FTSE 100 closes up almost 47 pts at 7,500
Supermarkets weigh; energy shares up
Fed interest rate decision in focus
FTSE 100 closed higher on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Index surged and energy stocks gave the top share index a boost.
It closed out the afternoon session up almost 44 points at 5,500, while the FTSE 250 was also higher, but not as much, notching an 8.4 point gain to finish at 20,073.
"The FTSE 100 is higher as energy stocks are receiving a boost from the upturn in the oil market on account of the Forties North Sea pipeline being closed for maintenance," said David Madden, at CMC Markets.
"Brent Crude oil hit a level not seen since early June 2015 and that has pushed up the price of Royal Dutch Shell and BP.
Brent is up over 2% at the time of writing, at US$64.69 a barrel.
Meanwhile, BP (LON:BP.) shares added 3.7% to US$511p and Shell was up 1.38% to 2,445.78p.
On Footsie the biggest gainer was credit firm Experian (LON:EXPN) which added 1.97% to 1,604 as it announced news it is set to acquire a minority stake in the mortgage adviser firm London & Country Mortgages Limited (L&C).
On the downside, supermarket Morrison (LON:MRW) was the biggest faller, shedding 4.69% to 211.50p.
It came as it emerged that British grocery inflation hit its highest level since 2013 in the 12 weeks to 3 December, according to research group Kantar Worldpanel.
On Wall Street, the Dow is up over 141 points, but the Nasdaq is down a shade - off 0.02%.
FTSE 100 with new impetus
The FTSE 100 gained new impetus after US markets opened.
The top-shares index was up 36 at 7,489 heading into the last hour of trading, very close to its highest level for the day.
Recruitment firm Robert Walters PLC (LON:RWA) was going well after raising profit expectations this morning in a brief trading statement.
The shares were up 7.4% at 591.5p in afternoon trading after the company said profit for 2017 is expected to be materially ahead of current market expectations.
The first two months of the final quarter of the year have seen strong trading across all divisions.
“Although further details are due to follow with the FY17 trading update on 9 January we take the opportunity to increase our FY17 PBT [profit before tax] estimate by 10% at this stage,” said Liberum Capital Markets.
Liberum reiterated its 'buy' recommendation and bumped up its target price to 650p from 595p.
3.00pm: US stocks open mixed
US stocks opened mixed, though the Dow Jones powered to another high.
The Dow Jones average shot up 80 points to 24,468 but the S&P 500 was barely changed while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 6 points at 6,870.
Closer to home, the FTSE 100 continued to trade sideways on or around the 7,475 level as it had done for most of the day.
Miner and commodities trader Glencore PLC (LON:GLEN) went against the flow, shedding 1.2% on the day of its big investor presentation.
The company believes it is best-placed large cap resources company for the electrical vehicle revolution.
Said revolution will be driven, if you will forgive the pun, by lithium, which is the area where Cadence Minerals Plc (LON:KDNC) is focusing on.
Yesterday, it saw its shares rise on news it is to acquire up to 100% of six prospective hard rock lithium assets in Argentina; today, it was up 18% after directors Andrew Suckling, Kiran Morzaria, Donald Strang and Adrian Fairbourn all committed to each purchase £1,000 of ordinary shares per month for 12 months.
2.00pm: FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 go their separate ways
The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 continued to go their separate ways over the lunchtime trading session.
The FTSE 100 was up 17 at 7,470 while the FTSE 250 was down 58 at 20,006.
Mid-cap chemicals firm Elementis PLC (LON:ELM) was doing its bit to shore up the FTSE 250, rising 2.2% on the sale of its Surfactants business for €39mln,
Homeserve PLC (LON:HSV) was another mid-cap on the rise after JP Morgan upgraded the stock.
A broker upgrade was not doing much good for FTSE 100 stock easyJet PLC (LON:EZJ), however, which dipped 9p to 1,430p.
Irish broker Davy upgraded the low-cost airline to 'outperform' from 'neutral'.
