^FTSE - FTSE 100
| Previous close | 7,356.42 |
| Open | 7,356.42 |
| Volume | 0 |
| Day's range | 7,322.01 - 7,376.31 |
| 52-week range | 6,536.50 - 7,727.50 |
| Avg. volume | 723,164,412 |
- Bloomberg
How Should Investors Trade U.K. Stocks Amid Brexit Uncertainty?
Sep.16 -- Jimmy Conway, head of EMEA equity trading strategy at Citigroup Global Markets, talks about the U.K.'s political crisis and the implications for the financial markets. He speaks with Manus Cranny and Nejra Cehic on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe."
- Financial Times
Weekend catchup — this week’s personal finance headlines
UK inflation in August dropped to its weakest level since December 2016, driven by the prices of computer games and clothing, and offering a boost for consumers against the backdrop of a strong labour market and Brexit-related economic uncertainty, writes Bethan Staton. The decline in inflation, ahead of a meeting of the BoE Monetary Policy Committee, weakened any pressure to increase interest rates. The aggressive pricing strategy at the new venture, Schroders Personal Wealth, comes as it seeks quickly to become a big player in the financial advice market and meet ambitious asset growth targets.
- Bloomberg
Strategists Play Spoilsport Just as Europe Stock Rally Heats Up
(Bloomberg) -- European stocks have been on a tear over the past month, signaling investor optimism returning to the market. Not so fast, say strategists.They predict losses of more than 4% in both the Stoxx Europe 600 Index and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index of the region’s biggest companies by the end of the year, according to the average response in a Bloomberg poll. European equities have rebounded strongly since mid-August as trade war tensions eased and the region’s central bank boosted stimulus, with the Stoxx 600 within reach of a one-year high reached in July.They may give up some of those gains in the coming months, if the forecasts prove correct. The Stoxx 600 will close out the year at a level of 374, or 4.4% below Thursday’s close, and the Euro Stoxx 50 will end 2019 at 3,391, implying a 4.5% drop, according to the average prediction in a Bloomberg poll of strategists.While some risks have receded, others linger. The economic backdrop, particularly in Europe, remains a cause for concern. Domestic demand is weakening in Germany, with global trade tensions and Brexit uncertainty also weighing on Europe’s largest economy, the country’s finance ministry said on Thursday. And the OECD this week lowered its global growth forecast and warned that a no-deal exit from the European Union would push the U.K. into a recession.For the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index, which has lagged European peers this year under a Brexit cloud, there may be more woes in store. Strategists on average see the gauge dropping to 7,114 by end-2019, or a 3.3% decline from Thursday’s close. Germany’s DAX Index will fall to 11,936, 4.2% below its last close, the poll shows.To view strategists’ forecasts on the Stoxx 600 and the Euro Stoxx 50, click hereFor predictions on the DAX, click here, and here for those on the FTSE 100To contact the reporter on this story: Namitha Jagadeesh in London at njagadeesh@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Blaise Robinson at brobinson58@bloomberg.net, John ViljoenFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Financial Times
Labour share plan to hit pensioners’ funds
The Labour party’s plans to hand 10 per cent of shares from UK-based companies to workers over a decade would see British pension funds lose £31bn, according to new research. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s plan to introduce “inclusive ownership funds” under a Labour government would transfer 1 per cent of shares in all large UK companies to workers annually for 10 years.
- Financial Times
Opening Quote: RBS picks Rose to be its new chief as challenges mount
one of the UK’s top banks in November, after being confirmed as the successor to the Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan. The state-owned lender will also become the only company in the FTSE 100 index with women in both its top two executive positions, following Katie Murray’s appointment as chief financial officer last year. Ms Rose, who currently leads RBS’ commercial and private banking business, had long been seen as the favourite to succeed Mr McEwan.
- Financial Times
Rolls-Royce warns airlines of fresh Trent 1000 engine delays
Rolls-Royce has warned of further disruption for airlines using its Trent 1000 engines, saying that aircraft will be grounded for longer than it had planned. The FTSE 100 group on Friday said that it had accelerated the replacement of intermediate pressure turbine blades for some engines which had led to additional engine removals, frustrating its efforts to get Boeing’s 787 aircraft flying again. The decision is understood to be linked to an incident in August during which a Norwegian Boeing 787 suffered an engine failure over Rome caused by fractured turbine blades.
