Braveheart Investment Group PLC (AIM:BRH) said upgrades to investment company Paraytec’s CX300 Covid diagnostic have indicated a five-fold improvement to its limit of detection.
The improvement follows initial testing by the University of Sheffield and Paraytec, with the next step to confirm this improvement on swab specimens from patients with new cases of Covid-19, said Braveheart.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares have continued to plummet following the announcement that the number of new subscribers is forecasted to slow down in the next quarter.
The company said it expects to add 2.5mln customers in the first three months of this year, compared with 4mln new subscribers in the same period last year and more than 50% below analysts' forecasts of 5.9mln.
Liberum Capital sees close to 80% upside to the current price for Ilika PLC (AIM:IKA, OTCQX:ILIKF) as the company advances its solid-state battery products.
The stockbroker’s ‘buy’ recommendation comes with a 245p price target (current price: 138p).
Property portal OnTheMarket PLC (AIM:OTMP) delivered a good news update on Friday, telling investors its earnings for the year would be ahead of market expectations.
It primed the City to expect the business to post adjusted operating profit of at least £2.5mln. That compared to a consensus figure of around £2.1mln for the 12 months ended January 31.
ANGLE PLC (AIM:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY) has received a buy recommendation and 195p target price from broker Berenberg, which has just started coverage of the liquid biopsy specialist.
The group’s Parsortix system extracts circulating tumour cells (CTCs) from blood with ease of use, sample quality and cost-effectiveness its strengths.
As crude oil prices continue to soar, hitting US$90 earlier this week, there’s a chance that investing oil company shares may prove popular again.
Fast shifting public opinion put oil and other carbon-based energy investments on the naughty step through 2021, and, whilst the era of ESG is certainly still very much upon us, the value proposition is becoming harder to ignore.
Apollon Formularies PLC (AQSE:APOL) said it appointed Dr Archibald McDonald as its director of clinical trials.
McDonald is a surgeon and has served in various capacities throughout his 35-year tenure at the University of the West Indies, including as vice principal, head of the department of surgery, radiology, anesthesia and intensive care and as chief executive officer, the medical cannabis pharmaceutical company said in a statement.
Property portal OnTheMarket PLC (AIM:OTMP) delivered a good news update on Friday, telling investors its earnings for the year would be ahead of market expectations.
It primed the City to expect the business to post adjusted operating profit of at least £2.5mln. That compared to a consensus figure of around £2.1mln for the 12 months ended January 31.
Plans by Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor for a new hydrogen plant on the Humber have received backing from companies such as British Gas owner Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA) and chemicals group Ineos.
Equinor submitted plans to the government on Friday for the planned H2H Saltend hydrogen plant, which would produce 600MW of low carbon hydrogen.
There’s more pain than gain for Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) Inc in the wake of reports that is pausing – or in its words ‘right sizing’ – production of its high-tech exercise machines.
The Nasdaq share looks set for a 5% bounce, to $25.60, ahead of Friday’s after giving up around 24% on yesterday’s close.
Momentum Multi-Asset Value Trust (MAVT) is a ready-made portfolio for investors wanting to get exposure to the value end of the market, according to researchers at Kepler.
The trust uses a hybrid approach, says Kepler, buying direct stocks in the UK portion of the portfolio and using highly active, specialist third party managed open and closed-ended funds elsewhere.
The Federal Reserve Board has opened a debate on the possible creation of a US central bank digital currency (CBDC) with the release of a long-awaited discussion paper that examines the pros and cons of such a currency.
Stressing that it did not "favour any policy outcome", the central bank said the paper is the first step in a discussion of whether and how a CBDC could improve the safe and effective domestic payments system.
ADM Energy PLC (AIM:ADME, ETR:P4JC) said it raised £561,000 via a subscription from Optima Resources Holding Ltd to fund business development, possible acquisitions, and investment opportunities.
The AIM-listed natural resources investing company offered 51mln new ordinary shares in the subscription to Optima at 1.11p each.
Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) will allow fee-paying ‘Blue’ members to connect their crypto wallet to their social media account and use a non-fungible token (NFT) as their profile picture.
Only Twitter ‘Blue’ subscribers will have access to the feature although it will be visible for all users. Non-subscribers will be able to click on the NFT for more information.
Rio Tinto PLC (LSE:RIO) shares fell after its lithium exploration licence in Serbia was revoked on environmental grounds.
Serbian prime minister Ana Brnabić announced that the government has abandoned plans for the Jadar lithium mine, following weeks of protests over the potential environmental harm of the project.
Westminster Group PLC (AIM:WSG) said work is expected to begin in February on the airport security contract announced last month.
The supplier of managed services and technology-based security solutions announced a contract win in December to design, supply and install advanced screening and surveillance equipment at two airports in south-east Africa but had to wait out a regulatory standstill period to allow unsuccessful bidders to object to the contract award.
The Restaurant Group PLC (LSE:RTN) said it expects adjusted underlying earnings for 2021 will be at the top end of its guidance range.
