Member Info for MY21

Diageo faces fresh headache with India drinks business: Diageo is facing a fresh headache from its £1.8 billion acquisition of India’s United Spirits, in the form of a stand-off with the company’s former controlling shareholder and current Chairman Vijay Mallya over allegations of past fund diversions

Qatar towers over others as it buys up the capital city’s skyline: Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund spent the most on property assets in London out of any company or organisation last year as it tightened its grip on the capital’s skyline

At 0330GMT today, Brent crude oil one month futures contract is trading 0.08% or $0.05 lower at $65.23 per barrel. On Friday, the contract climbed 0.66% or $0.43, to settle at $65.28 per barrel, extending its rally from the previous session amid renewed violence in Yemen. Additionally, data revealed that the number of US rigs actively drilling for oil fell by 31 from last week to 703

Private sector rents hike in steepest rise for over a year: Private sector tenants are facing the steepest increases to their rents in more than a year-and-a-half, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

House price growth in UK cities outpaces central London rises for the first time in ten years - and Oxford and Bristol are the biggest winners: House prices are growing faster in 12 of the UK's largest cities than those in central London for the first time in a decade, new figures suggest

Downturn in building expected to slow down economic growth during the first quarter: The economy is likely to come centre stage in the Election campaign again this week as the latest official growth figures are expected to show the UK recovering more slowly than previously expected

BP renewable energy archive still closed despite promise to open to public: A BP archive containing scientific knowledge on renewable energy projects collected over decades as a result of a multi-billion-pound research programme is still closed to the public despite promises to the contrary.

Buy WPP's technological edge: WPP, the world’s largest advertising and marketing group, reported first quarter results which contained few surprises last week. There was a slowdown in like-for-like net sales growth compared with the same period last year, which was very strong at 3.8%. This year the figure was a respectable 2.5%. Cost-cutting efforts are continuing to boost the bottom line. Sir Martin Sorrell said his wire basket maker turned global advertising giant was on track to increase profitability by 0.3 points this year. He is confident that WPP is holding its own against its big rivals Publicis and Omnicom, which report their growth differently. Advertising and marketing are highly exposed to economic effects and WPP keeps a close eye on the global shifts and “grey swans” – known unknowns – that could affect client spending. The climate, said Sir Martin, is cautious amid fears of deflation, increased investor activism and geopolitical uncertainty. The potential for interest rate rises is emerging as a threat to company valuations, he said. The UK was WPP’s second-strongest territory, delivering like-for-like net sales growth of 3.6%. Its biggest market, the US, grew only 2.1% on the same measure, but should provide some currency tailwinds from the strengthening dollar as the year goes on. Sir Martin’s economic concerns notwithstanding, WPP looks set fair for the medium to long term. Its promises on sales and margins are deliverable and it has a smart investment strategy that gives it real advantages over its main rivals in the sector. Its share buy-back programme should also help it ride out any bumps over the rest of 2015. Next year offers advertising spending boosts from the US election and Olympics. The shares are up almost a quarter in the last year but still have room to rise further with earnings per share forecast to grow 8% this year. WPP trades on a price to earnings ratio close to the sector average but deserves a premium. WPP at £15.79. Questor says “Buy”.

Argos profits jump amid online focus: The revival of one of Britain’s best-known high-street brands will motor on this week when Argos reports a jump in profits.

Hester faces pay revolt: RSA Boss Stephen Hester faces becoming embroiled in a fresh pay row, with the insurer’s largest investor set to protest over his £2.1 million salary and bonus package

City deals blow to Alliance Trust on eve of knife-edge vote: Two big City institutions have dealt last-minute blows to Alliance Trust’s board as the vote over its future teeters on a knife-edge

AstraZeneca’s drug sale ‘a short-term boost’: A cancer drug tipped as a future AstraZeneca blockbuster is to be co-developed by an American biotechnology company under a partnership deal yielding an upfront payment of $450 million for the British group.

Oil prices rallied last week, as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East fuelled supply fears. Furthermore, data from the EIA revealed that oil stockpiles in the US declined for the third straight week. Brent crude oil prices surged 2.9% to $65.28/barrel

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant is poised to report profits falling to £1.6billion from £4.8billion for the same period last year

Societe Generale has increased its forecast for the average price of Brent in the second quarter by $6.67 to $58 a barrel and for the full-year to $4.33 to reach $59.54 - as the rebalancing in the US 'tight-oil' industry begins.

House price rises in the regions overtake London House price growth in regional cities including Manchester and Glasgow has outperformed some of central London’s most exclusive boroughs for the first time in a decade. The annual pace of growth in central London has slowed to only 3 per cent as fears over the prospect of a mansion tax on homes worth more than £2 million continues to stifle demand in the run-up to next month’s general election, according to residential analyst Hometrack. In stark contrast, prices rose 13.4 per cent in Oxford, 7.6 per cent in Glasgow, 6.8 per cent in Manchester, 6.6 per cent in Leeds, 6.3 per cent in Sheffield and 5 per cent in Newcastle. These cities are holding up overall house price inflation. Annual house price growth in the 20 cities that Hometrack covers in its index rose by 10.1 per cent in the year to March, fuelled by record low mortgage rates sparking demand in these regions.

Shell has taken into account the risks presented by the Petrobras graft scandal to its expanding operations in Brazil and is confident the Brazilian state-run oil company will emerge stronger, the company's Chief Executive Officer said.

Publishing and education group Pearson said it was in line to meet its full-year expectations after a solid start to the year. The FTSE 100 group said sales in the first quarter of 2015 rose 5% year-on-year, boosted by a strong dollar. Ongoing sales were flat at constant exchange rates compared with the corresponding period 12 months ago, while excluding exceptional items, sales fell 1% to £900m on a reported basis. The London-listed company reiterated guidance for full year adjusted earnings per share of between 75p and 80p this year, up from 66.7 in 2014. Pearson, which owns the Financial Times, proposed a final dividend of 34p, bringing the total dividend to 51p for 2014, a 6% increase year-on-year. Meanwhile, the group chairman Glen Moreno has announced he will step down from the board in the next twelve months after more than nine years in the role. A successor has not yet been identified.

First-quarter numbers from Reckitt Benckiser were better than the market expected, with like-for-like sales from the household goods behemoth up 5%. "A strong and broad-based performance from our consumer health brands continues to deliver growth and outperformance, aided by a strong flu season," said chief executive Rakesh Kapoor.

Novartis profit beats forecasts as its overhaul begins to pay off: Novartis posted forecast-beating first quarter profits as the Swiss pharmaceutical company showed the benefits of its comprehensive restructuring.