12.45pm: US stocks expected to open higher
With US indices expected to press on to new highs when Wall Street opens, UK blue-chips remained firmly in positive territory.
Spread betting quotes indicate the S&P 500 will open at around 2,664.3 after rising 8.5 points yesterday to a new high of 2,660.
In London, the FTSE 100 was up 20 at 7,474, a couple of points below its high for the day.
The mid-cap FTSE 250, however, was off 43 points at 20,022, weighed down by mining stocks Evraz plc (LON:EVR), down 3.5%, and Acacia Mining PLC (LON:ACA), down 3.1%.
Former mid-cap stalwart Carillion PLC (LON:CLLN) continued its revival after the clearing of a stock overhang earlier this week.
READ Carillion shares up as stock overhang cleared after biggest shareholder, Kiltearn halves stake
https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/188586/Carillion-shares-up-as-stock-overhang-cleared-after-biggest-shareholder-kiltearn-halves-stake-188586.html
The shares were up 9.1% at 18p, putting the shares in the top 20 performers of the day.
Weatherly International plc (LON:WTI) was one of yesterday's big fallers yesterday after disappointing results but bounced back today after signing a binding agreement to purchase the Kitumba copper project in Zambia.
The shares rose 9.1% to 0.90p.
#WTI "To date an estimated US$30 million or more has been spent on exploration, drilling, metallurgical testwork and other studies for Kitumba... ***the Company is confident in its ability to rapidly advance the project towards construction and production in the near term***"
— Baron Day Trading (@barondaytrading) December 12, 2017
11.30am: The Footsie hovers near its intra-day high
The FTSE 100 was hovering near its high for the day in the last knockings of the morning trading session.
The blue-chip index was up 19 at 7,473, helped by demand for index heavyweights Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) and BP (LON:BP).
Both energy giants were up around 1.5% as the price of Brent Crude rose 1.4% on the futures market.
US-focused tool and plant hire group Ashtead Group PLC (LON:AHT) saw its early gains pared to a still-handsome 31p at 2,050p.
The group said it is kicking off a share buyback programme that will see at least £500mln of shares bought back over the next 18 months, and maybe as much as a billion quid's worth.
House-builders remained a little under pressure following the release of the release of UK house prices statistics for October from the Land Registry/Office of National Statistics.
The ONS reported house prices fell by 0.5% in October, trimming the year-on-year increase to 4.5% from 4.8% in September.
“Housing market activity is currently subdued and faltering. Indeed, the latest data from the Bank of England shows that mortgage approvals for house purchases slowed for a third month running to be at 13-month low of 64,575 in October. This was down from 66,111 in September, 67,169 in August and a six-month high of 69,316 in July,” noted Howard Archer, chief economic advisor the EY ITEM Club.
Archer expects house prices to rise “a modest 2-3% in 2018”.
Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) was the sector's biggest blue-chip faller, shedding 1.6%, but Taylor Wimpey PLC (LON:TW.), down 1.5%, was not far behind.
"National average forecast of 1% growth in new seller asking prices for 2018" - catch all the latest #houseprices news in our House Price Index >> https://t.co/pNRe9rTsGi #houseprices #HPI pic.twitter.com/LcALXnoerp
— Rightmove (@rightmove) December 11, 2017
10.30am: Kantar supermarket data deals blow to Sainsbury's and Morrisons
Supermarkets were slowing the rise of the Footsie in the wake of the release of inflation data.
British grocery inflation hit its highest level since 2013 in the 12 weeks to 3 December, according to market research group Kantar Worldpanel.
Price rises in products such as butter, fish and fresh pork drove the increase.
Overall supermarket sales increased in value by 3.1% year-on-year during the period.
Which supermarkets have seen year-on-year growth in the run up to Christmas? The December UK #GroceryMarketShare is here... https://t.co/f1jiorZ1mc pic.twitter.com/VGcytRwF9m
— Kantar (@Kantar) December 12, 2017
Coincidentally, the headline consumer price index (CPI), which includes food and energy, was up 3.1% year-on-year in November.
