Retail prices fall, but price of food rises according to BRC

Miranda Wadham
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Retail prices fall, but price of food rises according to BRC
British shop prices fell as sharply in August but the price of food rose for a second month in a row, according to the British Retail Consortium. August retail prices were 1.4 percent lower than a year earlier, matching a similar fall in July. BRC Director General Helen Dickinson said in a statement:
“Annual food prices rose for a second month but once again the rise was marginal, by just 0.2 percent year-on-year, and is likely to be a temporary fluctuation in a longer-term downward trend driven by ongoing competition.”

This comes just after yesterday’s news of poor retail sales in August, which were down to late timing of the bank holiday.

The month officially ended on the 29th, meaning that the Bank Holiday spending will be included in September’s figures.

Total UK sales were up 0.1% compared with the same month last year, while like-for-like sales, which exclude new store space, fell 1.0%.  

Japanese stocks soar, FTSE jumps

Miranda Wadham
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Japanese stocks soar, FTSE jumps

Asian markets stabilised on Wednesday, with Japan’s Nikkei gaining almost 8% in its biggest one-day jump since late 2008.

The benchmark index closed up 7.71% at 18,770.51 points. A day earlier, the index closed down 2.4 percent, wiping out all gains made this year. Investor sentiment was up after newly re-elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that company tax would be cut by 3.3 percent over two years, starting in April 2016. Markets in China also showed positive signs, with the mainland share index, the Shanghai Composite, gaining 2.3 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index adding 3.5 percent. The FTSE reacted well to the upwards movement in Asia, jumping by more than 1.6% just after market open.  

Ryanair raises full year profit guidance by 25 percent

Miranda Wadham
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Ryanair raises full year profit guidance by 25 percent
Budget airline Ryanair (LON:RYA) issued a surprise trading statement this morning, raising its full year net profit guidance by 25%. The guidance has been adjusted up from from between 940 million to 970 million euros, to a new range of 1.175 billion to 1.225 euros due to stronger than expected peak summer traffic. The company have recently launched “Always Getting Better”, a customer service programme designed to attract and retain more customers which appears to be working; traffic growth rose by 13 percent in the first half of 2015. Ryanair cite bad weather in northern Europe and the strength of the British pound as reasons for its strong summer performance. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said: “During a year when Ryanair will grow traffic by more than 13m customers p.a. it’s clear that consumers all over Europe are delighted by and are switching to, our “Always Getting Better” customer experience programme, our industry leading punctuality and our unbeatable low fares.” However, he warned investors to “avoid irrational exuberance”, saying that their success may not be as strong during the Winter season, as they expect “attritional and sustained fare wars across Europe”. Ryanair is currently trading up 7.34 percent at 13.90 pence per share.

EU Commissioner highlights importance of crowdfunding

Miranda Wadham
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EU Commissioner highlights importance of crowdfunding
EU Commissioner Jonathan Hill has spoken out in favour of ‘alternative’ sources of business finance, including crowdfunding and venture capital. In an interview with CNBC, he cited the difficulties of SMEs being too reliant on traditional bank financing in the event of another global banking crisis. Hill, who is the Commissioner for Financial Services and Capital Markets, highlighted the need to diversity the sources of businesses finance to protect the EU’s economy. “If you’ve got a system that’s very dependent on one source of funding, and you have a contraction in bank funding like we had, then that has a very real knock onto the economy,” Hill said on the side lines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy. “If we can diversify and spread it, we can help also achieve a greater degree of financial stability,” he added. Interestingly, it appears that many businesses are already aware of the difficulties; the use of crowdfunding has risen 167 percent globally since the last financial crisis as banks have refused to lend, and companies have been forced to explore other methods. Furthermore, the UK’s laissez-faire approach to regulation has encourage growth in the sector, with London becoming a world leader for new financial technology companies that often focus on alternative finance.     
Miranda Wadham on 08/08/2015

Japanese insurer agrees buyout deal with Amlin plc

Miranda Wadham
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Japanese insurer agrees buyout deal with Amlin plc
Insurance company Amlin (LON:AML) is one of the biggest movers on the stock market this morning after announcing that it has agreed to an acquisition by Japanese insurers Mitsui Sumitomo. The acquisition values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Amlin at approximately £3,468 million. Amlin is currently trading up 32.5 percent on the news. (0945GMT) This marks the fourth major international deal in as many months by Japanese insurers expanding overseas in a bid to diversity risk exposure geographically. Charles Philipps, Chief Executive of Amlin, said in a statement: “We believe that this combination is extremely compelling. We have always had a very high regard for MSI, our strategies and corporate values are closely aligned, and this transaction will now provide Amlin with the increased scale and financial muscle that will be required for long term success in our industry. “I am confident that, with our combined skills and geographic coverage, we will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Chinese imports drop 14 percent

