European shares bounce back
European shares bounced back this morning, despite news that Greece had defaulted on its payment to the IMF.
The euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 rose 0.7 percent after falling 1.3 percent in the previous session and slumping more than 4 percent on Monday. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.6 percent 7am GMT.
Whether of not Greece remains in the Euro depends on the decision in the national referendum, to beheld in Greece on Sunday.
Greece misses deadline for IMF payment
The IMF confirmed that Greece has missed the deadline for the 1.6 billion euro payment shortly after 10pm last night.
However, ministers say they will now discuss a last minute deal brought to the table by Greek PM Alexis Tsipras last night. The talks will begin on Wednesday, with the goal being another two year bail-out plan.
“We have informed our Executive Board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told the BBC.
The European Central Bank has frozen its liquidity lifeline to Greek banks and ratings agencies have further downgraded the country’s debt.
Speedy Hire shares fall 32%
Speedy Hire (LON:SDY) shares fell 32.5% this morning after it was announced that changes had been made to the Board.
A statement issued today said that: “Mark Rogerson has decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer. Jan Åstrand, who was appointed non-executive Chairman in late-2014, has assumed the role of Executive Chairman and intends to revert to non-executive status at the time of the announcement of HY 2016 results in November 2015. Russell Down, Group Finance Director, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect and will also retain the finance role until a replacement is appointed.”
The company also issued a trading update saying that they had had a slower than expected start to the financial year, ending March 2016. They cited a lack of available equipment during the network optimization programme and a focus on strategic accounts at the expense of SME customers as a reason for this.
Jan Åstrand commented: “This is extremely disappointing. I believe that Speedy remains a fundamentally good business but, whilst some progress has been made over the last year, the remedial action programmes have not been delivered as needed.”
Speedy is the UK’s leading tools, equipment and plant hire services company, operating across the construction, infrastructure and industrial markets.
Sirius Minerals Plc up 76% after mine permit approval
Sirius Minerals (LON:SXX) were one of the biggest movers on the AIM market this morning, up 76.67% after it was announced that the North York Moors National Park Authority have granted approval for their project’s mine planning application.
Chris Fraser, Managing Director and CEO of Sirius, said: “This is really just the beginning for the Company – we have made a major step forward and now have a pathway to reaching production and unlocking ever more value for our shareholders.
“We are grateful to the members of the Authority for their positive consideration of the application and we thank our many loyal supporters, investors and customers for their patience in helping us to get to this stage.
“The case for the Project has always been compelling because it will not only generate so many jobs and economic benefits, but also because it is accompanied by such extensive mitigations, safeguards and environmentally sensitive design. We now look forward to delivering it.”
The company have now got the go ahead to build a potash mine on the North York Moors, where they will be able to tap a huge seam of a potassium-rich mineral called polyhalite. They say the project will create around 1000 local jobs.
Asian shares up after hopes of last minute Greek deal
Shares in Asia traded higher this morning, after hopes that Greece could reach a last minute deal.
Greece missed the deadline yesterday for a 1.6 billion euro payment to the IMF, however, ministers said they were willing to discuss a new proposition brought by Alexis Tsipras yesterday.
Nikkei 225 share index was up 0.11% at 20,257.77in mid-morning trade and South Korea’s benchmark Kospi was up 0.8% at 2,090.77.
The Shanghai Composite, however, is still down 5.2%.
Airports Commission says Heathrow is “clear and unanimous choice”
The Airports Commission has recommended that a third runway be built at Heathrow, in the Davies Report on airport capacity published this morning.
However, it recommended Heathrow only if stringent conditions could be met, including bans on night flights and building a fourth runway in the future.
The report concluded that the new runway will contribute £147bn in economic growth and 70,000 jobs by 2050. It would also connect Britain to 40 new destinations.
Sir Howard Davies, who led the report, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “Heathrow offers the kind of long-haul connectivity – flights to emerging markets which are very important to the future of the British economy – and expanding it would allow Heathrow to offer more of those flights.”
Heathrow’s biggest competitor, Gatwick, who ran an extensive marketing campaign with the slogan “Gatwick, obviously” were just pipped at the post; Sir Howard said that a second runway at Gatwick was a “credible” option but was less able to provide connections to long-haul destinations and would create lower levels of economic growth.
However, Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said the airport was “still very much in the race”.
Tsipras puts new bailout programme on the table
Just hours before Greece was due to default on their payment, Alexis Tsipras has come forward with a last ditch attempt to make a deal.
The Greek Prime Minister asked for the aid from the European Stability Mechanism, according to a statement from his office. The request is to cover all of the country’s financial needs for the next two years, along with a debt-restructuring plan.
It is unclear how Greece’s creditors have reacted to the offer; the new proposal did not include any of the concessions the EU wished see. As it stands, Greece are preparing to exitEurope’s bailout scheme at midnight tonight, after defaulting on their payment to the IMF.
Interested in the Greek deal? Why not help fund it!
In the light of the continuing will-they-won’t-they drama surrounding Greece, it appears one man has taken matters into his own hands – by setting up a crowdfunding page to bail out the country.
29 year old Yorkshireman Thom Feeney came up with he idea after he got increasingly fed up of “dithering” politicians. He set up the page on IndieGoGo yesterday, where he hopes to raise the 1.6 billion euros required for Greece to pay back the IMF.
According to him, if the 503 million people in the EU donated just 3 euros each the target would be reached.
In an interview with the Independent, Feeney explained: “My opinion is that we need to invest for something to grow, whether that be a person, a company or a nation like Greece.” He wants a bailout “by the people, for the people”.
The campaign has started off well, with more than 2000 people donating in the past 24 hours and just over 31,000 euros reached. However, the project needs to gain a lot more traction in the next week in order to reach its target.
Miranda Wadham
Sinclair (William) Holdings PLC down 33% after publishing interim results
Willian Sinclair Holdings PLC (SNCL.LDN) was down 33.33% this morning after the publication of their unaudited interim results for March 2015.
The company reported a loss of £3.5m, nearly double that of 2014.
Stuart Burgin, Chief Executive of the company, said:
“Since I joined William Sinclair as CEO on 5th March there has been a huge level of activity in the business. This has been focused in 2 key areas: improving the performance of the Ellesmere Port site, and analysing the business and developing plans for the future. I am pleased to say that commissioning of Ellesmere Port has moved forward considerably and that we have developed strong plans for the future revolving around a single point of dispatch from Ellesmere Port and increased focus on customer and product profitability. Provided we are successful in raising the funds required to implement these plans, I am confident that William Sinclair can be successful again.”
William Sinclair are one of the UK’s leading producers of gardening products. Their customers include The Garden Centre Group, B&Q, Tesco, Wilkinson, and Morrisons.
Styles & Wood Group up 24% after announcing a change of directorate
The integrated property services and project delivery specialist Styles & Wood Group was one of the biggest movers this morning, up 24.8% after announcing the appointment of Matt Widdall as Non-Executive Director.
Tony Lenehan, CEO of Styles & Wood, said “I am delighted to welcome Matt to the Group. The investment commitment from the Business Growth Fund together with Matt’s direct participation at Board level provides real momentum in support of the Group’s growth agenda.”
Matt will join the board as the representative of the Business Growth Fund, a project seeking to provide capital for entrepreneurial companies in the North of England. BGF makes long-term equity investments of between £2m and £10m in businesses with the potential to grow, and is backed by five of the UK’s main banks, including Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds.