Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
GSK said the US Food and Drug Administration has accepted an application for review to extend use of its Arexvy respiratory syncytial virus vaccine to adults aged 18-49 who are at increased risk. A regulatory decision by the FDA on the submission was expected to be reached in H126.
Asset manager Ashmore said on Monday that assets under management increased by $1.4bn over the three months ended 30 June, made up of a positive investment performance of $2.2bn and net outflows of $800.0m. Ashmore said net flows improved from Q3, with "significantly lower" redemptions, against a backdrop of "continuing trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty".
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The boss of the pub chain Greene King has called for changes to business rates to remedy "unfairness" that he said added to financial pressures on the struggling pubs industry. Nick Mackenzie, Greene King's chief executive, said the business rates system of property taxes should be changed to a tax on profits. – Guardian
Sales of expensive UK country houses rose in June, signalling a possible recovery in demand as buyers are tempted out by lower prices after an extended slump. The estate agency Knight Frank said the number of exchanges of contract for sales of country houses – defined as a rural home worth more than £750,000 – was up 7% in June compared with last year as the number of properties for sale rose while prices fell. – Guardian
Brussels has backed down at the eleventh hour from plans to impose €21.0bn retaliatory tariffs on the US after Donald Trump threatened to punish the bloc with 30% levies. The EU's tariffs on US steel and aluminium exports were due to come into effect after midnight on July 14, but Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said these will now be put on hold until early August. – Telegraph
The boss of Severn Trent took home a pay package of £3.3m in salary and bonuses last year despite overseeing a jump in sewage spills and customer complaints. Liv Garfield was awarded a basic salary of £830,000, plus a further £2.3m in bonuses and benefits. Her annual bonus of £830,000 was a 42% increase on the previous year. – Telegraph
The former boss of the Financial Ombudsman Service was sacked after a row with the organisation's board and a resulting "mutual collapse in confidence", MPs have claimed. The Treasury select committee said it had concluded that Abby Thomas, former chief ombudsman and chief executive, was dismissed from the dispute resolution service as a result of "fundamental disagreements with the board on strategy, management and operations". – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices headed south on Friday after Donald Trump announced a new 35% tariff on Canadian imports.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.63% at 44,371.51, while the S&P 500 shed 0.33% to 6,259.79 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.22% softer at 20,585.53.