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Fed stays put on rates, T-bill purchases to continue
The US central bank kept all its main policy settings unchanged on Wednesday, as expected by analysts, including its commitment to continue purchasing very short-term Treasury bills at least into April.

Commdoities: Industrial metal and energy futures slip on coronavirus concerns
Commodity prices followed government bond yields lower on Wednesday as investors waited on the US central bank's policy decision.

Santander ends year with higher-than-expected capital position
Spanish banking group Santander struck an upbeat note for 2020 on Wednesday, after it ended 2019 with a better-than-expected capital position.

Europe close: Stocks edge higher even as coronavirus fatalities rise
Stocks in Europe extended the previous day's bounce - but only slightly - helped by positive results from tech giant Apple as they waited for the US central bank's policy decision.

Thursday preview: BoE, Diageo in the spotlight
All eyes will be on the Bank of England on Thursday, as rate-setters announce their policy decision.

FTSE 100 movers: Whitbread and 3i boosted by upgrades
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0. 01% at 7,481. 81 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

London close: Investors tread carefully ahead of Fed meeting
London stocks traded just a touch higher on Wednesday as investors eyed the latest policy announcement from the Federal Reserve, with sentiment underpinned by solid quarterly results overnight from US technology giant Apple even as traders did their best to shrug off concerns about the new China coronavirus.

Director dealings: Severfield COO lowers stake
Severfield revealed on Wednesday that chief operating officer Ian Cochrane had disposed of one million ordinary shares in the London-listed engineering and contracting services firm.

Broker tips: Elementis, 3i
Berenberg raised its target price on chemicals firm Elementis from 180p to 200p on Wednesday, stating that supply and demand in the speciality talc market was likely to improve over the next few years.

SpaceX closer to re-usable launch system after latest Starlink test
SpaceX is one step closer to an even more re-usable launch system on Wednesday after it managed to recover one of the halves of the fairing on the Starlink satellite launch.

Berenberg ups target for Elementis in anticipation of higher talc prices
Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on chemicals firm Elementis from 180p to 200p on Wednesday, stating that supply and demand in the speciality talc market was likely to improve over the next few years.

US open: Stocks record small gains ahead of Fed meeting
US stocks opened on a mostly positive note on Wednesday amid ongoing fears about the Wuhan coronavirus and ahead of the FOMC's first policy meeting of 2020.

Lloyds set to close up to 56 branches
Lloyds banking group announced on Wednesday the closure of 31 Lloyds, 10 Halifax and 15 Bank of Scotland branches scheduled for between April and October of 2020.

Windar Photonics gets £0.2m grant to develop LiDAR solution
Wind turbine sensor developer Windar Photonics has been granted €0. 24m (£0. 2m) in development funding from the Eurostars programme for its ‘LAWIS’ project.

McCarthy & Stone slumps on placing news
McCarthy & Stone was under the cosh on Wednesday on news that private equity firm Anchorage Capital was placing 43m shares in the retirement housebuilder.

FTSE 250 movers: Quilter jumps on update; Stagecoach dented by downgrade
London’s FTSE 250 was up 0. 2% at 21,468. 29 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Fulcrum makes appointments to CEO and group COO positions
Multi-utility infrastructure and services provider Fulcrum Utility Services announced the appointment of Daren Harris as its chief executive officer on Wednesday, with immediate effect.

Avast 'reviewing all options' for Jumpshot amid data concerns
Avast said on Wednesday that it was "reviewing all options" relating to its trend analytics business, Jumpshot, following reports earlier in the week that it had been selling users’ web-browsing clicks.

Kodal shares surge as it agrees to cooperate with Mali Lithium
Mineral exploration and development company Kodal Minerals has signed a memorandum of understanding with ASX-listed Mali Lithium, it announced on Wednesday.

Thor Mining upbeat on latest resource estimates at Bonya
Thor Mining updated the market alongside Arafura Resources on Wednesday, reporting maiden mineral resource estimates for the White Violet and Samarkand tungsten and copper deposits at Bonya, adjacent to Thor’s Molyhil tungsten and molybdenum project.
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