Chosen by us to get you up to speed at a glance
Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska has warned the country will run out of money next year as "serious" pressure from global sanctions triggers a fresh economic crisis.
The aluminium magnate, once named Russia's richest man, said the country badly needed investment from "friendly" countries to cushion the impact of sanctions.
Mr Deripaska told the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum in Siberia: "There will be no money already next year. We will need foreign investors."
Russia is burning through its war chest of reserves at a rapid pace as the Kremlin counts the cost of its invasion of Ukraine.
Its National Wealth Fund (NWF) shrank by more than $38bn in a single month at the end of last year, as the government took out cash to plug a widening budget deficit.
The NWF currently stood at $148.4bn (£124bn) in January, according to finance ministry data.
That's it from me, see you first thing tomorrow morning.
The owner of London's Wolseley restaurant plans to expand across the UK, Asia and the Middle East.
Dillip Rajakarier, the chief executive of Wolseley-owner Minor International, said he envisaged the Mayfair café-restaurant opening branches in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, as well as London’s financial district.
Plans include launching more relaxed Cafe Wolseley sites internationally within China and the Middle East, plus across the UK in Manchester, Birmingham and Oxford.
“Our plan has always been two things,” Mr Rajakarier told Bloomberg. “One is to grow the brand within the UK, and No. 2 is to take the brand outside, because a lot of our international guests love the brand, whether it’s the Middle East or Asia.”
Thailand's hospitality giant Minor International took full control over The Wolseley Hospitality Group – which also includes The Delauney, Brasserie Zedel and Colbert in London – last year following an ownership battle with co-founder Jeremy King.
Huge pressure on the NHS has triggered a surge in demand for private GPs as patients pay for the privilege of seeing a doctor face-to-face.
Hannah Boland explains:
The hospital company Spire Healthcare said that revenues from its 125 private GPs jumped 46pc last year and this momentum is continuing.
Justin Ash, chief executive, said: “If you look at what's behind that, then clearly there is a well known problem of GPs being under pressure, the 8am scramble [for appointments] is a thing. People want to be able to book online and they want to be able to book at short notice.”
He said a growing number of people were paying to be able to have longer appointments with doctors and see them face-to-face, adding: “That is harder to get with GPs generally.”
She crunches the numbers here…
Shares in cryptocurrency-friendly bank Silvergate Capital have plummeted to a record low after delaying the release of its annual accounts.
The share price of the California-based lender have fallen as much as 50pc, its lowest level since floating in late 2019.
A Silvergate Capital spokesman said: “Silvergate’s 10-K filing will be delayed to allow additional time for its independent registered public accounting firm to complete certain audit procedures."
It was revealed yesterday that Silvergate has sold additional debt securities in January and expected further losses, impacting the amount of capital held by the bank.
"The company is evaluating the impact that these subsequent events have on its ability to continue as a going concern,” Silvergate said in the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cryptocurrency firms Coinbase Global, Galaxy Digital and Paxos Trust have since announced that they will no longer accept or initiate payments through Silvergate.
The challenges facing Silvergate, which holds over $11bn in assets, is expected to provoke further debate among US lawmakers and regulators over whether banks can handle the risks tied to digital assets.
After falling at the opening bell, the FTSE 100 managed to pull itself into positive territory this afternoon. It closed 0.37pc higher at 7,944.04.
Britain's blue-chip index was lifted by Irish construction giant CRH, which saw its share price climb 8.50pc. Shares rose after the Irish company recorded strong financials and revealed plans to de-list from the London Stock Exchange in favour of New York.
The broad-based FTSE 250 slipped 0.095pc to 19,851.65.
The UK economy is in a stronger position than previously thought in a sign that the recovery is gathering "momentum", according to the Bank of England's chief economist.
Economic editor Szu Ping Chan reports:
Huw Pill said recent surveys suggested economic growth had been "slightly stronger than anticipated" by officials, while private sector pay growth continued to surprise "slightly to the upside".
