(Adds company news items, futures) Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening 7 points lower on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers with futures up 0.2% ahead of cash markets open.
* BREWIN DOLPHIN: Brewin Dolphin booked a 12.8% rise in total funds to 46.7 billion pounds in the three months to end-June, driven by total net inflows of 400 million pounds and a rally in investment returns, the wealth manager said on Thursday.
* TATE & LYLE: Food ingredients maker Tate & Lyle Plc said on Thursday demand improved in June compared to the previous two months as coronavirus restrictions started to ease, but cautioned that the full extent of the pandemic’s impact still remained unclear.
* BEAZLEY: British insurer Beazley Plc swung to a loss for the first half on Thursday as it set aside tens of millions of pounds to pay coronavirus-related claims and warned the fallout of the crisis would be on the level of a major natural catastrophe.
* G4S: Security contractor G4S Plc on Thursday reported first-half operating profit that beat market expectations, getting a boost from a solid performance in its core security business, but said it would still hold off on paying dividends.
* UNILEVER: Second-quarter sales at Unilever, fell much less than expected as strong growth in North America helped offset the hit from coronavirus lockdowns.
* IG GROUP: Online trading firm IG Group Holdings reported an annual profit on Thursday that jumped more than 52%, helped by increased client activity as the COVID-19 pandemic fuelled market volatility.
* DAILY MAIL AND GENERAL TRUST: The publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper reported a 44% drop in nine-month operating profit after growth in the first five months was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic, although it said its newspapers and website had returned to profit in June.
* ANTOFAGASTA: One of the world’s largest copper producers, Chilean miner Antofagasta, and workers at its Zaldivar mine decided to extend government-mediated talks for a new union contract and avoid a strike, a union source said on Wednesday night.
* PREMIER LEAGUE: Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned on Thursday that hackers are increasingly targeting soccer clubs in the Premier League in a wider attack on the country’s sports sector.
* CARNIVAL: Carnival Corp’s Princess Cruises said on Wednesday it would extend the suspension of select voyages through Dec. 15 as it looks to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
* BRITISH AIRWAYS: UK pilots’ union BALPA is recommending that its 4,300 members accept British Airways’ proposal of about 20% reduced pay and voluntary severance to limit the amount of forced job cuts, the union said on Wednesday.
* CHINESE HACKING: Foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Wednesday Britain was concerned by evidence published by the United States showing that China was involved in cyber attacks against medical and academic institutions in 11 countries including the U.K.
* EX-DIVS: Pennon Group and SSE will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 2.8 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations.
* The UK blue-chip index sank on Wednesday with energy and healthcare stocks weighing the most amid weaker oil prices and some unwinding of bets on the timeline of a coronavirus vaccine.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
TODAY’S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines (Reporting by Aniruddha Ghosh in Bengaluru)
