Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 Live: Index closes up 0.1% after late rally ahead of tomorrow's jobs data, Currys bidder withdraws
Currys takeover speculation cooled today after US investment group Elliott Advisors dropped its interest.
The decision to walk away came as Elliott expressed frustration that it had not been able to hold talks with the board of the electricals chain.
Elsewhere today, Japan stocks fell sharply and the yen surged on speculation that the country’s central bank will soon raise interest rates.
FTSE 100 Live Monday
Currys bidder walks away
Japan stocks fall on rate rise bets
Heathrow posts February record
DWP increases and benefit changes from April 2024
Monday 11 March 2024 16:37 , Daniel O'Boyle
Millions of Britons are about to receive increases to their benefits.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed last November that most benefits paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will increase for the 2024/25 financial year. The rises will be welcomed by families who are struggling to make ends meet, in light of high living costs including energy bills, which rose again in January 2024.
The employment and support allowance (ESA) is among the benefits increasing. According to DWP data, 23 groups of medical conditions could make people eligible to receive help. The benefit is intended to help with extra costs relating to a disability or health condition that reduces how much people can work.
FTSE 100 finishes the day ahead
Monday 11 March 2024 16:36 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FTSE 100 finished the day ahead, despite being down for almost the whole day.
London’s top flight closed up 0.1% at 7,669.23.
The slight rise comes before some big economic data this week, starting with unemployment and earnings figures tomorrow.
The top risers today were Admiral and Imperial Brands. St James’s Place led the fallers.
Halifax becomes fourth major lender to up mortgage interest rates today in shock to brokers
Monday 11 March 2024 15:37 , Daniel O'Boyle
Mortgage brokers were shocked as Halifax became the fourth major mortgage lender to up interest rates today, despite relative calm in the financial markets that tend to set home loan prices.
The country’s biggest mortgage lender joined fellow “big six” members NatWest and Santander, as well as the Co-Operative Bank, in increasing rates. The wave of increases that shocked brokers, who say that the changes go in the opposite direction to recent movements in the market for interest rate swaps, the financial instruments usually used to price mortgages.
Speaking to news agency Newspage, Darryl Dhoffer, adviser at The Mortgage Expert, said: “Are we missing something here? Swap rates are reducing yet lenders are increasing mortgage rates. There's no logic to mortgage pricing right now.”
Data this week will reveal if UK is heading out of recession
Monday 11 March 2024 15:23 , Daniel O'Boyle
Official data published this week will offer crucial early evidence on whether the UK is on its way out of recession — and guidance for when the Bank of England might think about cutting interest rates.
Tomorrow, the Office for National Statistics will reveal the latest UK jobs data.
The country’s unemployment rate has remained near historic lows, even as GDP data suggests the UK entered recession at the end of last year, in an unusual divergence. But some economists and commentators have taken note of the UK’s high levels of economically inactive people, including the long-term sick, who are not counted in the unemployment rate as they are not looking for work. Rather than the normal recession pattern of many people looking for work, it has been vacancies that have been at elevated levels during the current recession.
Comment: Jeremy Hunt is wooing fast-fashion giant Shein — precisely the wrong thing to do
Monday 11 March 2024 14:27 , Victoria Moss
The UK shouldn’t try to woo controversial Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein for a potential blockbuster IPO, Victoria Moss writes
AT the Downing Street tea to mark London Fashion Week’s 40th birthday, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer emphatically pledged the Government’s support to the industry.
But was her colleague Jeremy Hunt listening? In last week’s Budget, the Chancellor pointedly ignored the myriad pleas to ditch the much-loathed “tourist tax”...
But Jeremy Hunt does have one eye on the fashion prize. He’s currently aiming to woo hyper-fast fashion megalith Shein to a London IPO (with a potential value of $90billion) over New York.
While it would be a boost to the beleaguered stock market after Brexit, the governmental paean to the Chinese retail giant is a kick in the teeth to UK-based fashion businesses
City Comment: Don’t expect clarity on the future of the Telegraph any time soon
Monday 11 March 2024 13:28 , Jonathan Prynn
Today two thick reports landed on the desk of Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, one from media regulator Ofcom, the other from competition watchdog the CMA.