Economists had pencilled in a 3.0% rise.
“After hiking rates for the first time in a decade at their previous meeting, it is obvious that the BoE are concerned with the persistent above-target inflation, which is outstripping wage growth and meaning that workers are facing pay cuts in real terms,” commented David Cheetham, the chief market analyst at XTB.
“Despite today’s data it remains highly unlikely we see another rate hike later this week, but there could well be more posturing towards one from rate-setters, as we saw back in September. With the next rate hike not expected until this time next year it is becoming increasingly hard for the BoE to justify their current monetary policy stance with inflation so far above target,” he added.
James Smith, the economist at ING covering developed markets, said today's reading is unlikely to become the start of a new trend.
“Most of the cause of today's above-consensus 3.1% inflation reading - namely higher contributions from computer games and airfares - will likely prove temporary. Whilst the headline rate may hover around 3-3.1% over the next two or three months, the bulk of the pass-through from the weaker pound has now occurred and we expect inflation to gradually converge on 2% through the middle-latter part of next year,” Smith said.
The FTSE 100 was up 22 at 7,475 and would have been higher still were it not for supermarket giants J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY) and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) occupying the bottom two places in the Footsie seller.
Both were down 3.0%.
Kantar's data showed Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) performed best of the big four supermarkets in the three months to the end of November.
Its sales rose 2.5%, whereas Sainsbury's and Morrisons clocked up rises of 2% and 1.4%, respectively – but at least they beat Asda, which was sales rise 1.2%.
All of the big four lost market share to German retailers Aldi and Lidl. For the 12 week period Aldi's market share rose to 6.9% from 6.2%, while Lidl's market share grew to 5.1% from 4.6%.
Also in the cellar was house-builder Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) after the release of the UK house price index for October, which showed house price growth in London – one of Persimmon's core areas – continued to lag other parts of the growth.
“London's slowdown is no fall from grace, just a necessary correction following the exUberant price growth of a few years ago,” suggested Jonathan Samuels, the chief executive officer of property lender Octane Capital.
“Prices in certain London boroughs are still stratospheric compared to other areas of the country.
"The fact that you can still buy 15 houses in Burnley for the price of just one in Kensington and Chelsea is a case in point,” he noted.
"While transaction levels are relatively low overall, it's hard to see the average UK growth rate falling much below its current level,” he opined.
UK house prices: how the cost of property has changed where you live https://t.co/igi8wcGjCN #property pic.twitter.com/VGJE10dFxg
— i newspaper (@theipaper) December 12, 2017
9.30am: Inflation rate rises more than expected to 3.1%
The UK inflation rate has risen to 3.1%, which means the Bank of England's governor, Mark Carney, will need to fire off an explanatory letter.
“Carney has been forced to blow the dust off his quill pen as inflation rose to 3.1% this morning, the highest in almost six years,” observed Alex Lydall, head of dealing at Foenix Partners.
“The mere fact Governor Carney now must officially write to the Chancellor portrays the importance of this print specifically, recording levels we haven’t seen since April 2012. It seems the UK has taken one step forward in Brexit negotiations last week, then two back with Inflation rising and pessimists rightly pointing out that stage one of negotiations being complete pales in significance to the bumpy road ahead, as trade deals are not on the agenda,” he continued.
“As the UK still struggles to come to terms with Brexit, the US is set to raise rates again tomorrow exemplifying the gulf in economic progress between the two allies,” Lydall opined.
The FTSE 100 took the inflation news in its stride, extending its early gain to 16 points, at 7,469.
8.30am: FTSE 100 crawls higher at the outset
The FTSE 100 got off to a slow start, barely making it into positive territory, thanks entirely to a positive response to Ahstead's results.
The FTSE 100 was up 4 at 7,457, with Ashtead Group PLC (LON:AHT) leading the way, up 3.8%, after it lifted its full-year outlook.
