, via a campaign, it is a different company to P&O Ferries, which has faced a furious backlash following its unlawful sacking of 800 workers without any notice, last week.
“Our names may both begin with P&O. But that’s where the similarity ends. We are separate organisations and have been for 20 years,” it said in a video on its Twitter account.
Wickes PLC warned today that it might take over a year to get a tradesman in to do any odd jobs or bigger tasks around the house.
The builders' merchant said that a quarter of the tradesmen it talks to regularly are booked until 2023, with most of the 630,000 tradesmen on its books “really busy” at the moment.
Several bidders for Chelsea Football Club were removed from the £3bn auction by the Raine Group with the shortlist significantly whittled down.
It is still uncertain whether the American bank had decided on an official shortlist but the leading contenders are known.
Russia is prepared to allow “friendly” countries to pay for its oil and gas in bitcoin or their national currencies as it explore ways to accept payment for its energy exports.
"We have been proposing to China for a long time to switch to settlements in national currencies for rubles and yuan," said Pavel Zavalny, who heads Russia's State Duma committee on energy.
Canada is going to boost oil and gas exports by 300,000 barrels per day, as nations attempt to wean themselves off Russian energy supplies because of the Ukraine war.
Natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the move would amount to a 5% increase and would help Canada's allies combat "an energy security crisis" caused by the Ukrainian conflict.
The UK competition regulator has warned of higher petrol and diesel prices in 121 sites across England, Scotland and Wales as a result of the £7.1bn takeover of Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC.
Eight weeks after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened its investigation into the buyout by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, it has judged the deal will lead to “limited competition” from other players when it is completed.
Empyrean Energy PLC (AIM:EME) told investors it expects that the Jade exploration well, offshore China, will spud on or around April 2.
The company, in a statement, said that the China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) owned NH9 drill rig will be handed over to Empyrean within the next few days for safety checks. Mobilisation is anticipated on or around March 27.
United Utilities Group PLC (LSE:UU.) said current trading is in line with the group's expectations for the full year to end-March 2022, boosted by higher consumption from business customers as activity returns to pre-pandemic levels.
The water and wasterwater company forecast a net increase in revenue of about 3% for the full year, but said the underlying operating profit will remain broadly the same from a year earlier as inflation puts pressure on its core costs.
David Beckham is the latest in a string of A-list celebrities to enter the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) after he was named as the global brand ambassador for DigitalBits blockchain.
DigitalBits is an open-source blockchain that is used to power digital assets such as NFTs, tokens and stablecoins.
Destiny Pharma PLC (AIM:DEST), a clinical stage biotech, has raised total gross proceeds of £6.45mln from a placing, subscription and open offer.
The company, which focuses on the development of medicines to prevent life-threatening infections, has applied for the admission of 12.9mln new shares on London’s AIM, it said on Friday.
Petropavlovsvk PLC slumped a further 24% as it said sanctions recently imposed on its bank and principal offtaker Gazprombank effectively meant it couldn't sell any gold.
Gazprombank (GBP) is the buyer of 100% of the group's gold production, said the Russia-based gold miner.
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) PLC (AIM:EOG) chairman Brian O'Cathain said the Serenity field in the North Sea is a “highly exciting asset with the potential to deliver significant near-term value”.
O'Cathain, in a statement ahead of today’s shareholders’ general meeting, highlighted the opportunity as the company seeks shareholder approval for its £7.02mln equity raise to fund Europa’s participation in Serenity - it would see 390mln new shares issued at 1.8p each.
Electric vehicle charging points will rise tenfold by the end of the decade, the Department for Transport said.
The government’s new Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy will increase the UK’s charge points from 30,000 to 300,000 by 2030.
Bitcoin and Ethereum both continued to rally in what has been a strong week for crypto as the largest digital token climbs towards the key resistance level of US$45,000.
Bitcoin gained 2.67%, changing hands at US$44,155, the highest value since 3 March.
Faron Pharmaceutical’s chief executive Markku Jalkanen said 2022 will the most important year in the company’s history as its moves forward with key trials for two lead therapies.
“Our focus for 2022 will be to accelerate bexmarilimab's clinical development, which in addition to the ongoing MATINS trial will include the initiation of trials investigating bexmarilimab in a first-line setting in combination with other checkpoint inhibitors and as a treatment for haematological malignancies,” he said in a statement.