Mr Pill told an audience of business leaders in Wales that this suggested that "the current momentum in economic activity may be slightly stronger than anticipated."
Mr Pill's comments come a day after Andrew Bailey, the Bank's governor, downplayed talk of further sharp rate rises as he cautioned against "suggesting either that we are done with increasing the Bank Rate, or that we will inevitably need to do more".
But the Bank's chief economist highlighted that the "tightness of the labour market and currently elevated level of inflation" presented upside risks to its prediction that inflation would continue to fall sharply throughout this year. "For instance, the latest data for private sector regular pay growth – which was published after the MPC’s forecast was finalised – surprised slightly to the upside," he said.
"Moreover, the strength of corporate pricing power and disrupted supply chains may support firms’ expectations that higher labour costs can be passed through to consumer prices, as well as offering opportunities to build margins."
However, Mr Pill added that leading indicators of pay suggested wage pressures "have fallen quite sharply recently". Measures of underlying price pressures would be key in determining whether the Monetary Policy Committee that sets interest rates would raise them again from a current level of 4pc, he said.
TikTok isn't the only Chinese-owned social media app concerning President Joe Biden's administration, according to a government official.
"What we’re worried about is Chinese-backed companies, being on tens of millions of American phones including members of the military, and privacy concerns, data concerns, misinformation concerns doesn’t just apply to Tiktok," Gina Raimondo, the US Secretary of Commerce, told Bloomberg.
The comments come after influential US Congress committee backed a bill yesterday that would give Mr Biden the power to ban TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance.
Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the committee who sponsored the bill, said: "TikTok is a national security threat … It is time to act.
The bill, which was opposed by Democrats, does not specify how the ban would work but gives Mr Biden power to prevent anyone in the US from accessing or downloading the app on their phones.
The bill would need to be passed by the full House and US Senate before it can go to Mr Biden.
Matthew Field has further details…
Tesla's share price has slumped as much as 8pc today, marking the biggest intraday plunge since early January.
It comes after the company's investor day which offered limited details on the timing or design of future vehicles.
Shares in Tesla had rallied since the start of the year, as investors piled in ahead of the conference expecting the manufacturer would reveal specific plans for a new cheaper electric car.
James Titcomb has the details of what went down at the highly-anticipated event.
I'm off now but Adam Mawardi will make sure you are kept up to speed for the rest of the day.
Nearly 1,000 trains a day were cancelled at the end of last year as commuters were hit by a wave of strike action.
In total, 88,703 trains were either cancelled or partly cancelled in the final three months of 2022, which were affected by 10 days of walkouts by union members.
The percentage of trains cancelled on the day stood at 4.5pc, which was its highest level since the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) began compiling records in 2014.
The data show that one in 30 trains was completely cancelled during the period as unions staged walkouts in disputes over pay and conditions.
Another one in 42 were partially limited. On-the-day figures cover trains cancelled after 10pm the previous evening.
The publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday is to cut dozens of jobs as it grapples with surging costs and a shift to digital audiences.
James Warrington has the details:
In a memo to staff, Ted Verity, editor of Mail Newspapers, said the company will begin merging operations across the two titles, resulting in a reduction in the number of journalists.
He said: "It is never easy to lose talented and committed colleagues, and I know that the next few weeks, while we implement this restructure, will not be easy for many of you. I thank you in advance for your continued hard work and support.
"In return I can promise you that I am confident the changes we are planning will allow our brilliant news brands to continue to thrive – whatever this fast-moving world throws at us."
Read on for details of the overhaul.
Tapping into the millions of electric vehicles, heat pumps and other devices that are set to be connected to the UK's electricity grid could save up to £4.7bn a year by the end of this decade, Ofgem said.
The energy regulator set out a skeleton vision of what could be one of the biggest changes in decades to how Britain's electricity system works.
