The FTSE is higher as we head into early afternoon trade with Sterling still loitering around that six week low and news from drug giant AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) that it is putting its coronavirus vaccine trials on hold after a patient participating got poorly which has triggered fears of finding a solution to coronavirus restrictions.
Speaking of which, the UK government has said gatherings will be slashed from 30 people to 6 people after the rise in coronavirus cases. This news is impacting hospitality stocks including JD Wetherspoon (LON:JDW).
Sterling is still being beaten by concerns over a break down of Brexit deal talks between Britain and the EU and Boris Johnson’s rhetoric going into the talks has been quite tough.
Ryanair (LON:RYA) has cut its target for passenger numbers this year by another 10 million, to 50 million and predicted a price war to encourage passengers to fly.
Among the small caps is Amryt Pharma (NASDAQ:AMYT) (LON:AMYT) which has posted positive results from its skin gel phase III success for skin gel to treat people with a rare and chronic skin disease - there is an interview with the CEO Joe Wiley on our website now.
Argo Blockchain (LON:ARB) has reported a surge in earnings and revenues in its first half - with a surge of Bitcoins mined of over 500% from the previous year.
And Inspired Energy (LON:INSE) has revealed revenue in the half-year to June by 25% to £20.9mln.