BT’s Top Line Hit by Covid-19 and Supply Chains: The London Rush

(Bloomberg) -- Here's the key business news from London-listed companies this morning:

BT Group Plc: The telecoms company started talks with Discovery Inc. on a joint venture for its sports broadcasting business - that would bring BT together with Eurosport UK, all on Discovery's platform and app.

At a group level the company said its full-year adjusted revenue is expect to be down about 2% for this year as a result of disruption from Covid-19 and supply-chain issues

Playtech Plc: The gaming software company has received yet another approach about a possible offer for the company, this time from an investor group formed and advised by TTB Partners.

This is the fourth possible offer, and came on the same afternoon a group of investors voted against Aristocrat Leisure Ltd's 2.1 billion-pound approach

Shell Plc: Higher commodity prices boosted the energy company's earnings this quarter compared to the last, despite lower margins in chemicals and marketing.

Cranswick Plc: The meat producer says there's still an industry-wide oversupply of pigs, where at times supply is exceeding processing capacity.

Outside The City

The U.K. will make another attempt to secure a long-awaited free-trade deal with the U.S. after the midterm elections later this year, Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in an interview.

Energy bills in the U.K. are likely to rise by 50% this morning, escalating the country's cost of living crisis, and forcing the government to roll out a multi-billion pound support package.

Further afield, Russia said U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to move additional troops to Europe was destructive.

Looking Ahead

The Bank of England will announce a policy decision at 12 p.m. today, where it is expected to deliver the first back-to-back interest-rate increase since 2004. The bank is also likely to take its first steps towards unwinding some of its pandemic-related stimulus.

With the bulk of this week's earnings over, attention turns to the healthcare sector where next week we'll hear from industry giants GSK Plc, Unilever Plc and AstraZeneca Plc.