It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, and the US-focused tool and plant hire company saw an uptick in business thanks to repair work done in the wake of the hurricane season.
Among the mid-caps, Balfour Beatty plc (LON:BBY) edged up 1% to 274.7p after its trading update.
The infrastructure specialist – no stranger to profit warnings – calmed nerves by saying performance in 2017 remains in line with expectations, with the order book “broadly in line with the half-year, post disposals”.
“No further news on Aberdeen Ring Road, where the weather has deteriorated over the last two weeks, but comfortable with provisions for now,” said Liberum Capital, in a research note that appears to have been delivered via telegram.
Liberum's Joe Brent, who rates the shares a 'buy', observed that there has been no profit warning since March 2016.
Among the small caps, ValiRx Plc (LON:VAL) shot up 54% to 4.8p after it provided a positive update on the clinical progress of VAL401.
VAL401 is the anti-cancer compound developed by ValiSeek, the joint venture between ValiRx and Tangent Reprofiling Limited.
The results demonstrated that the VAL401 treatment has a statistically significant improvement in overall survival for patients with non-small cell lung cancer compared to those receiving no treatment.
Proactive news headlines:
ValiRx Plc (LON:VAL) shares surged on Tuesday after the biotech said its VAL401 drug had a “statistically significant” improvement in overall survival for patients with non-small cell lung cancer compared to those receiving no treatment.
Life sciences group Abzena plc (LON:ABZA) is starting to realise the benefits of its investment programme, with average bookings in the months since September more than 30% higher than in preceding six months.
The draft report from the scientific inquiry into fracking in Australia’s Northern Territory is in – and on first reading it looks like good news for Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd (LON:FOG, CVE: FO). Falcon is sitting on a major shale discovery in the Beetaloo basin, within the NT, though its recent progress has been halted by a moratorium on fracking. Big Pic in February.
Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) has followed up yesterday’s massive resource upgrade with an operations update confirming that it remains on-track for first production from the Lancaster oil field during the first half of 2019.
Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd. (LON:RBW), , the high grade rare earth producer, today announces a proposed share placing by way of an accelerated bookbuild to raise between £2.6mln and £2.8mln before expenses at a price of not less than 14p per share. The AIM listed firm said the placing will allow it to bring forward its growth plans at its producing Gakara Rare Earth Project in Burundi, including an exploration campaign and the expansion of the mining fleet.
Life sciences group OptiBiotix Health plc (LON:OPTI) has signed a manufacturing and supply agreement with US-based speciality ingredients manufacturer Cereal Ingredients Inc. The deal grants CII a licence to manufacture and supply Opti’s SlimBiome appetite suppressant in its range of cereal and protein-based particulates in the USA.
Allergy vaccine maker Allergy Therapeutics plc (LON:AGY) has teamed up with fellow AIM company Ergomed Plc (LON:ERGO) to progress the clinical development of three of its OralVac immunotherapy products. Under the terms of the co-development collaboration agreement, Ergomed will take the treatments for dust mite, tree pollen and grass pollen allergies through the clinic.
PCG Entertainment Plc (LON:PCGE) continues to examine potential additional deals across geographies and sectors. The , the Asia-Pacific online gaming and media company posted a slightly reduced half-year loss of US$588,332.
NetScientific PLC (LON:NSCI) has announced the issue by the US Patent and Trademark Office of two new patents exclusively licensed to its portfolio company, Wanda. The transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation group said the patents will significantly extend protection for the core technology used in Wanda's software application for remote health and patient management.
Belvoir Lettings PLC (LON:BLV) said Brook Financial Services has reported £570,000 of net written business in the two months since its acquisition, which is up 57% on October and November 2016. In a statement, Belvoir - the UK's largest property franchise group – said Brook’s net written business is also running at over 40% ahead of the average business achieved in the first seven months of 2017, prior to being acquired by the group.
