Chemring has said achieving its full-year expectations will be dependent on the US government signing off orders worth around £25million in revenue.

Analysts anticipate the defence contractor reporting an adjusted operating profit of between £65.2million and £68.2million for the 12 months ending October.

Savers can beat the top one-year fixed-rate deal from National Savings and Investments, by opening an account with savings platform Raisin.

Dowlais Group has maintained its annual guidance after its debut first-half performance exceeded forecasts, thanks to increased vehicle manufacturing output.

Smurfit Kappa shares took a substantial hit on Tuesday after the London-listed company agreed a historic merger with US rival WestRock.

The FTSE 100 firm, which is Europe’s largest paper and packaging producer, agreed to merge with WestRock for nearly $20billion (£16billion).

Google will battle back government claims it stifled internet competition by creating an online monopoly in court today – in will be one of the biggest antitrust trials in recent memory.

Set to take place over the next 10 weeks, the proceedings will begin with both sides’ opening arguments in at 9:30am – with the Justice Department being the other principle.

Homeware chain Wilko is set to disappear from the high street – with the loss of up to 12,500 jobs.

Rescue talks had been under way to try to save its 400 stores after the company plunged into administration last month.

Partywear group Chi Chi London has been sold after falling into administration last week, leaving some customers worrying that they will face an even lengthier wait for overdue refunds.

The brand, whose products are stocked by the likes of Debenhams, House of Fraser and John Lewis, told customers by email that holding company Chi Chi Collection had fallen into administration on 8 September.

(PA) – Wickes has reported higher sales as hybrid working encourages more home improvement projects, despite the retailer revealing shrinking profits.

The DIY chain, which also trades as a builders’ merchant, said sales over the first half of the year edged up due to more normal weather conditions, which influences the products people choose to buy.

It was also bolstered by sales for its Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) division, its kitchen and bathroom showroom business, which jumped by nearly 6% .

“Many businesses have retained or fully incorporated hybrid working practices, increasing the dwell time at home, fuelling further desire for homeowners and tenants to invest in their properties,” the company said.

But the retailer’s reported profit before tax slid by 37% to £21.1million over the period as it took a hit from separating and upgrading its IT systems from former owner Travis Perkins.

Excluding the one-off IT costs, its adjusted pre-tax profit still shrank by more than 15%.

The DIY market continued to be affected by pressure on people’s disposable income, rising mortgage rates and a decline in house sales, the firm said.

But it said other cost-of-living strains, such as higher petrol and energy costs, have started to unwind, while food price inflation has slowed from the very high levels.

It suggests that people have more confidence to spend on home improvement projects than last year, when Wickes said demand for DIY faded as living costs increased.

Brits were offered much-needed relief today as figures showed wages are finally keeping pace with inflation.

Regular pay increased by 7.8 per cent annually in the quarter to July, matching the headline CPI rate for the same period for the first time since October 2021.

Shares in Primark owner, Associated British Foods, soared after the firm raised its full-year profit outlook for the second time in four months.

The FTSE 100 company now expects full-year adjusted operating profit to be ‘slightly better’ than its previous expectations of ‘moderately ahead’ of last years earnings of around £1.44billion.

Fevertree Drinks has lowered its annual profit forecast following a surge in glass costs and poor weather in the UK.

The upmarket soft drinks producer now anticipates making between £30million and £36million in core earnings this year, compared to a prior forecast of £36million to £42million.

The right to use cash should be enshrined in law to protect people amid mass bank closures, a trade union has urged.

There are ‘real and disturbing’ consequences to a slew of High Street bank closures, the GMB, one of Britain’s largest trade unions, said yesterday.

DX Group has become the latest London-listed firm to be targeted by private equity.

The delivery group said it has been sent a ‘non-binding and conditional proposal’ worth 48.5p a share – or just under £300million – by HIG European Capital Partners.

Mark Crouch, analyst at eToro:

‘This is a strong trading update from Associated British Foods, driven by the better-than-expected performance of its retail arm.

‘Primark, the jewel in ABF’s crown, has performed particularly well, with shoppers ever more price conscious in a cost-of-living crisis, even though the retailer has increased selected prices recently.

