FTSE fidgets ahead of Spring budget as traders shuffle in seats

FTSE 100 eked out a tiny early gain as traders sat on their hands ahead of Wednesday’s Budget announcement. London’s leading index was up 1 points to 6,589 in early trading.

boohoo Group PLC () is facing a potential import ban to the US over allegations of slave labour in the UK. The US authorities are reportedly to launch an investigation into workers conditions at Leicester factories.

() said a new tax proposal in Germany could make the online gaming market there commercially unviable. The Paddy Power and Betfair owner estimates an initial hit of £15-25mln this year alone.

PLC () has set aside £125mln to cover fire safety repairs to apartment blocks after new recommendations following the Grenfell Tower inquiry. The housebuilder also restarted dividend payments after suspension due to the COVID-19 lockdown in March.

 (LON:MXC, ASX:MXC, ) said distributor Swiss  has increased by 85% its initial order volume for ArtemiC Rescue, an anti-inflammatory product targeting COVID-19. MGC said it has sufficient production capacity to fulfil the first delivery, which is worth around US$425,000.

Shanta Gold Ltd () generated revenue of US$147.4mln from its gold production operations in Tanzania during 2020 against  US$112.8mln in 2019. The miner, which produced 83,00 ounces of gold, almost doubled profits to US$17.2mln.

 () is planning to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) technology development studio in Gibraltar. The new venture will be snappily known as Nifty Labs.