THE DAILY BRIEFING

TRIAL ERROR Top AstraZeneca shareholder Neil Woodford said a 16pc fall in the company’s share price after the failure of a high-profile cancer drug trial was unwarranted. ‘The investment case... is about so much more than this one trial,’ he said. OIL DEAL Oil and gas firm Faroe Petroleum has bought an extra 13.9pc interest in a North Sea field from JX Nippon Exploration, for £4m. PROFITS UP The fall in the pound boosted profits at engineering firm Revenues of £846m and profits at £106m were both up 11pc. FACTORY PLAN Chemicals firm is planning a new plant in Germany to make cumene, a key raw material for the chemicals industry. CONTRACT WIN Engineer Amec Foster Wheeler has won a £2.9m contract from the Government to develop smaller nuclear reactors. VIDEO GAMES A BBC deal with esports specialists Gfinity will see video game tournaments broadcast on internet channel BBC Three for the next six weeks. CABLE ROLLOUT Some £100m will be spent by Hyperoptic to provide fullfibre cables to 5m UK homes by 2025. 5G TALKS Telecoms watchdog Ofcom has launched a consultation on proposals for 5G mobile internet to be available in the UK by 2020. EDF DIP French utility giant EDF has suffered a drop in half-year profits as its income fell 3.7pc to £1.7bn. CONFIDENCE FALLS Consumer confidence has hit a low not seen since after the Brexit vote, to -12 points, claims a survey by GfK. GATWICK GOAL Airport operator Gatwick plans to reach its goal of 50m yearly passengers, by investing £1.1bn over the next five years. RUSSIAN FIGHTBACK A recovery in Russia helped car maker Renault to post rising first-half profits of £1.6bn.