‘While clothing prices have been tipped by some analysts to fall next year, Primark has been given a tailwind in the form of lower material costs, a weakening US dollar and lower freight costs, which should boost margins and profits going into next year.

‘That is a major positive for the retail sector in a week in which it was revealed that Wilko would disappear from the High Street next month.’

The FTSE 100 is trading higher this morning despite a slump in packaging producer Smurfit Kappa’s shares capped gains..

ABF shares are up by around 1 per cent, among the top gainers on the benchmark index, after the Primark owner raised its full-year profit outlook for the second time in four months.

London-listed shares of Smurfit Kappa have slumped 11 per cent after the company agreed to combine with WestRock, to create one of the world’s largest paper and packaging producers worth nearly $20 billion.

Waitrose and Aldi have announced a further round of price cuts in the latest boost to hard-pressed households.

Waitrose is cutting the price of a further 250 products by an average of 10 per cent this week.

The collapse of Wilko has left rival B&M as perhaps the leader in bargain retailing on the high street, with analysts touting the group to maintain its rapid growth trajectory.

RBS has been named and shamed as the bank that has closed the most of its branches after axing hundreds of High Street sites over the last eight years.

The bank, which is owned by NatWest and was bailed out by the taxpayer during the last financial crisis, has shuttered more than 80 per cent of its locations since 2015.

It is the worst offender of the major High Street banks, having closed the biggest portion of its branch network, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Tom Selby, head of retirement policy at AJ Bell:

‘Retirees are set to receive their second blockbuster state pension increase in a row as a result of the government’s ‘triple-lock’ policy.

‘With price rises seemingly on a steady downward trajectory, it is almost certain – barring a major inflationary shock – that today’s 8.5% earnings growth figure will be used for next year’s state pension rise. As a result, the full new state pension will surge to £221.20 per week, while those in receipt of the old state pension will see their benefits increase to £169.50 per week.

‘This comes hot on the heels of the bumper 10.1% state pension increase applied in April this year, in line with inflation in the prior September.’

Fevertree Drinks profits fell in the first half as margins took a hit from elevated glass manufacturing costs despite price increases.

The London-based company, which sells most of its drink mixers in glass bottles, said its adjusted core profit came in at £10.2million for the six months ended 30 June, compared with £22million the previous year.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown:

‘Gloom is starting to settle in across the employment landscape. We’re not seeing a deluge of job losses or redundancies, but the steady creep of bad news means that for some people, the outlook is increasingly ominous.

‘Throughout the turbulence of the last couple of years, the one thing we’ve been able to cling to was job security. And while we’re not facing sweeping job losses, it’s worth at least considering what we’d do if the tide was to turn.’

AB Foods has raised its full-year profit outlook for the second time in four months, driven by a strong performance from both its Primark clothing business and its food operations.

The group now expects full-year adjusted operating profit, its key profit measure, to be ‘slightly better’ than its previous expectations of ‘moderately ahead’ of last year’s earnings of £1.44billion.

Shares in an online gaming group co-owned by David Beckham surged after it signed another deal with Sky.

Guild Esports, whose teams of video game professionals compete against rivals for money, appointed Sky Glass as its official television partner.

Sky Glass is the streaming TV service from Sky that does not require a satellite dish.

British wages excluding bonuses were 7.8 per cent per cent higher than a year earlier in the three months to July, unchanged from the three months to June, but fresh Office for National Statistics data shows signs that Britain’s labour market is finally cooling.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.3 per cent in the three months to July from 4.2 per cent a month earlier, its highest since the three months to September 2021.

The unemployment rate is already higher than the 4.1 per cent the Bank of England had pencilled in for the third quarter as a whole, when it published its last set of forecasts in early August.

The figures will be scrutinised ahead of the BoE’s next interest rate decision, with the bank likely to be encouraged by a softening labour market but cautious of still-high wage growth.

British bookmaker 888 Holdings does not expect any operational impact from the ongoing probe by the UK gambling regulator, it told investors this morning after posting a 9 per cent rise in first-half earnings helped by effective cost-cutting measures.

