Shares in Daily Mail and General Trust have opened 6 per cent higher after the owner of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Mail Online said advertising appeared to be on an “improving trend” after a slump earlier in the year.

Miners have shot to the top of the FTSE 100 this morning, after Glencore revealed it was nearing the end of its expansive debt-reduction programme and has plans to pay a $1bn dividend next year.

Daily Mail and General Trust says it has seen an “improving trend” in print advertising over the last two months as the media group announced a 4 per cent rise in group revenues for the 12 months to the end of September.

British telecoms companies love to tell anyone that listens that consumers get great value for money when buying broadband and mobile packages compared to other countries.

Yet the steady rise in line rental prices over the past five years has not escaped the attention of Ofcom, which has launched a review today into whether those customers who only use old-fashioned landlines have been unduly hit by those charges.

Government contractor Serco has avoided the troubles facing many of its peers in the outsourcing industry in the second half of the year, saying it is on track to meet higher profit forecasts made over the summer.

Glencore said it was nearing the completion of its wide-ranging debt reduction programme as it announced plans to pay a dividend of $1bn in 2017.

UK watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority is kickstarting a programme of publicising the lowest rates available on cash savings accounts in the final stage of what it calls a “sunlight remedy” to ensure customers know whether they are getting a good deal.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto has said it is “cooperating with inquiries” following reports the Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the timing of a $3bn of impairment charges the company booked on a disastrous Mozambique coal deal.

UK house prices inched up in November, growing again after falling flat for the first time in 15 months, according to Nationwide.

For those looking for a distraction from the continued rise of oil prices, manufacturing activity and employment numbers for Europe are where it’s at today.

Energy stocks around Asia are chalking up some huge gains in the wake of Opec members agreeing on Wednesday to cut supply for six months from the start of January.

Tencent’s enormously popular social messaging platform WeChat uses separate censorship systems for Chinese and international users, with the former subject to more extensive restrictions even when outside of China, a study has found.

Mainland-listed shares in China Unicom rose by their daily limit for a second straight day on word China’s major tech firms will take stakes in the company.

Markets around Asia look set for a day of solid gains, as Japanese stocks benefit from a weaker yen, and as oil continues to trade higher following Opec’s decision to cut output for the first time since the financial crisis.

Fitbit is in advanced talks to acquire Pebble, the smartwatch pioneer and darling of crowdfunding site Kickstarter, according to people close to the negotiations.

Shares in CT Environmental Group fell as much as 19.25 per cent following the end of a trading halt requested after the company was targeted by short-seller Glaucus Research.

An independent gauge of China’s manufacturing sector activity showed softer expansion in November after hitting a more than five-year peak the month prior.

Brazil’s central bank cut its benchmark Selic by 25 basis points on Wednesday evening, deciding against a sharper reduction in spite of an economy that is still deep in recession.

China’s businesses notched another month of improved growth in November as activity gauges for both manufacturing and services rose to their highest levels in the year to date.

Operating conditions at Japanese manufacturers remained solid in November as the industry continued to pull out of a mid-year dip.

South Korea’s manufacturing sector contracted again in November as global demand continued to dampen sales.

Australia’s contraction in capital expenditure became less severe in the September quarter, but still fell more than economists expected.

South Korean trade has notched up a strong monthly performance as imports and exports both saw their quickest pace of growth in years.

Capital spending in Japan retreated in the September quarter, the first decline in three-and-a-half years.