Sunrise Resources Plc (LON:SRES) has revealed that Canadian firm VR Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:VRR), in which has a stake, has announced the discovery of high grade, polymetallic copper-silver-gold sulphide mineralization at its Junction property in north-central Nevada.
Premier African Minerals Limited's (LON:PREM) chief executive George Roach has described as 'spectacular; results from the latest drill hole at its Zulu lithium deposit in Zimbabwe. Elsewhere, Roach said Premier also does not expect to have provide any more significant finance for the RHA tungsten mine, also in Zimbabwe other than a short-term bridge loan while it waits for shipment payments.
Ferrum Crescent PLC (LON:FCR) is hoping to add silver as an additional metal at its Toral lead and zinc project in Spain. Myles Campion, executive director, said identifying a potential silver credit was very exciting but would require verification to be included under Australian standard JORC guidelines.
Berkeley Energia PLC (LON:BKY) is awarding major contracts and filling key management positions for construction of the Salamanca mine, commencing in the New Year.
W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) has received preliminary approval for a US$30mln term loan with a US special situations fund to fund the La Parrilla tungsten/tin mine in Spain. The fund’s investment committee has agreed the term loan with financial close targeted for late December 2017 or January 2018.
Tlou Energy Limited (LON:TLOU) has confirmed that its listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange has been approved, and it has also now issued £2.4mln worth of new shares to investment funds managed by a Botswana based asset manager. Tlou’s equity will be tradable on the BSE from Wednesday onwards.
European Wealth Group Ltd. (LON:EWG) has confirmed that it has put the facilities agreement entered into by the company and Kingswood on 7 November 2017 in connection with the financing of the proposed acquisition of the Newbridge broker dealer platform in the US into a syndicated format. The group said the syndicated format will enable other parties approved by Kingswood to participate in due course as syndicated lenders, including those larger shareholders of the company who have already confirmed an interest in so participating.
CentralNic Group PLC (LON:CNIC), the global software platform company supporting subscription web services including domain names, has announced the appointment of Nplus1 Singer Advisory LLP as its joint broker with immediate effect.
Up 60% in the year to date and 140% over the past 12 months, it would be easy to assume shares in the electronics component business discoverIE Group PLC (LON:DSCV) are up with events. But, according to analysts at Berenberg, there is still plenty left on the table for investors new to the story. Why? Well, the number crunchers at the German investment bank believe the shares, currently changing hands for 363p, are worth 460p.
6.50am: Firmer trend to continue
UK stocks looked set to continue yesterday's firmer trend, after a solid showing on Wall Street yesterday.
Spread betting quotes point to the FTSE 100 opening up at around 7,470 after the top-shares index added 60 points yesterday to close at 7,453.
Last night, US indices broke new ground again, driven higher by technology and energy stocks.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 57 points to 24,386 while the broader-based S&P 500 advanced 8.5 points to 2,660.
Heading into the last half-hour of trading, Asian stocks were not following the script, however, with the Nikkei 225 down 73 at 22,866 in Tokyo and the Hang Seng off 82 points at 28,884 in Hong Kong.
Ahead of the last Bank of England (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) rate decision of 2017 on Thursday, the latest UK consumer price index inflation numbers will be unveiled today and MPC members will be hoping it stays at the 3% level hit for a second month running in October or even fall back.
The BoE raised rates by for the first time in nearly a decade in November in an effort to curb rising inflation but said it expects "very gradual" further increases over the next three years.
The policy announcement on Thursday, therefore, is expected to see the central bank stand pat on interest rates this month, with the focus to be on whether it provides any hints about future rate hikes in its statement.
On the subject of interest rates, the final two-day Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting of 2017 kicks off today and is widely expected to lead to another hike in US interest rates as the economy across the Atlantic continues to recover well.
The main boost for companies with exposure to the US, however, has come more from the recent Congressional backing for President Trump’s tax reform plans, with equipment hire firm Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) expected to be among those benefiting.
Ashtead earns around 90% of its revenues from the US and it is expected to have got a lift from repair and maintenance work following a devastating hurricane season in August and September.