The William Hill owner last month appointed a new CEO after shrugging off its second-largest shareholder FS Gaming’s call to appoint its candidates to top roles that led the GB Gambling Commission to launch a review of the betting firm’s licences in the UK.

FS Gaming push for former GVC, now known as Entain, executives to be appointed to 888’s board, could have forced the firm out of its biggest market.

Russia’s central bank will hold an emergency meeting on interest rates today after a blame game with the Kremlin prompted a sharp slide in the rouble.

The currency plunged to its lowest level against the dollar for a year and a half – at less than one US cent – before paring back the losses after the meeting was announced.

Russia’s economy has been in crisis since it launched its war on Ukraine in February last year left it facing isolation from the West.

Legal & General made a forecast-beating operating profit of £941million in the first half of 2023, boosted by its bulk annuity business, with the group on track to meet its five-year ambitions.

Analysts had forecast the British life insurer and asset manager to post an interim profit of £834million.

Higher UK interest rates have improved the funding positions of defined benefit, or final salary, pension schemes, enabling employers to offload pension risk to an insurer through a so-called bulk annuity more cheaply.

‘We remain on track to achieve our five-year ambitions and deliver attractive returns for our shareholders,’ chief executive Nigel Wilson said in a statement.

Julia Turney, partner at professional advisory consultancy Barnett Waddingham:

‘The labour market is tight – most people who want jobs have them. This, combined with the cost-of-living pressures facing consumers, means wages are climbing, and are set to surpass inflation altogether later this week.

‘The CIPD has revealed that almost half of UK employers have made counteroffers in the last year to try to keep staff – it’s clear that the war for talent is back on, and the battleground is salaries.

‘But this upwards spiral is not sustainable. If wages continue to rise, so will inflation – labour costs will increase, and so in turn will prices. To break the cycle, the responsibility is on businesses to create an environment where staff are both fairly paid and highly valued.

‘Organisations must take a planned holistic approach which goes beyond just cash remuneration – it should include benefits, culture, and wellbeing. Most employees who stay in their role do so because they love the work and the culture, and many who leave dislike the work and team. Employers who tackle this problem head-on will be able to not just compete in the war for talent, but shift the battle entirely.’

Wages rises have hit a new record raising fresh concerns about inflation – despite signs the jobs market is weakening.

Regular pay was up by 7.8 per cent annually in the quarter to June, the fastest pace since comparable figures began in 2001.

Although the sharp increase was still slightly below the eye-watering hikes in prices, the ONS findings will cause anxiety in the Bank of England as it considers whether to push interest rate higher. Less reliable but more up-to-date pay data suggest that the upwards momentum might have slowed.

Dr. Roger Barker, director of policy at the Institute of Directors:

‘The latest data shows a gradual easing of labour market pressures, as the number of vacancies in the economy declined by a further 60,000 in the three months up to July.

‘However, there are still more than a million unfilled positions, which is of great practical concern to businesses leaders.

‘Even more worryingly for policy makers, wage inflation shows no sign of abating.

‘The concern for business is that this may feed into the persistence of stubbornly high rates of inflation and high interest rates. Such a backdrop of continuing wage cost pressures and labour shortages is not a positive one for many businesses.’

Bank of England officials were last night investigating the worst disruption to Britain’s banking payment systems in nearly nine years.

Home buyers and sellers may have seen deals held up as a result of the outage, which lasted for about five-and-a-half hours yesterday.

The Bank, which is run by governor Andrew Bailey said a ‘technical issue’ hit its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) service and CHAPS high-value payments system, which handle hundreds of billions of pounds of transactions each day.

Marks and Spencer has told investors it now expects profit growth this year, with its soon-to-be-published interim results likely to significantly improve against previous expectations.

M&S said: ‘There remain considerable uncertainties about the economic outlook, and there is a risk that the consumer market will tighten as the year progresses.

‘Nevertheless, we now expect the outcome for the year to show profit growth on 2022-23, and the interim results to show a significant improvement against previous expectations.’

Specialist insurer Just Group has posted a 154 per cent jump in first-half profit, beating market estimates, thanks to bumper sales of its retirement income products and higher new business income.

