Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 Live: Shares higher, retail sales in surprise fall, oil at four-month low
Fears over the festive spending outlook have been raised after retail sales figures for October showed a surprise fall today.
The 0.3% month-on-month drop follows the Bank of England’s run of 14 consecutive interest rate hikes.
Elsewhere, there was some cheer for household budgets after Brent Crude traded at its lowest level since July.
FTSE 100 Live Friday
Retail sales in surprise drop
Gambling firms lead FTSE 100 recovery
Insolvency firm issues construction warning
Bankers would flock to Holland were it not for the bonus cap: Bunq CEO
17:03 , Simon Hunt
British bankers would have flocked to the Netherlands were it not for the country’s bonus cap rules, the CEO of Dutch challenger bank Bunq has told the Standard.
Under local rules in Holland, bankers cannot receive a bonus greater than 20% of their fixed pay, a stricter application of the EU’s bonus cap rule introduced in 2014, in which variable pay could not exceed 100% of fixed pay, or 200% with shareholder approval.
Last month, the UK financial regulator announced it would be scrapping the cap altogether following a consultation, opening banker pay up to unlimited salary multiples, in a move aimed at making banker pay more competitive internationally.
City Voices: It's too soon to declare victory over inflation
15:42 , Daniel O'Boyle
Paul Dales cautions against premature celebration on price rises
After Wednesday’s news that inflation fell below 5% in October, the Prime Minister was quick to declare victory over inflation and investors were swift to increase their bets that the Bank of England will be cutting interest rates by the middle of next year.
But there are still plenty of inflation risks out there and the fight against inflation won’t be won until it has fallen to 2%.
The sharp drop in consumer price inflation from 6.7% in September to 4.6% in October was good news. It left inflation well below the 40-year high of 11.1% in October 2023 and more than half the rate of 10.1% in January. The latter explains why the Prime Minister has been gloating that he has achieved his target of “halving inflation” this year.
Shareholders to see if Severn Trent will turn on the investment taps
14:30 , Daniel O'Boyle
Investors have stood with Severn Trent through a turbulent time for the water industry and will be keen to see how the company is doing as it reports its first half results next week.
The business has avoided some of the worst fallout from a recent review by Ofwat, as the whole sector has come under fire for dirtying Britain’s rivers.
Earlier this week Ofwat said that it would force water companies to together pay a net £70 million to customers for failing to meet their performance targets.
But amid that, Severn Trent was actually told it could charge customers more because it had improved its performance that much.
Collapsed NMC Health misled markets over £3.2bn of debt, says watchdog
13:32 , Daniel O'Boyle
The financial watchdog has found collapsed hospital operator NMC Health committed market abuse by understating its debts by as much as 4 billion dollars (£3.2 billion).
On Friday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) censured the former FTSE 100 company for misleading the market.
However, it stopped short of fining the business as no funds are expected to be left at the business once outstanding debts to creditors are paid out.
NMC Health was a London-listed healthcare operator, primarily running hospitals in the Middle East. It entered the FTSE 100 in 2017 after rapid growth and was valued at £8.6 billion at its peak in 2018.
Market snapshot - shares fall back but still ahead
12:49 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FTSE 100 has slipped back a little, but it's still set to end the day and week ahead.
Footfall forecast to climb over Christmas period in Knightsbridge and exceed pre-pandemic levels
12:07 , Daniel O'Boyle
Christmas shopper numbers in Knightsbridge are forecast to surpass pre-pandemic levels for the first time and total spend will jump, according to an organisation that represents retailers and hotel and restaurant owners in the luxury district.
The Knightsbridge Partnership, a business improvement district, said the area which is home to upmarket department stores such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols and a host of designer brands, enters the festive period on firm foundations.
Footfall between January to October was up on average 27.7% each month from a year earlier, although that was flattered by very strong performances at the start of the year in contrast with early 2022 when comparatives were much weaker as the pandemic was still hitting high streets.
Nationwide is much needed… despite the awful ads
11:36 , Daniel O'Boyle
Simon English explains why Nationwide still plays an important role... no matter how annoying its ads are
Nationwide chief Debbie Crosbie still won’t say how much she has paid Dominic West for those ridiculous TV ads, where he plays a bad banking boss goon, the cost cutting chief of Any Bank plc.