It proposed setting up new bodies with responsibility for regional grid plans, forcing companies to share more data, and establishing a joined-up way for households to help supply energy back into the grid from their new smart devices.
The biggest of these will be electric cars. According to the Climate Change Committee, there could be around 27.6m electric vehicles on Britain's roads by 2035.
If these were able to send back electricity into the grid when supplies are tight – so-called demand flexibility – it could provide a major boost and avoid the need to build a lot of extra nuclear or renewable generation, Ofgem said.
It has been a mixed open for markets on Wall Street as data showed the US labour market remains tight, maintaining pressure on the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
The broad-based S&P 500 has fell 0.5pc to 3,932.12 after the opening bell while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8pc to 11,285.11.
However, the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen 0.2pc to 32,722.58.
Jeremy Hunt's campaign to get older people back to work has been boosted by early signs of a wave of "unretirement".
Economics reporter Melissa Lawford latest:
The number of 50 to 64-year-olds preparing to get back to work rose sharply in the final three months of 2022, according to analysis of official data by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), as soaring inflation forced people to rethink whether they can afford to retire.
At the end of last year one in 20 economically inactive 50 to 64-year-olds said they would start looking for a job in the next three months – or 5.17pc of the total.
This was a significant jump from the 3.84pc who said they would rejoin the workforce in the year to September and well above the pre-pandemic average of 4.48pc.
Read why economists at the IFS said the data could be an early indicator of "a wave of 'unretirements'."
British Gas has issued a statement following comments by Penny Mordaunt that the company "damn well should" sort out the "completely nuts" situation whereby customers can only rely on their smart meters for 12 months (see post at 1.15pm).
A spokesman said:
All smart energy monitors across the industry are covered by a 12 month guarantee and customers can monitor their energy usage through their online account or app.
In the unlikely event of a smart energy monitor breaking after the warranty ends, we will provide replacements to some customers – such as vulnerable customers without internet access.
We are also trialling a scheme where customers can purchase new smart energy monitors and aim to have this in place later this year.
The pound has fallen further against the dollar as the number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the US fell for third straight week.
The number of jobless claims slipped to 190,000, according to the Labor Department, which is potentially bad news in the fight against inflation by the Federal Reserve.
The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose by 1,750 to 193,000, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the sixth straight week.
A tight jobs market boosts the ability of Americans to push for wage rises, potentially creating a spiral of higher wages chasing ever raising inflation, which the Federal Reserve is trying to limit with rising interest rates.
The pound has dropped 0.7pc against the dollar today and is well on its way to $1.19.
The number of new jobless claims in the US came in at 190,000 last week, which was slightly lower than estimates of 195,000.
It shows little evidence of any cooling in the labour market, as traders begin pricing in further interest rate rises from the US Federal Reserve.
Strong jobs, strong demand, rising labor costs.
Inflation is about demand and fiscal policy, no longer about supply.
When was the last time you heard the word austerity? pic.twitter.com/j97a8USJPG
British Gas "damn well should" sort out the "completely nuts" situation whereby customers can only rely on their smart meters for 12 months, the Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt has said.
Ms Mordaunt delivered a damning assessment of the company, urging the energy provider to "really think" about the service they were giving their customers.
Her comments came in response to Conservative MP Mark Fletcher, who told the Commons that British Gas only provides a 12-month warranty period on its smart meter monitors.
"If it breaks after that, customers cannot even pay to have a new monitor installed", he noted.
Ms Mordaunt thanked Mr Fletcher for raising the issue, adding "it is a situation that is completely nuts".
British Gas owner Centrica has been contacted for comment.
Boris Johnson has urged Rishi Sunak to cut corporation tax, which is due to rise from 19pc to 25pc from April.
The former prime minister said during a speech in London that the levy on businesses should be slashed to Irish levels or lower. He said:
We should dare to be different on the economy.
There's no point now in just emulating the high-tax, high-spend, low-growth European model.
