Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 Live: NatWest shares plunge after Farage report, blue-chips in two-month low close
FTSE closes lowest in two months
Friday 27 October 2023 16:37 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FTSE 100 closed at 7,291.28 today, its lowest in two months, after a fall of 0.9%.
the index has lost close to 400 points since Wednesday of last week
NatWest finished the day down 11%.
London architects unveil plans to convert Enfield golf course into modern housing
Friday 27 October 2023 16:14 , Daniel O'Boyle
A group of London architects has unveiled plans to convert a golf course in Enfield into stylish, modern homes in a bid to help plug the capital’s chronic housing shortage.
The proposal, dubbed ‘holes to homes,’ would see the council-owned 18-hole course split in two, with nine holes transformed into mid-density housing for up to 2,000 people and the remaining nine left to golfers.
Dozens of golf courses in London are owned by local authorities, suggesting that homes for as many as 100,000 Londoners could be created if the plans were adopted across the capital.
City Comment: NatWest mess is harming the interests of taxpayers
Friday 27 October 2023 16:08 , Jonathan Prynn
How can it have come to this?
Just eight months ago NatWest was sailing serenely back to the calm waters of banking respectability after the years of turmoil following its emergency nationalisation during the financial crisis. Its then highly regarded chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, revealed that profits in 2022 were up by a third to £5.1 billion, while she was rewarded with the first bonus for a NatWest CEO since 2008, taking her total remuneration to £5.25 million.
Now look at it.
Today shares in NatWest — Britain’s fourth biggest bank and still 38 per cent owned by the taxpayer, don’t forget — saw their value fall by 16 per cent at the start of trading as investors took fright at the ongoing fallout from Farage-gate and a downgrade on the outlook for lending margins.
FTSE 100 falls to 7300
Friday 27 October 2023 15:26 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FTSE 100 has fallen further, and is now likely to end the week at a two-month low as it hits the 7300 mark.
London's top flight is down more than 100 points for the week, after losing around 250 points last week. It last fell this low in August.
NatWest remains the biggest faller of the day by far, while Weir Group and Lloyds are also among the biggest losers.
Cost of living in focus as Sainsbury’s set to reveal sales rise
Friday 27 October 2023 15:08 , Daniel O'Boyle
Bosses at Sainsbury’s are set to shed more light on how shoppers’ budgets are holding up ahead of Christmas in an update to investors next week.
Customer budgets have come under pressure over the past year due to soaring household bills and mortgage costs, while food inflation also rocketed higher.
However, retailers have reported an easing in food and drink prices in recent months.
Billionaire Issa brothers admit errors in letter to MPs on Asda offshore ownership
Friday 27 October 2023 13:39 , Daniel O'Boyle
The billionaire Issa brothers have admitted submitting error-strewn evidence to MPs about the complex offshore ownership structure known as ‘Bellis’ that they created for Asda after acquiring the supermarket in 2021.
After facing questions by MPs on the Business and Trade Committee over his management of Asda, Mohsin Issa wrote a letter to the committee, published last week, in which he sought to clarify its corporate structure, setting out a list of 24 companies that were connected to the supermarket.
But the Standard can reveal that the letter contained multiple inaccuracies as to whether companies were located in offshore tax havens, as well as inconsistencies as to the expressed purpose of different holding companies and omissions on other businesses within the corporate structure.
Amazon shares to soar when US markets open
Friday 27 October 2023 13:16 , Daniel O'Boyle
US markets are set to open roughly flat today, but Amazon is expected to be among the top risers with tens of billions of dollars to be added to its market value.
S&P 500 futures are up six and a half points to 4,162.25, while Dow Jones futures are down by .2% at 32,803.00. Nasdaq futures are faring better though, up 0.6% to 14,271.50.
Amazon shares are set to rise after reporting strong results last night. Its shares are up 6% in premarket trading. Other premarket risers include Intel, Nvdia and Tesla.
FTSE dips into red
Friday 27 October 2023 12:20 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FTSE 100 has dipped into negative territory for the day, and is set to close the weekk down.
Besides NatWest, which saw its shares tumble this morning, other big fallers today include Ocado and Diageo.
PM urged to review Internal Market Act to remove ‘hurdles’ from policymaking
Friday 27 October 2023 11:55 , Daniel O'Boyle
A group of 20 environmental organisations have urged the Prime Minister to review the Internal Market Act, which they claim has had “unintended negative consequences” on policymaking across the UK.
The legislation was passed in 2020 to limit the regulatory divergence between the four nations of the UK, but has been criticised by devolved administrations as a “power grab”.
In a letter to Rishi Sunak, groups including Wildlife and Countryside Link, Wales Environment Link and Scottish Environment Link, have now urged him to review the policy, which they say has “led to significant hurdles to progress and added to the bureaucratic overheads associated with policy-making in every part of the UK”.
