Corrugated cardboard giant Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) in hot water with government of Venezuela as President Nicolas Maduro’s henchmen seize paper-making business
British Gas owner Centrica (CNA) managed to end the day marginally up by 0.9p, at 142.85p, even after being walloped by the energy regulator Ofgem, which said British Gas had paid out £2.65m after overcharging more than 94,000 switching customers and wrongly imposing exit fees.
A debt downgrade meant asset management giant Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) had 3.1%, or 10.3p, shaved off its share price, as it ended the day at 319.3p.
Micro Focus International (MCRO) made the blue-chip index’s biggest gains, as it announced it would buy back £153.8m worth of investors’ shares.
The Johnston Press (JPR) rollercoaster ride continued as the newspaper owner released its half-year results. Shares in the company, which owns titles such as The i and The Scotsman, sank 17.7%, or 0.9p, to 4.2p as revenues continued to limp.
