LONDON BRIEFING: BP Chief Dudley To Retire, Replaced By Upstream Head

(Alliance News) - Oil major BP PLC on Friday said its long-time Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley will retire in 2020.

Dudley will step down following the release of BP's financial 2019 full year results on February 4, then will retire on March 31, 2020. He will be replaced by Bernard Looney, the company's current Upstream CEO. Looney will remain in his current role until February.

BP has also appointed Lamar McKay, currently deputy CEO, as chief transition officer.

"These decisions are the result of a comprehensive and deliberate search process, including consideration of a range of internal and external candidates," BP said.

Dudley continues the trend of UK company chiefs departing this week, with Alison Cooper leaving FTSE 100-listed cigarette maker Imperial Brands, Andrew Pardey departing FTSE 250 miner Centamin, Dave Lewis, whose surprise plan to step down as Tesco chief executive was announced on Wednesday, which also saw departure announcements for two founders, Martin Gilbert at Standard Life Aberdeen and Vernon Hill at Metro Bank.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:

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MARKETS

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FTSE 100: called up 26.16 points at 7103.8

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Hang Seng: down 1.4% at 25,753.41

Nikkei 225: closed up 0.3% at 21,410.20

DJIA: closed up 0.5% at 26,201.04

S&P 500: closed up 0.8% at 2,910.63

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GBP: down at USD1.2350 (USD1.2410)

EUR: down at USD1.0974 (USD1.0985)

Gold: down at USD1,508.20 per ounce (USD1,514.80)

Oil (Brent): up at USD57.88 a barrel (USD56.82)

(changes since previous London equities close)

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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL

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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come

China National Day Golden Week continues. Financial markets closed

0900 BST UK SMMT Registration figures

1000 CEST Italy General Govt Quarterly Accounts

1100 CEST EU Quarterly Balance of Payments

1100 CEST EU Quarterly sectoral accounts

1100 CEST Italy GDP revised

0830 EDT US Jobs report for September

0830 EDT US International Trade in Goods & Services

0830 EDT Canada International merchandise trade

1000 EDT Canada Ivey Purchasing Managers Index

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The UK high street has suffered its worst September in eight years as spending buckled under the weight of Brexit uncertainty, falling footfall and big-name closures, figures suggest. In-store sales plummeted by 3.1% on a year ago after an already weak 2.7% drop, making it the poorest September since 2011, according to BDO's High Street Sales Tracker. Weaker discretionary spending resulted in the lifestyle category suffering a 5.4% drop, its worst performance since the height of the recession in November 2008. September also saw the end of a stronger run for fashion as sales fell by 2%, the first negative growth in three months for the category. Footfall was down overall in September, starting with a decline of 2.5% and culminating in a drop of 5.8% as wet weather affected the country. Shopping centres experienced the worst of the downturn with footfall dropping 8% in the last week of the month. Consumers' reluctance to spend extended online too, where sales growth was well below the annual average to reach just 12.4%.

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The UK Financial Conduct Authority published the interim report of its market study into the pricing of home and motor insurance, saying that competition in the sector is "not working well for all consumers". The regulator said it is concerned about how pricing in the sector "leads to consumers who do not switch or negotiate with their provider paying high prices for their insurance". The FCA set out a series of potential changes for insurer to remedy the situation, including banning the practice of increasing prices for customer who renew policies year on year - which could involve insurers automatically moving customers to cheaper equivalent deals. The FCA is also recommending insurers end the practice of discouraging customers to switch policies and also be more "clear and transparent" in their dealing with customers.

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The US trade conflict with China may not have spared the kitchen sink, or even kitchen cabinets, as Washington announced another round of steep tariffs. About USD4.4 billion of wooden cabinets and vanities imported from China will face additional duties because they are being dumped on the American market at less than fair value, the Commerce Department said. Chinese exporters will face tariffs of 28.7% to 251.6% to level the playing field, Commerce said in its preliminary decision. The imported cabinets already faced tariffs August 8 after Commerce determined the Chinese manufacturers received government subsidies. The latest announcement is one in series of cases Commerce has pursued against many product lines, usually at the request of American companies claiming to be hurt by imports from China or other trading partners. But it is separate from the broader trade dispute in which President Donald Trump plans to impose tough taxes on nearly all imports from China.

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BROKER RATING CHANGES

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HSBC CUTS MARKS & SPENCER TO 'REDUCE' ('HOLD') - TARGET 150 (239) PENCE

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COMPANIES - FTSE 100

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AstraZeneca's Fasenra has been approved by the US Food & Drug Administration for self-administration, in a pre-filled, single-use auto-injector - which Astra calls the "Fasenra Pen". The pharma giant said the decision supports the data from the Phase III GRECO trial and the Phase I AMES trial. "The safety and tolerability of Fasenra in these trials were consistent with the established profile of the medicine," Astra added. Fasenra self-administration and the Fasenra Pen are also approved in the EU. Fasenra is currently approved as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma in the US, EU, Japan and other countries.

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Meggit secured a five-year contract with the US Army. The indefinite demand/indefinite quantity deal will see Meggitt supply the US aerial weapons scoring systems. The full-service contract is worth USD48 million.

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COMPANIES - INTERNATIONAL

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Facebook said it has removed "multiple" pages, groups and accounts which were involved in "coordinated unauthentic behaviour". The social media giant said it found three separate operations - one of which originated in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Nigeria, and the other two in Indonesia and Egypt. "These three campaigns we removed were unconnected, but both created networks of accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing," said Facebook.

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Netflix said it was cooperating with a probe into whether it evaded taxes in Italy, even though it has no office or employees in that country. The crux of the matter appeared to be whether server units used to help handle the streaming load for the California-based firm were enough to designate it as having permanent status in Italy in the eyes of local tax collectors. Netflix provides the boxed computers, about the size of small desks, to Italian internet service providers to reduce pressure that heavy video data streaming can put on their networks. "Netflix has been working closely with the Italian tax authorities," a spokeswoman told AFP. "We pay all the taxes due in Italy and other countries around the world." Netflix, which considers itself an entertainment company rather than a technology company, said it invests millions of euros in Italian productions.

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Friday's Shareholder Meetings

Abbey

Provexis

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By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com

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