THE DAILY BRIEFING

EARNINGS BOOST

Miner Tharisa expects to report a significant boost in earnings in its financial results due out later this month.

Cyprus-headquartered Tharisa is listed on both the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges and owns and operates the Tharisa Mine in South Africa.

CREDIT TIE-UP

A £700m takeover by Mastercard of payments firm

Vocalink has completed, despite fears it might harm competition. Critics fear it will give the company dominance over the national cash machine network – potentially hitting consumers in the pocket.

BANK BOSS

Lord Lupton has been announced as chairman of

Lloyds’ investment banking arm. The former Tory treasurer will oversee the lender’s riskier elements when they are separated from its high street operations in 2019.

IRISH ROUTE

Low-cost airline Flybe is relaunching its Dublin-toSouthend service in October – two years after pulling the route. Flybe had previously cancelled the service saying passenger numbers hadn’t matched expectations.

BEAN COUNTER

Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One said interim finance chief Joe Sparacio has taken the job permanently. The 56 year old joined in November having worked for Imax Corporation.

DRUG DEAL

Drugs company InnovaDerma has acquired Prolong, the world’s only American-approved treatment for premature ejaculation. The £1m acquisition would help it diversify its income stream and grow its life sciences business.

STEEL LOSSES

Losses have narrowed at steelmaker Sheffield Forgemasters International. Accounts show a £900,000 pre-tax loss in 2016 compared to £7.6m the year before.

GAS SALE

Britain’s gas distribution network, National Grid Gas Distribution, has been renamed

Cadent and set up as an independent firm after the sale of a 61pc stake in National Grid to a consortium led by Australian bank Macquarie.

NUCLEAR CHECKS

Engineers Rolls-Royce, Lloyd’s Register and Assystem are working with equipment qualification specialists Arexis to ensure equipment for new UK nuclear power stations meets safety standards after winning a joint contract from the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.