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Zanaga Iron Ore has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) for hydroelectric power solutions at the Zanaga Iron Ore Project. The firm said the agreement aimed to advance engineering studies for hydroelectric sites near the project and establish funding arrangements between the Republic of the Congo's government and third parties. Additionally, Zanaga reported on progress of its feasibility study update with its Chinese EPC partner, indicating potential cost reductions compared to the 2014 study, with the second phase extending into the first quarter of 2024.
Insig AI (LON:INSG), the machine learning and data science group, has been included in the United Nations Climate Risk Tool Dashboard, it announced on Thursday. The listing within the dashboard was intended to assist financial institutions in managing climate risk, and forms part of the UN Environment Programme's efforts to support 193 member states in that regard.
Newspaper round-up
The Labour Party is drawing up plans to create thousands of new nursery places for the under fives as part of a signature offer to working parents before the next election. Under proposals expected to be in its manifesto, the party is looking to fund new nurseries in primary schools across the country to provide continuity of education for younger children. The centres would be integrated into existing schools as part of what Labour claims will be a “modernised childcare system” available from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school. - The Times
Travellers have been told to delay their post-Christmas journeys after storms and rail chaos left thousands stranded across the country. Rail firms told passengers to go home and try again on Thursday or Friday as floods, snow and wind brought services to a standstill on dozens of routes. The combination of Storm Gerrit, engineering works and staff shortages caused hundreds of trains to be cancelled. - Telegraph
British households will benefit from improved routes for recycling electronic goods from 2026, under government plans to have producers and retailers pay for household and in-store collections. Consumers would be able to have electrical waste (e-waste) – from cables to toasters and power tools – collected from their homes or drop items off during a weekly shop, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in a consultation published on Thursday. The ambition is for retailers, rather than the taxpayer, to pick up the tab for these new ways of disposing of defunct, often toxic products safely. The measures are due to come into force in two years’ time. - Guardian
The New York Times is suing Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and OpenAI for billions of dollars over copyright infringement, alleging that the powerful technology companies used its information to train their artificial intelligence models and to “free-ride”. The use of its data without permission or compensation undermined its business model and threatened independent journalism “vital to our democracy”, the media organisation said in documents filed with a federal court of Manhattan. - The Times
Vinyl records were a surprise hit this Christmas, with weekly sales in the UK soaring to their highest level this century during the festive shopping period, fuelled by artists including Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones. The vinyl record resurgence, with a new generation of music lovers turning to retro formats such as LPs and cassettes, has fuelled a sales surge to their highest annual level since Elton John’s Sacrifice and Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby topped the charts in 1990. - Guardian
US close
Wall Street stocks closed higher on Wednesday as the S&P 500 fell just short of registering a fresh all-time high.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.30% at 37,656.52, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.14% at 4,781.58 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.16% weaker at 15,099.18.
The Dow closed 111.19 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session, while the S&P 500 rose closer to record levels.
All three major indices were on track to register a ninth consecutive winning week, underscoring the market's late 2023 rally.
As far as Wednesday's headlines went, US mortgage applications dropped 1.5% in the week ended 15 December, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, halting a six-week run of increases.