FTSE drops, British pound expected to gain on prospect of rate hike

British pound expected to gain on prospect of rate hike

The pound will likely strengthen in the coming months as the Bank of England prepares to hike interest rates, according to UBS Global Wealth Management. The latest BOE meeting suggests the central bank may hike rates earlier than UBS forecasts for a 15 basis point hike in May 2022, UBS analysts say. This puts the pound “clearly in the camp” of currencies that will benefit from the normalization of monetary policy by central banks ahead of others in the G-10, they say. Sterling’s recent pullback on soaring UK inflation, driven by supply constraints, is also expected to prove transitory, they say. In addition, the economic data should improve, they say. By December, UBS expects GBP / USD to rise to 1.39 from 1.3565 currently and EUR / GBP to 0.83 from 0.8507.

 
Companies News: 

Allied Minds Books Reduce Loss 1H

Allied Minds PLC said on Wednesday that its net loss had narrowed in the first half of the year thanks to higher revenues and that it was positive about the outlook for its portfolio companies and the group as a whole.

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Pure Gold Mining to Raise C $ 3.5 Million via Equity Offering to AngloGold Ashanti

Pure Gold Mining Inc. announced on Wednesday that it is raising C $ 3.5 million (US $ 2.8 million) through a share issue to AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and that it would use the money to finance the operations of the Red Lake Project in Ontario, as well as for other purposes.

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Ascential seeks to double digital commerce revenue execution rate by 2024

On Wednesday, Ascential PLC set a goal of more than doubling the current revenue rate of its digital commerce business by 2024 on an organic basis.

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Watchdog launches an investigation into the audit of French Connection de Mazars

financial news

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Xaar conditionally accelerates the sale of its stake in Xaar 3D

Xaar PLC announced on Wednesday that it has conditionally accepted the terms to accelerate the sale of its stake in Xaar 3D to its partner Stratasys Ltd. for an initial consideration of $ 12.8 million.

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Prairie Mining shares climb in A $ 9 million deal to acquire copper project in Greenland

The shares of Prairie Mining Ltd. surged on Wednesday after signing an agreement to acquire up to 80% of the stake in the Arctic Rift copper project in Greenland.

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Robert Lyne, interim CEO of Arix Bioscience, becomes permanent CEO

Arix Bioscience PLC announced on Wednesday that its interim chief executive, Robert Lyne, has been appointed permanent chief executive of the company with immediate effect.

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IP Group CEO Alan Aubrey and Chief Investment Officer Mike Townend step down from board

IP Group PLC announced on Wednesday that Managing Director Alan Aubrey and Chief Investment Officer Mike Townend are stepping down from the board with immediate effect, following the recent IPO of Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC.

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Lorraine Baldry of Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust to step down as Chair in 2022

Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Ltd. announced Wednesday that Lorraine Baldry will retire as president of the company at the end of July 2022, when Alastair Hughes will be appointed president.

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Sirius Real Estate comparative annualized rent increased in the first half of fiscal 2022

Sirius Real Estate Ltd. said on Wednesday that its like-for-like annualized rent rate rose 2.5% in the first half of fiscal 2022, and that its performance was in line with consensus and management expectations for the full year .

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European Energy acquires wind and solar assets from Vattenfall

STOCKHOLM – Swedish public utility group Vattenfall Group AB announced on Wednesday that Danish solar and wind farm developer European Energy has acquired eight wind and solar assets in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

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Cineworld Chief on Meme Stocks, in competition with AMC and the pandemic recovery of the film industry

Cineworld Group CEO Mooky Greidinger can best be described as the mirror image of Adam Aron, his memes loving counterpart at rival AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.

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Pod Point set to announce London IPO next week – Sky News

– Electric vehicle charging infrastructure network Pod Point intends to confirm its intention to be listed on the London Stock Exchange next week, with the company’s shares debuting in early November, according to Sky News.