Only she and a handful of officials will know the contents of the tomes — and none of them are talking today.
The reports, into the RedBird IMI takeover bid for Telegraph Media Group, were originally commissioned by her in November, when she issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice into the Abu Dhabi ruling family backed offer.
Vinyl revival sees it rejoin UK inflation basket for first time in 32 years
Monday 11 March 2024 12:58 , Daniel O'Boyle
Music lovers have been hailing the return of vinyl for many years, claiming the warmer sound quality, the sleeve designs, even the occasional familiar scratch, make it a more enjoyable listening experience than streaming.
Now it is official. The revival in demand for vinyl records means they are back in the basket of goods that is used by the Office for National Statistics to calculate the rate of inflation for the first time since they were supplanted by CDs and cassettes in 1992.
Vinyl sales peaked in the Eighties but fell to less than one per cent by the late Nineties before the revival began in the Noughties. It is now the most popular physical music format, with cassettes long since removed from the basket.
Ofgem raises concerns about net zero costs on lower income households
Monday 11 March 2024 11:49 , Daniel O'Boyle
Ofgem has raised concerns that net zero costs could disproportionately hit lower income customers as it announced it is to examine how to protect households against future price shocks.
The regulator said it remained “very concerned” that struggling households had a limited ability to cope with future price shocks.
At the same time, the high number of consumers who are locked into debt and repayment plans and the high cost of recovering that debt could have serious consequences for the retail energy sector, it warned.
City moves a step closer to permitting crypto assets on exchanges
Monday 11 March 2024 10:35 , Daniel O'Boyle
Trading of crypto backed assets in London came a step closer today when UK’s financial regulator said it would “not object to requests” made by stock exchanges to list crypto asset-backed notes for trading by professional investors.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it would now begin reviewing applications to list the debt instruments, which it banned in 2020.
But the FCA said the financial products would not be available to retail customers, as they were “ill-suited… due to the harm they pose”.
It comes a week after the Bitcoin price broke the $69,000 record set in November 2021. The coin rose another 4% today to hit a new high of $71,682.
One million car finance complaints sent via Martin Lewis’s email tool
Monday 11 March 2024 10:29 , Daniel O'Boyle
More than one million complaints have been submitted by consumers over concerns they may have been overcharged car finance, raising the possibility of major compensation payouts, according to MoneySavingExpert.com.
Consumer champion Martin Lewis said car finance mis-selling has the potential to be the “second biggest reclaim payout in UK history” after the PPI scandal.
About 1.1 million complaint emails have been sent out through a free tool on the MoneySavingExpert.com website, which was founded by Mr Lewis, amounting to about 30,000 per day.
Mining stocks weigh on FTSE 100, Darktrace continues progress
Monday 11 March 2024 10:17 , Graeme Evans
Stock market uncertainty in a week that features US inflation and retail figures left the FTSE 100 index 13.87 points lower at 7645.87.
Mining stocks weighed on the top flight’s performance as Rio Tinto retreated 118p to 4751.5p and Glencore lost 7.35p to 393.4p.
Among the risers, Marks & Spencer rallied 5.5p to 248.3p after RBC analysts upped their price target by 20p to 300p.
The retailer’s joint venture partner Ocado also improved 18.5p to 466.9p, while car insurer Admiral put back 90p to 2663p following heavy losses last week.
They were joined by Imperial Brands, which rose 47.5p to 1740p after launching the second stage of the £1.1 billion share buyback programme announced in October.
The FTSE 250 lost 0.3% or 55.5 points to 19,546.24, with energy stocks Tullow Oil and Harbour Energy both down 2%.
Virgin Money also drifted further away from Nationwide’s 220p proposed takeover price, down 3p to 210.7p.
However, cyber security business Darktrace maintained its recent progress by adding 9% or 35.7p to 413.1p as the best performing mid-cap stock.