We should think not about raising corporation tax but cutting corporation tax to Irish levels or lower and really turbocharging investment to drive levelling up across the whole country, really showing the world what they wanted to see from 2016 onwards: that we are different now, because this is a Brexit government or this is nothing.
Boris Johnson has raised concerns about Rishi Sunak's new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland and said he will find it "very difficult" to vote for it.
In a Westminster speech, the former prime minister said:
I'm going to find it very difficult to vote for something like this myself, because I believed we should've done something very different. No matter how much plaster came off the ceiling in Brussels.
I hope that it will work and I also hope that if it doesn't work we will have the guts to employ that (Northern Ireland Protocol) Bill again, because I have no doubt at all that that is what brought the EU to negotiate seriously.
I'm conscious I'm not going to be thanked for saying this, but I think it is my job to do so: we must be clear about what is really going on here.
This is not about the UK taking back control, and although there are easements this is really a version of the solution that was being offered last year to Liz Truss when she was foreign secretary.
This is the EU graciously unbending to allow us to do what we want to do in our own country, not by our laws but by theirs.
For the latest on the speech follow our politics live blog.
Wall Street is expected to fall again after the opening bell as the 10-year Treasury yield holds above 4pc on bets of tighter monetary policy for a longer period.
Meanwhile Tesla shares have sunk in premarket trading after it gave few details about its much-awaited affordable electric vehicle.
After a weak performance in February, Wall Street indexes began March on a volatile note as fresh evidence of persistent price pressures and comments from Federal Reserve policymakers fueled worries about the US central bank staying hawkish for longer.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes – the benchmark for global borrowing costs – has raced further above the 4pc level on today to touch a fresh four-month high of 4.046pc.
Meanwhile, the 2-year yield eased slightly from 15-year highs hit earlier in the session.
The S&P 500 was down 0.4pc in pre-market trading, while the Nasdaq Composite was off by 0.6pc.
However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is poised to open higher by 0.2pc.
The pound has fallen back below $1.20 after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said "nothing is decided" on future rate increases.
Sterling has dropped 0.4pc against the dollar, which has been boosted by a rise in US Treasury yields.
The greenback also strengthened after Federal Reserve official Neel Kashkari left the door open to a 50-basis point rate hike at the Fed's next meeting in March.
Meanwhile, the euro is flat against the pound and has fallen against the dollar after data showed inflation in the euro zone was not as high as investors had feared based on national readings in recent days.
However, record rises in food prices and rising core inflation meant that market reaction to the data was muted.
The euro was 0.4pc lower against the dollar at a little over $1.06.
Markets could be moved by euro zone employment and central bank minutes that are due later today, as well as US jobless claims data.
Moody's, the ratings agency, expects Russia's economy to shrink by 3pc in 2023, which would be the deepest recession since the financial crisis.
Economics editor Szu Ping Chan has this analysis:
Moody's believes Russia's National Wealth Fund (NWF) will be depleted by 2027 if Russian oil prices stay at around $50 a barrel. Just over half of the fund is made up of liquid assets.
Billionaire oligarch Oleg Deripaska warned that building "state capitalism is not an option" in his country as he warned that funds were already running low and "that's why they've already begun to shake us down".
"We thought we were a European country," he added. "Now, for the next 25 years, we will think more about our Asian past."
Vladimir Putin has stepped up efforts to build ties with China and other Asian economies as its relationship deteriorates with the West. Mr Deripaska said he hoped countries boasting "serious resources" could build fresh ties with Moscow.
Oil prices have risen amid optimism over a revival in Chinese demand.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, has ticked up 0.8pc toward $85 a barrel and has risen 3pc over the last three days.
West Texas Intermediate has also risen 0.8pc to move above $78 after adding almost 3pc over the previous two sessions.
Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth said rising Chinese demand may aid prices.
Amin Nasser, Mr Wirth's counterpart at Saudi Aramco, said consumption in the Asian country was "very strong".
