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Budget airline EasyJet has rejected the latest approach from US suitor Castlelake, it confirmed on Thursday, but agreed to continue discussions. EasyJet has now rebuffed four proposals from the private equity firm for undervaluing the business and it also flagged "significant questions" about deliverability. However, it confirmed it had given Castlelake more time to access limited commercial information, in the hope it may lead to an increased offer. As a result, Castlelake now has until 1700 BST on 5 July to make a firm offer or walk away.
Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has won a two-year contract worth £325m from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks to deliver the Netherton Hub in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Balfour Beatty said on Thursday that the Netherton Hub will strengthen the UK's national grid and enable renewable energy from northern Scotland to be transmitted efficiently to demand centres nationwide.
Aerospace and defence firm Chemring has secured two new US defence contracts worth a combined $345m, enabling the restart of sustained manufacturing at its Alloy Surfaces Company decoy facility in Philadelphia. Chemring said on Thursday that it had signed a modification to an existing IDIQ contract under the Defense Production Act for the supply of pyrophoric airborne decoys. The award carries a maximum value of $300m over five years, with guaranteed minimum orders of $35m a year for the first three years. It also agreed a separate $45m OTA funding package to restart production and transfer ASC's intellectual‑property rights to the Department of War.
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Great Britain's grid operator is expected to pay millions to fire up gas power plants to avoid a rare summer power supply crunch on Wednesday evening as extreme heat puts pressure on the energy system. The National Energy System Operator is expected to pay about £10m on Wednesday to secure enough electricity to meet demand as households turn on air conditioners and electric fans, according to industry data. – Guardian
A quarter of UK graduates can expect to be financially worse off after going to university, especially those who take creative or performing arts degrees, according to new estimates by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The research is based on the pay of students who graduated in the teeth of the global financial crisis in 2008. While the IFS projects that the majority will be £100,000 better off in lifetime pay thanks to their degree, about 25% might have done better without entering higher education once their likely pay, student loans and taxes are added up. – Guardian
Labour is poised to encourage farmers to give up beef production and plant lentils to help combat climate change. On Wednesday, the Government's long-awaited "farming roadmap" proposed helping landowners switch from high-emission farming – such as cattle – towards "growing oilseeds and pulses" to meet the increased demand for plant-based goods. – Telegraph
Andy Burnham is considering devolving income tax across Britain in an effort to give local authorities greater power, a senior adviser has said. Lord O'Neill of Gatley, who is tipped to become Mr Burnham's chief economic adviser, said the presumptive future prime minister would explore devolving "aspects of income tax" when he enters No 10. – Telegraph
Micron Technology forecast quarterly revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday night, signalling that insatiable demand for artificial intelligence-related infrastructure will continue to drive strong demand for its memory chips. The company, which manufactures computer memory and computer data storage products, expects fourth-quarter revenue of $50bn, plus or minus $1bn, compared with analysts' average estimate of $43.58bn, according to data compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group. – The Times
Facebook's owner, Meta Platforms, is looking at creating its own prediction markets app as part of an effort to expand into new platforms and drive online engagement. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's founder and chief executive, has asked a small team to work on developing a smartphone app to cash in on the rapidly growing market for online betting, The New York Times reported. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered a mixed performance on Wednesday as crude prices continued to head south and traders digested quarterly earnings from chipmaker Micron Technology after the close.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.35% at 51,732.84, while the S&P 500 shed 0.10% to 7,358.22, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.43% weaker at 25,476.64.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com