the ftse 100 closed down 31 on thursday as central banks continue to show willingness to sacrifice the economy to get inflation under control with the bank of england raising interest rates by 25 basis points perhaps the most surprising thing was how underwhelming boes response was says craig erlam senior market analyst for uk and emea at oanda at a time when the central bank announced that inflation is now expected to peak above 11 in october it also raised interest rates by a measly 25 basis points and didnt show a particular willingness to accelerate the tightening to combat those price pressures erlam says in a research note the bank clearly hopes inflation will come down naturally over time but that is quite the gamble he adds halma plc on thursday reported an improved profit for the year ended march 31 and forecast further growth for fiscal 2023 informa plc on thursday backed its guidance for the full year and increased its share buyback program after booking strong performances in all businesses in the first five months of 2022 halma names marc ronchetti as next ceo andrew williams to retire next year halma plc said thursday that chief executive officer andrew williams has decided to retire next year and he will be succeeded by chief financial officer marc ronchetti capital  counties properties plc said thursday that it has agreed to buy shaftesbury plc in an allshare deal that will give shaftesbury shareholders 53 of the combined group asos plc said thursday that it has adjusted it outlook for fiscal 2023 as inflation hits consumers and that it has appointed jose antonio ramos as its new chief executive officer and jorgen lindemann as chairman halfords group plc on thursday forecast lower profits for fiscal 2023 as reduced demand and cost inflation are hurting its performance shares in rockhopper exploration plc traded down 13 on thursday after it said that it has raised 7 million through a placing and subscription with the funds to be used toward working capital and supporting the sea lion license extension inchcape plc said thursday that it has continued to perform strongly since its firstquarter update with 2022 pretax profit now forecast to beat market consensus after the strong performance of its distribution business mountview estates plc said thursday that pretax profit for fiscal 2022 fell despite higher revenue and raised its total dividend payout by more than 75 thg plc said thursday that recent takeover approaches undervalue the company and that therefore it hasnt provided the parties due diligence access after consultation with its major shareholders gb group plc said thursday that david rasche is stepping down as chairman and that richard longdon has been appointed to the role effective sept 1 as it reported a fall in pretax profit for fiscal 2022 after booking higher costs boohoo group plc said thursday that revenue suffered a hit in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 but that its outlook for the fullyear remains unchanged as its performance was still up 75 compared to prepandemic levels n brown 1q fy 2023 rev fell business environment challenging so far this yr n brown group plc said thursday that the managed fall in revenue continued during the first quarter of fiscal 2023 though at a more moderate level and that the business environment has been challenging since the start of the year hurricane energy sees 5 mln hit from uk windfall tax up to july hurricane energy plc said thursday that it estimates an impact of around 5 million from the new uk energy profits levy up to the end of july asos plc said thursday that it has lowered its outlook for fiscal 2022 as inflation hits customers and that it has appointed jose antonio ramos as its new chief executive officer and jorgen lindemann as chairman musicmagpie plc said thursday that revenue and adjusted ebitda fell for its first half of fiscal 2022 amid a challenging economic environment nwf group plc said thursday that its performance in fiscal 2022 was materially stronger than what it expected at the start of the year and that it will deliver record results for the year ended may 31 caretech holdings plc said thursday that pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 fell but that its performance was broadly in line with the boards expectations best of the best shares jump on gbp63 mln return to shareholders shares in best of the best plc rose 24 in early trade thursday after the company said that is planning to return up to 63 million pounds 77 million to shareholders via a tender offer as part of its plan to return surplus cash shares in feedback plc rose thursday after it said that it expects to report a rise in revenue for fiscal 2022 and that it continued targeting a number of opportunities as it remained focused on investing in the uk and india petroneft resources plc said thursday that it has been granted an extension of up to three months to report its 2021 results to sept 30 due to the continued impact of covid19 gb groups forecasts set to stay around same level after fy 2022 results 0928 gmt  gb groups fy 2022 revenue of gbp2425 million beat consensus by 1 and it is on track to deliver targeted synergies of gbp5 million jefferies analysts charles brennan and alex nguyen say in a note the identitydataintelligence specialists core organic growthexcluding a oneoff benefit from us government stimuluscame in slightly higher at 155 than the previously reported 15 adjusted ebit margin was also higher at 243 versus expectations of 235 while it remains committed to guidance of 12 to 14 organic growth on a proforma level the analysts say with consensus baking in around 12 we expect expectations to stay at around the current level the analysts say jefferies rates gb group buy and has a 1050 pence target price on the stock anthonyorunagoriainoffdowjonescom 0900 gmt  inchcapes outperformance is being driven by higherquality distribution earnings and this supports confidence in its fullyear pretax profit expectations peel hunt analyst andrew nussey says in a research note the uk car dealership now sees 2022 pretax profit of between gbp350 million and gbp370 million and this looks likely to see upside pressure from 2023 expectations he says we also suspect that the ma pipeline remains active given the strength of the balance sheet and current market dynamics nussey says peel hunt reiterates its buy rating on the stock with a 1000 pence price target shares trade up 13 at 69050 pence kylemorrisdowjonescom boohoo shares look cheap after weak start to fy 2023 0807 gmt  boohoo group had a weak start to fiscal 2023 with net revenue declining by 8 on a yearonyear basis liberum says this was below consensus and liberums views the uk brokerage says meanwhile rival online retailer shein is making further ground liberum says adding that it expects boohoos margins to be in the lower half of the 47 range for fiscal 2023 despite this boohoo shares appear cheap with performance still strong on a prepandemic basis liberum adds liberum keeps its hold rating on the stock and has a target price of 70 pence a share shares are down 13 at 5620 pence sabelaojeawsjcom sabelaojeaguix 0744 gmt  halma made strong progress in fiscal 2022 as expected with record revenue and profit for the 19th consecutive year shore capital says in a note adjusted pretax profit of gbp3162 million was 3 ahead of consensus the uk investment group notes the safety health and environmental technology group achieved growth across all sectors and major regions with the strongest being the us and the uk shore says in our view halma is a high quality business with longterm growth drivers and strong operating margins we believe customer investment cycles could recover faster thus we believe halma is well placed to take advantage and one of the most resilient names in the sector shore says jaimellinareswsjcom