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VTB Bank’s 9-month net profit almost quadrupled

VTB Bank said on Wednesday that its net profit exceeded 200 billion rubles ($ 2.77 billion) for the first time in the first nine months of the year.

 
Market Talk: 

Topps Tiles shares look cheap after strong Q4 update

1108 GMT – Topps Tiles shares rose 0.3% after the UK home improvement retailer forecast better-than-expected annual profit, benefiting from a vibrant UK market. While percentage gross margins are lower than last year due to higher shipping costs, product changes and continued investments, Topps said he expected the Adjusted pre-tax profit for October 2 is slightly above consensus forecast. Peel Hunt, who has Topps as a corporate client, says revenue could still exceed expectations. “Stocks remain undervalued. Buy,” Peel Hunt analysts say.

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Not all western central banks plan to tighten policy anytime soon

10:27 GMT – Major central banks in Western economies tend to lean towards removing some of their strong monetary stimulus, but not all are so enthusiastic, Amundi says. Norges Bank was the first major Western central bank to raise interest rates after the pandemic emergency. The US Federal Reserve signaled a faster cut and that interest rates would likely rise sooner than expected, while the Bank of England signaled an end to quantitative easing and possible rate hikes. The European Central Bank is, however, more cautious and the lean towards tightening “is not unanimous”, says Amundi, adding: “we expect more inconsistencies in the pipeline”. He expects the Bank of Japan to continue stimulating as it is too early for Japan to discuss normalization.

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Tesco’s ‘breakthrough’ 1H report supports positive opinions

1005 GMT – Tesco shares climb 4.4% after posting higher profits for the first half of the year, heralding a new capital framework and forecast upgrade. This is the first exercise led by the new CEO and CFO, and this landmark report underscores ING’s positive outlook on Tesco, said ING analyst Alyssa Gammoudy. “We continue to fundamentally love Tesco and believe there is still potential for its credit curve to tighten,” she said. Tesco has reduced its net debt by £ 1.7 billion since the end of the previous fiscal year in February, reflecting strong cash flow. The grocer is now targeting a net debt / Ebitda ratio of between 2.3 and 2.8 times.

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Tesco performs remarkably well ahead of testing Christmas time

0954 GMT – Considering that Tesco is currently going through an incredibly busy time in 2020, the grocer is doing remarkably well, said Russ Mold, analyst at AJ Bell, after the company released its results for the six-month period ended in August. A year later, sales are even higher as Tesco has increased its market share and operating profit growth shows it is handling cost pressures very well, Mold said. Christmas will be a testing time for the company, given fears of a shortage over the holiday season, but Tesco should feel much more comfortable dealing with such pressures given its strong performance during the pandemic. , adds the analyst.

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Supply problems and inflation remain a threat to UK supermarkets

0931 GMT – Tesco’s profit improvement for the six months through August 28 shows how supermarkets are seeing Covid-19 costs fall, according to eToro analyst Mark Crouch. The industry appears to be in much better shape than it was 12 months ago, although there is a lot of uncertainty as we enter the all-important Christmas season, Crouch says. “While Tesco is optimistic about its outlook and has improved its forecast for the full year, there is no denying that supply bottlenecks and price inflation threaten to squeeze profits in the short term,” he warns.

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UK construction activity growth slows in September amid supply chain crisis

0918 GMT – Construction activity in the UK grew at a slower pace in September as the sector suffered disruption due to unavailability of transport, a severe shortage of materials and labor shortages work, according to an IHS Markit / CIPS survey. The construction purchasing managers index fell to 52.6 in September from 55.2 in August, marking the weakest pace of recovery in eight months, although a level above 50 indicates growth. “Data for September highlighted a serious loss of momentum for the construction industry as labor shortages and the supply chain crisis combined to disrupt activity,” said Markit manager Tim Moore. “The volatile price and supply environment began to hamper the entry of new businesses as construction companies revised their cost forecasts and some customers delayed their decisions on contract award.”

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 06, 2021 08:11 ET (12:11 GMT)

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