(Alliance News) - Smith & Nephew said early Monday that Namal Nawana has agreed to step down as chief executive officer, by mutual agreement, at the end of October.
Non-Executive Director Roland Diggelmann has been named as his replacement. Diggelmann, the former CEO of Roche Holding, will take over the job on November 1. He has been on Smith & Nephew's board since early 2018.
Smith & Nephew said Nawana is leaving to pursue other opportunities outside the UK.
S&N shares were down 4.1% early Monday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.1% at 7,154.31
----------
Hang Seng: marginally higher at 26,725.30
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.3% at 22,548.90
DJIA: closed down 255.68 points, 1.0%, at 26,770.20
S&P 500: closed down 0.4% at 2,986.20
----------
GBP: up at USD1.2930 (USD1.2885)
EUR: firm at USD1.1158 (USD1.1140)
Gold: firm at USD1,491.90 per ounce (USD1,490.45)
Oil (Brent): soft at USD59.38 a barrel (USD59.62)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
1100 CEST EU general government deficit and debt
----------
Boris Johnson is set for a showdown with Commons Speaker John Bercow as the prime minister pushes for a knife-edge Commons vote on his Brexit deal. Bercow, who Tory Brexiteers have accused of being pro-Remain, will rule on whether the government can bring a so-called "meaningful vote" on its plans. If the Speaker blocks the move, focus will switch to the government bringing its Withdrawal Agreement Bill before MPs on Monday, with a vote on its second reading on Tuesday. Ministers insist they "have the numbers" to push the agreement through, but the parliamentary situation appears to be on a tightrope. Labour has made clear it will try to hijack the legislation by putting down amendments for a second Brexit referendum and a customs union with the EU.
----------
Consumer confidence in the UK decreased in the third quarter, returning to a level last seen in the final quarter of 2018, according to the latest Deloitte Consumer Tracker survey released. UK consumer confidence fell by one percentage point to 9% in the third quarter of 2019. The analysis, based on the response of more than 3,000 consumers in the UK between September 27 and 30, revealed sentiment on job security was three points lower year-on-year at 8%.
----------
UK house prices experienced their lowest October uptick in more than 10 years, Rightmove said, with the looming Brexit deadline deterring potential sellers. The Rightmove Monthly House Price index showed average prices rose by 0.6% from September and were down 0.2% on an annual basis, during what is traditionally a period where prices increase month-on-month. Over the past 10 years, prices have risen by 1.6% in October on average. The number of sellers entering the market was down 14% year-on-year, which Rightmove attributed to the lethargic prices and the up-coming Brexit deadline.
----------
The value of outbound shipments from Japan fell 5.2% year-on-year to JPY6.37 trillion, about USD59 billion, in September for the 10th consecutive month of decline, the government said. Japan's imports edged down 1.5% to JPY6.49 trillion, leading to a trade deficit of JPY123 billion, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. Exports to China, Japan's biggest trading partner, dropped 6.7% from a year earlier to JPY1.18 trillion, while imports were down 8.5% to JPY1.4 trillion, the ministry said. Shipments to the US fell 7.9% to JPY1.19 trillion, while imports fell 12% to JPY623.3 billion.
----------
Hong Kong streets descended into chaotic scenes following an unauthorised pro-democracy rally on Sunday, as protesters set up roadblocks and torched businesses, and police responded with tear gas and a water cannon. Protesters threw firebombs and took their anger out on shops with mainland Chinese ties as they skirmished late into the evening with riot police, who unleashed numerous tear gas rounds on short notice, angering residents and passers-by. Police had beefed up security measures before the rally, for which they refused to give permission, the latest chapter in the unrest that has disrupted life since early June.
