Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Close Brothers said on Friday that it had sold its Winterflood execution services and securities business to Marex Group for £103.9m in cash as it looks to slim down its portfolios in an effort to focus on the group's core lending activities.
Landscaping products manufacturer Marshalls warned on Friday that activity levels in its key markets had softened from the end of May and said it did not see "any immediate catalyst" for improvement for the remainder of 2025. Interim revenues came to £319.0m, up 4% year-on-year, with volume growth being "partially offset" by weaker pricing and product mix.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The Federal Communications Commission approved the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media on Thursday, clearing the way for an $8.4bn sale of some of the most prominent names in entertainment, including the CBS broadcast television network, Paramount Pictures and the Nickelodeon cable channel. The FCC agreed to transfer broadcast licenses for 28 owned-and-operated CBS television stations to the new owners after Paramount paid $16.0m to settle a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with former vice-president Kamala Harris that aired in October. – Guardian
Donald Trump sparred with the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, on Thursday during a rare presidential visit to the central bank's headquarters. Trump was continuing his campaign to pressure the Fed to cut interest rates and was visiting its Washington headquarters to view costly renovations he has suggested are tantamount to fraud. – Guardian
Four traders who were jailed for rate-rigging are to appeal their convictions after the Supreme Court quashed similar charges in a landmark case. Jay Merchant, Jonathan Mathew, Philippe Moryoussef and Christian Bittar are all seeking acquittal on appeal, lawyers for the four men said. It follows the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, two former investment bank traders, on charges of rigging Libor and Euribor respectively. – Telegraph
A record number of farms were forced to close for good this year after Rachel Reeves's tax raid made the future of thousands of rural businesses unviable. A total of 6,365 agriculture, forestry and fishing businesses have closed over the past year, according to the Office for National Statistics, the highest since quarterly data was first published in 2017. – Telegraph
The billionaire founders of River Island are set to force through 100% rent cuts on some stores after failing to renegotiate with landlords during the pandemic. The Lewis family have secured a controlling vote in a restructuring process that they will use to cut rents and close stores across their portfolio of 230 sites after struggling to compete with online rivals such as Shein. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered a mixed performance on Thursday following uneven earnings from big-name tech firms overnight and Donald Trump's visit to the Federal Reserve.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.35% at 44,852.54, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.29% to 6,377.25 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.33% firmer at 21,089.12.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com