BLND.L - British Land Company Plc

Britain's Reckitt Benckiser gives new parents more paid leave

British household goods maker Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc said on Tuesday it was extending its paid leave globally for new mothers from 16 weeks to 26 weeks, but the change will take time to implement in the United States due to regulatory issues. Mothers will also have the option to take a further six months of leave without pay. The Durex condom and Lysol disinfectant maker also said it would increase paid paternity leave for fathers and partners to four weeks, with the option to take a further four weeks of leave without pay.

UPDATE 2-FTSE dips on murky trade view; Tullow tanks on mid-caps

London's main bourse retreated on Wednesday as traders grew weary of mixed trade signals from U.S. President Donald Trump, while mid-caps slid on the back of weak economic data and a plunge in Tullow Oil. The more internationally-exposed FTSE 100 fell 0.2%, trimming some early losses as exporter stocks such as Diageo and AstraZeneca benefited from a weaker pound. The jump in exporter shares also helped the bourse outperform the broader European benchmark index.

Real estate firm British Land's profit, asset value drop

LIVE MARKETS-Closing snapshot: Not a bad day

* Earnings drive top movers Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. European stocks edged higher today as investors found some comfort on a scaling-back of recession bets amid optimism about a China-U.S. trade deal. With this string of not-great but good-enough news, the Euro stocks index hit its highest since February 2018, while European blue chips had their best day in two years with the banking sector enjoying its best session in six months.

LIVE MARKETS-Italy, the contrarian 2020 bet?

* Earnings drive top movers Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. Germany has long been dragging its feet on such a project that included a common deposit insurance scheme and clearly its new stance is a welcome development but, as always, there is a but and, of course, the devil is in the details.

LIVE MARKETS-Money for nothing in the age of rage

* Earnings drive top movers Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. A post by Ray Dalio's Linkedin (find it here: https://bit.ly/2qo3IdR ) is doing the rounds this morning, with the hedge fund billionaire putting his finger on the big debate raging around quantative easing and MMT amid growing global discontent. The theme, as it turns out, has emerged as a central topic in the Reuters Global Investment Outlook Summit.

LIVE MARKETS-Ray of hope for Europe: $1 trln flow into ESG funds by 2030

* Earnings drive top movers Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. Yes, that massive amount of cash is likely to flow into ESG funds as the theme has become mainstream, especially in Europe.

LIVE MARKETS-UK High Street: available at your local large, mid and small cap index

* Earnings drive top movers Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters and anchored today by Julien Ponthus. It's a rare thing to witness: at one stage this morning, the UK high street theme was top of the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and the British small cap index.

UPDATE 2-FTSE gains for 4th day as investors await trade moves

London's FTSE 100 edged up on Wednesday, adding to a 2% gain over the past three sessions, as investors waited for news on U.S.-China trade talks before making further bets, while mall operator Intu dropped on signs it may seek to sell more shares. The FTSE 100, which had been holding at a near one-month high this week, rose 0.1%, while the FTSE 250 dipped 0.4% as the pound weakened slightly ahead of a Bank of England's interest rate decision on Thursday.

UPDATE 2-UK's Intu Properties considers raising equity to tackle debt in blow to shares

British shopping centre operator Intu Properties said on Wednesday it could raise equity, alongside asset sales, to tackle its debt burden, knocking nearly 18% off its share price. "Our number one priority is to fix the balance sheet ... options include disposing of assets, where we are in the advanced stages of selling two of our Spanish assets, through to raising equity," Matthew Roberts, Intu's chief executive, said. Intu shares were down 14% at 0941 GMT after the owner of Manchester's Trafford Centre also said it expects annual like-for-like net rental income to be down by about 9% and predicted another decline in 2020, although at a slower rate.