Smoke detector maker to be sold
Friday 27 October 2023 11:08 , Daniel O'Boyle
Smoke detector maker FireAngel is the latest British company to leave the stock market after accepting a £27.7 million takeover bid from a Chinese competitor.
The board of the Coventry-based company, which also makes carbon monoxide alarms, said it was giving its full backing to the 7.4p a share cash offer from Siterwell Electronics.
The offer, which is being made through a Singaporean-based sub - sidiary of Siterwell called Intelligent Safety Electronics (ISE), is a 252 per cent premium to last night’s closing price of 2.10p a share.
FireAngel chairman Andrew Blazye said: “The board believes this offer by ISE represents an opportunity for shareholders to realise a return, in cash, at a significant premium to FireAngel’s current prevailing share price. FireAngel has a longstanding relationship, initially as a valued manufacturing partner and more recently as a major shareholder."
Alison Rose comments on NatWest report
Friday 27 October 2023 10:16 , Daniel O'Boyle
Former NatWest CEO Dame Allison Rose has commented on the report published by NatWest this morning around the closure of Nigel Farage's Coutts account.
She said: “I note the Travers Smith report this morning. This confirms everything I told the board in July was correct. Both Travers Smith and the Information Commissioner's Office have concluded that I inadvertently confirmed what had already been widely reported, that Mr Farage held an account at Coutts. The ICO also concluded the ‘impact around this specific disclosure was minimal’
“Travers Smith is clear that ‘there was no leak of specific detailed financial information’. Travers Smith also confirmed I knew nothing about the comments made by Coutts staff about Mr Farage, which were deeply unpleasant and unfair.”
FTSE 100 steadies, Trainline accelerates after upgrade
Friday 27 October 2023 10:14 , Graeme Evans
Trainline shares today rallied 6% after JPMorgan analysts gave the online ticketing firm an “overweight” recommendation and 300p price target.
The upgrade helped the FTSE 250-listed stock accelerate 14p to 245.2p ahead of the company’s half-year results due next Thursday.
Shares have fallen from 280p at the start of this month, with ongoing rail strikes and the outlook for interest rates offsetting optimism over Europe’s expansion of open access high speed rail services.
Trainline’s improvement was one of the highlights as the FTSE 250 found positive territory, up 59.25 points to 16,842.34.
The FTSE 100 index also rose 12.50 points to 7367.07, supported by gains of 1.5% for BP and Shell after the Brent Crude price rebounded by two dollars to $90 a barrel.
Rentokil Initial lost another 7.3p to leave the pest controller down a third at 399.1p since it revealed that US trading had been weaker than expected. Sentiment hasn’t been helped in recent days by US-listed rival Rollins highlighting a strong third quarter performance.
Other blue-chip fallers include Reckitt Benckiser, which dropped 74p to 5520p after analysts at Berenberg ditched their “buy” stance in the wake of this week’s third quarter results. They also lowered their price target from 7170p to 6400p.
Timeline: Elon Musk’s chaotic first year in charge of Twitter
Friday 27 October 2023 09:32 , Daniel O'Boyle
Elon Musk has now been in charge of Twitter for a year – in that time changing the company’s name to X, replacing himself as chief executive and embroiling the company in a range of scandals.
The billionaire has also laid off more than half the company’s staff and introduced a new subscription model in an effort to find new revenue streams as advertisers flee the site, and sparked a number of controversies.
Read a look back at some of the key moments of Mr Musk’s tenure so far here.
Lloyds shares down 3% in banking sell-off, Rentokil down another 2%
Friday 27 October 2023 08:36 , Graeme Evans
Lloyds Banking Group shares have fallen 3% or 1.4p to 39.8p in the wake of today’s downgrade to margin guidance by UK rival NatWest.
The wider FTSE 100 index is down 8.10 points at 7346.47, with the performance supported by gains of 1.5% for energy giants BP and Shell after the Brent Crude price rallied by over a dollar to $89.10 a barrel.
NatWest shares are down 12% or 25.6p to 180.2p, while the miserable run for Rentokil Initial is continuing after losing another 8.6p to 397.8p.
Other fallers include Reckitt Benckiser, which dropped 56p to 5538p after analysts at Berenberg ditched their “buy” stance after this week’s third quarter results. They also lowered their price target from 7170p to 6400p.
The FTSE 250 index rose 9.64 points to 16,792.73, with Trainline shares 5% or 11.4p higher at 242.6p after JPMorgan gave the ticketing firm an “overweight” recommendation.
BA owner IAG reports record third quarter
Friday 27 October 2023 08:20 , Daniel O'Boyle
British Airways owner IAG reported record third-quarter profits, despite a €50 million hit from the August bank holiday air traffic control chaos.
The group, which also owns Aer Lingus and Iberian, reported a profit of €1.23 billion (£1.07 billion). BA alone made an operating profit of £617 million.
CEO Luis Gallego said: “This quarter represents a record third quarter performance for IAG. This is allowing us to invest in the business and reduce a significant amount of our debt.