Miranda Wadham
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Chinese imports drop 14 percent
China’s imports in August fell 14.3% in yuan-denominated terms from a year ago due to weaker commodity prices globally, according to data released today. After weeks of market volatility, China has recently revised its 2014 economic growth down from 7.4% to 7.3%, its lowest for nearly 25 years. Exports also fell by 6.1%. China’s import surplus rose to $60.24bn. However, despite weak export data fuelling fears that China is going through a deeper economic slowdown that initially thought, Asian stocks rose on Tuesday after a six-day losing streak and the dollar firmed against the safe-haven Japanese yen.

Betfair and Paddy Power agree £5 billion merger

Miranda Wadham
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Betfair and Paddy Power agree £5 billion merger
Two of the biggest online gambling firms, Paddy Power and Betfair (LON:BET), have announced a £5 billion merger to create a new FTSE 100 industry giant. The merged group will become the biggest in the UK with a share of 16 percent, according to industry data, passing a recently merged Ladbrokes Coral group at 14 percent. The group will be led by Betfair’s CEO Breon Corcoran as chief executive, with Paddy Power’s Andy McCue as COO. “The sheer scale and capabilities of the group would mean that we’d be best-placed to compete internationally,” said Mr McCue. Shareholders in Irish group Paddy Power will own 52 percent of the new company, with Betfair investors having just under 48 percent. Paddy Power shareholders will also receive an €80m (£59m) special dividend before the tie-up completes. This is the latest in a string of deals announced in the betting industry recently, as companies attempt to band together to beat higher tax bills and tighter British regulation. Betfair is currently trading up 0.26 percent on the news. (0920GMT).

Glencore announces debt reduction plans

Miranda Wadham
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Glencore announces debt reduction plans
Commodities giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) has announced plans to reduce its net debt of some £19.8 billion via a proposed equity issuance. Together with other debt reduction measures, Glencore said it aimed to reduce its net debt “to the low $20 billions by the end of 2016”. The company have said the equity issuance would raise up to $2.5bn. Glencore have had a difficult year, reporting a first-half loss of $676m in August. They have been hugely hit by falling commodity prices; both copper and coal, two of the company’s biggest products, have fallen to six year lows. Glencore’s market value has fallen more than 50% this year and the firm has been under mounting pressure to improve financial performance; last week ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said it would consider lowering Glencore’s credit rating if the giant did not reduce its debt. Ivan Glasenberg, Chief Executive Officer, and Steven Kalmin, Chief Financial Officer, said in a statement: “We remain very positive on the long-term outlook for our business and this is reinforced by senior management’s commitment to take up 22 per cent. of the proposed equity issuance.” Glencore is currently trading up 8.24 percent on the news (0915GMT)

European shares up, further volatility in Asia

Miranda Wadham
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European shares up, further volatility in Asia

The FTSE 100 opened higher on Monday, recovering some of Friday’s losses and gaining 79.5 points or 1.32% to 6,122.42 just minutes after market open.

On Friday, the index fell 2.4% after US jobs figures fell short of analysts’ expectations. Non farm payrolls were at 173,000 last month, fewer than the 220,000 that economists polled by Reuters had expected, causing U.S. stocks to drop more than 1 percent on Friday. Asian stocks were subdued on Monday, resuming trading after a four day weekend to celebrate the end of WW2. Shares jumped from positive to negative, with Japan’s Nikkei ending down 0.1 percent after hitting a 7-month low. Shanghai shares initially rose as much as 1.8 percent, but the index was last down 0.8 percent.

Tesco sells South Korean chain Homeplus for £4.2bn

Miranda Wadham
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0
Tesco sells South Korean chain Homeplus for £4.2bn
British supermarket giant Tesco (LON:TSCO) has agreed to sell Homeplus, its South Korean unit, to private equity firm MBK Partners for £4.2 billion. Tesco Chief Executive Dave Lewis commented: “This sale realises material value for shareholders and allows us to make significant progress on our strategic priority of protecting and strengthening our balance sheet.” This sale is the first major move since the chain delivered a record pre-tax loss of £6.4bn for the year to February, compared with a profit of £2.26 billion the year before; one of the largest in the country’s corporate history. Tesco is currently trading down 0.99 percent at 184.10 pence per share (0843GMT)  
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