Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Wednesday.
----------
COMPANIES
----------
Marks & Spencer said its transformation plan is progressing rapidly as the retailer makes up for "lost time" in its Clothing & Home unit, which saw a "difficult" first half. Revenue for the half-year to September 28 fell 2.1% to GBP4.86 billion, though pretax profit jumped 52% to GBP153.5 million. Profit before tax and adjusting items fell, however, by 17% to GBP176.5 million. Like-for-like sales growth in the Food unit was 0.9% in the half-year, driven by volume. Clothing & Home like-for-like sales, meanwhile, fell 5.5%. M&S said it saw an improved Clothing & Home performance in October following a "difficult" first half. "Our transformation plan is now running at a pace and scale not seen before at Marks & Spencer. For the first time we are beginning to see the potential from the far reaching changes we are making," said Chief Executive Steve Rowe. Looking ahead, M&S said some improvement in trading is expected in the second half, though market conditions remain challenging.
----------
Intu Properties said it experienced difficult trading conditions in the third quarter and warned that its like-for-like net rental income will fall in 2019. Intu said leasing activity slowed in the period to September 30, with customers more reluctant to dig into their coffers due to prevailing political and economic uncertainty. The firm has however seen an uptick in leasing activity with retailers. Intu said it struck deals with British luxury department store Harrods, Spanish retail chain Zara, and an Alibaba Group subsidiary. Elsewhere, Intu said it was hurt by company voluntary agreements of other retailers: UK-based Monsoon Accessorize and Topshop-owner Arcadia Group. Intu explained: "We anticipate that like-for-like net rental income for 2019 will be down by around 9%, with more than half the reduction coming from the impact of CVAs such as Arcadia and Monsoon." Intu footfall was up 1.2% year-on-year in the third quarter, and the company's rental income was lifted by 4% after 34 rent reviews during the period. Intu also unveiled plans to "fix its balance sheet", as it eyes cost-cutting measures.
----------
AstraZeneca announced three large-scale initiatives to build on its commitment to China and advance global research and development for innovative new medicines. The FTSE 100-listed drugmaker said it will create a new global research & development centre and an artificial intelligence innovation centre, both in Shanghai, and a "first-of-its-kind" healthcare industrial fund with China International Capital. The fund's target size is USD1 billion, the company said. It will support domestic companies and partners, and international companies looking to establish a presence in China. AstraZeneca explained that the global research & development centre will carry out the work for potential new innovative medicines. Its primary focus will be on diseases that are prevalent in China as well as other parts of Asia.
----------
The US telecom regulator on Tuesday approved the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, moving the tie-up of the third- and fourth-largest US carriers closer to completion. The Federal Communications Commission cleared the USD26 billion deal three months after approval by antitrust officials at the US Justice Department. The 3-2 FCC vote is conditioned on the divestment by Sprint of its prepaid division Boost Mobile to the satellite broadcast group Dish, which will begin building a new national wireless network.
----------
MARKETS
----------
Global markets were subdued as uncertainty around the progress of talks between the US and China weighed on sentiment, reversing somewhat the optimism about a trade deal that has lifted stocks in recent sessions. China has insisted that any initial stage of a trade deal would have to see the removal of some tariffs. This has raised the spectre of at least a further delay to the long-awaited trade rapprochement between the two largest global economies.
----------
FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 7,376.40
FTSE 250: down 0.5% at 20,186.07
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.2% at 889.05
GBP: firmer at USD1.2884 (USD1.2868)
EUR: firmer at USD1.1088 (USD1.1067)
GOLD: higher at USD1,486.80 per ounce (USD1,483.02)
OIL (Brent): slightly higher at USD62.69 a barrel (USD62.72)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
The Conservative Party is fighting to keep its UK general election campaign on track amid calls for Cabinet ministers to quit. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Buckingham Palace for an audience with the Queen before announcing the start of the election drive in Downing Street, faces a first official day of campaigning marred by his party having to defend controversial remarks. Party chairman James Cleverly said Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg had "caused a huge amount of hurt and distress" with his comments on Grenfell Tower. Rees-Mogg faced widespread criticism, including from Grenfell survivors and Jeremy Corbyn, after he said people are safer if they "just ignore what you're told and leave".
----------
Business activity recovered modestly in the euro area in October, though the European bloc remains close to flatlining, figures from IHS Markit showed. The composite purchasing managers' index improved to 50.6 in October from 50.1 in September, with the reading also above the flash estimate of 50.2. However, this rate of growth was amongst the weakest seen in the past six-and-a-half years. Any reading over the no-change mark of 50 indicates expansion, while one below signals contraction. France saw the strongest growth in October with a composite PMI of 52.6, marking a two-month high. Germany's was the worst at 48.9, though this also marked a two-month high for Europe's largest economy. There was a divergence between manufacturing and service sectors in October, observed IHS Markit. Manufacturing firms recorded a ninth successive month of declining production, while service sector firms saw growth, albeit at a subdued rate.
----------
Germany's services output recovered from a three-year low in October, though continues to remain subdued, data from IHS Markit showed. The seasonally-adjusted services purchasing managers' index for October rose to 51.6, up slightly from September's three-year low of 51.4 and also above the flash reading of 51.2. However, October's reading was still one of the weakest seen since the current upturn began in 2013. Though there was a modest overall rise in business activity in October, new orders fell for a second consecutive month. Germany's composite output index - being the weighted average of the manufacturing and services PMI indices - registered 48.9 for October, up slightly from September's seven-year low of 48.5 but representing a second month in a row of contraction.
----------
Germany's manufacturing orders returned to growth in September on the previous month, Destatis reported. Manufacturing orders were 1.3% higher in September on August, after August's orders declined by 0.4% on July. This 0.4% fall for August has been revised from a provisional 0.6% dip. Destatis said domestic orders in September were 1.6% higher than August, and export orders increased by 1.1%. However, euro area new orders fell 1.8%.
----------
Japan services activity fell in October for the first time in over three years, data showed on Wednesday, driven primarily by tax changes and the disruption caused by a typhoon hitting the country. The Jibun Bank Japan services purchasing managers' index fell to 49.7 points in October from 52.8 in September. This was the first fall since September 2016, pushing the sector below the 50 point mark which separates expansion from contraction. According to FXStreet compiled data, the consensus amongst economists was for an October print of 50.3 points. Activity was hurt by rises in consumption taxes as well as the impact of the typhoon hitting Japan in the month. New orders, however, continued to rise during the month.
----------
Brazil will auction drilling rights to deep-sea oil fields off its southeast coast on Wednesday in a blockbuster sale it hopes will raise a whopping USD26.5 billion and boost its crude sector. The four blocks are estimated to contain as much as 15 billion barrels of oil – nearly double the size of Norway's reserves – trapped beneath thick layers of salt under the ocean floor, according to the government's National Petroleum Agency. So-called pre-salt deposits account for more than 60% of Brazil's oil production, which the US Energy Information Administration last year ranked as ninth in the world.
----------
A top ally of US President Donald Trump admitted he told a Ukraine official that US military aid was contingent on Kiev investigating Trump's Democratic rival Joe Biden, testimony released Tuesday showed. In some of the most damning evidence yet to the House impeachment inquiry of Trump, Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, said he told a senior Ukraine official that military aid would likely not be released until Kiev made clear it would investigate Biden and his son's ties to Ukraine energy firm Burisma.
----------
Copyright 2019 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
