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The FTSE 100 index fell 0.4% this morning, weighed down by the financial sector after Deutsche Bank downgraded insurance majors Aviva and Prudential. Aviva's shares dropped 2.1%, and Prudential's shares lost 1.3%.
Utilities watchdog Ofgem fined Hudson Energy Supply UK, a unit of Shell Energy, £1.7 million for overcharging customers and violating license conditions. Impax Asset Management Group reported a decline in fiscal 2023 profit to £39.2 million, while revenue increased to £178.4 million. Halfords Group's fiscal first half profit edged down to £14.6 million, despite a revenue increase to £873.5 million.
Meanwhile, Tintra announced plans to delist from the London stock exchange amid funding talks with a Middle Eastern sovereign fund.
In other news, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday that he had not yet seen enough progress towards the 2% inflation goal to be confident. "Two percent is our target and we will do what it takes to get there," he told Daily Focus.
Things to read today:
- In New York, victims of fake AI-generated pornography learn that there is no law to protect them (Bloomberg).
- Why doesn't OpenAI reveal what the Q* algorithm is? (The Atlantic).
- Amazon, soon to dominate - also - in logistics (Intelligencer).
- Forget Novo, Rolls-Royce is the best European stock of the year (Bloomberg).
- ESG ratings with variable geometry (Klement on Investing).
