February 8, 2025
FTSE 100 Live: Asia stocks edge higher, blue-chips see gains

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(evening standard)

Harbor Energy and Wood sign $330 million North Sea oil partnership

07:48 , Michael Hunter

Oilfield services firm Wood and major North Sea oil producer Harbor Energy have signed a $330 million operation and maintenance agreement.

This includes engineering, procurement and construction as well as “digital and decarbonisation solutions” and will run for an initial five years.

Steve Nicol, Executive Chairman of Wood’s Operations, said: “We are incredibly proud to have been chosen and trusted by Harbor Energy to partner with them in their North Sea assets. We share a commitment to ensuring safe, reliable and sustainable energy production.

The partnership will cover assets that Harbor says are vital to the UK’s energy security. It will support hundreds of jobs. From Wood’s operating business in Aberdeen.

Life sciences firm Ergomed to be privatized in £700m deal

07:31 , simon hunt

Life sciences firm Ergomed is set to be acquired by London-based private equity firm Permira in a deal worth £703 million.

The Surrey-based business’s board has unanimously recommended the deal, with Ergomed shares valued at a 28% premium to Ergomed shares at market close on Friday.

John Dawson, Senior Independent Director at ErgoMed, said: “The Permira Funds offer, which follows several rounds of negotiations and extensive discussions at valuation, represents a highly attractive valuation and provides shareholders with certainty of cash today.”

FTSE 100 seen higher, Brent crude above $88 a barrel

07:21 , Graeme Evans

Asian shares edged higher after Friday’s jobs market report kept hopes alive of holding off on an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Expectations of further stimulus measures in China also helped the mood, with the Hang Seng index rising 2.4% after Friday’s close due to the storm. The Shanghai Composite is up more than 1%.

CMC Markets expects the FTSE 100 index to rise 38 points to 7502, although the Labor Day holiday in the United States means it is likely to be a quieter session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.3% on Friday after a US jobs report showed the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% from 3.5% in August.

The report appears to have eased pressure on the Federal Reserve ahead of its next interest rates decision on September 20, especially after the fall in payrolls data for the past two months.

However, inflationary pressures persist after Brent crude futures started the week near a nine-month high of $88.57 a barrel. The price has risen on expectations that Saudi Arabia will continue its voluntary production cut of one million barrels per day.

Recap: Friday’s top news stories

06:41 , simon hunt

Good morning. Here’s a roundup of our top headlines from Friday:

(PA) (PA Archive)

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