“During the third quarter we saw sustained strong demand across all our routes, in particular the North and South Atlantic and in all leisure destinations around Europe. We continue to develop our hubs of Barcelona, Dublin, London and Madrid, supported by our fleet deliveries and future orders.
“Our strong financial performance is enabling investment in our people and allowing us to further improve customer experience. At the same time, we will keep working towards our sustainability goals.
“We would like to thank all our employees across the Group for their contribution to this performance.”
For the full year, IAG expects capacity of around 96% of pre-Covid levels.
NatWest shares down 16%
Friday 27 October 2023 08:15 , Daniel O'Boyle
NatWest shares plunged in early trading, as it cut its margin guidance on the same day it released its report into the closure of Nigel Farage's bank account.
The shares fell t 172.6p, which is down 36% for the year to date and values the bank at £15.4 billion.
As NatWest is nearly 40% Government-owned, the fall represents a loss of more than £1 billion for the taxpayer.
CEO Paul Thwaite said: “Today’s results show that NatWest is a strong bank which is performing well, generating sustainable profits and returns. This performance is built on the foundations of strong customer franchises and a robust balance sheet with high levels of liquidity and a well-diversified loan book. As a result, credit losses and impairments remain low and we are ready and able to stand by our customers and businesses through the current economic uncertainty.
“Our leadership team has come together to ensure we all keep our eyes on the things that matter most – the 19 million people, families, and businesses we serve. Across the bank, we are resolutely focused on meeting their needs today, whilst getting ahead of what they will need from us tomorrow. This is at the core of what we do. It is how we will build long-term value in our bank and deliver sustainable growth.”
City watchdog says NatWest may have breached rules in Farage account controversy
Friday 27 October 2023 08:00 , Daniel O'Boyle
City watchdog the FCA says NatWest may have breached City regulations, as the bank today published a report into the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account and subsequent leaking of details about his status with the bank.
NatWest today published a report from law firm Travers Smith that looked at both the closure of Farage’s account with Coutts and former NatWest boss Alison Rose revealing information that informed a BBC report. The report, later found to be inaccurate, claimed the decision was solely a commercial one. Farage later produced a dossier created by Coutts’ Reputational Risk Committee that noted many of his political views.
The report found NatWest “failed to treat [Farage] fairly” because , but that its decision to close his account was lawful.
Safestyle dashes shareholder hopes as it delists
Friday 27 October 2023 07:54 , Simon Hunt
Struggling window maker Safestyle today dashed hopes of recovering any shareholder value as it said it would be suspending its shares.
The firm previously said it was exploring a potential sale or refinancing to help it get back on a surer footing, with a number of interested parties.
But it said today: “As negotiations progress with interested parties, it has become increasingly unlikely, in the reasonable belief of the directors of Safestyle, that any proposed Sale, even if it was completed, will result in any return to shareholders.
“Due to the ongoing financial uncertainty regarding the Group, its limited working capital and the circumstances noted above, the Company has requested that its shares are suspended from trading on AIM.”
Amazon shares rise on results beat, FTSE 100 seen higher
Friday 27 October 2023 07:21 , Graeme Evans
The flight from Wall Street tech stocks continued yesterday to leave the Nasdaq Composite down 1.8% and the S&P 500 index off by 1.2%.
The latest reversal of the sector’s strong performance earlier in the year follows this week’s results from mega cap stocks including Alphabet and Meta Platforms.
The selling also reflected fears over higher-for-longer interest rates after GDP figures yesterday showed the US economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 4.9% in the third quarter.
Futures markets are pointing to a better start for US investors later today, aided by a positive reaction to the results of Amazon after last night’s closing bell.
Shares rose 5% in after-hours trading as the online retail giant beat revenue and earnings estimates for the third quarter and gave reassuring guidance on the outlook for its cloud computing business.
Sales rose 13% to $143.1 billion, with the figure for this quarter set to be between 7% and 12% higher.
Asia markets shrugged off yesterday’s poor Wall Street session as the Hang Seng index rebounded by more than 2% and the Nikkei 225 by 1.25%.
The FTSE 100 index fell 0.8% last night but CMC Markets expects London’s top flight to open today’s session 12 points higher at 7366.
Recap: Yesterday's top stories
Thursday 26 October 2023 22:12 , Simon Hunt
Good morning. Here's a summary of our top headlines from yesterday:
WPP profit warning on downturn in spending from tech and Chinese clients as it flags up restructuring charges of £400 million
Heathrow on the brink of breaking back into the black as losses for first nine months of the year narrow to just £19 million. Says traffic in 2024 will be “in line“ with 2019
Pizza Express owner makes “approach” for Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group to set up bidding war
Unilever says ice cream sales down 10% in the summer as terrible weather hit demand for Magnums
NatWest board to meet on Alison Rose payoff as legal battle looms
And...yesterday's top-read piece: Five questions for Nationwide chief executive Debbie Crosbie.
