Yahoo Finance What to Watch: Another vote on May's deal, Tui counts 737 costs, and Ashley's prison call for Debenhams advisers
Here are the top business, market and economic stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe, and abroad:
Another vote on May’s deal
MPs will today vote on whether to approve part of Theresa May’s Brexit deal, as politicians continue to try and break the Brexit deadlock.
May faces an uphill struggle to win approval for the withdrawal agreement part of her deal. Most analysts expect another defeat.
“The PM looks set to lose another vote on her Brexit deal today, despite softening ERG [European Research Group] opposition,” Samuel Tombs, the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said in a note to clients on Friday morning.
With the DUP still opposing May’s deal, Tombs thinks May needs around 40 votes from Labour MPs to get her deal passed.
“They almost certainly will not come to her rescue,” Tombs wrote. “The Shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, confirmed yesterday that Labour will not support ‘the blindest of blindfold Brexits’.”
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst with Markets.com, wrote in an email: “It still does not appear that Mrs May can get enough MPs onside. Can she pull a rabbit out of the hat? We’re either heading to a no-deal exit, or a long delay with a General Election and/or second referendum.”
The pound was volatile ahead of the vote. Sterling was down 0.1% against the euro (GBPEUR=X) and down 0.09% against the dollar (GBPUSD=X).
Tui counts 737 costs
Travel operator Tui (TUI.L) has warned it will take a €200m (£172m) hit from the grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes.
The impact is due to costs for replacement aircraft, higher fuel charges, disruption, and the anticipated impact on trading.
As a result, Tui downgraded its profit guidance and now expects underlying earnings to be 17% lower than last year’s €1.18bn (£1bn). This compares to previous forecasts of flat earnings.
Tui shares were down by 10.3%. The warning also hit other travel companies. Shares in Thomas Cook (TCG.L) were down by 5% and shares in easyJet (EZJ.L) were down 1.1%.
Mike Ashley: Debenhams advisers should face jail
Sports Direct (SPD.L) founder Mike Ashley has said that Debenhams (DEB.L) advisers should be sent to prison for agreeing to an emergency refinancing plan that could wipe out shareholders.
“If there were any justice in the world the majority of the advisers would be put in prison,” Ashley said, according to the BBC.
Ashley, who owns 30% of Debenhams, has been battling to take control of the struggling department store. Debenhams’ board has repeatedly said that Ashley’s attempts to instal himself as CEO would not help the business tackle its debt pile.
Instead, Debenhams has been pursuing a refinancing of £200m of bonds. The plan could hand control of the company to its lenders and wipe out shareholders. Bondholders voted to approve the plan on Thursday, moving it a step closer.
Travis Perkins CEO leaving
Wickes owner Travis Perkins (TPK.L) has announced that chief executive John Carter is to step down.
He will be succeeded as CEO by Nick Roberts, currently boss of Atkins, who will join the business as a director and chief-executive designate on 1 July.
Travis Perkins chairman Stuart Chambers said: “I would like to thank John for his exceptional leadership which leaves Travis Perkins well-placed to meet its customers’ needs and to continue to deliver long-term value growth for its shareholders and other stakeholders.
“Nick has the breadth of skills needed to grow the business and to build on the strategy outlined in December. He has deep experience of the construction, design and engineering industries; which, coupled with his successes in the adoption of digital, will prove invaluable in driving the group’s strategy into the future.”
London house prices dive
London property prices suffered the worst decline in a decade in the first quarter of 2019, according to data from Nationwide Building Society.
London house prices were 3.8% lower than the same period last year in the first quarter. Nationwide said this was “the fastest pace of decline since 2009 and the seventh consecutive quarter in which prices have declined in the capital.”
”This trend is not entirely unexpected, however, as it follows several years of sustained outperformance which left affordability more stretched,” said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide.
“Policy changes that have impacted the Buy to Let market in recent years are also likely to have exerted more of a drag in London, given that the private rental sector accounts for a larger proportion of the housing stock in the capital than elsewhere in the country.”
European markets
European stock markets were higher after a solid session for Asian markets overnight.
Britain’s FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was up by 0.4%, Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) was 0.4% higher, France’s CAC 40 (^FCHI) was up by 0.7%, and the Euronext 100 (^N100) was up by 0.6%.
Overnight, Japan’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) closed up by 0.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (^HSI) was up by 0.9%, and China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 3.2% higher.
What to expect in the US
US stock futures were pointing to a higher open. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) was up by 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) were up by 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were up by 0.2%.
