Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 Live 15 March: Index closes down for day, up for week; Reckitt and Currys shares tumble
Vodafone investors have been braced for a big cut in dividend income after the telecoms giant unveiled a new payout policy today.
The reduction, which will be implemented next year, was revealed alongside the eight billion euros sale of Vodafone’s Italy operation to Swisscom.
The housebuilding industry was also in focus today after Berkeley’s trading update and the launch of a competition inquiry into the Barratt-Redrow merger.
FTSE 100 Live Friday
Vodafone in divi cut after Italy sale
Scottish Mortgage plans £1bn buyback
CMA reviews Redrow merger
FTSE closes down for day, up for week
Friday 15 March 2024 16:41 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FSTE 100 closed down for the day at 7,727.4, but was still up almsot 1% for the week.
London’s top flight slipped a little as Wall Street took fright at US consumer confidence figures.
But thanks to big gains on Tuesday, it’s still ahead for the week and still not too far away from its highest level since April.
Vodafone was the top riser as it announced a buyback on the sale of its Italian arm, but British Airways owner IAG wasn’t far behind.
Reckitt was by far the biggest faller amid US baby formula lawsuits.
Reckitt shares down 17%
Friday 15 March 2024 16:25 , Daniel O'Boyle
Shares of consumer goods giant Reckitt have tumbled today, down almost 20% at one point and still down 17%.
That suggests about £7 billion wiped off its share price.
It comes as its US subsidiary lost a court battle related to baby formula.
Next set to deliver higher profits despite pressure on shoppers
Friday 15 March 2024 16:03 , Daniel O'Boyle
Next is set to reveal higher profits for the past year as investors hope the fashion chain continues to shrug off customers’ cost-of-living pressures and poor weather.
The company has already upgraded its profit outlook five times over the past year as it has outperformed rivals amid a challenging economic backdrop.
Shares in the company are trading at close to record highs as a result.
Chinese retailer JD scraps takeover approach for Currys
Friday 15 March 2024 15:34 , Daniel O'Boyle
A second potential buyer for electricals giant Currys has walked away from takeover talks, putting the brakes on a possible bidding battle.
Chinese online retailer JD.com said it did not intend on making an offer to buy the retailer.
It had been in the early stages of considering a bid, which could have been for the entire business, but said that “following careful consideration” it no longer plans to do so.
Cricket-themed hospitality chain Sixes coming to London Bridge
Friday 15 March 2024 15:32 , Daniel O'Boyle
Sixes Social Cricket, the cricket-themed ‘competitive socialising’ hospitality chain, is set to open its fourth London venue next week.
It comes as the capital’s batsmen and women have already hit more than 700,000 sixes off of 13 million balls at its existing three London sites. That ratio - better than a six every 19 balls - would put the average Sixes customer up with some of the biggest-hitting batsmen in professional cricket.
Everton bidder 777 Partners sees owning football club as way to snap up underpriced sportstech bargains
Friday 15 March 2024 15:05 , Daniel O'Boyle
777 Partners, the controversial London and Miami investment firm that appears set to buy Everton, sees owning football clubs as a way to identify underpriced buyout targets in the sports tech sector, the Standard can reveal.
The companies in question could be a ‘salesforce for football’ or a statistical data provider, 777 head of Europe John Jeffery suggested.
777 - which runs its European operations from Mayfair and already owns clubs in five other countries, as well as basketball’s London Lions - agreed to buy the Premier League stalwarts in September.
Wall Street shares down amid weak consumer confidence
Friday 15 March 2024 14:11 , Daniel O'Boyle
US stocks tumbled this morning amid weaker consumer confidence data.
The S&P 500 is down 0.7% to 5,115.61. The Nasdaq is down 1% at 15,970.66. The Dow Jones is down 0.3% at 38,775.57.
Adobe is the biggest faller on the S&P 500, down almost 12%.
US 'vibecovery' derailed
Friday 15 March 2024 14:07 , Daniel O'Boyle
The US ‘vibecovery’ appears to be getting a little off track as consumer confidence dipped in March.
Consumer Confidence in the United States decreased to 76.90 points in February from 79 points in January. It had surged in recent months, after commentators had noted it was unusually low considering the decent conditions in the world’s largest economy.
