Savills, BP and ICAP

“Blue-chips made a positive start as oil prices pushed towards the $50/barrel mark and after solid overnight performances in the US and Asia,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Global real estate services provider Savills is moving into the hybrid estate agency sector by taking a minority stake in YOPA Property. Savills has been monitoring the growth of the online ‘hybrid’ model over the last year. This investment will broaden its access to the UK residential sector and enable it to take an interest in the high volume segment of the market which comprises over 1 million transactions a year and which it had little exposure.

“BP shares were up in early trading after it closed another chapter on the painful saga of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster by settling claims brought by shareholders. BP has agreed to pay $175m to shareholders who felt they had been misled over the cost of the Gulf of Mexico spill. This settlement does not resolve other securities-related litigation in connection with the disaster.

“ICAP was another early riser after it clinched a $65m contract with China Foreign Exchange Trade System - China's official inter-bank market trading platform and infrastructure provider. China is a key growth market for the business and EBS BrokerTec, ICAP's market-leading electronic FX and fixed income business, will establish a local office and development centre in Shanghai.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.