Crude shipments from the US, meanwhile, rose to a record last week, suggesting buoyant overseas demand, according to official figures released Wednesday.
Metro Bank has narrowed its losses and said it is well on its way to being profitable after cutting costs and seeing its finances bolstered by higher interest rates.
The British bank still posted pre-tax losses of £70.7m over last year, but it was significantly lower than the £245.1m reported at the end of 2021.
The lender had suffered heavy losses during Covid, and had to put cash aside in previous years to cover historical global sanctions as well as fines from the UK regulator over an accounting blunder.
But the bank insisted it has drawn a line under its past issues and has "greatly improved" its reporting processes and controls since.
It revealed it swung to an underlying pre-tax profit in the last three months of the year thanks to tighter cost controls.
Nevertheless, it plans to open 11 more branches, which it calls "stores", by the end of 2025, adding to its existing network of 76 which are open seven days a week, 362 days a year.
Europe's imports of liquified natural gas are heading toward last year's records amid a spike in demand caused by the late-winter cold snap.
Flows into north west Europe's has networks have reached their highest level since December – a peak month for shipments – according to Bloomberg.
It is helping to keep a lid on prices, which have ticked upwards this week after falling about 40pc in the first two months of the year.
Dutch front month futures, the European pricing benchmark, have risen for a second day by 1pc to €47.57 per megawatt hour.
It comes as the latest inflation figures for the eurozone showed energy prices grew 13.7pc in February compared to a year ago but were lower than the 18.9pc boost in January.
Recruitment difficulties continued to stoke pay demands in February even as price pressures eased across the economy, according to a Bank of England survey.
Economics editor Szu Ping Chan has the latest:
The Bank's Decision Maker Panel, which polls around 2,500 finance chiefs every month, showed 45pc of companies were finding recruitment "much harder" than usual.
This is up from 35pc in January, but still well below last year's highs.
Almost no businesses said they found it easier to recruit compared with "normal" times. The tight jobs market pushed average wage growth over the past year up to 6.6pc in February, according to the survey, matching December's high, while expected year-ahead remained stubbornly high at 5.7pc.
This suggests workers continue to demand higher salaries to match the current double-digit rates of inflation.
The data also suggest that the Bank will continue to raise interest rates to cool the economy, albeit at a more cautious pace.
Jeremy Clarkson's controversial column about the Duchess of Sussex will not tarnish the ITV brand, the broadcaster's chief executive has insisted.
Dame Carolyn McCall said the former Top Gear star had not been cancelled as the host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, nor had the programme itself been scrapped.
The ITV chief executive said the broadcaster had been "really, really crystal clear" in its response to Mr Clarkson's article in The Sun, in which he said he "hated" Meghan and had dreamed of her being paraded through British towns and publicly shamed.
She said: "Kevin [Lygo, ITV's director of TV] has been very overt about the comments being awful, I've said there's no place for those comments on ITV – and they weren't on ITV, they were in The Sun – so no, I don’t think there's a washover onto the brand."
Dame Carolyn said ITV was contractually committed to a further series of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which is currently being filmed.
However, she said there were no further commitments beyond that series, "as is typical with such shows where we make commissioning decisions on a series-by-series basis".
The eurozone annual inflation rate fell to 8.5pc in February, the EU's statistics agency said, but the drop was less than expected as food costs soared.
The consumer price index was down last month from 8.6pc in January compared with a year earlier, the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat said Thursday.
However, the figure was higher than analysts' expectations of 8.3pc. Core inflation rose to a record 5.6pc.
Prices for food, alcohol and tobacco rose 15pc, up from an already painful 14.1pc in January, outpacing even energy costs amid Russia's war in Ukraine.
Energy prices grew 13.7pc from a year ago but were lower than the 18.9% boost in January.