This latest decline may not be all ‘vibes’ driven, though, as fundamentals showed some cause for concern in February. Inflation reaccelerated to 3.2%, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.9%.
City Comment - The CMA should tackle the biggest threat to competition in the housing market: our planning system
Friday 15 March 2024 13:59 , Daniel O'Boyle
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)'s had a busy few weeks. Fresh from looking at vets, the watchdog’s now probing the £2.5 billion tie-up between housebuilders Barratt and Redrow to make a firm which would build about 23,000 houses a year.
And of course it’s been only three weeks since that same regulator published its big report into housebuilding as a whole.
The CMA found evidence of sharing confidential information, but it said the real blame for our housing supply crisis lay at the feet of the planning system.
What was the remedy? Well, the regulator says that “Given the wider policy trade-offs and complexities that are inherent in the design and operation of the planning system, the CMA does not consider it appropriate to make specific recommendations to governments”.
New regular savings account pays 6.75% to building society’s ‘loyal’ members
Friday 15 March 2024 13:04 , Daniel O'Boyle
A new regular savings account paying 6.75% for “loyal” customers only has been launched by a building society.
The loyalty regular saver (2) account may be opened by savers who have been members of Coventry Building Society continuously since at least January 1 2023.
The account lasts for 12 months and savers can deposit up to £250 each month.
Withdrawals are allowed, subject to a charge equal to 30 days’ interest on the amount withdrawn.
Who will be the new Entain CEO? Here are the latest odds
Friday 15 March 2024 11:56 , Daniel O'Boyle
It’s the third week of March, a perfect time to place a couple of bets. Cheltenham? Yeah Spy’s managed to lose a few bob there.
But the more serious punters have their eye on the market for the next boss of Ladbrokes owner Entain. Bookie Star Sports put up odds on the next chief of the FTSE 100 betting firm when Jette Nygaard-Anderson quit, and with Entain last week hailing “progress” in its CEO hunt, it’s time for City Spy to look at the runners and riders.
McDonald’s apologises to customers after restaurants hit by IT outage
Friday 15 March 2024 11:26 , Daniel O'Boyle
McDonald’s has apologised to customers after they were unable to order food following an IT system outage in its restaurants.
The fast food operator said the problem has now been “resolved” at its sites in the UK and Ireland.
On Friday morning, customers in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Japan complained about issues trying to buy from the fast food giant on social media.
City Spy: Lex Greensill has a parsnip-shaped problem
Friday 15 March 2024 11:03 , Daniel O'Boyle
Disgraced businessman Alexander Greensill – Lex to you and me – has had some problems working with vegetables of late. No, not lobbying MPs – SPy means the crop-growing business he runs.
Company insolvencies keep rising
Friday 15 March 2024 10:22 , Daniel O'Boyle
The number of company insolvencies continues to rise, with 2,102 companies going bust in February, up 17% from a year earlier.
Mark Supperstone, Managing Partner at ReSolve, says: “The latest ONS numbers further demonstrate that UK insolvencies are a cause for concern as they remain at heightened levels. Significant economic headwinds faced by all sectors over the course of 2023 show no sign yet of a potential respite and continue to hinder the UK SME community.”
Scottish Mortgage up 3% on buyback plan, FTSE 250 higher
Friday 15 March 2024 10:12 , Graeme Evans
The FTSE 100 index stands 12.07 points higher at 7755.22, led by British Airways owner IAG following recent favourable broker comment.
The airlines group added 6.9p to 155.85p, placing it just behind Vodafone after the mobile phone group jumped 5% or 3.1p to 69.15p.
Scottish Mortgage rose 3% or 21.8p to 802.8p after unveiling plans for £1 billion of buybacks in an effort to close a 15% discount to net asset value.
The Baillie Gifford investment trust said its portfolio of public and private companies were shaping the future of the economy but the “stock market has yet to fully recognise their progress”.
The two-year buyback plan represents about 9% of market value.
Berkeley shares were 40p higher at 4717p after the London-focused builder stuck to £550 million annual profit guidance.