FCA softens stance on listed cryptoassets
Monday 11 March 2024 09:46 , Simon Hunt
The UK’s financial regulator edged a step forward to becoming more supportive of the crypto industry today after it said it would “not object to requests” made by stock exchanges to list cryptoasset-backed notes for trading by professional investors.
The Financial Conduct Authority said it would now beginning reviewing applications to list the debt instruments, which it had banned in 2020.
But the FCA said the financial products would not be available to retail customers, as they were “ill-suited…due to the harm they pose.”
It comes a week after the Bitcoin price rose to an all-time high, breaking the $69,000 record set in November 2021. The coin rose another 4% today to hit $71,750.
Market snapshot: Bitcoin surge goes on
Monday 11 March 2024 09:40 , Daniel O'Boyle
Take a look at today’s market snapshot, as Bitcoin tops the $71,000 mark.
M&S among top FTSE 100 stocks, Currys down 9%
Monday 11 March 2024 08:50 , Graeme Evans
Shares in Currys have fallen 9% or 5.8p to 58.7p after Elliott Advisors walked away, having been unsuccessful with an approach pitched at 67p-a-share.
Other FTSE All-Share fallers included Vanquis Banking Group, down 38% or 47.5p to 76.7p after a strategy update scaled back 2024 profit guidance.
The FTSE 100 index held firm through a fall of just 3.58 points at 7656.16, while the FTSE 250 index retreated by 9.01 points to 19,592.77.
Marks & Spencer rose 5.9p to 248.7p after RBC analysts upped their price target to 300p, while car insurer Admiral rebounded 4% or 105p to 2678p.
Mining stocks dominated the FTSE 100 fallers board, led by Rio Tinto’s decline of 87p to 4782.5p. Rolls-Royce also reversed 6.4p to 380p.
Vanquis warns over hit to profits from motor finance claims
Monday 11 March 2024 08:28 , Daniel O'Boyle
Specialist lender Vanquis has warned over a hit to full-year profits after seeing a surge in claims over motor finance deals.
The group said that while it is not part of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigations in motor financing, it has seen “significant levels of third-party complaint submissions”.
It cautioned that even though the “vast majority” of complaints are not upheld, rising costs of reviewing them will “materially” impact profits.
Shares in Vanquis are down 33% today.
Shaftesbury Capital buys sought-after Covent Garden retail space
Monday 11 March 2024 07:58 , Daniel O'Boyle
West End mega-landlord Shaftesbury Capital has bought some of London’s highest-footfall retail space, on James Street in Covent Garden, for £75.1 million.
The properties, 25-31 James Street, are located between the Covent Garden tube station and the Piazza. They include 12,000 square feet of retail space and 9,000 square feet of office and residential space.
Shaftesbury Capital, created through the merger of Shaftesbury and CapCo last year, said: “This acquisition presents asset management and rental growth opportunities as well as complementing our existing ownership on James Street, a prime retail street and key gateway into the Covent Garden Piazza.
AIM-listed telecoms firm LoopUp becomes latest to leave stock market
Monday 11 March 2024 07:30 , Simon Hunt
AIM-listed telecoms business LoopUp has become the latest firm to announce plans to depart the London stock market.
The multinational cloud telephony provider said it was seeking new funding but that it didn’t think the public markets would help its efforts.
Steve Flavell and Michael Hughes, co-CEOs said: “The priority for us now is to ensure we have the right funding to continue this growth and deliver on our potential. We have exhaustively explored all options to arrive at today’s announcement, with the board unanimously concluding that this proposal to de-list and conduct a private fundraising is in the best interests of the group and of our shareholders as a whole.
“At this stage in our growth journey, taking the business private will provide us with the flexibility to invest in our future growth, underpinned by a significant near-term cash injection that certain private investors stand ready to make and a medium-term pathway to venture and private equity sponsorship.”
Heathrow enjoys record February passenger numbers
Monday 11 March 2024 07:29 , Jonathan Prynn
Heathrow had its busiest ever February last month when 5.8 passengers flew through the west London hub.