The market is expecting the FTSE 100 listed firm’s underlying earnings (EBITDA) to be around £907mln, although the fluctuating value of the dollar introduces an extra element of guesswork into the equation.
Analysts at Numis Securities, who are forecasting the group’s adjusted pre-tax profit to be £560mln, up 18% year-on-year, thinks things could be about to get better still, stateside, for Ashtead.
They said, in a recent note: “The Senate's passing of its tax reform bill brings the prospect of a cut to corporate tax rates another step closer. While the timing and magnitude of these cuts as yet unclear, Ashtead would be a clear beneficiary.”
Small-cap life sciences group Abzena plc (LON:ABZA) will unveil its interim results a day after it announced a contract with a US biotech company and long-time customer worth more than US$5mln.
Analysts at Numis expect Abzena’s interim to show continued top-line growth in chemistry and biology services and will also be looking for an update on progress of its manufacturing capacity increases in the US and early signs of a step-up in manufacturing services revenues - though this is likely to be more second -alf weighted.
The analysts expect Abzena to be nearing the point of maximum EBITDA losses and look for an update on the pipeline and order book at the half year point to provide some visibility of this starting to turn around in the second half.
Significant events expected
Trading updates: Balfour Beatty plc (LON:BBY), Drax Group PLC (LON:DRX), Joules PLC (LON:JOUL)
Interims: Ashtead PLC (Q2) (LON:AHT), Abzena plc (LON:ABZA), Begbies Traynor Group PLC (LON:BEG), Carpetright PLC (LON:CPR), Polar Capital Technology Trust PLC (LON:PCT)
Finals: Driver Group PLC (LON:DRV), Pressure Technologies Plc (LON:PRES), Zytronic PLC (LON:ZYT)
Around the markets
- Sterling: US$1.3348, up 0.09 cents
- 10-year gilt: yielding 1.206%
- Gold: US$1,247.00 an ounce, up 10 cents
- Brent crude: US$65.48 a barrel, up 79 cents
- Economic data: UK CPI, RPI, PPI inflation; US producer prices
Business headlines
The Daily Telegraph
Comcast bows out of Fox assets bid amid rumours Disney deal imminent: Comcast said it is no longer looking to buy 21st Century Fox’s assets, in yet another sign that a deal between Fox and Disney is nearing completion.
MPs to scrutinise Toys R Us chief’s salary bump: Toys R Us is to face further questions from MPs about a bumper pay increase for its UK chief executive a year before the retailer announced plans to shutter a quarter of its stores.
Facebook is ‘destroying how society works’, former Executive says: One of Facebook’s earliest Executives has said the social network is “destroying how society works” and that he feels “tremendous guilt” about his work.
British Gas owner sets up new North Sea spin-off: The owner of British Gas has set up a new North Sea spin-off company after agreeing to merge its offshore oil and gas assets with Norway’s Bayerngas over the summer. The creation of Spirit Energy is a major pillar in the FTSE 100 energy giant’s bid to shake off its history as capital-intensive energy producer and emerge as a nimble, consumer-focused energy innovator.
The Times
Lloyds ‘targeted other bank mergers’: Lloyds discussed a merger with a string of banks, including ABN Amro, of the Netherlands, and Postbank, of Germany, before going after its stricken rival HBOS in the frantic autumn of 2008, a court has heard.
Tesco director ‘played golf as accounting scandal broke’: The former head of Tesco’s British business decided to play golf instead of bringing a report into accounting irregularities to the attention of its new chief executive, a court was told yesterday.
Babcock finds magic bullet to keep its investors onside: Days after it tumbled out of the FTSE 100, Babcock International managed to reverse an investors’ exodus with the promise that it should be able to cope well with changes to long-term contract accounting.
Crest Healthcare in court over pensions: The Pensions Regulator is seeking to prosecute a healthcare company for allegedly trying to avoid providing staff with workplace pensions.
