Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Drug maker AstraZeneca will invest $2bn into ramping up manufacturing facilities in Maryland, with he firm looking to both expand its existing flagship biologics plant in Frederick, and to build a new facility in Gaithersburg, which will develop innovative molecules to be used in clinical trials. Both were expected to operational by 2029. The investment was part of a $50bn US spending plan first announced by the Cambridge-based firm in July.
IMI has signed a deal to sell its Truflo Marine business to Fairbanks Morse Defense for an enterprise value of £225m. The sale of Truflo Marine, which provides valves and actuators to naval submarine programmes worldwide, "reflects our role as active managers of the business and further aligns IMI to three powerful growth trends - energy, automation and healthcare", the company said on Monday.
Mining titan BHP Billiton has confirmed it is no longer pursuing a takeover of Anglo American that had threatened to wreck the latter's $57bn merger with Teck Resources. BHP said a potential tie-up with Anglo, which would have created the world's largest copper producer, still had "strong strategic merits", but stated it was confident in its own organic growth strategy. BHP had walked away from a previous approach in May 2024 after Anglo's board rejected three proposals from the larger group.
Infrastructure investment firm International Public Partnerships has tapped Sarah Whitney to take over from Mike Gerrard as chair following the conclusion of its annual general meeting in 2026. Whitney, who will join INPP as a non-executive director on 24 November, will work closely with Gerrard and the board to ensure a smooth transition.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Rachel Reeves will launch a fresh crackdown on benefit fraud at the same time as lifting the two-child limit for universal credit at a cost of £3bn, as ministers seek to head off criticism over rising welfare spending in the budget. The chancellor has made the decision to scrap the two-child limit in full, a move that will be welcomed by Labour MPs who have long highlighted its effect on increasing child poverty. – Guardian
A government taskforce has finalised its plans to speed up and lower the cost of rolling out a new generation of nuclear reactors by streamlining UK regulation. The nuclear regulatory taskforce was set up by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, in February after the government promised to rip up "archaic rules" and slash regulations to "get Britain building". – Guardian
Pensioners will see their state pensions rise by as much as £550 next year under the triple lock pledge, the Government has said. Some 13m pensioners will get above-inflation increases to their retirement pot from April, as Rachel Reeves prepares to mount another major tax raid at her second Budget on Wednesday. – Telegraph
The taxpayer bill for a benefits scheme funding smartwatches, wobble boards and sunlight alarm clocks to help people stay in work has surged by more than a fifth in just a year, official data shows. Spending on the government-funded Access to Work scheme – which can hand claimants nearly £70,000 a year for equipment and support, including work coaches, noise-cancelling headphones and Apple smartwatches – jumped to £321m in the year to March. – Telegraph
The cost of Christmas chocolates is set to remain high this year despite a sharp reversal in cocoa prices in recent months — though there may be a chance of cheaper Easter eggs. After a two-year rally that drove the market to unprecedented highs, cocoa futures fell to a 21-month low at near $5,000 per tonne on 12 November. That is more than 50% off a peak of above $12,000 last year, although still roughly twice the long-term average. London cocoa was down 2.2% to £3,879 per tonne on Friday, while New York cocoa fell 2.3% to $5,159 per tonne. – The Times
US CLOSE
Wall Street stocks turned in a winning performance on Friday, but all three major averages still turned in a weekly loss following a dramatic sell-off in AI-linked stocks in the previous session.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.08% to 46,245.41, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.98% to 6,602.99 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.88% firmer at 22,273.08.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com