- Marvell Technology, the US chip designer, agreed to buy Lumentum, which makes the lasers and optical components used to move data around AI data centres, in a deal that values Lumentum's equity at around $102.5 billion, but Marvell shares fell more than 5% and Lumentum dropped around 10% as investors, already skittish after last week's sell-off, questioned the timing and the price.
- Apple reports its fourth-quarter results tonight, with new chief executive John Ternus facing investors for the first time; analysts expect revenue of $113.5 billion, up 11%, with iPhone sales rising 15% and China up 29%, though attention will quickly shift to December quarter guidance and what Ternus says about plans to charge for advanced AI features in Siri.
- The FTSE 100 rose 32 points as London held its nerve, tracking a recovery on Wall Street where the Dow gained 0.8% and chipmakers led the rebound, while Brent crude fell to around $106 a barrel on reports of diplomatic progress between the US and Iran.
- Ibstock, the UK's largest brickmaker by volume, cut its profit forecast after third-quarter sales came in well below expectations, with AJ Bell's Russ Mould saying the earnings guidance had been "smashed to pieces" and blaming part of the shortfall on the delay to the government's Your First Home scheme.
- UBS argued that financial markets are overestimating how far UK interest rates will rise, forecasting just two more increases, including one this week, with economist Maelle Quillevere saying there was little evidence of the second-round wage effects that would force the Bank of England to keep tightening aggressively.
That's your five for Monday
