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(Alliance News) - Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC on Friday said Alison Rose will succeed Ross McEwan as chief executive officer. McEwan will formally step down on October 31.
RBS - which is majority-owned by the UK government - announced McEwan's departure in April. He will be joining National Australia Bank Ltd when his notice is finished.
Rose - who will be the bank's first female boss - is currently deputy chief executive of Natwest Holdings, RBS's ring-fenced holding company. She also will be appointed as CEO on the boards of NatWest Holdings Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, National Westminster Bank PLC and Ulster Bank Ltd.
Her selection as RBS group chief executive was widely expected.
"Ross leaves a strong platform for his successor; a bank that has refocussed on its core markets in the UK and Ireland and resolved all its major legacy issues, while returning to profitability and paying dividends," said Chair Howard Davies.
"I am delighted that we have appointed Alison as our new CEO," continued Davies. "Following a rigorous internal and external process, I am confident that we have appointed the best person for the job."
RBS shares were up 1.6% early Friday following the announcement.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.4% at 7,330.60
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Hang Seng: flat at 26,465.74
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.2% at 22,079.09
DJIA: closed down 52.29 points, 0.2%, at 27,094.79
S&P 500: closed marginally higher at 3,006.79
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GBP: up at USD1.2570 (USD1.2485)
EUR: flat at USD1.1059 (USD1.1050)
Gold: firm at USD1,504.10 per ounce (USD1,501.30)
Oil (Brent): firm at USD64.65 a barrel (USD64.51)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
1100 BST Ireland wholesale price index
1200 BST UK Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin
1600 CEST EU FCCI Flash Consumer Confidence Indicator
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Jean-Claude Juncker has insisted that "we can have a deal" on Brexit before the Halloween deadline. But the European Commission president was unable to put the prospects at more than 50/50 when asked by Sky News. Juncker met Boris Johnson in Luxembourg for Brexit discussions on Monday, before the UK prime minister headed for an ill-fated meeting with his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel. The EU chief insisted his meeting with the PM was "rather positive", adding: "We can have a deal." But when pressed by the broadcaster in the interview broadcast on Tuesday if the chances were more than 50/50, he replied: "I don't know." Juncker reassured that he has no "emotional relationship" with the Irish backstop, which aims to prevent a hard border returning to the island of Ireland but has been a major sticking point to getting a deal through Parliament.
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US President Donald Trump insisted he has not said anything inappropriate during calls with foreign leaders, as Democratic lawmakers seek the contents of a whistleblower complaint that is being withheld by the acting Director of National Intelligence. The complaint, which has roiled Washington, has to do with an alleged inappropriate "promise" Trump made during a phone call with a foreign leader, according to a Washington Post report, while the reported that the complaint covers multiple communications. In a series of tweets, Trump said he would never say anything "inappropriate" during a call with a foreign leader, which he knows many people from US intelligence agencies and the foreign country listen to. Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the US intelligence community, received the complaint on August 12 and determined it to be credible and of "urgent concern", according to a letter Atkinson sent to Adam Schiff, the head of the House Intelligence Committee.
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Japan said the nation's consumer prices rose 0.5% year-on-year in August, the slowest rate of increase in two years, despite the Bank of Japan's optimistic outlook. The reading remained far off the 2% inflation target set by the central bank in April 2013. Recent rises in the inflation rate have been supported by higher global energy prices. However, in August, energy prices were down 0.3%, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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UBS CUTS ANTOFAGASTA TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 850 PENCE
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CREDIT SUISSE RAISES BURBERRY GROUP TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 2650 (2350) PENCE
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HSBC CUTS GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES TO 'REDUCE' ('HOLD') - TARGET 587 (671) PENCE
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HSBC CUTS DERWENT LONDON TO 'REDUCE' ('HOLD') - TARGET 2608 (2853) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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UK engineering firm Smiths Group reported double-digit profit growth in its most recently ended financial year, thanks to acquisitions and favourable foreign currency exchange rates. The company delivered pretax profit of GBP376 million for the year to the end of July, up 13% from GBP333 million a year earlier, as revenue rose 7% to GBP2.50 billion from GBP2.33 billion. Underlying revenue increased 3% during the year, with acquisitions and favourable foreign exchange translation each adding a further 2% to revenue growth. "In this context of progress and confidence in the future, we announced plans to separate Smiths Medical to create two stronger, industry-leading companies," said Chief Executive Andy Smith. "The separation process is progressing well; we are on track for demerger by the end of the first half of 2020."
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Rolls-Royce warned that the rate of recovery in Trent 1000 Aircraft On Ground is likely to be slower than it originally planned, due to the additional maintenance repair & overhaul load. The aero-engine manufacturing company has faced a number of operating problems recently, including faster-than-expected deterioration of its Trent 1000 TEN jet engine blades. Rolls-Royce, however, maintained its expectations that the 2019 negative impact of the Trent 1000 issues will be GBP450 million to GBP500 million.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Anglo-South African financial services firm Investec said it has made further progress on simplifying and focusing the business on growth over the long-term. At August 31, third-party assets under management were up 6.7% on year to GBP178.4 billion, Investec highlighted. However, the company expects its adjusted operating profit for the six months to the end of September to be slightly behind the year-earlier period due to "challenging market conditions". In addition, Investec said the costs incurred in relation to its proposed demerger are anticipated to hurt pretax earnings for the half-year by GBP42 million. At the beginning of August, Investec confirmed the demerger and listing of Investec Asset Management, which is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2020. "In spite of challenging trading conditions, the group remains well positioned for the long term and continues to concentrate on the execution of its strategy of simplification, focus, and disciplined growth," Investec said in its statement Friday.
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COMPANIES - OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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KKR Victoria Aggregator and other funds sold 65.5 million shares in Trainline at 435 pence per share, raise GBP285 million gross. The placement run by JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and KKR Capital Markets represented half the shareholding of the sellers. KKR retains a 12.4% stake in Trainline, while the other sellers hold 1.2%.
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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
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A Brazilian state judge ordered mining giant Vale to pay nearly USD3 million to the families of three victims of a tailings dam collapse that killed hundreds of people. The ruling by Judge Rodrigo Heleno Chaves was the first successful individual claim against Vale over the January 25 disaster, one of the country's worst industrial accidents. Decisions on other compensation claims against the company are still pending. Chaves awarded the families of the three people killed in the disaster a total of BRL11.9 million, about USD2.8 million, according to the court in Minas Gerais, the state where the disaster happened. The ruling comes after another state judge in July ordered Vale to pay for all the damages caused by the dam collapse, without quantifying the amount of money.
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Miner Gemfields Group reported declines in both revenue and profit in the first half of 2019, after precious stone production dipped during the period. In the six months to June 30, revenue fell by 13% year-on-year to USD89.0 million from USD102.1 million with pretax profit falling 22% to USD12.4 million from USD16.0 million. Looking ahead, Gemfields, formerly known as Pallinghurst Resources, is aiming to re-list on AIM in London. In 2017, Pallinghurst bought Gemfields PLC, de-listing the ruby and emerald producer. This took Pallinghurst, which then changed its name to Gemfields Group, from an investment firm to producing miner.
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Friday's Shareholder Meetings
Solgold
Liontrust Asset Management
Renold
DWF Group
Cadence Minerals
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