The ads are part of the biggest rebrand of the society in 40 years, or even perhaps since this stalwart of the financial scene first began its noble work in 1884.
If you and I think it mockable – I do – Crosbie makes the point that there are millions of potential younger members who don’t know what mutuality means.
Market snapshot
11:17 , Daniel O'Boyle
Take a look at our latest market snapshot
Flutter up 3% as FTSE 100 recovers, Aston Martin shares accelerate
10:30 , Graeme Evans
London Stock Exchange shares have fallen despite last night's presentation to City analysts outlining new targets as the financial data provider taps into a new partnership with Microsoft.
Chief executive David Schwimmer's guidance included annual mid to high single-digit revenue growth, accelerating after 2024 as customers benefit from developments such as AI-driven insights.
He also pledged to return £1 billion to shareholders next year, but the message failed to inspire further buying after a recent strong run for shares. LSE opened as low as 8278p before settling 24p cheaper at 8392p.
The performance came in a stronger session for the FTSE 100 index, which put back most of yesterday’s 1% fall by adding 65.20 points at 7476.17.
A steadier session for oil giants BP and Shell helped after yesterday’s slide for Brent Crude to $77 a barrel.
Blue-chip risers included NatWest, up 4.6p to 205.5p after analysts at Barclays revealed a 315p target price.
Investors also returned to the gambling sector after recent heavy falls, with Flutter Entertainment up 3% or 395p to 12,745p and Entain 21p brighter at 871.2p.
The FTSE 250 index improved 194.15 ponts to 18,545.63, led by Aston Martin Lagonda with a rebound of 4% or 8.8p to 221.2p.
Confidence in the turnaround of Babcock International helped the defence services firm up 4% or 14p to 409.2p, with Barclays believing the shares are worth 529p.
Market snapshot with shares higher
09:52 , Daniel O'Boyle
Take a look at our market snapshot with the FTSE 100 up by almost 1%
FirstGroup in £100 million electric bus battery deal
09:47 , Daniel O'Boyle
Transport company First Group revealed today that it will buy 1,000 bus batteries in a £100 million deal with Hitachi, as it aims to make its fleet fully electric by 2035.
First Group, which operates routes across the nation including in London commuter belt towns in Essex, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, first set out plans for a fully green fleet in 2021. The FTSE 250 firm says making all 1,500 of its buses electric could save the equivalent of 84,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
It will create a joint venture with Hitachi, which will buy the batteries and lease them to FirstBus.
FirstGroup CEO Graham Sutherland said: “The pioneering alliance with Hitachi is a major strategic partnership for the Group as we progress towards our ambitious 2035 decarbonisation target for our bus fleet.”
FirstGroup shares gained 3.7% to 182.7p today. They’re up almost 80% for the year.
NatWest higher as FTSE 100 improves, Babcock up 4%
08:41 , Graeme Evans
A steadier session for BP and Shell today helped the FTSE 100 index to recover 42.37 points at 7453.34, having fallen 1% at yesterday’s close.
Blue-chip risers included NatWest, which is up 2.6p to 203.5p after analysts at Barclays backed the lender with a new target price of 315p.
London Stock Exchange shares fell 1%, down 82p to 8334p after chief executive David Schwimmer last night outlined new medium-term guidance and signalled £1 billion of share buybacks during 2024.
BP shares recovered 3.9p to 472.3p and Shell steadied at 2555p even though Brent Crude remained at a four-month low of $77 a barrel.
The FTSE 250 index improved 159.20 points to 18,510.68, with defence services firm Babcock International up 4% or 15.35p to 410.55p after Barclays raised its target to 529p following this week’s results.
Construction and retail at risk, insolvency experts FRP say
08:23 , Daniel O'Boyle
Restructuring experts FRP says companies in construction, property, casual dining and food service, retail, administrative and support services have been most at risk as insolvencies soar this year.
FRP revealed first-half revenue jumped to £58.7 million as more companies called in its services as they struggled to stay afloat. Underlying profits were up 34% to £15.5 million.
