* LLOYDS: Lloyds Banking Group reported flat annual profit for 2022 on Wednesday, as a jump in income driven by higher interest rates was offset by mounting bad loan provisions.
* RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto , posted a
38% drop in annual profit and more than halved its dividend on Wednesday, hurt by weaker iron ore prices as demand from China slowed, while higher labour and material costs also ate into earnings.
* MORRISONS: British supermarket group Morrisons said on
Tuesday it would impose customer purchase limits on four salad
vegetables from Wednesday after supplies were hit by disrupted
harvests in southern Europe and north Africa.
* ASSOCIATED BRITISH PORTS: Sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi
Investment Authority (ADIA) is among the parties considering a
bid for a 34% stake in Associated British Ports that could be
valued at about 2 billion pounds ($2.42 billion) or more,
Bloomberg News reported.
* OIL: Oil prices extended losses on Wednesday on
expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to indicate it
will continue to raise interest rates in comments due out later,
raising concerns of lower global economic growth and fuel
demand.
* GOLD: Gold prices rose marginally on Wednesday, as
investors awaited minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest
policy meeting to assess prospects of further interest rate
hikes.
* Britain's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 ended lower on Tuesday,
dragged by weakness in mining and homebuilder stocks, while a
rise in domestic business activity fanned fears of more rate
hikes by the Bank of England.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please
click on: TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times > Other business headlines (Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru)
