Tuesday, 22 November: Indices in London unanimously took a leg higher, as the premier index was supported by the mining sector which enjoyed a pause in the dollar’s recent rally. The FTSE 100 closed +0.62%, with the FTSE 250 +0.86%.

Lavendon Group(+41.73%) surged higher as the equipment rental company firm revealed a hostile takeover bid was made for the group by Belgian industrial equipment supplier TVH Group in September, but failed to garner sufficient support from Lavendon shareholders. TVH said it made a cash offer of 205.00 pence per share for Lavendon, valuing the UK business at £348.0m, this offer was made at a 57% premium to Lavendon’s closing price on September 16, the day before TVH approached the board. The equipment rental firm confirmed the approach was made but said TVH had failed to secure sufficient levels of support from the UK firm’s shareholders for the deal.

Data released today shed further light on the fiscal position of the UK economy. The figures showed than Britain ran a budget shortfall, excluding state-owned banks of £4.8bn pounds last month, 25% lower than in October 2015, the ONS said on Tuesday, and below all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. The data highlighted a marked improvement from earlier in the year, when borrowing was falling much too slowly to meet government targets.However, this improvement looks to be too little too late in order for the Government to meet budget goals established in March. The news comes before Chancellor of the Exchequer Hammond delivers his Autumn Statement, however, the data dampens the likelyhood of an olive branch extended to those ‘just about managing’ as the Chancellor now has less room to manoeuvre.