Market Report
Camden Town owner bought out by gambling billionaire founder
The owner of Camden Market in London, Market Tech Holdings, agreed on Friday evening to be taken over by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi's LabTech Investments for almost £900m, with the shares down 35% since floating two and a half years ago.
May entering negotiations with Brussels with an open mind
Theresa May is not looking for Britain to exit the European Union without clinching a Brexit deal with Brussels, one of the bloc's highest-ranking officials said on Friday.
FX round-up: Pound, US dollar find slight safe haven bid at end of the week
Friday saw the pound weaken a tad against the dollar but flirt closer to the 1. 2 euro level that has been playing hard to get since June, with the single currency also on the backfoot against the greenback although it too ended higher for the week.
Bonds: Gilts, Greek bonds outperform
These were the movements in some of the most widely-followed longer-term sovereign bond yields: US: 2. 21% (-2bp)UK: 1. 03% (-4bp)Germany: 0. 25% (+1bp)France: 0. 94% (+1bp)Spain: 1. 70% (-1bp)Italy: 2. 26% (-1bp)Greece: 6. 64% (-8bp)Portugal: 3. 74% (-3bp)Japan: 0. 02% (-0bp).
London close: FTSE loses 3% over week as retail sales add to gloom
London stocks finished the week on a weaker footing, with the FTSE 100 dropping for a sixth consecutive day even as the pound slipped on the release of disappointing UK retail sales figures.
Government recoups all funds from Lloyds bailout
The government will sell its remaining shares in Lloyds Banking Group in the coming months after recovering all of the £20. 3bn spent to bail it out during the financial crisis.
Britain celebrates first coal-free day since Industrial Revolution
Friday was thought to be the first entirely coal-free day in Britain for hundreds of years, as reliance on nuclear, gas and renewable energy from wind and solar meant no coal power was required.
Commodities: Oil breaks three-week streak of gains, gold holds its ground
Crude oil futures were in a funk again heading into the weekend, amid 'market chatter' around declining demand and concerns that Russia might yet scupper a deal by the world's largest oil producers to continue reining in their production.
Europe close: Investors sit on their hands ahead of French elections
European stocks finished on a mixed note on Friday with the CAC 40 slipping after the Paris shooting fuelled uncertainty about the French presidential election, although it was Italian stocks that did worst.
Small cap news round-up
Public relations firm SEC has completed the acquisition of a 60% stake in Polish communications company Martis Consulting for €1. 1m.
Judge approves $4.3bn penalty for VW diesel engine emissions scandal
Volkswagen has been hit with a $4. 3bn penalty for misleading US regulators and customers about its diesel engines’ emissions after a US federal judge approved the criminal charge.
UK steel firms cautious ahead of Trump export investigation
Steelmakers in Britain are on alert as Donald Trump launches an investigation into steel dumping in the US and suggested new tariffs will be levied on imports.
Touchstone Innovations invests £2.9m in Abzena
Technology commercialisation company Touchstone Innovations, which was spun-out from the Imperial College London, has invested £2. 9m in the £25m placing of portfolio company Abzena.
BOS Global reaches milestone in Call Design acquisition
Productivity software developer BOS Global Holdings updated the market on Friday on the conditional agreement to acquire a 40% interest in Call Design, which was announced on 20 March.
US open: Stocks little changed as investors mull French election, Mnuchin comments
US stocks were little changed on Friday as concerns about the French presidential election weighed on investors, while they also digested comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that the Trump administration is close to bringing forward major tax reform.
General Electric beats on earnings but sees negative cash flow in Q1
US industrial giant General Electric beat on its top and bottom lines in the first quarter, but reported negative cash flow in industrial operating activities.
SolGold reports 20% strike extension from Hole 21
SolGold reported drilling at its Cascabel site in Ecuador had extended the known length of copper-gold mineralised by 20%.
Plaza Centers opens Belgrade shopping centre
AIM-listed merging markets property developer Plaza Centers opened Belgrade Plaza, its 34th shopping centre and its second in Serbia, on Thursday.
Analysts differ on forecasts for China's FX reserves
Capital outflows from China slowed significantly over the past two months, Capital Economics estimated, telling clients that the country's fight against them might be nearly over, but Oxford Economics disagreed.
US existing home sales hit 10-year high in March
Sales of US existing home sales rose more than expected in March, to their highest pace in more than 10 years, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.