Vodafone said its first-quarter service revenue totalled 8.6 billion euro (£7.4 billion) for the three months to the end of June, up 10% from a year earlier. On an organic basis, service revenue rose 5.2%, while adjusted earnings increased 6.7% year on year. The company said it is pushing ahead with a plan to cut about £700 million a year from total costs and capital spending by the 2030 financial year. The update was described as a key operational catalyst for the stock by Mark Crouch, a market analyst at Etoro.

UK recruiter Hays said it expects FY2026 operating profit before exceptional items to come in at the top of its £37 million–£46 million guidance range, helped by tighter cost control and an improved performance in its temp and contracting business. Those factors partly offset a 4% year-on-year decline in net fees. The shares rose 11.8% to 40.08p, a four-month high.

Lavazza said coffee prices in the UK are unlikely to ease for at least two years as supply shocks in Brazil and Vietnam keep markets tight. The company cited Brazil’s delayed harvest, heavy rains and quality concerns, alongside worries about this year’s El Niño and increased speculative activity. Arabica prices have risen 230% since 2021 and Robusta is up 325% over the same period, with both recently hitting multi-month highs.

Kevin Warsh, in his first public remarks as Federal Reserve chair at the ECB Forum on Central Banking, stressed the central bank’s political independence and declined to engage with President Donald Trump’s calls for rate cuts. He said the Fed would stop offering forward guidance to markets and reaffirmed that it would not be comfortable with an inflation target above 2%. Warsh added that inflation expectations have eased in recent weeks, though he said prices remain too high.

Associated British Foods (ABF) expects profit to fall in the current financial year and warned its sugar division could see profits worsen further next year as the Middle East conflict pushes up natural gas costs. The company said sugar revenue fell 4% this quarter, mainly due to lower sugar prices in Europe. ABF added that gas costs are “significantly higher” and said this would lead to a “further deterioration” in sugar profitability.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned tech companies ahead of the G7 summit that the government will legislate unless platforms within three months make it impossible for under-16s to take, share or view nude images. He also confirmed a social media ban for under-16s, due to take effect next Spring. Meta executives are expected to attend a related roundtable session. The move targets major social platforms’ operating models and could raise compliance costs while putting pressure on growth and advertising revenue from underage users.