22 January 2021 | 08:35am
StockMarketWire.com - News that UK borrowing hit £34.1 billion in December 2020, the third-highest borrowing in any month since monthly records began in 1993, weighed heavily on UK markets, which opened lower.
Meanwhile, the latest figures showed mixed retail sales figures, with a 0.3% increase in retail sales volumes in December when compared with the previous month, helped by a rebound in sales at clothing stores, but a record annual decline in sales volumes of 25% for clothing stores in 2020 when compared with 2019.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, or 17.99 points, to 6,697.43, while the FTSE 250 was also 0.3% lower to 20,740.21.
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was buoyed 0.2% to £13.66 on the announcement that ViiV Healthcare, which it majority owns, has received US regulatory approval for its HIV treatment regime Cabenuva.
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Mediclinic International Q3 revenue climbs 2.5% on high demand for inpatient services in Southern Africa and UAE
22 January 2021 | 07:58am
StockMarketWire.com - Healthcare services company Mediclinic International has reported a 2.5% rise in group revenue in the third quarter, due to unseasonably high demand for inpatient services in Southern Africa and UAE in December.
The company said that the high levels of inpatient activity at Mediclinic Southern Africa and Mediclinic Middle East in December 2020 supported its financial performance in the third quarter 2021 period between October and December.
It reported that this was partially offset by the lower patient volumes at Hirslanden due to the impact of COVID-19 and increasing lockdown measures.