Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 Live 14 March: Index closes down 0.4% as US producer inflation disappoints, no John Lewis bonus
The fortunes of retailer John Lewis Partnership are in the spotlight this morning after the Waitrose owner said it would not pay a staff bonus this year.
Among other companies reporting today, Deliveroo moved closer to posting a profit for the first time since its stock market float in 2021.
Shell also released its annual report, revealing that the oil giant’s boss Wael Sawan got total remuneration of almost £8 million.
FTSE 100 Live Thursday
Shell boss paid £7.9m in 2023
No bonus for John Lewis staff
AstraZeneca makes $1bn acquisition
Berkeley highlights quiet day tomorrow
Thursday 14 March 2024 17:21 , Daniel O'Boyle
Here’s what we have in store tomorrow:
Results
Volution
Trading updates
Berkeley Group
Economics
Bank of England/Ipsos Inflation Attitudes Survey
US Michigan consumer confidence (March)
Trader jailed over rate rigging had ‘extraordinarily unfair’ trial, court told
Thursday 14 March 2024 17:19 , Daniel O'Boyle
An ex-City trader jailed over interest rate benchmark manipulation received an “extraordinarily unfair” trial and should have his convictions overturned, the Court of Appeal has been told.
In 2015, former Citigroup and UBS trader Tom Hayes, 44, was convicted of multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud over manipulating the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor).
His case, alongside that of another similarly imprisoned trader Carlo Palombo, 45, were referred to the court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice.
City Voices: Jeremy Hunt shouldn't play politics with the UK's markets
Thursday 14 March 2024 17:05 , Daniel O'Boyle
Tim Focas says the Chancellor’s plans to transform the stock exchange are misguided
There is nothing like a bit of post-budget controversy to get people talking. While the UK chancellors' endeavours to transform the London Stock Exchange into the "Nasdaq of Europe" are commendable, it is imperative that all politicians tread carefully when commenting on financial institutions infrastructures accountable to those trading on them, not elected officials.
Advocating for policies to stimulate market activity is one thing, but maintaining neutrality and avoiding an appearance of bias is equally vital.
It is heartening to witness politicians like Jeremy Hunt taking an active interest in fostering capital markets, as evidenced by his budget proposals last week. Politicians have tried and failed to take an interest in the financial markets but often not successfully. The trouble lies in articulating these intentions without inadvertently discouraging competition or creating an awkward atmosphere where certain exchanges are perceived as more privileged than others.
Closing market snapshot
Thursday 14 March 2024 16:58 , Daniel O'Boyle
Take a look at our end-of-day market snapshot as the FTSE lost ground late in the day
FTSE 100 closes down 0.4% after US PPI inflation reading
Thursday 14 March 2024 16:37 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.4% today at 7,743.15, amid dashed hopes on on global rate cuts after a disappointing inflation surprise in the US.
The index was steady for most of the day, never straying more than a few points from Wednesday’s close.
But when US producer price inflation came in much hotter than expected at 1.6% year-on-year, stocks slid, with the FTSE falling as low as 7719, before picking back up late in the day.
Fallers included Anglo American and Natwest. Convatec and Informa were the top risers.
Irn-Bru maker AG Barr to cut almost 200 jobs as part of overhaul
Thursday 14 March 2024 16:27 , Daniel O'Boyle
Drinks firm AG Barr is to cut almost 200 jobs as part of an overhaul of its operations.
The Irn-Bru maker said the roles will be cut through the closure of direct sales operations at three sites across the UK and the closure of the Leeds office for its energy drink brand, Boost.
AG Barr said on Thursday it is changing how it sells its products to independent retailers and convenience stores following a review.
West End Final: All models are wrong (except the Office for Budget Responsibility's on Brexit
Thursday 14 March 2024 16:06
"All models," the British statistician George Box observed, "are wrong, but some are useful." To which we now turn to the Office for Budget Responsibility, whose Brexit forecasts seem to be holding up remarkably well.
Hidden within its 168-page report following the Budget, the fiscal watchdog noted that its long-term assumptions about the negative impact of Brexit on the UK economy appear to be "broadly on track". That is, a 15 per cent drop in trade intensity and a 4 per cent decline in potential productivity compared to if Britain had remained in the European Union.