- Financial Times
UK lender RBS appoints Alison Rose as chief executive
The state-owned lender will also become the only company in the FTSE 100 index with women in both its top two executive positions, following Katie Murray’s appointment as chief financial officer last year. Howard Davies, RBS chairman, said: “I am delighted that we have appointed Alison as our new CEO. Ms Rose, who currently leads RBS’s commercial and private banking business, had long been seen as the favourite to succeed Mr McEwan, particularly after she was made deputy head of the holding company that owns most of RBS’s businesses last year.
- FX Empire
FOMC Disappoints Market, Central Banks Eye Trade, U.S. Data Comes In Strong
Global markets are cautious following a round of less dovish than expected central bank meetings.
- Investing.com
NewsBreak: IAG Shares Rise as BA Pilots Call Off Planned Strike
Investing.com -- Shares in International Consolidated Airlines Group rose 2.0% Wednesday after BALPA, the union representing British Airways pilots, said it would call off strike action planned for next week.
- FX Empire
Global Markets Mixed, Energy Prices Threaten Global Expansion, FOMC Meeting Starts Today
Global markets are mixed on rising oil prices and FOMC uncertainty.
- Investing.com
NewsBreak: European Stocks Open Lower as Oil Fears Persist
Investing.com -- European stock markets opened lower Tuesday as concerns over the spike in oil prices continued to weigh on markets. Asian stocks had also weakened overnight, after the U.S. reportedly shared intelligence with Saudi Arabia showing that Iran was responsible for the weekend attack on its oil facilities. Saudi Arabia hasn't yet joined the U.S. in publicly blaming Iran, something that could raise the likelihood of a coordinated response against the Islamic Republic.
- FX Empire
The Week Ahead – Brexit, the BoE and the FED are in Focus
It’s a big week ahead for the markets. The FED, the BoE and Brexit are in focus, with stats and chatter on trade also needing some attention.
- Financial Times
Could ESG trump oil for older investors?
At the FT Weekend Festival last weekend, Rhian-Mari Thomas, chief executive of the new (and exciting) Green Finance Institute, pointed out to the audience that, over the past decade, green has firmly trumped black. If you had invested in the FTSE All-World index excluding fossil fuels, she said, you would have outperformed the index by 5.5 percentage points in the five years to March 2018. If you had invested in the FTSE Environmental Opportunities All-Share index you would have outperformed the FTSE Global All Cap index by 14.5 percentage points.
- Financial Times
Ovo joins top tier of UK energy suppliers with £500m SSE deal
Ovo has struck a £500m deal to buy the household business of larger rival SSE in a bold move that will make it Britain’s biggest energy supplier behind British Gas. Founded by former City trader Stephen Fitzpatrick a decade ago as a challenger to the so-called big six energy companies, Bristol-based Ovo will be propelled into the top flight with an 18 per cent market share, just behind British Gas on 19 per cent. It is currently the seventh-largest supplier, with 5 per cent of the market.
- FX Empire
Global Markets Rise On Trade Thaw, ECB Cuts Rates And Buys Bonds, Hong Kong Down On LSE Deal Scrutiny
Global markets rise on trade hopes and stimulus plans, the S&P; 500 is striking distance from new all-time highs.
- FX Empire
Trump Blasts Fed, Market Expects Deep Rate Cuts, Inflation Data Hotter Than Expected
Trump blasts the FOMC again as we gear up or another meeting, he wants zero interest rates but the data just doesn’t support it.
