Analysts have lowered their forecasts for Hays, the UK-based international recruitment company, after its half-year results showed slowing growth in key European markets and Brexit leads many employers to put hiring on ice.

Ecuador has signed a $4.2bn standby programme with the International Monetary Fund, signalling a final break by President Lenin Moreno with the policies of his leftist predecessor in a long-awaited deal that he said saved the country from becoming like Venezuela.

Activist investor Ed Bramson’s bid to force his way on to the Barclays board has been dealt a body blow after one of his biggest backers historically came out against him on the same day the UK bank announced better than expected fourth-quarter results.

Nomura has taken a stake in an artificial intelligence venture created by hedge fund Brevan Howard so the Japanese bank can use robots to price trades and make markets.

A major US business investment gauge fell for a second consecutive month in December in the latest sign that the recent weakening of the US economy is proving sticky.

Axa Investment Managers unveiled disappointing full-year results for 2018 on Thursday, after the asset management arm of the Paris-based insurer was hit by the loss of a large mandate and investor outflows due to difficult market conditions.

Huawei could end up allocating more than the $2bn it has previously pledged to spend on overhauling its business to deal with technical concerns raised by the UK government, according to a senior executive of the Chinese telecoms equipment maker.

US diplomats have been denied permission to visit American executive Michael Calvey in pre-trial detention, more than a week after his arrest on fraud charges, the US embassy in Moscow said on Thursday.

Eurozone monetary policymakers’ worries about the threat of an intensification of the global trade war are mounting, amid signs that they are beginning to ready a fresh round of cheap loans to stave off a prolonged bout of below par growth.

Bunge, the world’s largest oilseed processor, reported annual results that undershot market forecasts on Thursday following a dismal end to the year, which earned the company a stiff rebuke from its recently appointed chairperson.

A Conservative MP has been charged over allegations he falsified his parliamentary expenses.

The UK financial watchdog has fined two investment groups for breaching competition law over price collusion prior to an initial public offering and placing.

Bruno Schroder, patriarch of the Schroder family which controls the FTSE 100 asset management group of the same name, has died at the age of 86 after a short illness.

London’s premier index was weighed down on Thursday morning by a clutch of disappointing results for some of the market’s biggest companies.

The UK posted a record monthly surplus in its public finances in January, a key period for the government as it is when many taxpayers submit their self-assessment tax returns.

Traders at Barclays avoided the worst of the December stock market rout, helping the bank’s markets unit post fourth-quarter results that were better than European peers and handing executives a victory in their fight against activist investor Edward Bramson. 

The plight of the single currency area’s makers — hit hard by weak global demand and political uncertainty — intensified in February, according to a closely watched poll of purchasing managers.

France’s services sector rebounded in February more than expected, lifting business confidence and pointing to a stabilisation in output following a slowdown in January.

German manufacturing activity dropped to its lowest level since 2012 in February according to a closely-watched survey, but the country’s services sector remained resilient.

Playtech, provider of software for many of the world’s biggest betting operators, is shifting its business towards regulated markets following a “horror show” year in which it suffered two profit warnings and shares fell more than 50 per cent.

Shares in AP Moller-Maersk, the world’s biggest container shipping line, plunged on Thursday after it warned the US-China trade war would hit its earnings.

Rathbone Brothers fended off market turmoil at the end of the year to post steady growth in profits and funds under management, but was reliant on its tie-up with Scottish rival Speirs & Jeffrey for growth.

Kaz Minerals said earnings rose by 6 per cent last year due to a boost in copper production following the expansion of its two mines in Kazakhstan.

Relx, the £33bn information and analytics company, announced a £600m share buyback plan on Thursday, as it reported revenue growth across all four of its key businesses in 2018.