Underlying operating profit hit £173million in the six months to 30 June, up from £68million last year and beating forecasts of £162million.

UK wages excluding bonuses grew at the fastest pace year-on-year since records began at 7.8 per cent in the three months to June, fresh Office for National Statistics data shows.

Wage growth has been an area of concern for the Bank of England as it attempts to wrangle inflation under control.

A union has warned that Irn-Bru supplies could be disrupted as drivers walk out in a dispute over pay.

Trucker and shunter drivers represented by Unite took strike action on Friday at AG Barr’s production and distribution centre in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.

The Chancellor’s bid to lure high skilled professionals like doctors to keep working appears to be paying off, new research shows.

Two thirds of top earners are considering working for longer and one in five who had retired plans to return to work as a result of pension reforms announced in the Budget, it found.

Cabinet minister Grant Shapps has insisted Britain should be ‘leaning into’ the phase-out of petrol and diesel cars as it will help boost other parts of the UK economy.

The Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary pointed to a recent multi-billion pound investment in Britain’s battery manufacturing industry as a benefit of forcing the move to electric cars.

The new English Premier League season is almost here, kicking off with promoted Burnley versus champions Manchester City this evening.

For many of us, that means picking and submitting our fantasy football team before the deadline.

As the new season looms, are you a tinkerer, set-and-forgetter, data-junkie, value, growth or momentum player? And how well diversified are you?

Commercial property companies’ shares are in the red this morning over fears of what more Bank of England rate hikes could mean for the sector.

Stronger-than-expected UK GDP data suggests the Bank of England could hike rates further to get inflation down.

FTSE 250-listed British Land is down more than 5 per cent, followed by UK Commercial Property REIT, down 3.4 per cent.

FTSE 100-listed Land Securities is also down 1.7 per cent.

The FTSE 100 has dropped 1 per cent to 7544.9, partly affected by a stronger pound, as investors seem concerned that better-than-expected GDP figures will see the Bank of England keep hiking rates.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould sums up what’s moving markets this morning:

After another positive surprise on US inflation, stocks were all set to stage another rally before the head of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank intervened to dampen hopes of a shift in the trajectory of rates.

That dragged US stocks down from their highs and set the scene for a weak open for European stocks.

The FTSE 100 was also affected by a strong pound, after better-than expected figures on the UK economy, and weak resources stocks after a tough week for China marked by deflation, falling producer prices and soft trade figures as well as a sorry showing for Chinese equities. As the world’s most rapacious consumer of commodities, the fortunes of the Chinese economy are closely tied to these markets.

Later today factory gate prices are out in the US, another reading which suggests inflationary pressures are easing could lift sentiment.

This data set is something of a crystal ball for consumer price inflation; when producers charge more for goods the higher costs are usually passed on to households.

Almost 250,000 passengers travelled through London Heathrow each day last month as Britons sought to escape the rain for sunnier climates.

Over 7.6 million people used Britain’s biggest airport in July, which is still slightly below pre-pandemic levels but a 21.4 per cent rise on the previous year and approximately 620,000 more than in June.

Last year’s figures were significantly affected by the travel hub imposing a departing passenger cap of 100,000 per day in response to staff struggling to cope with an unprecedented recovery in demand.

Wilko collapsed into administration yesterday after failing to find rescue cash – but will continue to trade for now.

The homeware store said it had ‘no choice’ but to call in administrators, leaving 12,000 jobs at risk.

The £1.24billion merger between two firms providing services for the NHS has been provisionally cleared by the UK’s competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the acquisition of AIM-listed Emis by US healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group is not expected to harm competition or adversely affect patients.

Emis, which is based in Leeds, provides software and IT services to GP surgeries across the UK, including the electronic patient record system used by the majority of NHS GPs.

The pound has risen against both the dollar and the euro after better-than-expected GDP data raised bets that the Bank of England will continue to hike interest rates.

Sterling has surged by 0.3 per cent, with £1 buying $1.27 and €1.156 on currency markets this morning.

Inflation battle: Prices in America climbed by 3.2% year-on-year in July, a slight rise from the 3% recorded in June but a touch below the 3.3% predicted by economists

The US appeared to have finally brought inflation to heel as prices rose by less than expected last month.