The owner of the Wagamama brand said that it outperformed the market in the final quarter of 2021 and thanks to good cost control and strong trading year-end net debt will be less than £180mln, which represents an improvement on its mid-November guidance of net debt of no more than £190mln.
JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) has given its chief executive officer Jamie Dimon a 9.5% pay rise, increasing his total salary for 2021 to US$34.5mln.
Dimon's compensation comprises an annual base salary of US$1.5mln and performance-based incentive pay of US$33mln, according to a regulatory filing.
Elon Musk’s 'cyborg' company Neuralink is hiring new scientists as it prepares for human trials of its technology.
The company, which says its is “creating the future of brain interfaces”, has posted a job advertising for a clinical trial director.
The UK government is to invest around £100mln in a new electric car battery plant to be built in Northumberland.by Britishvolt.
Fund manager firm Abrdn and its property arm Tritax have also agreed to contribute to the funding as part of "long-term partnership that will deliver £1.7bn in private funding", which is part of the start-up's plans to raise £2bn to rejuvenate the former Blyth power station.
Destiny Pharma PLC (AIM:DEST) has highlighted the publication of a major Lancet study which determined that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is one of the causes of death across the world.
The company’s XF platform is delivering effective drug candidates that also address the threat of AMR, with a Phase 2b trial recently completed and Phase 3 presently being planned.
Record PLC (LSE:REC), the specialist currency and derivatives manager, saw inflows into its Dynamic Hedging and Emerging Market Sustainable Finance funds in the final quarter of 2021.
Both products are higher revenue-margin products. Inflows for the two funds in what is the third quarter of the fund manager’s fiscal year totalled US$1.1bn and US$0.3bn respectively.
IXICO PLC (AIM:IXI, OTC:PHYOF) said Kate Rogers has joined as non-executive director and chair of the audit committee to replace John Bradshaw, who will be leaving the company in April.
Rogers currently leads the transformation of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) global finance organisation, having worked as chief financial officer for Laboratoire GlaxoSmithKline SaS (GSK France), and other senior finance roles within GSK.
Eddie Jordan's JKO Play withdrew its US$3bn bid for Playtech PLC (LSE:PTEC), it was confirmed today.
JKO Play told Playtech t does not intend to make an offer for the company after being given more time earlier this month to come up with a counter-bid to a 680p-a-share offer made for Playtech by Australia's Aristocrat Leisure.
OnTheMarket said its operational performance continued to be strong recently and revenues will be ahead of previous expectations.
The estate agent-owned website also forecast a profit in both the half and the full year of the current fiscal period helped by a switch to capitalising development spending rather than expensing it.
88 Energy Ltd (AIM:88E, ASX:88E, OTC:EEENF) shares began trading on the OTCQB market in the United States, ahead of the expected spud of the explorer’s Alaskan well next month.
In a stock market statement, 88 Energy said the shares debuted on the OTCQB market on January 19, under the ticker code EEENF.
ANGLE PLC (AIM:AGL, OTCQX:ANPCY) said pilot data from a study in ovarian cancer patients showed its Parsortix system could be used to select patients for clinical trials who are likely to respond better to immunotherapy treatments.
Andrew Newland, chief executive of ANGLE, said the data showcased the utility of the Parsortix system for the unbiased isolation of multiple subsets of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in ovarian cancer patients.
Kavango Resources said it identified a strong gravity anomaly at the Great Red Spot (GSR) target area at its Kalahari Suture Zone (KSZ) project in Botswana.
The junior already identified a large-scale (11km) diameter magnetic anomaly at GRS and the gravity anomaly is coincident with that.
Ranking #1 in the ‘what investors are watching’ chart as Netflix releases results should be subscriber numbers.
The lockdown surge in subscriptions had eased markedly by the third quarter, but, the market is expecting to see the numbers rise again for the fourth.
Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) and the decreasing effect of antibiotics today are a significant and growing global problem, according to a large study of the impact of AMR published in the Lancet had concluded.
The study found that more than 1.2mln people died worldwide in 2019 from infections caused by bacteria resistant to antibiotics, in other words infections that were previously treatable but now the bacteria that cause them have become resistant to treatment.
Revenue from online betting in US states has been higher than Citigroup expected, which bodes well for the likes of Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) and Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR).
The broker said it is “increasingly bullish on the size of the US prize”.
Russia has proposed a ban on the mining and use of cryptocurrencies in the country, with the central bank citing digital currencies as a “threat to financial stability, monetary policy and its citizens’ wellbeing”.
If the proposed plans go ahead, it will become the latest nation that has implemented a ban on cryptocurrency alongside China, Egypt and Iraq.
BHP Group PLC (LSE:BHP) is dropping out of the FTSE 100 index after investors in Anglo-Australian miner overwhelmingly backed plans to scrap its dual listing in favour of a primary quote in Sidney.
