Premier Oil received a boost on Thursday as it increased expectations of how much oil could potentially be recovered from a nascent offshore project in Mexico.

President Emmanuel Macron said there is no need for the French government to lower its stake in Renault, weeks after the finance minister said the state would be open to selling shares in the wake of the collapse of merger talks between the carmaker and Fiat Chrysler.

Pro-Remain MPs are drawing up a new plan to hold back funding from Whitehall departments if the next prime minister tries to take Britain out of the EU without a deal — in an attempt to prevent the hardest of Brexits.

Hennes & Mauritz reported a strong rise in revenues in the second quarter and said sales of its summer collections had got off to “a very good start” as the Swedish fashion retailer pushes ahead with a strategy overhaul.

French retailer Casino said it will restructure its Latin American operations in a long-awaited move that will simplify its complicated cross-holding structure in the region and improve transparency.

The chief executive of car dealer Pendragon is leaving the business less than three months after joining following a fallout over the company’s strategy of focusing on used cars.

Equity markets were higher on Thursday and haven assets slipped as investors remained hopeful for a breakthrough in the trade dispute at the meeting this weekend between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

ReAssure, the UK’s sixth largest life insurer, has announced a price range for its IPO that will value the company at between £2.8bn and £3.3bn.

Greene King, the UK pub group, said on Thursday that it had returned to “market outperformance” in 2018 but that poor weather and consumer uncertainty would hit sales in the forthcoming year.

Kingfisher has hired a veteran Carrefour executive to replace its outgoing chief executive Véronique Laury, who stepped down earlier in the year after ditching profit targets linked to the DIY group’s transformation programme.

Legal & General has entered into a £4bn partnership with the University of Oxford to develop new housing for staff and students.

Swiss Re, the reinsurance group, said on Thursday it has appointed Russell Higginbotham as its new president and chief executive, reinsurance, for Asia. 

US President Donald Trump has lashed out at India for its “very high tariffs”, calling New Delhi’s recent imposition of retaliatory import levies “unacceptable” and demanding that they be withdrawn. 

Liquor maker Kweichow Moutai became the first Chinese stock to touch the milestone of Rmb1,000 ($145) as the world's largest distiller by market capitalisation continued its march higher.

Shares in Japan Display surged on Thursday on reports that Apple is considering a rescue deal for its struggling supplier, after Taiwan's TPK withdrew from a planned bailout earlier this month. 

Japanese retail sales grew at the fastest pace for 2019 in May and matched forecasts, government figures showed on Thursday.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is preparing a campaign to oust four of Occidental Petroleum’s board members, just two days after comparing the company’s management to a “feudal system” and its directors to “feudal barons”.

KB Home saw a 13 per cent increase in the value of its order book amid a stronger than expected quarter in the crucial spring season, raising hopes for a resurgent US housing market.

US stocks notched up their longest losing streak since early May as investors remained cautious about the prospect of a breakthrough in the trade dispute between the US and China against the latest rhetoric from Washington.

Labour is embroiled in a fresh anti-Semitism row after giving Chris Williamson a formal warning and allowing him back into the party.

Ministers have vowed to arrange back-up ferry capacity to maintain the flow of medicines and other vital goods after a no-deal Brexit without spending any more taxpayers’ money in the wake of the Seabourne Freight fiasco.

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin is expected to meet UK prime minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka on Friday, the Kremlin said.

General Mills tumbled more than 9 per cent in morning trade, dragging share prices of its peers along for the ride, after declining snack sales in its main North American market and poor performances from its international divisions saw the food manufacturer fall short of Wall Street’s revenue expectations.

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption commission has arrested a former senior executive at the Chinese territory’s stock exchange for suspected corruption and misconduct related to two initial public offerings.