Core inflation in the Eurozone jumped from 5.3 to 5.6%, oof… Still, quick seasonal adjustment suggests this is mainly due to base effects as the monthly growth rate showed a small decline. pic.twitter.com/8njkBFCFaN
WH Smith has admitted that the data of current and former staff has been illegally accessed after a cyber attack.
The company said the incident had not impacted its trading activities as its website, customer accounts and databases are on separate systems.
It said it immediately launched an investigation, which is ongoing, after learning of the incident.
All affected staff are being notified of the attack.
National Express saw passenger journeys recover last year following the pandemic as operating profits more than doubled.
The coach business reported a 23pc increase in customers, with revenues up 29pc to £2.8bn while underlying operating profit grew to £197.3m.
It won 35 new contracts during the year with an annualised revenue of £150m.
Chief executive Ignacio Garat said:
Whilst the operating backdrop remains challenging, with inflationary pressures continuing in key markets, we expect to see that momentum continue, driven by growth in passenger numbers, mobilisation of new contracts, a continuing recovery in US School Bus and the securing of rate increases during 2023 and 2024 allowing us to recover cost increases.
Our expectations for 2023 are unchanged, and we have clear and robust actions in place to mitigate macro-economic headwinds and to reduce costs if necessary.
The continued and expanding demand for public transport over the coming years will bring growth opportunities and our Evolve strategy positions us well to capitalise on them.
Its shares have risen 12.7pc today.
Saga has said talks about selling its Acromas underwriting business have collapsed.
The over-50s holiday and financial services business said the discussions about a possible sale to Open Insurance have ended without an agreement.
Its shares have fallen 3.6pc following the news.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has said it will open a new office in London by the first half of 2023, as it expands its international footprint.
This will be stock market's second office outside Asia. In December, the exchange had opened an office in New York.
The office in London will help promote the bourse's international equities franchise, its connectivity with Mainland China's capital markets and its derivatives offerings, the exchange said in a statement.
British-based renewables generated more electricity than gas this winter and produced enough to power every UK home through the winter, analysis has shown.
Between October 1 and February 28, power generated by wind, hydro and solar reached 47TWh (terawatt hours), according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
Generating the same amount of electricity using gas power stations would have required around 95TWh of gas – equal to 110 tankers of liquified natural gas (LNG) or the amount more than 10 million UK homes would burn over the winter.
Renewably-produced electricity this winter has displaced more than a third of the UK's entire annual gas demand for power generation, the analysts said.
Without it, the UK would have had to burn more gas which would have potentially increased net gas imports by more than 22pc, including gas imported via pipeline.
Shares in CRH are leading the FTSE 100 after the building material business announced plans to de-list from the London Stock Exchange in favour of New York.
In a fresh blow to the UK's capital market, the Irish company recommended moving to a primary US listing this year as it announced an operating profit of $3.9bn (£3.3bn) for 2022.
It said North America now represents approximately 75pc of the group's earnings before interest, taxes and other charges, which was up was 6pc last year, or 5pc on a like-for-like basis.
It said a US primary listing "would bring increased commercial, operational and acquisition opportunities for CRH".
The company expects "resilient demand and increased pricing in 2023 despite macroeconomic uncertainties and ongoing cost inflation".
Group sales were up 12pc in 2022 on the previous year to $32.7bn.
The FTSE 100 opened lower, dragged down by HSBC as its shares traded without the right to a dividend.
However upbeat earnings from Ireland's CRH and jets and auto parts supplier Melrose helped cap losses.
The blue-chip index has lost 0.2pc, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 has gained 0.1pc.
Shares of HSBC fell 3.9pc in early trading while the broader banking index dropped 2.3pc.
Flutter dropped 4.9pc after the betting company reported full-year core profit at the lower end of its forecast range.
London-listed shares of CRH surged 9.4pc after the building materials company posted better-than-expected results.
Melrose Industries posted a jump in profit for the year ended December 31, lifting shares 4.2pc higher.
