(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Thursday.
----------
COMPANIES
----------
Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world's largest oil and gas producers, promised to become net carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest. The Anglo-Dutch major said its ambition is to be net zero on all the emissions from the manufacture of all its products by 2050 at the latest. It said it was accelerating its net carbon footprint ambition to be in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change's aim to limit the world's average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Shell also said it will "pivot towards serving businesses and sectors that by 2050 are also net-zero emissions". "With the Covid-19 pandemic having a serious impact on people's health and our economies, these are extraordinary times. Yet even at this time of immediate challenge, we must also maintain the focus on the long term," said Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden. Back in January, protesters from Extinction Rebellion Scotland blocked the entrance to Shell's offices in Aberdeen, saying they wanted to hold the company to account for its role in climate change.
----------
easyJet offered a mixed first half picture and added that it has secured extra funds of nearly GBP2 billion to help the budget carrier grapple with the financial bite of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the six months to March 31, easyJet's reported pretax loss is forecast to widen to between GBP360 million and GBP380 million from the GBP272 million it reported in the year prior. The reported pretax figure includes a hit between GBP175 million and GBP185 million in relation to over-hedging of fuel and foreign exchange. On a headline basis however, the pretax loss for the first half is to narrow to between GBP185 million and GBP205 million, from GBP275 million. Revenue, meanwhile, is forecast to grow 1.6% to GBP2.38 billion from GBP2.34 billion, though seat capacity slipped 7.6% to 42.7 million from 46.2 million. easyJet also said it has secured roughly GBP400 million on two-term loans, secured against its aircraft assets. Earlier in April, it said it was issued with GBP600 million under the UK's Covid corporate financing facility. The carrier has also drawn down a USD500 million revolving credit facility.
----------
Informa said it has applied for funds under the UK's Covid corporate financing facility and will conduct a share placing as the events and business publishing firm outlined more measures under its "Covid-19 Action Plan". Informa has also temporarily suspended all dividends, including the withdrawal of its final 2019 payout. It plans to review its dividend policy later in 2020. It also reported "constructive discussions" with its US private debt holders over covenant waivers. Informa added that it has completed an application to secure funds under the Bank of England's Covid corporate finance facility. Informa has an existing revolving credit facility of GBP900 million and surplus credit facility of GBP750 million. On a proposed placing and subscription, the company said the shares will not exceed 250.3 million, which represents about 20% of its existing capital.
----------
Pest control and hygiene firm Rentokil Initial said first-quarter revenue climbed despite a "marked" impact from the Covid-19 pandemic in the final two weeks of March. Revenue in the first three months of 2020 was 4.4% higher year-on-year at GBP634.1 million. At constant currency, it climbed 5.8%. Ongoing Revenue, meaning excluding acquisition and disposals, was 5.8% higher annually at GBP630.5 million, rising 7.2% at constant currency. It was "good start to the year" by Rentokil's reckoning, with net operating margins also increasing in line with expectations.
----------
MARKETS
----------
London shares were mixed with ex-dividend stocks weighing on the FTSE 100. The pound was lower against the dollar with UK lockdown measures set to be extended by three weeks. US stock market futures were pointed higher ahead first-quarter earnings from investment bank Morgan Stanley before the market open in New York.
----------
FTSE 100: down 0.4% at 5,580.05
FTSE 250: flat at 15,346.23
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.6% at 738.13
GBP: soft at USD1.2473 (USD1.2493)
EUR: down at USD1.0865 (USD1.0903)
GOLD: flat at USD1,720.30 per ounce (USD1,720.22)
OIL (Brent): up at USD28.33 a barrel (USD27.68)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
The International Monetary Fund believes Asia's fast-growing economies will "come to a standstill" due to the coronavirus pandemic, faring worse than the 2008-9 global financial crisis and the 1997-98 Asian crash. The region will experience zero growth for the first time since the 1960s, said Chang Yong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, who forecast that the economic impact of the pandemic will be "severe, across the board, and unprecedented." Speaking at a press conference in Washington, Rhee said that though Asia will "fare better than other regions", factors including "deterioration of external demand" in Europe and North America, where severe recessions are expected, will disrupt Asian economies.
----------
The devastation caused to the US economy by the coronavirus pandemic was thrown into even sharper relief Wednesday with new government data and a report from the Federal Reserve warning the bloodletting would continue. Lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic caused economic activity to contract "sharply and abruptly", the Fed report said, and most businesses surveyed across the country expected "conditions to worsen in the next several months". The warnings in the central bank's "Beige Book" came after the Fed and Commerce Department earlier in the day released monthly surveys that showed contractions not seen in decades for retail sales and manufacturing, both crucial for the world's largest economy.
----------
The coronavirus lockdown is to be extended on Thursday as Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned it will take time for life to return to normal. Hancock said he agreed that things will not go back to how they were, at least in the short term. He stressed the number of deaths is still "far too high" for any exit strategy to be set out. The Cabinet meeting on Thursday comes after the number of people who have died in hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 reached almost 13,000, with growing concern over increasing deaths in care homes.
----------
US President Donald Trump said he will announce Thursday the first plans for lifting coronavirus lockdowns across the US after the country passed the pandemic's "peak," mirroring a gradual easing in Europe. His comments came shortly before the number of US fatalities - already the world's highest - reached a new daily record and became the heaviest one-day death toll of any nation. "It is clear that our aggressive strategy is working," he told a news conference late Wednesday in Washington. "The battle continues but the data suggests that nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases." Trump said he would be announcing guidelines for a reduction in the lockdown in some states, possibly taking effect before the end of this month. Earlier, Germany also unveiled its plans for cautious reopening, becoming the first major European nation to take on the delicate task of restarting its economy without triggering a new wave of infections before a vaccine can be developed.
----------
Eurozone industrial production weakened in February, even before Covid-19 containment measures began to be implemented across the bloc. Seasonally adjusted production was down 0.1% in the euro area month-on-month after a 2.3% rise in January, data from Eurostat showed on Thursday. Consensus, according to FXStreet, had pencilled in a fall of 0.2%. Annually, production fell by 1.9% in the eurozone, steeper than the 1.7% decline reported in the previous month but again better than expected by analysts, with consensus forecasts for a 2.0% drop.
----------
German's consumer price inflation rate in March was in line with provisional estimates, according to figures released by Destatis. Germany's consumer price index rose 1.4% year-on-year in March, compared to 1.7% growth both in January and February. On a monthly basis, inflation was 0.1% higher. Both March figures were unchanged from provisional estimates. The prices of goods were up 1.3% year-on-year in March, which was a slower-than-average pace, Destatis said. This was mainly due to a decrease of energy product prices by 0.9%. In contrast, electricity prices rose by 4.5% in March and natural gas prices by 2.3%.
----------
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
