The Office for National Statistics said that the CPI inflation measure rose to 2.6 per cent in July, up from 2.4 per cent in June, driven by a steep rise in the cost of flights. Separate data showed that UK house prices are contracting and more falls are expected in the coming months, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
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There's trouble down pit! Nine people, including two policemen, have been killed in clashes between labour unions at Lonmin's (LMI) Western Platinum mine, located north-west of Johannesburg. The plant is now operating at reduced capacity and is under heavy police guard.
Egypt-focused gold miner Centamin (CEY) posted a 24 per cent drop in second-quarter profit due to higher costs, which were up by 13 percent to $565 per ounce in the period. It posted pre-tax profits of $42.1m in the three months ended June 30, compared to the $56m it made in the same period last year, marginally under the consensus.
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The share price of Eckoh PLC (ECK) bubbled up by 7 per cent after it announced that it has secured a two-year contract with Kiddicare, a UK website offering baby products, to provide secure card payment services over the phone.
India-focused energy group Essar Energy (ESSR) released an interim management statement that reported an otherwise solid operating performance in the first quarter had been affected by faltering demand at its gas-based plants due to higher gas prices. Total generation increased in the quarter by 29 per cent from 1,502MWh to 1,945MWh, helped by the commissioning of the 1,200MW Salaya I coal-fired power project
Shares in Manganese Bronze Holdings (MNGS) were down a third after the group announced that it was delaying the release of its unaudited half-year results in order to restate prior years' financial results because of accounting errors that have come to light.
AstraZeneca (AZN) has reached a deal with Pfizer to give the US company future rights to sell an OTC version of its heartburn drug, Nexium. Pfizer will initially pay AstraZeneca $250m, then royalty and other payments based on product launches abroad and sales revenue. Nexium is the world's fifth-best-selling medicine last year, with global revenue of nearly $8b
OTHER NEWS…
Half-year reports have been released by Standard Life, CRH, EnQuest, Fidelity Japanese Values, Fidelity European Values, Henderson Group, Total Group, JKX Oil & Gas, SDL, John Menzies, Mears Group and Coastal Energy.