Read the full West End Final column from Jack Kessler here
MPs to grill major UK banks after bumper yearly profits
Thursday 14 March 2024 15:37 , Daniel O'Boyle
Four of the UK’s biggest bank bosses are set to be grilled by MPs over their surging profits while consumers feel the cost-of-living pinch.
The chief executives of Barclays UK, Santander UK, NatWest and Lloyds will face questions from a group of MPs on the Treasury Committee.
They are expected to be scrutinised about how they are supporting customers through the cost-of-living crisis and with higher mortgage costs.
Market snapshot: Shares down, gilt yields up
Thursday 14 March 2024 15:08 , Daniel O'Boyle
Take a look at the latest market snapshot as shares slip and gilt yields climb
Vistry plans ramp up in housebuilding this year
Thursday 14 March 2024 14:30 , Daniel O'Boyle
Housebuilder Vistry has said it plans to ramp up its construction speed this year, delivering more than 17,500 homes.
The business said that it would accelerate the rate at which it was building from 16,118 homes completed last year. That itself was a nearly 35% increase from the year before.
The business said demand in the market had picked up as banks start to prepare for the Bank of England to cut its base rate at some point this year.
US producer price inflation back up to six-month high
Thursday 14 March 2024 13:46 , Daniel O'Boyle
The US saw another setback in its fight against inflation as the producer price index came to 1.6% in February, well ahead of estimates.
On a monthly basis, PPI was 0.6%, its highest rate in six months.
After rapid early progress in bringing inflation down from late-2022 highs, the US has struggled this year with the ‘last mile’ of bringing inflation back to target.
The reacceleration of inflation is likely to mean the Federal Reserve will continue to wait before cutting interest rates.
Ryanair's O'Leary calls for head of UK air traffic system to go after August delays hit 0.7 million passengers
Thursday 14 March 2024 13:23 , Daniel O'Boyle
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s combative chief executive, called for the sacking of the man in charge of the UK’s air traffic control today, in response to a highly critical report into the handling of problems with the system in August last year.
The UK's National Air Traffic Services plunged into chaos for three days during the peak summer travel season.
A single flight plan with a data glitch wiped out the automated computer system running the skies over the UK. It meant controllers, many of whom were working from home, had to manually input data.
City Comment: John Lewis has axed its bonus twice in a row. It can’t do it a third time
Thursday 14 March 2024 12:38 , Daniel O'Boyle
Another year, another doughnut. John Lewis and Waitrose staff might justifiably feel particularly irked about this year’s second consecutive zero bonus given that the partnership has made a profit, albeit a pretty modest one, after the previous year’s deep fall into the red.
It is the first time in John Lewis’s history that the bonus has been axed two years on the trot.
The decision will do little to restore the cheery service reputation that John Lewis was once famed for and made shopping there a pleasant experience compared with other retailers.
Lunchtime market snapshot
Thursday 14 March 2024 12:18 , Daniel O'Boyle
Take a look at our lunchtime market snapshot with the FTSE 100 a little lower
Shareholder activists call on Nestle to tackle reliance on unhealthy food sales
Thursday 14 March 2024 11:31 , Daniel O'Boyle
Shareholder activists are calling on Nestle to reduce its reliance on selling unhealthy food products containing high levels of salt, sugar and fats.
A coalition of shareholders has filed a resolution challenging the food giant to improve its impact on consumers’ health, which will be put to a vote at the annual general meeting on April 18.
It comes as more than 50% of Nestle’s sales in 2023 were products with a Health Star Rating (HSR) – a nutrient profiling system used in some countries – below the healthier threshold of 3.5 out of five, according to the firm’s own figures.
London a rare bright spot for Savills
Thursday 14 March 2024 10:43 , Daniel O'Boyle
London was a bright spot in a “mixed” set of financial results at estate agency and property consultancy group Savills which saw profits fall by two thirds as rocketing interest rates sent the number of property deals around the world plummeting.
Savills said it made a pre-tax profit of £55.4 million last year down from £153.9 million in 2022, on revenues 3% lower at £2.24billion.
Chief executive Mark Ridley said London was seeing one of the fastest recoveries of any major city in the world with the number of new residential applicants stronger than at any time in the last two years and strong demand continuing for City and West End offices.
No New York listing, Deliveroo boss says
Thursday 14 March 2024 10:29 , Simon Hunt
The boss of Deliveroo has said he is not considering a US listing despite a spate of firms ditching the London stock market for New York or a private equity takeover in search of higher valuations.