Go-Ahead Group PLC (LSE:GOG) said a subsidiary has been awarded a contract worth up to £31.7mln a year by the Department of Transport to continue operating the UK’s largest railway network, just days after the government fined the company over its failures in a separate franchise.
The company’s Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) unit has been given the Department of Transport contract for the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern rail services, Go-Ahead said on Friday.
ANGLE PLC (AIM:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY) highlighted that researchers at a leading cancer research institute successfully used the company’s Parsortix system to analyse and provide information on tumour evolution in patients undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of cancer.
The Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, in Milan, Italy, has published results in a peer-reviewed journal of a study undertaken in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), which is administered before surgery.
Helios Towers PLC (LSE:HTWS) has closed the acquisition of Airtel Africa PLC (LSE:AAF)'s telecommunication towers business in Malawi, adding 723 sites to its portfolio.
Gross consideration for the deal is US$55mln, of which 20% is backed by Old Mutual Infrastructure Investment Trust Fund, representing a local Malawian shareholding of 20%, Helios said in a statement.
Open Orphan has been awarded a £5mln human challenge study contract by a European company to test an intravenous antiviral candidate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The biotech, an existing customer, will use the hVIVO RSV Human Challenge Study Model on a cohort of healthy young adult volunteers.
British hedge fund billionaire Christopher Hohn has urged shareholders to vote against the directors of banks “who are hiding their exposure to climate risk”.
This was in response to a report by an environmental group InfluenceMap that found the world’s biggest financial companies provided US$740bn for fossil fuel production over the past two years and are lobbying to weaken sustainability finance policy.
Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX:PLL, NASDAQ:PLL, XETRA:) has closed its offering of common stock, having sold 2.01 million shares and fully exercised the underwriter’s option to purchase 262,500 shares.
The aggregate proceeds of the public offering before underwriting discounts and commissions came to US$130.8 million.
GlobalBlock Digital Asset Trading Ltd (TSX-V:BLOK, OTC:BLVDF) has provided an update on the pending application by the company's wholly-owned UK subsidiary, GlobalBlock Limited, for registration as a crypto asset business with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom.
Over the past few weeks, the company said, it has had regular correspondence with the FCA regarding its application and has decided that a withdrawal from the FCA process is in the best interests of its clients and shareholders, with a view to reapplying at some point in the future.
San Leon Energy PLC (AIM:SLE, AQSE:SLE, OTC:SLGYF)’s 11.5% owned associate Decklar Resources, the operator of the Oza field in Nigeria, which has signed a crude handling agreement to deliver oil for injection into the Umugini pipeline.
The crude will be supplied to the UPIL crude handling facilities for Umugini and it will ultimately be delivered to the SPDC JV Forcados Oil Terminal for export and sale. It is anticipated that first shipments of oil to UPIL will start in early April.
Rishi Sunak might yet increase defence spending this year even though, to the surprise of many, there was no formal increase announced in the Budget despite the war in Ukraine and threat from Russia.
The chancellor's figures showed 3.6% nominal year-on-year (CAGR) increase from 2021 to 2025, said Citigroup, which would mean flat real defence spending against pledges from the Tories to increase it by 0.5% per year in real terms through the life of the government.
Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) said it intends to invest £20bn to £25bn into UK energy over the next decade, with 75% of that on low-carbon products including hydrogen and offshore wind, but only if there is sufficient political support.
These investments do not yet appear to have been approved by the oil supermajor's board, according to a statement by Shell UK.
Nearly £300mln was wiped from the value of Next PLC (LSE:NXT) after the clothing retailer downgraded earnings guidance by £10mln.
That may appear a knee-jerk reaction; however, the group has tended to under-promise and over-deliver under boss Simon Wolfson.
Real Luck Group Ltd (TSX-V:LUCK, OTCQB:LUKEF) has announced a partnership with leading affiliate and performance marketing company Raketech Group Holding.
The agreement will see Luckbox listed on a number of Raketech-operated affiliate websites, designed to refer players to Luckbox's next-generation esports, sports, and casino betting services.
Rising prices spell bad news for British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE:IAG) and other European airlines, said Deutsche Bank.
