HSBC Holdings Share News (HSBA)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Monday.
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COMPANIES
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HSBC Holdings reported a rise in third-quarter pretax profit, despite a jump in operating expenses due to more than a billion pounds' worth of charges and provisions for matters including UK customer redress and UK regulators' investigations into alleged manipulation of the foreign exchange market. In a statement, HSBC said it made a USD4.61 billion pretax profit in the quarter ended September 30, compared with USD4.53 billion in the corresponding period last year. Revenue rose to USD15.78 billion from USD15.08 billion, while loan impairment charges and other credit risk provisions, fell to USD760 million from USD1.59 billion. However, operating expenses increased to USD11.09 billion from, USD9.58 billion, as it set aside USD701 million in provisions for UK customer redress.
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Ryanair Holdings raised its guidance for the current financial year, after reporting strong growth in profit and revenue in the first half, driven by higher passenger numbers, average fares and lower fuel costs. Europe's largest low-cost airline reported a net profit of EUR795 million for the six months to September 30, up from EUR602 million a year earlier, as revenue grew to EUR3.54 billion, from EUR3.26 billion. It said it now expects profit for the full year to be between EUR750 million to EUR770 million, up from its previous guidance of EUR650 million, although it cautioned that this will depend on booking strength in the third and fourth quarters, where it currently has little visibility.
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Diageo said it has agreed a deal to buy Don Julio tequila while selling Bushmills Irish whiskey, strengthening its presence in Mexico. Diageo is buying the tequila brand from Casa Cuervo, which will also end the production and distribution of Smirnoff vodka in Mexico. In return, Jose Cuervo Overseas is buying Bushmills. The transaction will yield USD408 million to Diageo when completed, expected in early 2015 subject to approval. The transaction is expected to break even after three years and Diageo said the proceeds will be used to reduce the company's debt. It expects a dilution in earnings per share of 0.6% in the year to end-June 2015.
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Denmark-based biotechnology company Genmab said that it has entered into an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis Pharma to transfer the ofatumumab collaboration with GSK to Novartis. The transfer of the collaboration follows an April 2014 announcement in which Novartis, as part of a definitive agreement reached with GSK, agreed to acquire GSK's oncology products including ofatumumab (the GSK/Novartis Transaction).
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Carnival, the world's largest cruise company, unveiled the cruise industry's first-of-its-kind hybrid wireless network, an enhanced high-speed service to eventually be rolled out to all 101 of its ships on all nine of its brands. According to the company, this technology innovation is expected to revolutionise how millions of its passengers stay in touch during their cruise and generate even greater interest in cruise vacations. Carnival's backbone connectivity network, known as WiFi@Sea, will integrate a combination of strategically located land-based antennas installed along cruise routes, Wi-Fi from a port connection and advanced satellites.
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Former Xstrata chief Mick Davis has made another attempt to re-enter the industry, after tabling a multi-billion pound bid for a portion of Anglo American, The Sunday Times reported. The bid, understood to have been made in recent weeks, marks the second attempt by Davis to buy up assets from a mining major to form the centre of his new venture, X2 Resources Ltd, the paper said.
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Tesco has started considering plans to sell a stake in its banking arm as it accelerates plans to raise billions of pounds in new capital, The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday. The supermarket group is understood to be holding talks about a potential partial float of Tesco Bank, which could raise between GBP500 million and GBP1 billion.
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The Royal Bank of Scotland Group has inked an agreement with the City of London Police to provide them with free training and advice on financial crime, the Financial Times reported. The company's expertise in equities and markets, financial instruments, international jurisdictions, foreign languages and cybertechnology could be of use to the law enforcers.
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Non-executive directors at Standard Chartered are intending to meet with the bank's chairman to discuss a succession plan to replace Chief Executive Peter Sands next week, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Some of the biggest shareholders in the bank have either told or plan to tell Chairman John Peace that he would accelerate a plan to replace Sands, the FT said, citing two people familiar with the discussions.
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Standard Chartered's management team received the backing of the bank's second-largest shareholder, Aberdeen Asset Management, whose Chief Executive Martin Gilbert called on his counterpart Peter Sands to "address the bank's current issues and deal with them now". Gilbert's support eases the pressure on Standard Chartered CEO Sands and Chairman John Peace, who have endured a difficult year at the helm of the emerging markets focused bank, which last week reported a 16% drop in third-quarter pretax profit and cut its guidance for the second half of the year.
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Events marketing and communications services business UBM outlined a new strategy for its Events business, titled "Events First", which it hopes will lead to cost savings starting in 2016 that will build to GBP10 million per year. UBM said this strategy will drive "profitable growth by focusing its resources on its largest and most profitable shows, increasing its efficiency and effectiveness through the consistent use of standardised systems, and focusing on operational excellence." The company will rationalise its smaller Events, and exit from some of its "Other Marketing Services" activities that are "not well aligned" to its Events business, UBM said.
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Betfair Group said revenue rose in the second-quarter, boosted by an increase in customer numbers after a strong World Cup. The online bookmaker said revenue in the three months to October 31 rose 22% to GBP119 million, and revenue was up 13% when normalised for unusually high gross win margins. Following the World Cup in July, "the recent growth in customer activity has continued with the active customer base up 30%" in the second quarter, Betfair said, adding that it expects to meet full-year earnings expectations.