Nasdaq-listed delivery rivals like DoorDash and Grab have attracted valuations at higher multiples than London-listed Deliveroo, but CEO Will Shu said the prospect of a higher share price overseas was not on his mind.
“I don’t focus on that too much,” he told the Standard.
“We’re a UK headquartered company but the UK is also our biggest market and we want to be in a market where analysts and investors are able to use our product.”
FTSE 100 holds firm, Currys and OSB big fallers in FTSE 250
Thursday 14 March 2024 10:22 , Graeme Evans
Buy-to-let lender OSB Group today fell 19% or 88p to 373p after disappointing with its forecast for an unchanged margin in 2024.
The OneSavings Bank business, whose brands include Kent Reliance and Precise Mortgages, also reported a 28% fall in 2023’s profits to £426 million as mortgage customers chose to refinance rather than move onto a standard variable rate.
OSB’s loan book grew 9% last year and is forecast to expand by 5% this year against a backdrop of “subdued” mortgage conditions.
The results left OSB bottom of the FTSE 250 index, reversing the recovery for shares since November.
Other weaker mid-caps included Currys, which continued to lose its takeover premium after the withdrawal of Elliott Advisors’ 67p-a-share proposal. It dropped 1.8p to 59.25p.
The FTSE 250 rose 28.06 points to 19,591.98, while the FTSE 100 index was less than one point lower at 7772.56.
The blue-chip fallers board was led by NatWest, Anglo American, Segro and Haleon after their shares traded without the value of their latest dividend awards.
The best performing stocks were Burberry after a rise of 34.5p to 1294p and Diageo with a gain of 53p to 2964p.
Smartspace latest London firm to be bought out
Thursday 14 March 2024 10:20 , Daniel O'Boyle
Office management tech firm Smartspace looks to be the latest firm to be bought off the London Stock Exchange, as it accepted a £28.4 million offer from Australian firm Sign In Solutions (SIS).
The 90p-a-share deal follows a bidding war between Sign In and rival Skedda, which made a bid late last year before SIS came in with its own offer in February.
Smartspace chair Guy van Zwanenberg said: “One of our primary concerns was to work with a buyer that provided a great future for our employees.”
The buyout makes Smartspace the latest firm to be taken off of London’s public markets, after larger firms like Spirent Communications and Mattioli Woods agreed takeover offers in recent weeks.
Shares climbed to 85p, still a little below the offer price.
John Lewis rules out Waitrose spin-off as it returns to profit
Thursday 14 March 2024 09:27 , Daniel O'Boyle
The John Lewis Partnership today ruled out any plan to spin off successful supermarket arm Waitrose as it bounced back to profit after a rough period.
But the board doesn’t feel results are strong enough to merit paying partners a bonus, for just the third time in its history.
Last year the bonus was also zero as the company fell to a loss of £78 million as chair Dame Sharon White fought to rescue a business which, while beloved, was struggling to compete with Amazon and other online retailers.
Full steam ahead for Trainline shares
Thursday 14 March 2024 09:09 , Daniel O'Boyle
Trainline shares chugged to the top of the FTSE 250 this morning as the booking app hailed its success in mainland Europe.
The business saw ticked sales top £5 billion, while revenue came just short of £397 million.
Much of that growth came in Spain and Italy, markets where it said carrier competition is “widespead”, allowing the firm to become the “aggregator of choice”. Madrid-Barcelona is now its third-most-popular route.
Jody Ford, CEO of Trainline said: "Trainline is a home-grown British tech success that has scaled beyond domestic borders to become Europe's most downloaded rail app. We outperformed expectations this year, growing strongly in the UK and across the continent, with International Consumer net ticket sales of more than £1 billion.”
Shares were up 10.3% to 359.8p. They’re up more than 55% since late October.
Diageo and Burberry higher as FTSE 100 holds firm, OSB shares down 26%
Thursday 14 March 2024 08:35 , Graeme Evans
The FTSE 100 index fallers board is led by NatWest, Anglo American, Segro and Haleon after their shares began trading without the value of their latest dividend awards.
Rolls-Royce also retreated 3.5p to 390.3p and Whitbread by 23p to 3273p, leaving London’s top flight down by 3.11 points to 7769.06.
