FTSE 100 made good progress early on as investors seemed to like Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle while US economic data also calmed some nerves. London’s blue chip index opened 28 points higher at 7,046.
Philip Morris has won out in its hugely controversial £1.1bn takeover of asthma inhaler maker Vectura. Some 45.6% of shareholders accepted its bid giving the tobacco giant just shy of 75% with shares it already owns.
Gas prices rocketed again as a fire shut down a power cable linking the UK and France. Spot gas jumped to 190p per therm and is heading towards the all-time record in 2018 when the Beast from the East struck. The cable is expected to be at half capacity until March 2022.
Elon Musk’s Space X Coorp has successfully launched a rocket into space with all civilian crew and no professional astronauts or military personnel. The Inspiration4 flight will spend three days orbiting Earth
THG PLC (LSE:THG), parent of the Hut Group, said it will spin off its beauty arm in an IPO next year after it was one of the fastest growing parts of the business in the first half of the year. THG said it is also mulling a potential spin-off of Ingenuity and its nutrition business.
Among the small caps, AFC Energy is to lease a zero-emission hydrogen power generator to Air-One, the new electric-powered vertical take-off airport in Coventry. Air-One is the first of 65 sites planned by airport operator UAP.
[Allergy Therapeutics PLC (LON:AGY) said ImmunoBON, its protein-based oral product for the treatment of allergies, was voted Most Innovative Product 2021 at the Pharma Trends Image and Innovation Awards in Germany. The annual awards are based on the views of 700 physicians, 100 pharmacists and 600 patients.
