Clarkson lifts profit guidance, WPP buys branding and design agency

London open

The FTSE 100 was called to open 48 points higher at 7,170.

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Shipping broker Clarkson lifted annual profits guidance as the global economy recovers from the impact of Covid-19. The company said it now expected underlying profit before tax now expected to be not less than £65m, with performance strong across all divisions, especially in finance and broking.

Media company WPP said on Monday that it has acquired a majority stake in branding and design agency Made Thought. WPP will integrate Made Thought into its AKQA business and join forces with the company's Universal Design Studio and Map Project Office to form The New Standard, a collective aimed at providing clients with "transformational design and creative thinking".

Newspaper round-up

Economic forecasters have slashed expectations for Britain’s recovery and said further pain could follow, depending on the severity of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and government action to avoid a “cliff edge” for business investment. The Confederation of British Industry, the UK’s leading business lobby group, said in June that it expected the economy to expand by 8.2%. But on Monday it cut that prediction to 6.9% and revised down its 2022 forecast from 6.9% to 5.1%. – Guardian

Thee struggling Chinese property developer Evergrande has seen its shares plunge to an 11-year low after strong indications that it is on the verge of a potentially disastrous default and could be forced into a full-blown restructuring. The company has lurched from one crisis to another in recent months as it faced a series of repayments on debts – three times waiting until the last possible moment to stump up the cash needed to stay afloat. But a statement from the company over the weekend said that there was “no guarantee” that the group could meet its obligations and added that creditors had demanded immediate repayment of a total of $260m (£196m). - Guardian

Recruitment giants are struggling to snap up enough headhunters as they embark on a hiring spree to cope with the ‘Great Resignation’ boom. A dearth of available candidates has hit the UK’s recruitment industry itself as headhunters widen their search for staff amid widespread shortages, according to jobs giant Manpower. Chris Gray, director at Manpower UK, said bosses are being forced to cut their hiring wish list and overhaul job adverts to attract more candidates. He said the recruitment industry itself is finding it “very challenging” to find experienced staff as bosses battle for workers. - Telegraph

Regulators need to “wreck the business model” of ransomware gangs by cracking down on cryptocurrency companies that facilitate Bitcoin payments, according to the former head of GCHQ. Robert Hannigan, who was director of Britain’s signals intelligence agency from 2014 to 2017, said more coordinated action was needed to tackle a surge in ransomware attacks during the pandemic. - Telegraph

US Close

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Friday, with a volatile week for markets continuing as market participants digested November's non-farm payrolls report.

At the close, the Dow Industrial Average was down 0.17% at 34,580.08, while the S&P 500 was 0.84% weaker at 4,538.43 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.92% softer at 15,085.47.