Christine Lagarde has said interest rate increases in the eurozone may need to continue beyond a planned half-point move in two weeks' time.
The European Central Bank President told Spanish television show Espejo Publico that a March rate hike is both necessary and very likely.
Policymakers will do everything to return inflation to the 2pc target from more than four times that now, she said, declining to speculate on how high borrowing costs will eventually be lifted.
The ECB chief is set to preside over a second straight rate increase of 50 basis points as officials maintain their inflation-fighting efforts following stronger-than-anticipated European data this week.
Investors now see the deposit rate being lifted to a peak of 4pc, up from its current level of 2.5pc.
London Stock Exchange Group plans to buy back £750m of shares from a consortium of former Refinitiv investors including Blackstone and Thomson Reuters.
The stock market also reported adjusted operating profit of £2.73bn for 2022, up 20pc on the previous year.
The figures exclude various costs linked to the acquisition of data giant Refinitiv in 2021, in a deal that made the consortium LSE's largest investor.
Chief executive David Schwimmer said: "LSEG has had a strong year, successfully integrating Refinitiv and significantly improving its performance, while also delivering strong results in our capital markets and post trade businesses. Our strategy is working."
LSE plans to carry out the directed buyback by April 2024, subject to approval from investors.
The move will "support an orderly sell down" for the consortium, Mr Schwimmer said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.
The firm said it sees constant currency revenue growth at 6pc to 8pc this year.
LSE completed its $27bn purchase of Refinitiv in 2021, kicking off a new era where the majority of its revenues come from data.
Taylor Wimpey has warned that reservation rates for new homes is "significantly lower" than recent years as it said affordability concerns were hitting first time buyers.
The housebuilder's order book was down a quarter to £2.2bn as of February 26, comprising 8,078 homes compared to 10,934 homes a year earlier.
It expects to sell between 9,000 and 10,500 homes this year.
Chief executive Jennie Daly said the company had acted quickly in "a year marked by two distinct halves", in which mortgage rates soared after Liz Truss’s ill-fated mini-Budget in September.
Pre-tax profits jumped 21.8pc to £827.9m last year while revenues rose 3pc to £4.4bn.
Ms Daly added: "While the weaker economic backdrop continues to impact the near-term outlook, customer interest in our homes remains good and, whilst it is still early in the year, trading has shown some signs of improvement compared to Q4 2022."
Markets opened lower as US Treasury yields continued to edge higher following another round of hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials indicating interest rates will stay higher for longer.
The FTSE 100 has fallen 0.3pc after the open to 7,887.93 while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 has dropped 0.4pc to 19,801.05.
AB InBev, the world's largest brewer, reported its first decline in volume since the pandemic as beer drinking in the US was hit by bad weather and consumption in China was hampered by Covid restrictions.
The brewer of Budweiser and Stella Artois announced a surprise 0.6pc drop in volume in the fourth quarter, despite predictions of a rise during the World Cup.
The company said sales this year will grow thanks to a "healthy" combination of volume and price as it forecasts a rebound in China, where bars and restaurants have reopened following the end of zero-Covid measures.
It said that 2023's full year earnings before interest, taxes and other charges should rise between 4pc and 8pc.
Paddy Power owner Flutter managed to slightly cut its pre-tax loss last year after the winter World Cup helped it reach a record number of customers in the last few months of 2022.
The gambling giant – which is also behind Betfair among other brands – said that pre-tax loss had hit £275m in 2022, down from £288m a year before.
The number of players who gambled with Flutter hit 12.1m a month on average in the final quarter of last year – a record high for the business.
ITV has warned of a sharp drop in advertising revenue this year as brands tighten the purse strings.
James Warrington has been looking at its annual results:
The I'm A Celebrity… broadcaster said ad revenue is expected to be down around 11pc in the first quarter, deepening to a fall of as much as 15pc in April.
ITV said it plans to cut £15m of costs this year as the economic outlook darkens. That forms part of a previously announced target of £50m in cost savings by 2026.
