1.Oil prices remain near two-month low, outlook stays weak:
Oil prices struggled to break away from over two-month lows on Thursday, and the outlook remains bleak as traders ditch positions and producers hedge against lower prices despite some analysts saying market oversupply may have been overstated.
2.Slump in Rolls-Royce after profit warning hits European shares:
European equities retreated in early trading on Thursday following some disappointing company updates, with Rolls-Royce slumping about 20 percent after issuing another profit warning. The British engine-maker downgraded its profit forecast for 2016, its fourth warning in just over a year, blaming sharply weaker demand for spares and services to existing aero-engines.
3.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a visit to Britain today that he hopes will yield trade deals worth billions of dollars and boost his authority after a damaging electoral failure back home:
Diplomats say deals worth £8 billion-£12 billion ($12 billion-$18 billion) could be signed during his visit to London, with the Indian leader keen to buy 20 more BAE Systems Hawk trainer aircraft to be made in Bengaluru.
4.China’s Stocks Drop Most in Week as Technology Companies Slump:
China’s stocks fell the most in more than a week after ZTE Corp. canceled a share buyback plan and technology companies slumped on concern that recent gains were overdone.
The Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.5 percent to 3,632.90 at the close, the steepest retreat since Nov. 2. ZTE, China’s second-biggest phone-equipment maker, and Leshi Internet Information & Technology (Beijing) Co., the largest mainland-listed Internet video provider, slid at least 2 percent. A gauge tracking technology stocks in the CSI 300, the best performer this year, fell 1.8 percent for the second-steepest loss among 10 industry groups.
5.Apple has announced 1,000 new jobs at its operation in Ireland:
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said he was feeling “pretty good” ahead of the European Union’s judgment on its Irish tax arrangements.
6.Global Stocks Edge Lower:
Global stocks edged lower Thursday as investors await clues on the timing of an interest rate rise by the Federal Reserve.
7.Gold dropped to a five-year low and US stocks closed in the red on Wednesday amid lower-than-usual trading volumes:
Gold got crushed on Friday after the stellar US jobs report raised the market’s confidence that the Fed could up interest rates next month.
8.Ashaka Cement Q3 2015 results review: Moving to neutral on weak Q3 results
9.ARCO posts N6.41bn earnings, declares 25k dividend:
ARCO Group Plc has declared 25 kobo dividend after posting gross revenue of N6.41 billion in its fiscal year which ended last March.
10.A New Low-Cost Leader Among Stock ETFs:
A BlackRock Inc. exchange-traded fund can now claim the title of the lowest-cost stock ETF—but it probably won’t have that distinction to itself for long.