The best performing stock was silver miner Fresnillo with a rise of 7.7p to 469.4p, followed by 1% advances for Diageo, Burberry and British Gas owner Centrica.
The FTSE 250 index was also close to its opening mark, with Trainline the top performer after it upgraded guidance on earnings as a percentage of ticket sales to 2.3%. Shares rose 29.2p to 356.4p, a jump of 9%.
Buy-to-let lender OSB topped the fallers board following a results-day decline of 26% or 122.6p to 338.4p. It told investors it expects 2024 loan book growth of about 5% and an unchanged net interest margin.
Market snapshot - FTSE 100 steady
Thursday 14 March 2024 08:25 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FTSE 100 is steady this morning, close to a 10-month high.
Take a look at today’s market snapshot.
Average mortgage term for first-time buyers rises to 32 years as 'marathon mortgages' take over
Thursday 14 March 2024 08:13 , Daniel O'Boyle
The average mortgage term for first-time buyers in the UK is now 32 years, in the latest sign that younger prospective homeowners feel they have to agree longer deals in order to get on the housing ladder.
According to data from TSB bank, the typical length of these mortgage terms has rose by two years from 2022 to 2023, in a year market by “mortgage mayhem”, as soaring interest rates made home loans harder to afford.
Challenges, and store closures, ahead for John Lewis?
Thursday 14 March 2024 07:46 , Daniel O'Boyle
Yanmei Tang, Analyst at Third Bridge, said John Lewis is likely to face further challenges ahead, and may be forced to close stores, despite the return to profitability.
Tang said: “The department store industry continues to struggle amid a cost-of-living crisis. Our experts say John Lewis, with its significant reliance on home sales for revenue, may face even greater challenges ahead. The persistently sluggish housing market is unlikely to provide any relief.
“Expectations are for more store closures as they adjust their footprint, with increased investment in key locations. Despite this, our experts say John Lewis' strong online presence means that while store closures may occur, sales are likely to shift online rather than being lost entirely.”
AstraZeneca in $1 billion acquisition of rare disease drugmaker
Thursday 14 March 2024 07:28 , Daniel O'Boyle
AstraZeneca is to acquire Amolyt Pharma, which makes drugs to treat the rare disease hypoparathyroidism, for $1 billion.
AstraZeneca will pay $800 million upfront, plus an additional contingent payment of $250 million “ upon achievement of a specified regulatory milestone”.
Hypoparathyroidism is an illness that affects calcium production and can cause kidney disease. It affects an estimated 115,000 people in the United States and 107,000 in the EU, with around 80% of those who have it being women.
Marc Dunoyer, Chief Executive Officer, Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, said: “Chronic hypoparathyroid patients face a significant need for an alternative to current supportive therapies, which do not address the underlying hormone deficiency.
“As leaders in rare disease, Alexion is uniquely positioned to drive the late-stage development and global commercialisation of eneboparatide, which has the potential to lessen the often debilitating impact of low parathyroid hormone and avoid the risks of high-dose calcium supplementation. We believe this programme, together with Amolyt's talented team, expertise and earlier pipeline, will enable our expansion into rare endocrinology.”
Shell CEO Wael Sawan paid £7.9 million for 2023
Thursday 14 March 2024 07:27 , Michael Hunter
The chief executive of Shell received a pay and benefits package worth £7.94 million in 2023.
Public concern at perceptions of high pay in the industry – after high energy prices stoked the cost-of-living crisis in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine – has been a hot topic.
Campaign groups have hir out at profiteering, with one, Global Witness, branding pay levels “eywatering” and “absurd”.
According to the energy company’s annual report, published today, Sawan’s pay included an annual bonus of £2.7 million and his payout from the firm’s “long-term incentive plan” reached £2.6 million. That took his total “variable remuneration” to £5.3 million.
The rest came from a base salary of £1.4 million and then pension and car benefits and “relocation-related costs” of £334,778.
Sawan was appointed as CEO at the start of 2023. Sawan’s predecessor, Ben van Beurden received a total pay package of £9.7 million for 2022.
A Shell spokesman said: “Our executive remuneration is benchmarked against a broad range of European multinational companies. Data over the last ten years show that, on the basis of delivery against our targets, our senior executives are paid competitively.”
