Oil slipped below $76 a barrel on Wednesday, after a fall of two percent a day earlier on data showing slower-than-expected U.S. growth and a big build in crude stocks, signalling weak demand in the world's top energy user.
Shares in BSS Group rose Tuesday as the UK plumbing and heating firm posted a 23% fall in first-half adjusted pretax profit but maintained its dividend and said it was confident on the second half of the year. CEO Gavin Slark told CNBC the group's strategy has been to protect and gain market share during the downturn.
UK water company Severn Trend posted a near 10% rise in underlying first-half profit Tuesday. The numbers were boosted by price rises which offset a continued fall in consumption. "It's another good set of results," CEO Tony Wray said, adding he has seen continued improvement on financial and customer service metrics.