Britain’s June heatwave helped warm up the economy as new figures today showed better-than-expected growth.

The UK economy grew by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year, including a rise of 0.5 per cent in the sixth month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

It attributed the monthly rise to increases in manufacturing, IT services and a rise in people eating out and drinking more in good weather.

Small business platform Enterprise Nation has launched a new fund in partnership with TikTok, offering grants and mentoring from the country’s top entrepreneurs.

The platform, which supports 800,000 businesses every year, will offer a £5,000 grants to three small businesses every year which focus on community, trust and entrepreneurship.

London-listed stocks are trading lower this morning, pressured by a stronger pound after data showed the UK’s economy surprisingly grew higher-than-expected in the second quarter.

Sterling has broken three straight days of losses, jumping 0.3 per cent to $1.2709, as ONS data showed GDP growth of 0.5 per cent in June.

Miners have dropped 1.1 per cent, leading sectoral declines as metal prices fall.

Disney has revamped the pricing of its video streaming service after the company shed 11.7m customers in three months.

The media giant said that, while standard subscriptions will remain £7.99 a month for viewers in the UK, there will now be a more expensive premium version, priced at £10.99 a month.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor:

‘The latest release of GDP data shows a UK economy which continues to confound with its resilience, yet where growth is marginal and therefore likely to be thrown off course by a succession of rate rises and potentially more to come.

‘Of itself, the reading is economically positive but by the same token it complicates the decision which the Bank of England now faces in terms of its next interest rate decision, particularly if it chooses to tighten further and potentially incite a recession.’

Asset managers have been told to justify the fees charged on their funds.

The Financial Conduct Authority said a review of fund managers showed that profitability concerns are influencing how much to charge clients.

The rise of passive investing in recent years has spurred competition within the industry, forcing some funds to reduce their fees.

Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:

‘The FTSE100 looks set to open lower today, quickly giving up gains seen in yesterday’s session despite fresh GDP data that shows the UK economy didn’t flatline over the second quarter as some economists had predicted.

‘We’ve got June to thank for the better-than-expected result, where growth of 0.5% pulled up the quarter after a small decline in May. These numbers push the chance of a recession further down the line, but the UK economy looks firmly stuck in a low growth cycle, and with further interest rate hikes firmly priced in by the markets – there doesn’t look to be an immediate path out.

‘UK investors look to have taken June’s positive inflation print as a sign of hope, and today’s GDP read should add to that, with scores for both economic growth and investor confidence rising in early August after three months of consecutive declines. But there’s no escaping the fact the UK’s inflation performance sticks out like a sore thumb compared to other global economies, and investors should strap in for further rate hikes.

‘There are further glimmers of hope from the mortgage market, where several key lenders have lowered rates on a range of fixed-term mortgages. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though, anyone looking to buy a first home, remortgage or move house right now is still facing some pretty gruesome looking numbers, and next week’s CPI print has a lot riding on it.’

Chief economist at the Institute of Directors Kitty Ussher:

‘This is an encouraging set of data showing an economy performing strongly in June.

‘There was decent growth in both retail and manufacturing, helped by a positive rebound effect from the previous month when activity had been reduced due to the extra bank holiday for the King’s Coronation.

‘Looking across the full three months of the second quarter, we also see economic growth picking up compared to earlier in the year, although today’s initial estimates are subject to revision. In particular, car production has benefited from falling input prices, and consumer demand has also proved resilient, helped by decent weather in June.

‘However the quarterly data also shows a worrying decline in business investment in ICT and machinery following the expiring of the government’s super-deduction allowance at the end of March. It also shows falls in expenditure on scientific R&D, advertising and market research, which could be an early indicator of difficulties ahead.’

The British economy grew faster than expected in June, with firms citing the extra May bank holiday as a driver of output, Office for National Statistics data shows.

GDP growth came in at 0.5 per cent for the month, surpassing expectations of 0.2 per cent, while growth for the second quarter overall was 0.2 per cent.

‘The actions we’re taking to fight inflation are starting to take effect, which means we are laying the strong foundations needed to grow the economy,’ Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said.