THE DAILY BRIEFING

IRISH EYED The trading arm of

Thomson Reuters has applied to Ireland for a licence to continue serving clients after Brexit.

The business’s derivatives dealing hub, part of a host of operations being bought by private equity firm Blackstone for £12.6bn, will be based in Dublin.

No staff are moving abroad.

ITALY SELL-OFF Traders have sold Italian government bonds amid fears the country will ask the european Central Bank to write off £219bn of debt. It sets the nation up for a clash with the eU and could land investors with losses. The stock market in Milan fell 1.8pc. DOLPHIN SOARS Profits at wealth manager Brewin Dolphin rose to £34.1m in the six months to March, up 20pc on a year earlier. It looks after £34.3bn of savers’ money, up 1.5pc. The business raised its interim dividend by 3.5pc to 4.4p.

SHARES UP Shares in British software firm Micro Focus rose after it said a drop in sales for the six months to April 30 was not likely to reach the 9pc to 12pc predicted.

The FTSe 100 company warned on profits in March because of difficulties with its controversial £6.6bn takeover of Hewlett Packard enterprise’s software business.

VIDEO BONANZA Chinese technology giant Tencent has reported a 61pc rise in profits, fuelled by its booming video games arm.

It yesterday revealed sales of £8.6bn and profits of £2.7bn for the first quarter – both higher than analysts predicted. Its most successful gaming titles include Honor of Kings, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite.

BARRELS BOOM North Seafocused Premier Oil said its Catcher field has produced more than 60,000 barrels per day recently as it ramps up to full speed, six months after work began. It is expected to produce an average of around 85,000 barrels a day.

REVENUE RISE Tools and equipment hire firm Speedy Hire says revenue for the year ended March 31 rose 6.4pc to £371.6m, with profits up 25pc to £18m.

SALES DIP Used car sales passed 2m during the first three months of the year, a 4.8pc decline compared with the first quarter of 2017, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers

and Traders. More than 24,697 electric or hybrid cars found a new owner, 15.9pc up on last year.