----------
Responding to stinging criticism, US President Donald Trump on Saturday abruptly reversed his plan to hold the next Group of Seven world leaders' meeting at his Florida golf resort next year. Trump announced a backtrack Saturday night after facing accusations that he was using the presidency to enrich himself by hosting the international summit at the private Doral resort, which is owned by his family.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
DEUTSCHE BANK RAISES PEARSON TO 'HOLD' ('SELL') - TARGET 600 (650) PENCE
----------
RBC CUTS PREMIER OIL TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('TOP PICK') - TARGET 125 PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 100
----------
Takeaway food platform Just Eat said it is confident in its current performance and has confirmed its full-year guidance. Just Eat reported third-quarter group revenue of GBP247.5 million, a 25% jump year on year. In the year to date, which encompasses the nine months to September 30, Just Eat saw revenue grow 28% to GBP717.8 million. The company said its group orders were up 16% in the quarter to 62 million with UK orders increasing by 8% to 33 million. Just Eat reaffirmed its 2019 revenue guidance, expecting to report revenue between GBP1.0 billion and GBP1.1 billion for the full year. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization is guided to be between GBP185 million and GBP205 million.
----------
Pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca said the US FDA has approved its Farxiga treatment, used to reduce the risk of hospitalisation for heart failure in adults with type-2 diabetes. Astra's Executive Vice President of its BioPharmaceuticals unit, Ruud Dobber, said Farxiga is the first sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor to be approved in the US. "This is promising news for the 30 million people living with type-2 diabetes in the US, as heart failure is one of the earliest cardiovascular complications for them, before heart attack or stroke. Farxiga now offers the opportunity for physicians to act sooner and reduce the risk of hospitalisation for heart failure," said Dobber. Farxiga was approved in the EU in August and is currently under regulatory review in China, with a decision anticipated in the first half of 2020.
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
A consortium led by luxury property developer Nicholas Candy confirmed it is in the early stages of considering making a cash takeover offer for Capital & County Properties. Candy Ventures said there is no certainty that it will mount an acquisition bid for London- and Johannesburg-listed Capital & Counties. Candy must announce its intention to make a takeover offer by November 18. Capital & Counties has been in the process of demerging its Covent Garden and Earls Court property portfolios in London.
----------
Enterprise software firm Micro Focus International noted the announcement from Open Text Corp, which said it is not considering a potential acquisition of Micro Focus. Lending platform Funding Circle said it is "confident" it is on the "right course of action" despite the "uncertain economic environment".
----------
COMPANIES - OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
At the end third quarter, ended September 30, Funding Circle's loans under management stood at GBP3.7 billion, it said, up 31% on the year before. Year to date originations are up 9% year on year at GBP1.8 billion.
----------
COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL
----------
Boeing said it regrets concerns raised about internal communications it recently handed over to the US Congress and federal regulators investigating two deadly crashes of the company's 737 Max aeroplanes. The company said in a statement that it is unfortunate that messages between co-workers it turned over last week were not released in a manner allowing for "meaningful explanation". In the messages, former senior Boeing test pilot Mark Forkner told a co-worker in 2016 he unknowingly misled safety regulators about problems with a flight-control system that would later be implicated in the crashes. Forkner said the new automated flight system, called MCAS, was "egregious" and "running rampant" while he tested it in a flight simulator.
----------
Facebook executive David Marcus tried to calm the fears of officials threatening to block its proposed digital currency, saying Libra won't be controlled by a single company. The head of Facebook's Libra currency project sought to address the main issue raised by France's Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire: the potential for a company to have the power to undermine a government's control of its currency. Marcus said it has been "very clear to us from the very beginning that a payment networks such as the Libra network shouldn't be controlled by one company."
----------
More than 300 flights and 60,000 passengers at German airports faced delays or cancellations on Sunday due to strikes from a cabin crew union representing four Deutsche Lufthansa subsidiaries. The walkout, which had originally been planned between 5 am and 11 am local time, was extended at short notice until midnight on Sunday, vice-chairman of the union Daniel Flohr told dpa. Nationwide flights by the Lufthansa subsidiaries Eurowings, Germanwings, Lufthansa Cityline and SunExpress were set to be hit at airports in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Berlin and Hamburg.
----------
Monday's Shareholder Meetings
Mattioli Woods
Clipper Logistics
City of London Investment Group
CPL Resources
Cloudcall
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
London Briefing is available to subscribers as an email newsletter. Contact info@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2019 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
