Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Engineering firm IMI has agreed to buy iSMA Controlli, an Italian building‑automation specialist, in a deal valued at €63m, with the business set to join the group's climate control division. IMI said the acquisition brings iSMA Controlli's open, scalable automation platform into its smart‑connected product offering, broadening the company's capabilities in monitoring and optimising commercial building performance. The FTSE 100-listed group added that iSMA Controlli was expected to generate around €40m in revenues and €4.5m of operating profits in 2026.
Ten-pin bowling chain Hollywood Bowl said on Wednesday that full year revenues would hit a record £261m as a strong performance in Canada offset the UK's hottest ever summer which kept people at home. Like-for-like sales in the UK fell 5.6% in the second half but rose 2.7% in Canada, while group sales on the same basis rose 1% for the year ended 30 September, the company added.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
John Healey is planning a major intervention to cut energy bills for poorer households in this month's budget, after ministers became alarmed at forecasts that show bills rising by hundreds of pounds in January. The chancellor is working on plans to spend more than £1bn to help energy consumers, the bulk of which is likely to go towards increasing the discount given to households on certain benefits. - Guardian
O2 has struck a record £200m deal to retain the naming rights to the London venue the O2 in what is thought to be the largest renewal of its kind in UK history. The 10-year agreement will extend O2's relationship until at least 2038. It cements the sponsorship as the second longest-running UK stadium naming rights deal after Arsenal's partnership for the football club's London ground. – Guardian
Lisa Nandy is under fire for backing BT's rescue deal for stricken broadband business TalkTalk. Lutz Schüler, the chief executive of rival Virgin Media O2, has written to the Culture Secretary asking her to explain why the Government intervened to clear the way for BT's £400m takeover. Mr Schüler wrote in the letter, seen by The Telegraph: "Protecting customers does not, in our view, require government to predetermine who should ultimately own TalkTalk's consumer and wholesale businesses; credible alternative arrangements should be fully explored. – Telegraph
Regulators have launched an online safety investigation into Meta in the same week the social media giant is conducting a High Court challenge against "burdensome" new laws. Ofcom said on Tuesday that it was assessing whether the US tech company carried out sufficient due diligence before launching a disappearing messaging feature on Instagram, which it owns. The investigation is the first into Meta since the Online Safety Act came fully into force last year and comes as lawyers for the company seek to curb the scope of the legislation. – Telegraph
The chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority has been urged to resign by a transparency campaigner over its handling of a review into whistleblowers. Ashley Alder was challenged repeatedly at the regulator's annual meeting on Tuesday about its decision to use one of its non-executive directors to conduct a review into its whistleblowing operations after the death of Simon Andriesz, a British banker. – The Times
US CLOSE
Renewed confidence in the AI trade and easing bond yields lifted US stocks on Tuesday, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.49% at 51,521.28, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.58% to 7,818.93 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.45% higher at 27,599.79.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com