Pricing in a more turbulent outlook, analysts at the bank downgraded its view of many in the sector, cutting IAG, rivals Wizz Air Holdings PLC (AIM:WIZZ) and Deutsche Lufthansa all to 'hold' from 'buy'.
Britain’s large listed housebuilders, including Barratt Developments PLC (LSE:BDEV), Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY) and Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN), should fund the work needed to fix all cladding repairs needed on their buildings built over the past three decades, according to one of London’s largest investors.
Abrdn, the former Standard Life Aberdeen, sent a letter to the housebuilders calling for them to “carefully consider providing additional financing for all affected buildings built by [you] in the last 30 years".
BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) chairman Larry Fink said the world’s largest fund manager was starting to look at digital currencies and assets following the war in Ukraine.
The US group has US$10trn of assets under management, but relatively little in cryptos or other digital investments a situation that might change said Finkthat
The boss of P&O Ferries should resign following his admission this morning that his company chose to break the law about consulting the workforce about redundancies, according to the chair of the Commons transport committee.
Chief Executive Officer Peter Hebblethwaite told MPs on Thursday that the company didn’t consult unions before abruptly firing 800 employees as it knew they wouldn’t approve of the sackings.
“It’s untenable to come to parliament say you decided to break the law, you have no regrets,’’ said transport committee chair. Huw Merriman.
Hebblethwaite “needs to consider his position,’’ he added.
The P&O ferries boss added to the furore surrounding the shipping company after he admitted he receives a £325,000 base salary, is in contention for two bonus schemes and is undecided on whether to accept.
When questioned on bonuses by MPs Hebblethwaite commented, "I can't tell you how far that is from my thoughts."
Wall Street bankers received their highest bonuses ever in 2021, eclipsing the previous record set last year.
According to the New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the average securities industry worker in The Big Apple earned US$257,500 in December through March, an increase of 20% over the same period in 2020.
A pipeline failure on Russia's Black Sea coast stopped oil exports on Wednesday pushing crude prices higher and adding to fears that Moscow may disrupt energy supplies just as US president Joe Biden arrives in Europe to discuss the war in Ukraine.
European benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil jumped 4.6% to $120.73 per barrel before easing back to US$118.40 on Thursday.
Bridgepoint Group PLC (LSE:BPT) jumped 12% in London trading after the private equity company posted a jump in assets under management (AUM) and gave an upbeat outlook.
In its first annual results after going public, total assets under management rose 24% to €32.9bn in 2021, from a year earlier, the company said. Underlying pre-tax profit rose 72% to €90.5mln.
XP Power Ltd (LSE:XPP) may have to pay US$40mln in damages to a US rival after losing a lawsuit over trade secrets.
A jury in the US yesterday found in favour of Comet Technologies USA Inc. and YXLON International (collectively Comet), which accused a US subsidiary of XP Power of misappropriating trade secrets in relation to radio frequency match and generator technology.
Lloyd’s of London warned that the fallout from the Ukraine war will deliver a “major claim” for the insurance market in 2022 and said it was in talks with partners to understand the level of exposure.
Although business underwritten by the Lloyd's market in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus represents less than 1% of Lloyd's gross written premiums, indirect exposure will come from the aviation, marine, trade credit and political risk lines of business, the company said.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine will have short, medium and long-term impacts on Lloyd’s performance and balance sheet,’’ it said in a statement. “At this early stage it is difficult to assess the full financial impact of the crisis.”
Lloyd’s, the world’s oldest insurance market, however, said direct and indirect claims are expected to fall within “manageable tolerances” and won’t create any solvency challenges.
The comments came as the specialist market said it swung to a pretax profit of £2.3bn in 2021 from a £0.9bn loss a year earlier.
The combined ratio, or expenses and claims as a percentage of costs, fell to 93.5% from 110.3%, indicating improved underwriting.
Gross written premiums increased to £39.2bln from £35.5bn.
Tullow Oil PLC (LSE:TLW) said Jonathan Swinney will join as chief financial officer and executive director later this year.
Richard Miller, currently group financial controller, will act as interim CFO.
Power Metal Resources PLC (AIM:POW) said it completed a technical review of historical data for four of its seven properties in Canada’s Athabasca Basin.
“All four properties show considerable uranium prospectivity which is notable,” said chief executive Paul Johnson.