Around 97% of London shareholders voted to approve the plans announced last August, adding to a 96% pass mark from proxy votes earlier in Australia.
Liberum has taken the red pen to big mining even though the broker believes that 2022 could be the year for mergers and acquisitions in the industry
Anglo American has been downgraded to 'hold', while Rio Tinto and Antofagasta are now a 'sell'.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LSE:RDSB) chief executive Ben van Beurden has blasted the legal ruling last year that has forced the oil and gas giant to slash its carbon emissions.
In an interview on the Shell website, van Beurden described last year’s decision by the court in the Hague as a “body blow” to the company.
British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE:IAG) shares fell on Thursday morning but other travel companies, such as TUI AG (LSE:TUI), were higher on hopes of a rise in holidays this summer.
The latest data on airlines and other activity from the ONS showed that industry troubles have continued, with UK daily flights still at half of pre pandemic levels.
Intertek Group Plc (LSE:ITRK) has been upgraded to outperform by Credit Suisse after the broker did a review of the testing, inspection and certification (TIC) companies.
Credit Suisse (CS) expects Intertek to generate the strongest organic growth in 2022 among the TIC companies after it posted the slowest growth in 2020 and 2021.
BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) has confirmed it is putting its prices up by an inflation-busting 9.3% on average adding to the current squeeze on household bills.
The increase, which comes in from April, reflected higher costs for the business it said and will mean an average rise of £3.50 per month for most customers.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SMT) revealed on Thursday has raised additional funds and history suggests it will invest them efficiently.
The trust is synonymous, at least in investors’ minds, with investing in technology stocks so the recent sell-off in tech stocks, particularly in the US has put the share price under pressure, with the stock sliding to 1,145p from 1,337.5p at the end of 2021.
Banks have told their British staff to return to the office after the government lifted its work-from-home guidance, giving hope of a boost to retail and hospitality companies hit hard by remote working.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) staff are "expected to be in the office at least three days per week", the bank said in an internal memo seen by Reuters.
Hercules Site Services PLC, a labour supply company for the UK infrastructure sector with clients such as Balfour Beatty and Kier, says it is looking to list on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
The company hopes to raise £5.5mln to “rapidly deliver on the significant demand it is experiencing,” which includes a scaling up of its operations to supply labour in the northern section of the HS2 rail project.
Workspace Group PLC (LSE:WKP) said customer demand remains solid but fell in the final quarter of last year due to the government’s Plan B guidance, which ends next week.
The London-based provider of flexible offices saw net debt rise, despite insisting cash reserves provide further investment and acquisition opportunities.
Superdry PLC (LSE:SDRY) returned to profit in its first half and said it’s confident it will meet expectations for full year 2022, despite the challenges of coronavirus (COVID-19) and rising inflation.
Profit before tax for the clothing retailer stood at £4mln in the six months to 23 October 2021, an improvement on the losses in the previous two years, with the group benefitting from foreign exchange movements.
Rentokil Initial rose to the top of the FTSE 100 as heavyweight US broker Citi upgraded the pest control specialist following its acquisition of US rival Terminix.
The deal can propel Rentokil into the No. 1 slot in US pest control with an estimated market share of 25%, followed by Rollins with 20%, Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) with c5% and Anticimex with 4-5%, estimates the broker.
Marks and Spencer Group PLC renewed its calls on the government to end physical border checks in Northern Ireland and proposed the use of technology to track goods instead.
In a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, M&S chief operating officer and managing director of food, Stuart Machin, recommended a so-called Facilitated Movement Scheme, where the use of tracking software would remove the need for further certificates on goods in transit.
Gear4music Holdings PLC expects full-year underlying earnings to be in line with market expectations.
The largest UK based online retailer of musical instruments and music equipment did not exactly end 2021 on a high note, with sales in the three months to the end of December down 10% at £47.2mln from £52.2mln a year earlier, but compared to two years earlier – pre-pandemic, in other words – sales were up 17%.
Having ‘disrupted’ the high-street from the internet Amazon is now launching a tech-driven clothes store in the real world.
The first Amazon Style store is opening in suburban Los Angeles later this year.
N Brown Group PLC (AIM:BWNG) expects to report full year adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) towards the lower end of its guidance range.
The home shopping firm said in its fiscal third quarter trading update it expects to report adjusted EBITDA4 between £93mln and £96mln, with the pedestrian performance reflecting reflecting the online market conditions and a slightly higher level of project spend now being expensed rather than capitalised.
After a long hiatus, are the days of the big mining deal back with us?
Chatter on that score suddenly burst across the airwaves after sources inside BHP Group PLC (LSE:BHP) apparently let it be known that the company was on the lookout for a big acquisition.
Crossword Cybersecurity PLC (AIM:CCS) said its online software assurance platform, Rizikon Assurance, is to be made “freely available” to UK technology trade association (techUK) members.
The tech commercialisation company will offer Rizikon to techUK members so they can self-assess their cyber security alignment with the UK government's Cyber Essentials scheme.