STOCKS TO WATCH

Safety equipment maker Halma said on Tuesday that it had bought France-based Dreampath Diagnostics for an initial €154m, on a cash- and debt-free basis. Headquartered in Strasbourg, France, Dreampath makes automated systems that enable anatomical pathology laboratories to track, store and manage patient tissue samples throughout the diagnostic process. The deal includes an earn-out of up to €121m, based on performance over the two years to 31 March 2027 and 2028.

Geotechnical contractor Keller Group said on Tuesday that trading had strengthened further through the second quarter, with momentum accelerating since its May update and North America materially outperforming expectations. Looking ahead, Keller said that its stronger second‑quarter performance, continued margin discipline and solid order book left it confident that full‑year 2026 revenues and underlying operating profits would now be materially ahead of current market consensus.

NEWSPAPER ROUND UP

The Scottish government is about to consider a sweeping moratorium on building new datacentres, putting a key plank of the UK's AI strategy at risk. Last Sunday the Scottish National party's national council passed a motion to freeze all new datacentres in Scotland. That motion has been sent to the Scottish government to consider. It could apply to all datacentre projects that have not yet received planning permission – although its exact implementation is up to the Scottish government to decide. – Guardian

Slideshows that compared student loan repayments with the cost of a mobile phone contract, and YouTube videos that did not mention the fact that loan terms could change amounted to mis-selling by the government, MPs have said. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, caused a furore last year when she announced that the repayment threshold on plan two student loans would be frozen at £29,385 for three years from April 2027. – Guardian

Labour is set to forge ahead with financial checks on gambling customers who suffer heavy losses, setting up a clash with bookmakers who oppose the move. The Gambling Commission is expected to confirm proposals on Tuesday morning to introduce financial risk assessments on online gamblers who lose large sums, including those spending more than £1,000 in a single day. – Telegraph

Half a million Russians went bankrupt last year as Vladimir Putin risks an "explosive" banking crisis, an intelligence report has warned. Deteriorating business loans and growing household debt mean Russia is moving closer to a potential financial meltdown, according to a document prepared for European officials before a new round of sanctions. – Telegraph

The billions of pounds lost on personal protection equipment during the pandemic had more to do with a "monumental failure of government" than it did fraud, error or cronyism, the government's counter-fraud commissioner has said. Tom Hayhoe, a former chairman of West Middlesex University hospital and the West London NHS Trust, told MPs on the Commons public accounts committee that the "fundamental" fault behind the near-£11bn worth of PPE bought during Covid that proved unusable or overpriced was the "uncritical way in which procurement was being done". – The Times

US CLOSE

Major indices closed higher on Monday, with the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting another fresh record high.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.29% at 53,055.91, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.72% to 7,537.43, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.12% firmer at 26,121.16.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com