Deliveroo on cusp of profitability
Thursday 14 March 2024 07:19 , Simon Hunt
Deliveroo is on the cusp of reaching profitability, three years after its London IPO.
The firm posted a loss of £32 million for 2023, down by almost 90% on the £294 million loss it made the previous year.
Revenue rose 3% to top £2 billion for the first time, while orders recovered. through the year to be flat year-on-year in Q4.
CEO Will Shu said: “I'm excited about the further opportunities ahead. We have clear strategic priorities and initiatives in place to achieve our medium term targets, and I am confident in our ability to deliver continued profitable growth."
FTSE 100 steady despite Wall Street pressure, Brent tops $84
Thursday 14 March 2024 07:18 , Graeme Evans
London’s FTSE 100 index is set to consolidate recent gains, despite a mixed handover from markets in the United States and Asia.
According to IG Index, futures trading is pointing to a rise of about nine points to 7775 after an advance of 0.3% yesterday and 1% on Tuesday.
On Wall Street, technology stocks struggled as the S&P 500 index fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.5%. One of the worst performers was Tesla, which lost 5% to leave shares down by more than 30% this year.
The Nikkei 225’s 0.3% rise made it the best of the major Asia benchmarks, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.2% and the Hang Seng index off 0.8% after big gains earlier in the week.
Traders are keeping a close eye on oil prices after an unexpected decline in US inventories left Brent crude above $84 a barrel.
John Lewis in profit, but no bonus
Thursday 14 March 2024 07:14 , Daniel O'Boyle
John Lewis made a profit of £42 million in 2023., after a £78 million loss a year earlier, but will not pay a bonus.
But the business, which also owns Waitrose, will not pay its staff bonus this year.
It said: “As employee-owners, we have a shared responsibility to ensure the Partnership is sustainable into the long-term. We've consistently said that at this point in our transformation, this is best served by investing in our retail businesses and in Partners' base pay. So after careful consideration we do not believe it would be right to award a Partnership Bonus this year.
“We are increasing overall pay by £116m in 2024 - a record investment.”
Recap: Yesterday's top stories
Thursday 14 March 2024 06:46 , Simon Hunt
Good morning from the Standard City desk.
A year ago yesterday, HSBC swooped in and rescued Silicon Valley Bank UK following the dramatic collapse of its US parent, buying it for £1.
It was the culmination of days of horror for Britain’s tech sector. Scores of startups and scaleups were suddenly locked out of their bank accounts – their only bank accounts, for many. One founder told me his family were in tears as he geared up to shut the business he spent years building – he didn’t have the funds to pay his own staff, let alone suppliers and contractors.
And so it was a huge sigh of relief when HSBC saved the day. But SVB UK still had questions to answer. Why were there hours of radio silence from London when things were falling apart in San Francisco? By the time CEO Erin Platts offered her reassurances that the UK unit was stable, it was too late and customers had already rushed to pull funds.
The past year has been an opportunity for Platts to embark on a charm offensive and reset relations – to show that SVB, or HSBC Innovation Banking as it is now known, was back and better than ever.
But so far she has opted for more radio silence, turning down every interview request made by the Standard over the past year. SVB UK had an intimate knowledge of the British startup scene, so it was better-placed to do business with small firms and nurture them. Let’s hope it doesn’t lose sight of that.
Here’s a summary of our other top stories from yesterday:
Corner turning? GDP: Economy grew by 0.2% in January so UK probably already out of short recession. Retail, services, construction all strong.
Challenger bank back in profit: Metro makes £30.5 million for 2023, with deposits reaching £15 billion; repeats commitment to branches. Will Lloyds Bank buy it? Says 1000 jobs to go
London-listed Barbieland imaging company Keywords Studios – which created the digital backdrop for the smash hit film - reports a 13% rise in revenue of €780 million and profit of €122 million, up 6%
Drugs, nukes and planes in Texas trade pact: UK to sign a deal "to boost investment and trade cooperation" with he US's second-biggest state. Top UK products being exported to Texas include nuclear equipment, aircraft, and pharmaceutical products
Gym group makes gains as membership numbers top 900k and it looks to open a dozen more gyms during the year
London-based smartphone designer Nothing makes 100k sales of its new phone in its first day as it claims market share from Apple.
Inditex sees sales top €35bn as Zara continues to dominate while the UK's fast-fashion firms struggle