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Ophir Energy confirmed it is in talks with Salamander Energy PLC about a possible all-share takeover deal for the South-Asia exploration and production company after an initial approach last month.
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Telecity Group reaffirmed its revenue growth and capital expenditure guidance for the year, after reporting strong organic revenue growth for the year so far and good gross order wins. In a statement, the data centre operator said revenue at constant currency rates are up 9.4% so far in 2014, while the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin remains "strong" at 46.9%. It expects the margin, which was in line with the first half of the year, to stay at a similar level for the final quarter.
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Hansteen Holdings said it has sold the Hansteen UK Industrial Property Unit Trust, a UK multi-let industrial property portfolio, in two transactions for a total of GBP146.1 million after the deduction of rental top-ups. In a statement, Hansteen said the 41 assets in the unit trust have been acquired by a fund advised by Brockton Capital LLP in a partnership with Dunedin Property for GBP110.5 million. A separate 50/50 joint venture between Brockton Capital and Hansteen has acquired Saltley Business Park in Birmingham for a net price of GBP35.6 million and Hansteen will continue to manage the site.
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Just Eat said it remains confident about its full-year results after the strong momentum it reported at the half year continued through the third quarter. The online and mobile takeaway food ordering platform said total orders in the three months to September 30 rose 56% on the year, and were up 51% on a like-for-like basis which excludes the consolidation of the orders from its French business from July. "We are in an excellent position as we enter the important winter period and remain confident for the full year," Chief Executive David Buttress said in a statement.
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MARKETS
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UK stocks indices, along with major European markets, have slowly lost ground over the morning as disappointing PMI data from both China and across the eurozone have put an end to the rally sparked late last week when the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced extra monetary stimulus.
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FTSE 100: down 0.3% at 6,526.11
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 15,487.41
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.3% at 717.79
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The pound rose to a four-day high against the dollar after UK manufacturing PMI increased strongly to 53.2 in October from 51.6 in September, marking a three-month high beating analysts' expectations.
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.6003
EUR-USD: down at USD1.2500

GOLD: down at USD1171.14 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD85.96 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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UK manufacturing sector growth quickened more than expected in October to its fastest pace in three months, survey results from Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Logistics, or CIPS, showed. The seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, rose to a three month high of 53.2 in October from the seventeen month low of 51.5 in September. Economists had expected the index to come in at 51.5. This marked the twentieth successive month of expansion in manufacturing activity. A reading above 50 signals expansion.
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Eurozone's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose slightly less than initially estimated in October, final data from Markit Economics showed. The final PMI rose to 50.6 in October from September's 14-month low of 50.3. The flash score was 50.7. The current sequence above the no-change level was extended to 16 months. The sector remained in a state of near-stagnation as weak demand continued to restrict growth of both output and employment across the currency union.
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China's non-manufacturing business activity expanded at a slower rate in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. The non-manufacturing business activity index decreased to 53.8 in October from 54 in September. This indicated a slower rate of growth.
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China's manufacturing sector continued to expand as expected in October, the results of a survey by Markit Economics and HSBC Bank showed. The HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 50.4 in October, confirming the flash estimate and the expectations of economists. This was slightly higher than 50.2 in September.
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Ireland's manufacturing sector growth gathered momentum in October, data from Markit Economics showed. The seasonally adjusted Investec Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 56.6 from 55.7 in September. The reading signalled substantial strengthening of business conditions. Manufacturing production increased at a faster pace with panellists attributing the latest growth in output to higher new orders and stock building efforts.
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Prime Minister David Cameron's pledge to curb the number of migrants entering Britain from the EU could lead German Chancellor Angela Merkel to drop her efforts to keep Britain in the bloc, a report said Sunday. Merkel warned Cameron on the sidelines of the EU summit in October that he was reaching a "point of no return" by persisting in his plan to introduce quotas for EU migrants, Der Spiegel magazine reported, citing anonymous government officials. Merkel reportedly told Cameron that if he follows through with the measure, "That's it."
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The leaders of the pro-Russian separatist movements in eastern Ukraine were declared the elected "heads" of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic after winning disputed elections. Alexander Zakharchenko won 78.93% of 1.01 million votes cast in Donetsk, while Igor Plotnitsky received 63.8% of the almost 699,000 votes cast in neighbouring Luhansk, Interfax quoted local election chiefs as saying. The Ukrainian government in Kiev, the EU and the US have all called the elections illegal, with EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini arguing in a statement that they "put a new obstacle on the path towards peace in Ukraine." The Russian Foreign Ministry, by contrast, said that it respects the result.
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At least 200 members of a pro-government Sunni tribe have been executed by the Islamic State militant group in the western Iraqi province of Anbar over the course of three days, security and local officials said on Sunday. Beginning Thursday, the executions took place in separate incidents and targeted tribesmen from the al-Bu Nimr tribe in Anbar, a security official told dpa.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday urged calm after weeks of unrest in Jerusalem and pledged to keep in place long-standing prayer divisions at a flashpoint Muslim-Jewish holy site in the disputed city. Tensions culminated last week after a Palestinian shot and critically wounded a far-right Jewish activist who had advocated that Jews be allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Holy Sanctuary. Israeli police shot the Palestinian gunman dead in a shoot-out in East Jerusalem.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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