Saudis deny axing Aramco float; The Real Greek and Franco Manca owner bucks restaurant blues; US and China step up trade barriers
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) and Asda’s proposed £12bn merger under investigation by competition watchdog over fears of higher prices for shoppers and squeeze on suppliers
Ryanair Holdings (RYA) shares take off as it reaches agreement with pilot union after lengthy dispute which resulted in delays and cancellations for thousands. The proposed agreement will now be balloted by members. Airline has also been accused of sending customers cheques which bounced. Shares in the airline have bounced up over 6% on the news
Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurant group The Fulham Shore (FUL) has reported ‘encouraging trading’ in the first half of the year, helped by a rise in the number of diner transactions and menu ‘innovation’.
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) has announced a raft of board appointments as it revamps its leadership following a furious boardroom spat. The group has promoted group commercial director Nick Dilworth to executive director and chief operating officer, while Michael Williamson is appointed interim chief financial officer. The former finance chief Richard Laycock left the role hours ahead of a tumultuous annual shareholder meeting last month, although he remains with the business. It revealed last month that Alice Mayhew had been appointed to spearhead an investigation into concerns raised by employees over alleged bullying and the company’s whistleblowing procedures.
Playtech (PTEC) results show signs of improvement. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould comments: ‘First half results from online gambling firm Playtech suggest the company may be starting to move past the problems in its Asian businesses which have dogged the share price in 2018.
Shares in TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) rose after Barclays Capital raised its rating for TalkTalk to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’ and increased its target price from 130p to 150p.
