Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Telecommunications firm Vodafone tapped Pilar López to take over as chief financial officer, with effect from 1 October. Pilar will succeed Luka Mucic and will begin a period of handover before her formal appointment as CFO on 1 December.
Hotel operator Whitbread said on Thursday that it had continued to make "good progress" on each of its key strategic priorities despite facing "a challenging market backdrop" in the UK. In Germany, Whitbread said it was "trading strongly" and that it remains "on course" to deliver profitability in FY26.
Retail conglomerate Frasers Group has walked away from the Revolution Beauty bidding process, just 10 days after confirming its interest. In a statement to the market on Thursday, the Sports Direct and Evans Cycles owner confirmed that it “does not intend to make an offer for Revolution Beauty”.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Ministers will restart the approval process for two controversial oilfields on Thursday, even as new figures show the UK will be almost entirely dependent on foreign gas by 2050 regardless of whether they are approved. Michael Shanks, the energy security minister, will on Thursday announce the results of a government consultation on the giant Rosebank field and the smaller Jackdaw one, in a move the industry says will set the tone for the future of production in the North Sea. - Guardian
John Lewis is asking some head office staff to spend at least three days a week in the office or out on the road in the latest shift away from working from home. The department store group said members of its commercial teams – which include those working in buying and merchandising – should work no more than two days a week from home from July. Previously they were allowed to work up to three days a week at home. - Guardian
Ministers have promised to block foreign powers from teaming up to own newspapers after peers threatened the Government with an embarrassing defeat. The House of Lords has been preparing to derail proposals by Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, to allow the United Arab Emirates to own a passive stake in The Telegraph of up to 15%. – Telegraph
Since Israeli forces first launched attacks to destroy Iran's nuclear bomb-building capabilities last Friday, they have maintained a daily drumbeat of punishing strikes. But as Israeli jets continue to streak through the skies, it's not just Iran's supreme leader that will be nervous. In Moscow, the rapid collapse of their strategic ally's air defences – several of them supplied by Russia itself – will also have Vladimir Putin's military chiefs rattled, according to experts. - Telegraph
An offshore financial services provider has allegedly "largely confirmed" that the former boss of a listed technology company had undisclosed links to companies which made £124.0m when it floated. Big Technologies, which is suing its founder and former chief executive Sara Murray, claimed at its annual meeting on Wednesday that FNB International Trustees had corroborated its allegations that Murray was linked to offshore companies that owned 38% of Big before it floated in 2021. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered a mixed performance on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve sounded a more hawkish tone than expected, while ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East kept risk appetite in check.
At the close, the Dow Jones was down 0.10% at 42,171.66, its lowest in three weeks, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.03% to 5,980.87 and the Nasdaq gained 0.13% to 19,546.27.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com