The figure was boosted by the extra day of the Leap Year and by a record half term getaway with two thirds of travellers heading somewhere warm during the long British winter
Heathrow CEO, Thomas Woldbye, said: “It was wonderful to welcome so many passengers for the first holiday peak of 2024, setting a new Heathrow record.
“While we are serving more people, visitors to the UK are spending less since the removal of tax-free shopping, impacting businesses across the country. The Spring Budget was a missed opportunity to give the whole tourism, hospitality and retail sector the support it needs to compete internationally.”
Currys bid battle loses some spice as US suitor pulls out
Monday 11 March 2024 07:29 , Michael Hunter
One of the bidders for Currys said today that it will not be bidding for the UK’s biggest electrical goods retailers.
Elliott, the US investment group, hit out at Currys board as it dropped the bid.
Currys became the target of a potential bid battle last month when the activist investor approached the FTSE 250 firm with a £700 million offer, priced at 62p per share
Then Chinese retailer JD.com joined the fray, sending Currys shares sharply higher even though no price was mentioned.
Elliott said today:
“Following multiple attempts to engage with Currys' Board, all of which were rejected, it is not in an informed position to make an improved offer for Currys on the basis of the public information available to it.
“Elliott therefore confirms it does not intend to make an offer for Currys.”
Video game AdTech firm Bidstack going bust
Monday 11 March 2024 07:24 , Daniel O'Boyle
AdTech business BidStack, once worth more than £80 million, is set to collapse into administration.
The business, which helped to place advertisements inside video games, has struggled in the past year amid a legal dispute with a partner and a wider downturn for any businesses in the video game sector.
It launched a strategic review to find extra cash last month, but said it had failed to get the funding needed.
The firm will suspend trading in its shares from today.
Nikkei 225 falls back amid rates speculation, FTSE 100 seen lower
Monday 11 March 2024 07:20 , Graeme Evans
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slumped on Monday after GDP figures fuelled expectations that the Bank of Japan may soon end its negative interest rate policy.
The country’s economy avoided recession after expansion of 0.4% in 2023’s fourth quarter, compared with the previous estimate for a 0.4% contraction.
Speculation that this may prompt Japan’s central bank to raise interest rates as soon as this month boosted the yen and weighed on leading stocks.
The Nikkei traded above 40,000 for the first time last week but fell 2.2% in today’s session. Elsewhere in Asia, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lifted by 1.3%.
The impact of Friday’s weak finish on Wall Street, amid heavy selling for shares in semiconductor giant Nvidia, means the FTSE 100 index is expected to open about 24 points lower at 7635.
Recap: Friday's top stories
Monday 11 March 2024 06:48 , Simon Hunt
Good morning from the Standard City desk.
In some ways there is something almost comically haphazard about the acquisition strategy of Frasers Group, the retail giant founded by Mike Ashley and best known for Sports Direct.
Ashley, a brusque bruiser with as little interest in what the public thinks of him as he appears to have for salad, handed day-to-day control of his empire to his son-in-law Michael Murray a while ago.
His recent deals include the purchase of Wiggle bikes for £10million and Matches, just last year for £52 million.
Ashley appears to have a relaxed attitude to this seemingly scatter-gun approach — some deals work, some don’t — and perhaps you’d feel the same if you were worth £4 billion.
But after the collapse of Matches revealed on Friday, it just looks like a bad bet. Given the state of the retail sector — online and on the high street — perhaps we should be thankful Murray has licence to play about with his father-inlaws’ money. If you are a struggling retailer — most of them are — its Frasers Group, Next, or bust.
It is to be hoped that Murray and Ashley keep playing retail roulette and land on a winning number once in a while. Retail entrepreneurs across the UK are counting on it.
Here’s a summary of our other top stories from Friday:
More than £10 billion set to depart the London Stock Exchange in a week after quoted wealth manager Mattioli Woods receives £432 million takeover offer from price equity firm
BP hands new CEO Murray Auchincloss £8 million after predecessor Looney's shock exit
And...How best to get long-term shareholder return? You might be better off with a woman CEO