- Bloomberg
Woodford Loses $54 Million Selling Stocks From Frozen Fund
(Bloomberg) -- Neil Woodford has lost at least 43.5 million pounds ($54 million) from selling some stakes from his frozen flagship fund.The embattled money manager took the biggest hit on shares in NewRiver REIT Plc. Woodford spent about 181 million pounds building up his stake in the U.K. retail landlord, but recouped just 131 million pounds when he unloaded the shares, according to publicly available information and Bloomberg calculations. He made money on just two of 10 companies: BCA Marketplace and Oakley Capital.A representative of Woodford Investment Management said the money manager and his team “continue to make progress” in building a “much more liquid portfolio” for the flagship fund. When it reopens, the fund “will continue to be focused on undervalued companies, and the majority of them will be FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 index constituents,” the spokesman said.Woodford stunned the financial world in early June when he halted withdrawals from his LF Woodford Equity Income Fund after a run of poor results led to mounting redemption requests. He has since lost key executives and long-time backers, has been hit by criticism from a top lawmaker and faces an investigation by the U.K. markets regulator.The firm has said the decision was made to give Woodford time to sell down the fund’s holdings of lightly traded stocks, and that he isn’t a forced seller.Why ‘Liquidity Mismatch’ Is Scaring the Bond Market: QuickTakeThe bright spots in Woodford’s sales spree have come from BCA Marketplace and Oakley Capital. The money manager invested in BCA in 2015 at a volume-weighted average price of 139 pence per share, and exited at 241.5 pence, resulting in a profit of 59.6 million pounds, Bloomberg calculations show. Selling the Oakley stake brought in another 33.8 million pounds.Bloomberg’s analysis focuses on stakes that Woodford has sold in their entirety. The calculation of his gains and losses excludes dividend payments.Link Fund Solutions Ltd., the administrator of Woodford’s flagship, has said its goal of lifting the suspension in early December is realistic. The fund has 3.1 billion pounds of assets under management, according to Morningstar.(Adds background on freeze in fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Suzy Waite in London at swaite8@bloomberg.net;Carla Canivete in London at ccanivete@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Patrick HenryFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Financial Times
Opening Quote: Sports Direct shareholders look forward to a testy annual meeting
Sports Direct's shareholders get their yearly moment with Mike Ashley at the company's AGM today. It may not be as eventful as the pub-based management meeting at which Ashley drank 12 pints and vomited into a fireplace. Then there are the (familiar) squeals from independent shareholders.
- Financial Times
Adrian Mole: the secret diary of an emotional investor, aged 52 and ¾
Adrian Mole, everyone’s favourite fictional teenage diarist, turned 52 this year. The hit West End musical means a new generation of fans are discovering the 13¾-year-old’s musings, but those of us who remember Sue Townsend’s hugely popular books the first time around are left feeling decidedly ancient. How could Adrian, a cult figure throughout our school years, possibly be approaching the age where he could cash in a pension?
- Financial Times
National Grid urges review of back-up power after blackout
The FTSE 100 company, which is responsible for balancing supply and demand in Britain’s electricity network, said Ofgem should review “whether it would be appropriate to provide for higher levels of resilience in the electricity system”. The call came as it published a report into the outages of August 9, which caused widespread travel disruption at rush hour, particularly in and out of London.
- Bloomberg
Best Performer in U.K.’s FTSE 100 Faces Brexit Test
(Bloomberg) -- U.K. sneaker seller JD Sports Fashion Plc, the biggest gainer in the FTSE 100 Index this year, is set to prove whether its stellar growth can continue even as Brexit uncertainty lingers in its home market.The retailer reports first-half earnings on Tuesday and Shore Capital analysts predict 41% growth in revenue to 2.6 billion pounds ($3.2 billion), a performance that will include a full contribution from last year’s acquisition of Finish Line Inc. The purchase of the U.S. sneaker seller demonstrated the scale of JD’s ambitions to seek growth outside of its domestic market.“JD deserves a premium rating given the international growth prospects of the company,” Shore analysts including Greg Lawless wrote in a note previewing the earnings. They have a buy recommendation on the stock, as do all but two of 12 other analysts whose ratings are monitored by Bloomberg.Shares of JD Sports have jumped 84% in 2019, making it the best performer in the FTSE 100, which it joined in June. By contrast, U.S. peer Foot Locker Inc. has fallen 26% after reporting two quarters in a row of comparable sales that missed analysts’ expectations.Of particular note will be whether the retailer provides a pretax profit forecast for the fiscal year and how that would compare with broker estimates of about 406 million pounds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. JD said in July that it expected to deliver earnings “at least equal” to consensus projections, though Berenberg sees the potential for an upgrade to guidance if first-half growth is stronger than expected.“From a U.K. consumer perspective, in some of the toughest conditions in U.K. retail over the last 12 months, JD has continued to buck the trend,” Berenberg analyst Graham Renwick wrote in a note last month.To contact the reporter on this story: Lisa Pham in London at lpham14@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Paul Jarvis, Jon MenonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
