(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Wednesday.
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COMPANIES
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Persimmon has hired Dean Finch as chief executive, succeeding David Jenkinson. In February, the UK housebuilder announced that Jenkinson planned to step down but would stay "for as long as the business requires". Jenkinson has been part of Persimmon for 22 years, and was appointed permanently as CEO in 2019, after being appointed to the role on an interim basis in November 2018. Newly-hired Finch is currently chief executive of FTSE 250-listed public transport operator National Express Group, a role he has held since 2018. National Express said it has commenced its search for a new CEO.
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GVC Holdings expressed confidence in its long-term prospects amid high demand following the reopening of its betting shops. Ahead of its annual general meeting, the Isle of Man-headquartered bookmaker said it responded swiftly when sports events were cancelled and retail outlets were closed in mid-March, which resulting in it achieving its target of operating at cash neutral through the period. GVC also noted that it has increased its financial flexibility through a relaxation of the covenants on its revolving credit facility. Throughout the lockdown period, the FTSE 100-listed company said its online gaming businesses continued to trade strongly, and it is seeing the resumption of sporting events across its business, with sport volumes returning in line with expectations.
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Crest Nicholson Holdings said it swung to a pretax loss as Covid-19 dented its first-half performance, and it guided to a sharp drop in annual profit. The housebuilder reported revenue for the six months to April 30 down 52% to GBP240.0 million, resulting in a swing to a pretax loss of GBP51.2 from a GBP64.4 million profit a year prior. Crest said it now expects adjusted pretax profit to be around GBP35 million to GBP45 million for the current financial year, after achieving just GBP4.5 million in adjusted profit for the first half. A year ago, first half adjusted pretax profit amounted to GBP64.4 million. For the financial year to the end of October 2019, the firm reported adjusted pretax profit of GBP121.1 million. The company has not declared a dividend for the first half after cancelling the final dividend for the full year to the end of October 2019. Crest said it will reinstate dividends "when appropriate".
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A US court has upheld a verdict that talcum powder sold by Johnson & Johnson caused ovarian cancer and ordered the pharmaceutical giant to pay USD2.1 billion in damages. The decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals cut by more than half the USD4.4 billion a jury had awarded 22 people in 2018. The court agreed that some of the plaintiffs should not have been included in the case as they were from outside the state. But the Tuesday decision upheld the awarding of damages for the company "knowingly selling products that contained asbestos to consumers". A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson said the company would appeal the decision in the Supreme Court of Missouri, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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MARKETS
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London shares were sharply lower amid signs of a second wave of Covid-19 infections. The US is seeing a spike in new cases in some states, while there is a rise in fresh infections in China and Germany. US stock market futures were pointed sharply lower after a strong close on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite index setting a fresh record closing high.
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FTSE 100: down 2.4% at 6,171.70
FTSE 250: down 1.9% at 17,315.91
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.5% at 892.17
GBP: down at USD1.2511 (USD1.2526)
EUR: flat at USD1.1300 (USD1.1298)
GOLD: down at USD1,777.70 per ounce (USD1,765.19)
OIL (Brent): down at USD42.20 a barrel (USD43.58)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Plans to keep indoor gyms and spas closed in the UK while other businesses such as pubs reopen as lockdown is eased have been branded "completely illogical" by industry bosses. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that a large number of companies in England will be allowed to reopen from July 4, including pubs, hotels, libraries and outdoor leisure facilities - but not indoor gyms and swimming pools. Johnson told the House of Commons that "difficult judgements" had been made in deciding which firms were able to reopen. But gym chiefs have criticised the decision and said letting pubs and restaurants reopen while keeping exercise facilities closed could lead to people becoming more at risk of Covid-19. Glenn Earlam, chief executive of David Lloyd Clubs, told the PA news agency it was a "completely illogical" move.
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German business sentiment continued to improve in June, the latest figures from Ifo showed. The Ifo's business climate index rose to 86.2 in June from 79.7 in May, the strongest month-on-month increase ever recorded, the research institute noted. The situation index climbed to 81.3 from 78.9, while the expectations index strengthened to 91.4 from 80.5 the month before.By sector, the service business climate index improved to minus 6.0 from minus 21.0 in May, while manufacturing also edged up to minus 22.9 from minus 36.0. Construction rose to minus 7.5 from minus 12.3.
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The United Nations secretary-general has criticised the lack of international coordination in tackling Covid-19, warning the go-it-alone policy of many countries will not defeat the coronavirus. Antonio Guterres said countries needed to understand that by acting in isolation "they are creating the situation that is getting out of control" - and global coordination is key. Although Covid-19 started in China, moved to Europe and spread worldwide, and though officials are warning about possible second waves, there had been a "total lack of coordination among countries" in response to the pandemic, he said.
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The US added 792 deaths in 24 hours, the Johns Hopkins University tally showed, as the country's top infectious diseases expert warned there were "historic" challenges ahead. The world's largest economy is the hardest-hit country by the pandemic, with 121,176 dead out of more than 2.34 million cases, according to the Baltimore-based institution. Many states have largely lifted lockdown measures, and New York – the country's epicentre for the pandemic – took a big step Monday by allowing non-essential businesses to reopen. But some 20 states, primarily in the south and west, have seen a rebound in infections.
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EU nations may close their borders to US travellers as they seek to reopen their economies to tourism because of how Washington has handled the pandemic, The New York Times reported, citing unnamed European officials. One official involved in talks among EU members about who should be allowed to visit the bloc shared draft lists of acceptable travellers - Americans were not on them. A second official involved in the talks confirmed the lists, which have not been made public, and two others confirmed their content. It was not clear if US officials were made aware in advance of the fact that Americans would be excluded when the EU progressively reopens to those outside the bloc from July 1.
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US President Donald Trump delivered a strong warning to protestors in Washington, vowing to use force if they tried to create a police-free "autonomous zone" in the US capital. Protestors in central Seattle created an "autonomous zone" two weeks ago, sparking outrage among conservatives. In a series of tweets that earned the US leader his own warning from Twitter for "abusive behaviour," Trump threatened stiff prison sentences for "anarchists" who damage national monuments during a wave of nationwide demonstrations. "I have authorised the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalises or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the US with up to 10 years in prison," Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. "There will never be an 'Autonomous Zone' in Washington, DC, as long as I'm your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!" he wrote. Twitter announced that Trump's use of threatening language violated its policies, and placed a warning tag on the "serious force" tweet that required users to click on it to be able to see Trump's words.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suspended plans for military action against the South, state media reported, in an apparent sudden dialling down of tensions after Pyongyang blew up a liaison office. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has issued a series of vitriolic condemnations of Seoul over anti-North leaflets, which defectors based in South Korea send across the border – usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles. Last week, it blew up a liaison office on its side of the border that symbolised inter-Korean rapprochement, while its military said it would take multiple measures against the South. The moves included re-entering areas of the North that it had withdrawn from as part of inter-Korean projects, restoring guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone that forms the border, and stepping up exercises. But the North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim on Tuesday presided over a Central Military Commission preliminary meeting that "suspended the military action plans against the south".
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