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(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Monday.
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COMPANIES
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A missile and drone attack targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry on Sunday in an assault claimed by Yemen's Huthi rebels, a new escalation in the six-year conflict. The attack on energy giant Saudi Aramco's facilities came as the Saudi-led military coalition bombed Yemen's Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa after intercepting a separate flurry of cross-border Huthi drones and missiles. Brent prices shot up to an intraday high USD71.36 a barrel in the wake of the news, from USD69.52 late Friday. The rising hostilities underscore a dangerous intensification of Yemen's conflict between the coalition-backed Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Huthis, despite a renewed US push to end the war.
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Deliveroo set out plans to join the London Main Market, posted an improved annual performance in 2020, though it remained loss-making, and said UK users of its app will be able to apply for shares in the soon-to-be-listed takeaway food firm. Deliveroo last week picked London for a potential listing, set to be the biggest in a flurry of initial public offerings in the city at the start of 2021. The IPO is expected to value the takeaway food delivery service at up to GBP7.5 billion. The IPO will consist of new stock as well as existing shares sold by current shareholders. US online retailing giant Amazon.com had a 16% stake in Deliveroo following an investment back in 2019. Deliveroo confirmed it will have two share classes, the A class will be offered in the IPO while the B class will be solely held by Founder & Chief Executive Will Shu. Each of Shu's B shares will have 20 votes, while A shares each will have one. The company's underlying loss for 2020 narrowed to GBP223.7 million from GBP317.3 million in 2019.
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Ferguson announced its additional listing and trading on the New York Stock Exchange are to begin as of Monday following receipt of all required approvals. The plumbing and heating products distributor received shareholder approval for US listing back in July and was in the process of registering with the US Securities & Exchange Commission to enable trading of its shares in the US in February. Ferguson said in February it will retain its premium listing on the London Stock Exchange and inclusion in the FTSE 100 index.
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Pearson maintained its payout and posted a profit rise helped by one-off gains, though the education publisher's revenue was hurt by Covid-19. The company also set out a new digital-focused strategy, amid a market shift to online learning. In 2020, Pearson's revenue fell 12% to GBP3.40 billion from GBP3.87 billion in 2019. Pretax profit, however, was up 53% to GBP354 million from GBP232 million. Profit was helped by Pearson posting GBP178 million in other net gains, up sharply from GBP16 million in 2019. Adjusted operating profit fell 46% to GBP313 million from GBP581 million. The 2020 figure beat Vuma-compiled consensus estimates of GBP309 million. It left its dividend unchanged at 19.5p per share.
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Dutch brewer Heineken said Chief Financial Officer Laurence Debroux will step down in April and will be replaced by the head of Reckitt Benckiser's Hygiene unit. Debroux leaves the CFO post and Heineken's executive team after the April 22 annual general meeting. Harold van den Broek, currently president of RB Hygiene, replaces Debroux. He will take up the CFO role from June 1. Hygiene is Reckitt's largest operating business and has been the beneficiary of demand for cleaning supplies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
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A case concerning the alleged dealings of the Swiss bank UBS with tax evaders is due to be reopened before a Paris court of appeal on Monday. Two years ago, the bank was fined a record amount of more than EUR3.7 billion in France over these dealings. The bank appealed the judgement, saying it had always rejected accusations of criminal misconduct. According to the initial judgement, the bank helped wealthy Frenchmen hide billions from tax authorities in Swiss accounts.
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MARKETS
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Stock markets were mixed on Monday, with London's FTSE 100 index slightly lower despite a rise in oil prices following a missile attack on a Saudi Aramco facility. Shell 'A' shares were trading marginally lower, while BP was down 0.6%.
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CAC 40: up 0.6% at 5,816.81
DAX 30: up 0.9% at 14,050.56
FTSE 100: down 0.1% at 6,624.09
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DJIA: called down 0.3%
S&P 500: called down 0.8%
Nasdaq Composite: called down 1.9%
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S&P/ASX 200: closed up 0.4% at 6,739.60
Hang Seng: closed down 1.9% at 28,540.83
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.4% at 28,743.25
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EUR: down at USD1.1874 (USD1.1912)
GBP: up at USD1.3834 (USD1.3813)
USD: up at JPY108.55 (JPY108.21)
GOLD: down at USD1,691.34 per ounce (USD1,697.43)
OIL (Brent): up at USD69.56 a barrel (USD68.74)
(currency and commodities changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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The US Senate on Saturday voted to approve a USD1.9 trillion relief package in what President Joe Biden called a "giant step" towards reviving the pandemic-stricken American economy, capping frenzied negotiations and a marathon overnight voting session. Passed by 50 votes to 49 in a strict party line vote, the sweeping legislation now heads back to the Democratic-majority House of Representatives, where it is expected to be adopted, barring a last-minute setback. "I promised the American people help was on the way," said Biden in an address from the White House, after the plan was approved along strict party lines.
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China's export growth jumped to the highest in over two decades, official data showed Sunday, with imports also surging in a sharp bounceback from the coronavirus outbreak that had brought activity to a near halt. Electronics and textile exports such as masks contributed to the spike in outbound shipments, as demand for work-from-home supplies and protective gear against the virus outbreak soared during the pandemic. Exports spiked 61% on-year in the January-February period, well above analysts' expectations, while imports rose 22%, official data showed Sunday. The latest figures stand in stark contrast to last year's fall of around 17% in exports and 4% drop in imports.
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Germany's industrial sector endured a worse January than expected, according to Destatis figures. Output fell 2.5% monthly in January, underperforming expectations of 0.2% growth. Annually, output was 3.9% lower. This followed December's 1.9% monthly growth and 1.0% annual decline. "Compared with February 2020, the month before restrictions were imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic in Germany, production in January 2021 was 4.2% lower in seasonally and calendar adjusted terms," Destatis added.
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The Swiss unemployment rate edged marginally lower in February, according to figures from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. The Swiss unemployment dropped to 3.6% in February from 3.7% in January. Annually, however, unemployment increased by 50,131 people, a 43% hike,
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to remain "cautious" in loosening coronavirus restrictions as pupils prepare to return to school for the first time in two months on Monday. Johnson hailed the "truly national effort" to reduce coronavirus levels with the country on the cusp of marking the first phase of lockdown easing as classrooms reopen this week. But, despite an improving picture in terms of declining Covid cases in England, the Conservative Party leader said he wanted to be careful not to "undo the progress we have made". It comes as the vaccine programme continues to accelerate, with people aged between 56 and 59 being invited to book Covid-19 jabs this week.
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UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak says he is seeking support from the UK's allies for a new way to tax online retail giants such as Amazon. Days after delivering the government budget, Sunak is looking ahead to the G7 summit in Cornwall in June to meet his finance minister counterparts as he attempts to level the playing field for Britain's struggling high streets. "One of my priorities in the G7 this year, which I've already started work on, is to try to get international agreement on a new way to tax these companies," Sunak told The Sun. The Sun and The Daily Telegraph reported the chancellor has spoken with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about the possible tax.
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