Trafigura profits slide despite pumping up oil volume: The increasingly aggressive move by national oil companies into the oil trading industry has knocked back results at Trafigura. More competition has forced the independent commodities trader to accept narrower margins on its business, so much so that trading significantly more oil has translated into 9% slump in net profit.
The Independent
US drug company hikes price of everyday vitamin pills by 800%: In the latest example of eye-dropping price-gouging in the US’s lightly regulated pharmaceutical industry, records show Avondale Pharmaceuticals, a mysterious company registered in Alabama, raised the price of Niacor from US$32.46 to US$295.
Uber’s appeal against TfL’s licence ban will not be heard until spring 2018: Minicab app firm Uber’s appeal against Transport for London’s decision not to renew its licence in the city will not be heard until spring 2018.
Brexit: UK to lose 10,500 City jobs as 30% of firms flag plans to move staff: The UK will have lost 10,500 finance jobs to other European cities by day one of Brexit, according to new research. The number of City firms planning to shift jobs to the Continent has doubled since last year, professional services company EY said on Monday.
Financial Times
Nuclear power plant deal to be signed by Russia and Egypt
EDF, the French utility giant, ready to commit to solar power
ExxonMobil to publish reports on the possible impact of climate policies on its business
LSE begins interviewing candidates for vacant CEO role
The Guardian
Ryanair’s Dublin pilots threaten Christmas strike: Ryanair flights to and from Dublin could be disrupted by strikes over Christmas after pilots based in Ireland voted for industrial action. Europe’s biggest short-haul airline now faces disruption in key European markets following ballots for action by pilots in Italy and Portugal over the past week.
Apple snaps up Shazam for reported US$400 million: Apple has bought Shazam, a London-based app that allows smartphone users to identify music, for a reported US$400 million (£300 million). The US company, which revolutionised music with the introduction of the iPod and iPhone, said Shazam was a natural fit for its Apple Music streaming service.
Daily Mail
More than 360 struggling British care homes to fall into hands of secretive US tycoon: More than 360 care homes will fall into the hands of a secretive American hedge-fund boss who specialises in snapping up struggling businesses. Tycoon Spencer Haber has over the last two years bought up debt from the struggling Four Seasons care home chain, which is home to 17,000 vulnerable and elderly residents and looks likely to take over the firm outright.
FTSE chairmen facing the chop: Watchdog demands chairmen serve no more than nine years: More than a quarter of FTSE 100 chairmen fall foul of plans to shake-up British boardrooms so they are not full of the same old faces. Reforms to the corporate governance code proposed by the Financial Reporting Council state that chairmen should not serve more than nine years on the board.
HSBC in the clear for laundering Mexican drug cartel cash after US drops threat of prosecution: HSBC will not face any further action for money-laundering in Mexico after American authorities agreed to drop their threat of prosecution. The tainted bank was fined £1.2 billion in 2012 for handling dirty cash from drug lords, and only just escaped criminal proceedings.
Daily Express
EU told to regulate Bitcoin: ECB fears ‘scale’ of currency as price soars: Bitcoin must be regulated by the European Union, the European Central Bank (ECB) said as the price of the cryptocurrency continues to soar.
Qatar sign £5 billion deal to buy 24 Typhoon jets from UK: Qatar has signed a multi-billion-pound deal to buy 24 Typhoon fighters from Britain. BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, announced its contract with the sovereign country to supply the jets.
City AM
EnQuest COO Neil McCulloch steps down: The chief operating officer of oil production company EnQuest is to leave the company “by mutual agreement”, it was announced today.
Trade barriers after Brexit could leave Ferrero Rocher melting at the border, chocolate firm warns: Ferrero Rocher could be left melting at the UK border if the government doesn’t minimise non-tariff barriers to trade after Brexit, the confectioner has warned MPs. Ferrero UK, which owns Tic Tac and Kinder Bueno, has told parliamentarians that non-tariff restrictions on goods were of “greater significance” to the business than higher tariffs.