Boss Geoff Rowley said: “FRP performed well in the first half, with our team, revenues and profits all continuing to grow. We continued to take market share and made further progress against our strategy, which remains to deliver sustainable profitable growth by ensuring our five service pillars work together to provide solutions that achieve the best possible outcomes.
“Looking ahead, we remain confident of making further progress, with leading positions in our core markets and a team and structure that leaves us well positioned to support corporates through the business cycle and respond to increased demand for our services.”
Halloween shocker for the high street as retail sales fall unexpectedly in October
07:29 , Michael Hunter
An unexpected drop in sales in October sounded more alarm bells over the high street this morning, into the vital pre-Christmas trading season.
Official data from the Office of National statistics showed that retail sales fell 0.3% month-on-month, having been expected to rise by a similar margin. The year-on-year fall was bigger, at 2.7%, more than the 1.5% forecast and the 1.3% drop last time.
The numbers make unnerving reading, with the Halloween sales season second only to Christmas in terms of its importance to retailers.
It was the worst month for the sector since Covid lockdowns, with sales at their lowest since February 2021.
The drop came after the Bank of England completed its run of 14 consecutive interest rate hikes in August.
That fight against inflation was intended to constrain household budgets and cool price rises, but its impact on the economy in general and the high street in particular is becoming more of a concern.
Retailers are now pinning their hopes on a strong festive buying season, along with signs that interest rates have peaked at 5.25%, even as the BOE warns its base rate will be "higher for longer" to get inflation nearer its 2% target, from the 4.6% it fell to this week.
Oil at four-month low, Alibaba shares slide 9%
07:23 , Graeme Evans
Brent Crude futures today traded at just above $77 a barrel after supply concerns eased on the back of another drop in US oil inventories.
Yesterday’s 4.6% decline left the benchmark at its lowest level in four months, having been at $91 a barrel as recently as mid-September.
The fall is another boost to the inflation outlook after this week’s softer-than-expected releases on consumer prices in the UK and US.
Hopes that interest rates will begin to fall next year lifted stock markets in the first part of this week, but the FTSE 100 index retreated 1% yesterday and Wall Street experienced a mixed session.
The sideways US performance came as weekly initial jobless claims spiked to their highest since August at a bigger-than-expected 231,000.
In Asia, a 9% fall for shares in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba contributed to the Hang Seng index declining more than 2%.
Alibaba said in its earnings update last night that it had pulled plans for a separate listing for its cloud business. According to IG Index, futures are indicating a 0.3% rise for the FTSE 100 index.
Marston's CEO abruptly quits
07:23 , Simon Hunt
The CEO of pub chain Marston's has quit with immediate effect.
Andrew Andrea will be replaced by Justin Platt, former Chief Strategy Officer at Legoland owner Merlin Entertainments.
Andrea said: "I am extremely proud to have navigated Marston's out of the pandemic.
"This is the right time for me to step down and I am confident the business is in great shape with strong future potential."
Recap: Yesterday's top stories
Thursday 16 November 2023 21:26 , Simon Hunt
Good morning. Here's a summary of our top headlines from yesterday:
Burberry’s new Goddess perfume and the first collection designed by Daniel Lee helps revenue rise to nearly £1.4bn, with mainland China sales up 15% in the first half. But it warns of weaker demand for luxury sector which could lead to missing profit targets.
Clive Watson's fledgling pub startups bears fruit as City Pub Group is sold to Young's in a £162 million deal. He sold a previous chain, Capital Pubs, to Greene King in 2012 in a £93 million deal.
CMC Markets, led by Boris’s mate (Lord) Peter Cruddas, plunges to £2m loss as clients run scared of fragile markets.
Sweet treat for City dealmakers as Mars agrees to buy Hotel Chocolat for £534m -- with. a more than £100m pyaout for two co-founders -- Angus Thirlwell, who is also CEO, and Peter Harris.
Premier Foods ups guidance and says it will start cutting prices across major brands including Super Noodles and Mr Kipling as inflation eases
And...why Nationwide shouldn't go changing to try and please us
