LONDON (Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Monday.
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COMPANIES
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BT Group said it appointed Clive Selley, currently chief information officer and chief executive officer of its BT Technology, Service and Operations business, to head up its Openreach division, succeeding Joe Garner. Garner is stepping down from the role to become chief executive officer of Nationwide Building Society. BT said the handover will take place during the quarter. Selley's successor will be announced in "due course", the company said.
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Standard Life Investments said it is planning to vote against Royal Dutch Shell's merger with BG Group, saying the terms of the current deal would be "value destructive" for Shell's shareholders. "We have concluded that the proposed terms of the acquisition of BG are value destructive for Shell shareholders. This view is based on the downside risks to Shell’s oil price assumptions plus the tax and operational risks surrounding BG’s Brazilian asset base. Consequently we shall vote against the deal," said David Cumming, head of equities at Standard Life Investments, the investment management arm of Standard Life and a prominent City investor. A meeting for shareholders to vote on the takeover is due to take place on January 27 at Shell, while BG shareholders will vote the next day.
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Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said trading in 2015 was strong, with the company's total home sales rising, its average selling price higher and its forward sales position growing, leaving it well positioned for this year. The group said it sold 13,341 homes over the course of 2015, up 7.0% year-on-year from the 12,454 it sold a year earlier. Its weekly reservation rate increased for the year and it sold those homes at an average price of GBP230,000 apiece, up from GBP213,000. The group closed the year with a record order book in place, at GBP1.78 billion, compared to GBP1.40 billion at the end of 2014. That equates to 7,484 homes in total, up from 6,601 a year earlier.
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Japanese beverage maker Asahi Group Holdings is planning to submit a bid to buy SABMiller's Peroni and Grolsch brands for as much as JPY400 billion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
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BHP Billiton is facing potential strike action at its Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile over failed contract negotiations unless the company can offer a better deal to its workers, Reuters reported on Friday. Reuters said the strike would begin at 1035 GMT Monday, citing the union that represents 682 workers at the mine. "If the company doesn't offer anything better we will go on strike on Monday," said Leoncio Parra, president of Union 1 at the mine.
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Several shareholders in Home Retail Group, the parent of Argos and Homebase, have demanded more than GBP1.6 billion for the business from J Sainsbury, the Sunday Times reported. According to the newspaper, the supermarket now faces an uphill struggle to acquire Home Retail Group, following news last week that it had made an offer for the company in November. The first offer was thought to have valued Home Retail Group at GBP1.1 billion, according to the report, which said three big shareholders told the Sunday Times they wanted at least GBP1.6 billion. With Sainsbury's likely to sell Homebase if it succeeds with its bid, the report said that homewares retailer Dunelm Group has held talks with private equity firms about buying the DIY chain and carving up its store estate.
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Commercial vehicle hire company Northgate said Finance Director Chris Muir will leave the company at the end of March to join furniture and flooring company ScS Group. The search for Muir's successor has started and is progressing well, Northgate said, and it will make an announcement in due course. ScS said Muir will join as chief financial officer on April 4, replacing Ross Turnbull.
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Savills said it saw a strong finish to 2015 and expects its underlying results will come in ahead of its expectations. Savills said some significant commercial deals for a number of businesses globally completed in the final months of the year, and it was boosted by its investment management unit completing the sale of its Potsdamer Platz assets in Berlin, meaning that unit had a stronger-than-expected end to the year.
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Laird shares rose on Monday morning following a report in The Sunday Telegraph that it could be a takeover target for US electronics group Amphenol. The newspaper said it understood Amphenol, which makes electronic and fibre optic connectors, cables and interconnector systems, has been running the rule of Laird, the radio frequency engineering and wireless components maker.
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The Unite Group said the valuations on its UK Student Accommodation Fund and London Student Accommodation Joint Venture both increased in the fourth quarter and for the full year. Unite said the USAF property portfolio was valued at GBP2.07 billion at the end of December, up 2.3% on a like-for-like basis in the fourth quarter to the end of December and up 14% for the full year.
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MARKETS
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UK stock indices were trading lower with investors unsettled by continued declines in Chinese equities. Wall Street was pointed to a higher open.
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FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 5,900.82
FTSE 250: down 0.2% at 16,692.82
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.1% at 724.62
GBP: flat at USD1.4569 (USD1.4531)
EUR: down at USD1.0893 (USD1.0909)
GOLD: down at USD1,103.57 per ounce (USD1,104.10)
OIL (Brent): flat at USD32.83 a barrel (USD32.81)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he is confident he will be able to strike a deal on a renegotiated European Union membership for Britain by next month, paving the way for a summer referendum on whether the UK will remain a member of the bloc, the Financial Times reported. Cameron said there was a "massive prize for Britain" if it could renegotiate its EU membership, adding he felt the "best answer" remained for the UK to continue to be part of a reformed EU. The comments came after a survey from Ipsos Mori found the majority of company leaders in the UK feel leaving Europe would not damage their prospects.
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British manufacturers expect 2016 to be a year of tough decisions and more prominent risks, annual Executive Survey from the manufacturers' organisation EEF and financial group Aldermore showed. About 44% of manufacturers say their company faces more risks than opportunities in the year ahead, while only 23% say opportunities outstrip risks. This pessimistic view was shared across sectors and was particularly strong amongst larger companies.
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China's consumer price inflation increased marginally in December on a rise in food prices, but it still remained well below the government's target. At the same time, producer prices continued their deep downward trend, giving space for monetary policy adjustment. Consumer inflation edged up to 1.6% as expected from 1.5% in November, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed over the weekend. A similar rate was last seen in September 2015, and was the fastest rate since August 2015. The producer price index dropped 5.9% year-on-year in December, the same rate of decrease as seen in previous four months. Economists had forecast a 5.8% fall for December.
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Thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to protest at the mysterious disappearance of five booksellers amid suspicions of China's role in the abductions. "This is a matter of utmost gravity and concern to Hong Kong," said lawmaker Alan Leong, who took part in the march that was aimed at putting pressure on Beijing to respond to allegations that the five booksellers had been kidnapped by mainland Chinese security forces from Thailand, Hong Kong and southern China.
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Eurozone investor sentiment weakened more than expected in January, results of a survey by Sentix revealed. The investor sentiment index fell to 9.6 in January from 15.7 in December. It was forecast to drop just to 11.8.
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Ireland's construction sector expanded at the the quickest pace in five months in December, as new orders continued to grow strongly, survey figures from Markit Economics showed. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 58.6 in December from 55.5 in November.
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A defiant President Vladimir Putin defended Russia's positions on Ukraine, NATO expansion and the Crimea in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, describing EU sanctions against his country as "absurd". "What the EU is doing with those sanctions is nothing but a theatre of the absurd," Putin said in the interview with Germany's most popular tabloid. The referendum by Crimea in 2014 to separate from Ukraine and join Russia was "democracy, the people's will," he said.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun
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BT (BT.A)9 May 2024 15:51
