Crypto News: The London Rush: GSK's summer booster

Hi, I'm Leo from Bloomberg UK's breaking news team, catching you up on this morning's business stories.

GSK's had a shot in the arm.

It boosted its profit forecast for the year, driven by strong sales of medicines to treat HIV, cancer and lung disease.

The drug company's boss Emma Walmsley has streamlined its portfolio, spinning off its consumer business to shore up vaccine development. The launch of a shot for respiratory syncytial virus in the US last year saw GSK secure a larger portion of the market than rival Pfizer on its home turf.

Sales of its vaccine for shingles, meanwhile, dipped in the second quarter, partly due to changes in how US pharmacies reimburse the shots.

Shareholders took the raised guidance in their stride this morning, following a series of upgrades from European pharma peers earlier this month.

GSK boss Emma Walmsley. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

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Taylor Wimpey raised its outlook for house sales to the top end of its previous guidance. The developer also welcomed the Labour's plan to reform the planning system for approving homes.

Reach, the publishing company that owns the Daily Mirror and the Express, saw a boost to its digital ad revenue — helped by the men's Euros, the general election and, of course, Taylor Swift's Eras tour.

And Noel Quinn signed off his final quarter as HSBC's boss by announcing to return a further $3 billion to shareholders. Europe's biggest lender reported earnings ahead of expectations driven by rising income from global banking and markets.

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The Fed is likely to hold rates and signal September cut. Here's your decision day guide.

Here's your daily snap analysis from Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog:

DIY retailer Wickes results show some worrying signs about the health of consumers.

Overall sales fell in the first half of its year, as "challenging market conditions" saw a more than 18% decline in its design and installation arm.

That offset a better performance for retail, and pushed life-for-like sales down 3.9% from a year earlier. As has been the case in recent earnings, the firm's TradePro sales, aimed at professionals, did well.

However, Wickes said "DIY sales remain in moderate decline as customers continue to focus on smaller projects," while adding that the design and installation arm's struggles reflect "the continued soft consumer appetite for larger ticket purchases." Interestingly, it noted its cheaper Wickes Lifestyle Kitchens range saw decent growth.

Given all that, perhaps the big positive in the earnings was that was no warning on profit. Wickes said that:

"Whilst the trading environment remains uncertain, given the resilient first half in Retail and our continued focus on costs, the overall outlook for adjusted profit before tax for 2024 remains unchanged."

— David Goodman

Check Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog for updates all day.

Before investors' attention turns to the Bank of England's rate decision at noon tomorrow, a flood of earnings awaits — including from Barclays, Shell, LSE Group, Schroders and Rolls-Royce.

Which nation is topping the Olympics gold-medal count (as of 8 a.m. London time)?

[Yesterday's answer: With $211.4 million in US and Canadian ticket sales, Deadpool & Wolverine had the biggest domestic movie debut of this year.]

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