Attention turns back to the corporate earnings season after the Chancellor's Budget yesterday, with Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Dutch Shell among those reporting today.
Lloyds posted a much-improved statutory profit of £5.9 billion in the year to date while it also enhanced its guidance for the rest of 2021, a move mirroring the improved economic picture given by Rishi Sunak in his Budget speech.
Royal Dutch Shell has posted third quarter figures but the main focus is on how it responds to calls made by New York hedge fund Third Point to break itself up.