The FTSE 250 index rose 52.63 points to 19,538.64, with air quality firm Volution up 25p to 450p following a 10% profits rise.
Deliveroo boss says food price inflation easing after takeaway costs climbed
Friday 15 March 2024 09:31 , Daniel O'Boyle
The boss of takeaway giant Deliveroo has said the “weight of inflation” is starting to reduce, after the company revealed that higher food prices helped drive up average takeaway spending.
Will Shu, the platform’s founder and chief executive, said some consumers started viewing food delivery as non-essential when the cost-of-living crisis worsened.
He told the PA news agency: “At the end of the day, what happened last year and at the tail end of 2022 is that things got unaffordable for certain segments of consumers.
Vodafone and IAG lead FTSE 100, Volution figures warm FTSE 250
Friday 15 March 2024 08:46 , Graeme Evans
Vodafone shares are up 4% or 2.8p to 68.9p after the mobile phone giant set out a new capital distribution policy alongside the sale of its Italy operations.
British Airways owner IAG also rallied 4%, or 5.9p to 154.85p. Other risers included Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust after the Nvidia and Tesla backer unveiled a £1 billion share buyback plan. It lifted 12.6p to 793.6p.
The gains failed to stir the FTSE 100 index, which rose by less than one point to 7743.88.
Shares in London-focused builder Berkeley lost a penny at 4676p after its latest trading statement included unchanged guidance for £550 million of profits in the current year.
The UK-focused FTSE 250 index rose 24.30 points to 19,510.31.
Results by ventilation products business Volution sent its shares 25p higher at 450p, while annual figures by heat treatment firm Bodycote led to a gain of 27.5p to 659p.
'Excessive fragmentation': Vodafone in €8bn Italy exit as CEO searches for profits
Friday 15 March 2024 08:22 , Simon Hunt
The CEO of Vodafone has bemoaned the ‘excessive fragmentation’ of European telecoms markets as Italy became the latest country the firm has exited after it reached an €8 billion deal with rival Swisscom.
The all-cash deal, which Vodafone said was the highest multiple of any of their market transactions in the past decade will see create Italy's second-biggest fixed-line broadband operator behind TIM and follows Vodafone’s €5 billion sale of its Spanish operations and proposed merger with the UK’s Three announced last year.
Vodafone said the sale would allow it to focus on more profitable markets with stronger and more ‘predictable’ growth opportunities, adding it would be cutting its ordinary dividend from 9c to 4.5c from next year.
CEO Margherita Della Valle told the Standard: “The typical problem of these markets is excessive fragmentation: too many mobile networks at the same time covering the same countries. That has prevented us to deliver returns in excess of our cost of capital.
“This is true for these three markets which is why they needed action. The markets we’ll have now the rightsizing is complete are markets where the industry is growing and where we have strong positions with good local scale.”
Money flowing out of London stock market at a record pace, new figures show
Friday 15 March 2024 08:13 , Daniel O'Boyle
Money is flowing out of the London equities at a faster pace than ever, despite government efforts to boost the stock market.
According to Investment Association recent figures UK savers took £14 billion out of UK equities last year, the eighth consecutive year of outflows.
New research by SCM Direct for the Evening Standard suggests this situation is getting worse rather than better despite some experts insisting London shares are now so cheap they represent a buying opportunity.
Scottish Mortgage Trust investors to get £1 billion payday
Friday 15 March 2024 07:51 , Michael Hunter
Investors in Scottish Mortgage Trust are in line for a £1 billion payday.
The company has earmarked the capital to go back to its shareholders after what it called “strong operational results” from its “public and private portfolio”.
The FTSE 100 constituent will spend the money buying back its own shares over the next two years.
Justin Dowley, Chair of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC said:
"We remain committed to using share repurchases strategically to enhance liquidity in our shares and to seek to facilitate trading around net asset value.”
SMT is run by Baillie Gifford, the Edinburgh-based investment manager. It has net assets of around £20 billion.
Vodafone to cut dividend, plans buyback
Friday 15 March 2024 07:39 , Graeme Evans
Alongside Vodafone’s Italian deal, the mobile phone giant has told shareholders that it intends to halve its dividend from next year.