The broadcaster reported a 7pc rise in revenue in 2022 to £4.3bn as growth in its studios business offset the advertising decline.
Broadcaster ITV has posted a 13pc drop in annual profits and warned over tumbling advertising revenues against a difficult economic background.
The group behind hit shows Love Island and I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! reported underlying pre-tax profits of £672m for 2022, down from £774m in 2021 as total advertising revenues fell 1pc.
ITV cautioned over a "challenging" outlook amid economic uncertainty in the UK, forecasting that ad sales are set to plunge by around 11pc year-on-year in the first quarter – falling by as much as 16pc in March – and to remain down by between 10pc and 15pc in April.
However, its ITV Studios arm, which makes hit shows like I'm A Celebrity… and Coronation Street, increased revenues by 19pc to £2.1bn.
It is expected to deliver at least 5pc average growth per year over the next three years.
ITV said it would "continue to manage our costs tightly" and is set to deliver £15m of cost savings in 2023 as part of a previously announced £50m target by 2026.
It comes on top of the £106m of costs stripped out between 2018 and 2022.
We continue to look carefully at further mitigation measures to offset the impact of high levels of inflation on our cost base," ITV added.
ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said: "The short-term outlook is challenging, with total advertising revenue (TAR) expected to be down around 11pc in the first quarter but we remain very focused on successfully executing the strategy and enter 2023 with strong momentum."
Pret a Manger will increase the salaries of its workers from the start of next month to avoid falling foul of minimum wage laws, which change on April 1.
The sandwich chain said that it would hike pay for its worst-paid staff by 2.9pc, from £10.30 an hour to £10.60 an hour.
It ensures that the company remains on the right side of the law as the minimum amount companies are allowed to pay people over 23 is set to increase to £10.42 on the same day as Pret's changes come into place.
It means that salaries at the company have risen by around 8pc in the year to April for those on the lowest pay. That is lower than the most recent inflation measurement – 10.1pc in the year to January.
Pret workers last saw their pay rise in December and in April last year. Before that, they had waited around one-and-a-half years for a pay rise.
As the company raised wages for a third time in a year, Pret UK's interim managing director Guy Meakin said:
We're proud to be making another significant investment in our people's success and wellbeing.
Whether it's paying above the National Minimum Wage, providing career development opportunities, or leading the industry on barista pay, we're committed to making Pret a rewarding and supportive place to work for all our teams and paying the best we can afford to.
Our people work incredibly hard to make Pret such a well-loved place on the high street, and we wanted to thank them for their continued energy and commitment.
As the cost of living continues to rise, we hope this latest increase in pay, and our expanded benefits package, goes some way in providing further support for our hardworking teams.
Pret A Manger staff will enjoy their third pay rise in less than a year as the sandwich chain is forced to keep pace with the rising minimum wage.
Workers who are classed as "team members" will see their pay rise to between £10.60 and £11.90 per hour next month, depending on their location and experience.
The minimum amount companies are allowed to pay people over 23 is set to increase to £10.42 on the same day as Pret's changes come into place.
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MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.4pc, unwinding some of the 2.1pc gain in the previous session – the index's best day in two months.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 0.8pc, after registering its biggest daily gain in nearly three months on Wednesday when it jumped 4.2pc on the back of unexpectedly robust readings from China PMI surveys.
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The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1pc to 27,498.87, while the broader Topix index lost 0.2pc to 1,994.57.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average nudged 0.1pc higher to 32,661.84. The S&P 500 closed 0.5pc lower at 3,951.39, while the tech-rich Nasdaq composite dropped 0.7pc to 11,379.48.
The 10-year Treasury yield, the benchmark for global borrowing costs, pierced 4pc for the first time since November.
Meanwhile, the yield on two-year Treasury notes, which closely tracks short-term interest rate expectations, climbed to 4.9pc, its highest level since 2007.