(ShareCast News) - London open
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 52 points lower than Tuesday's close of 6,664.54.

Stocks to watch

Pearson has agreed to sell its 50% stake in The Economist Group for £469m in cash. EXOR has agreed to purchase 27.8% of the group's ordinary shares for a consideration of £227.5m and all of the B special shares for £59.5m. The remaining ordinary shares will be repurchased by the Economist Group for £182m. Proceeds from the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015, will be used by Pearson for general corporate purposes and investment in its global education strategy.

Thanks to solid growth from emerging markets, G4S increased first-half revenue from continuing operations 2.8%, though UK sales were down. After underlying earnings increased 10.5%, the board lifted the interim dividend 5% to 3.59p per share.

In the press

General Electric has taken another big step in unwinding its finance arm by agreeing an $8.5bn sale of its healthcare finance unit to Capital One bank. Capital One will pay a 6% premium to the value of the unit's loans to acquire the business, in a move that will help the ambitious second-tier US bank become a bigger player in commercial lending. - The Financial Times

China's decision to devalue the renminbi may be the start of a new, debilitating round of currency wars. Brazil, which coined the term in 2010 when China was last suppressing the exchange rate, immediately warned that Beijing's move could hurt its exports, despite a 24% depreciation this year. - The Times

McDonald's plans to shrink by 59 locations this year in the US, the first time in at least 45 years that the fast food restaurant has closed more US stores than it has opened, as the company cuts costs and tries to revive sales. The world's biggest restaurant chain has not reduced the net number of its US stores since at least 1970. The Telegraph

US close

US equities closed lower on Tuesday after China devalued its currency by lowering the daily fix to the dollar by 1.9%.

In company news, Google closed up by 4.27% after the technology giant announced it built a new umbrella company and called it Alphabet.

Shares in insurer Symetra Financial Corporation were up by 6.71% after Japanese company Sumitomo said it planned to buy the company in deal valued about $3.8bn.

Apple performed poorly as China's currency moves prompted concerns about Chinese demand for iPhones, which are more expensive than its rivals, especially local brands. Shares in that tech stock fell by 5.2% by the end of the day.

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