Its new capital allocation framework will see the dividend rebased to 4.5 euro cents a share from 2025, compared with the nine cents it has pledged to pay for 2024.
The move ends speculation over the sustainability of the payout, given that Vodafone shares currently yield FTSE 100-leading dividend income of 11%.
The dividend cut in 2025 will be offset by plans for a two billion euros (£1.7 billion) buyback of shares using the proceeds of the earlier sale of Vodafone Spain.
This means that total returns for next year will be 3.1 billion euros (£2.6 billion), representing a 23% increase on 2024’s expected level.
Wall Street weakness stalls FTSE 100, China home prices decline
Friday 15 March 2024 07:19 , Graeme Evans
The FTSE 100 index is set to open slightly lower after figures showing US producer prices rose by 1.6% in February hit Wall Street sentiment.
The inflation setback, which cast further doubt on a June cut in interest rates, meant leading US benchmarks fell back from this week’s record level.
The S&P 500 index declined 0.3%, with semiconductor giant Nvidia down 3% and the electric vehicle maker Tesla off another 4% after a poor run this year.
The mood for Asia markets was also downbeat as it emerged that new home prices in China declined 1.4% year-on-year, the eighth monthly fall in a row.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.5% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 by 0.3%, although the Shanghai Composite was more resilient after a rise of 0.5%.
The FTSE 100 index closed 0.4% lower yesterday and is forecast to remain in negative territory at today’s opening bell.
Competition watchdog opens Barratt/Redrow inquiry
Friday 15 March 2024 07:19 , Daniel O'Boyle
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an inquiry into the merger of housebuilders Barratt and Redrow, to determine whether the deal “may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition”.
The two firms agreed to merge last month in a £2.5 billion all-share deal.
The watchdog has opened an invitation to comment until 2 April.
Vodafone sells Italian unit to Swisscom in 8 billion euro deal
Friday 15 March 2024 07:03 , Simon Hunt
Vodafone has sold its Italian unit to Swisscom in an 8 billion euro deal.
The all-cash deal is the latest step in the firm’s strategic shift away from less profitable markets and follows the 5 billion sale of its Spanish operations last year.
The deal will create Italy's second-biggest fixed-line broadband operator behind TIM.
CEO Margherita Della Valle said: “The sale of Vodafone Italy to Swisscom creates significant value for Vodafone and ensures the business maintains its leadingposition in Italy, which has been built through the dedicated commitment of our colleagues to serving our customers over many years.
“Our transactions in Italy and Spain will deliver €12 billion of upfront cash proceeds and we intend to return €4 billion toshareholders via buybacks, as part of our broader capital allocation review.”
Recap: Yesterday's top stories
Friday 15 March 2024 06:59 , Simon Hunt
Good morning from the Standard City desk.
Another year, another doughnut. John Lewis and Waitrose staff might justifiably feel particularly irked about this year’s second consecutive zero bonus given that the partnership has made a profit, albeit a pretty modest one, after the previous year’s deep fall into the red.
It is the first time in John Lewis’s history that the bonus has been axed two years on the trot.
The decision will do little to restore the cheery service reputation that John Lewis was once famed for and made shopping there a pleasant experience compared with other retailers.
John Lewis, like Marks & Spencer, is a business that most people want to see succeed. A return to profit is a good omen but many challenges lie ahead. Not least getting the grumpy shop floor back on side with a restoration of the bonus.
That has to be a priority. No one wants a hat-trick of doughnuts.
Here’s a summary of our other top stories from Thursday:
Shell's CEO Wael Sawan was paid £7.9 for 2023, a sum campaigners have called "absurd" and eyewatering" as thousands struggle to pay the bills.
The Trainline hails success outside the UK as it become’s Europe’s top rail app and ticket sails hit £5bn - Madrid-Barcelona is now its #3 route
AstraZeneca shells out $1 billion to buy French pharma firm Amolyt Pharma, which makes drugs to treat the rare disease hypoparathyroidism
City trading house IG Group revenue flat amid “the lowest level of volatility in over five years”
Deliveroo boss says he’s not interested in a New York listing as it edged closer to profit – losses down to “just” £32m.
