THE DAILY BRIEFING

SOLID TRADING

Informa said revenue for the first nine months of the year jumped 10.6pc thanks to strong performance in North America and Asia.

The FTSE100 exhibitions business said it remained on track for the full year with solid trading in the majority of divisions.

It comes after Informa bought US information services company Penton for £1.2bn last month.

Informa shares closed up 0.3pc or 2p to 679.5.

SUPPORT DEAL

Amec Foster Wheeler has secured a deal with EDF Energy to support its fleet of coal plants, gas-fired power stations and gas storage sites.

Under the agreement, the engineer (up 1.3pc, or 5.3p, to 419.4p) will also support EDF Energy Renewables’ UK wind farms.

Dawn James, vice president for generation services at Amec, said: ‘This award enables us to build on the capability of services that we have brought to EDF Energy’s nuclear fleet for many years.’

IVF SALE

Engineer Smiths Group has sold its IVF business Wallace to CooperSurgical for £140m.

Wallace was a pioneer in IVF and introduced the first embryo replacement catheter more than 30 years ago.

Smiths Group said it would invest the proceeds from the sale to CooperSurgical, which focuses on women’s healthcare, in growth.

Smiths Group shares grew 1.7pc, or 23p, to 1395p.

BREXIT BOOST

Hiscox has said the Brexit-hit pound helped bolster its third-quarter performance.

The insurer said gross written premiums rose by a fifth to £1.8bn in the nine months to the end of September, up from £1.536bn over the period last year.

Chief executive Bronek Masojada said that despite Hiscox London Market growing 9pc to £520.2m over the period, it was still grappling with ‘difficult trading conditions’.

Hiscox shares climbed 1.4pc, or 14p, to 1039p.

BANK WOES

Troubled Deutsche Bank is shifting staff across London as it seeks to slash costs.

The German bank’s share price has more than halved in the last 12 months due to fears over its future, and chief executive John Cryan has vowed to save money. It is moving staff out of an office block in the Square Mile and into Canary Wharf on the edge of central London.

OIL GUSHES

The price of oil rose after global cartel Opec said countries around the world including Russia were committed to cutting production. Brent Crude jumped more than 1pc to over $46 a barrel but still remains some $7 a barrel below last month’s peak.