Dignity warns on profits after slashing funeral prices, HSBC settles with US DoJ

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 10 points higher on Friday, having closed down 0.32% at 7,700.96 on Thursday.

Stocks to watch

Funeral provider Dignity issued a profits warning on Friday as it announced a 25% price cut in its simple funerals and a freeze on the cost of traditional ceremonies, blaming accelerating competition.

HSBC has agreed a financial settlement with the US Department of Justice to conclude its investigation into the bank's possible historical foreign exchange misdemeanours. The FTSE 100-listed bank will pay the DoJ a total of $101.5m, including a US$63.1m fine and US$38.4m in restitution, and has agreed to put further compliance procedures and controls in place.

AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune announced on Friday that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has approved Fasenra (benralizumab) as an add-on treatment for bronchial asthma in patients who continue to experience asthma exacerbations despite treatment with high-dose inhaled corticosteroid and other asthma controllers. The FTSE 100 drugmaker also issued an announcement along with Merck & Co, confirming that the Japanese authorities have also approved Lynparza (olaparib) tablets at 300mg twice daily for use as a maintenance therapy for patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer.

Newspaper round-up

Vince Cable has attacked the City watchdog for failing to publish a full report into the mistreatment of small businesses by the Royal Bank of Scotland, as MPs lined up to condemn the bank in parliament. The leader of the Liberal Democrats expressed “disgust” that passages of a damning report by the Financial Conduct Authority had not been released, four-and-a-half years after he first referred the case to the regulator during his time in the coalition government. – Guardian

Ryanair has been referred to employment and tax authorities for investigation by two parliamentary committees, citing the airline’s “refusal to cooperate” with inquiries over crew pay and conditions. Frank Field, chair of the work and pensions committee, and Rachel Reeves, chair of the business select committee, have written to HMRC and the director of labour market enforcement asking them to investigate Ryanair and the agencies that supply its cabin crew. – Guardian

Britain’s pub and restaurant industry looks to have suffered a tough Christmas as festive revellers curbed their spending on food. Data from the Coffer Peach business tracker, which is seen as a bellwether for the industry, has shown comparable sales were down 0.1pc for the six-week Christmas period compared to the prior year. – Telegraph

Britain’s most successful companies tend to have a large proportion of women in senior management roles but the UK lags behind the US and Australia on diversity at the top, new research suggests. Between 2011 and 2015, the most gender diverse quarter of companies were 20pc more likely than the least diverse to have above average financial performance, a report by management consultants McKinsey found. – Telegraph

White-collar criminals are acting with impunity, with fewer than ten prosecutions for insider trading in the past five years, an investigation has found. A freedom of information request to the chief City watchdog revealed how little was being done to stop stock market abuse despite research by The Times suggesting the system was being exploited. – The Times

Britain’s productivity could be better than thought because officials may have underestimated the size of the telecoms industry. Advances in broadband and digital technology may not have been shown in GDP numbers by the Office for National Statistics, analysis suggests. The work, instigated by the ONS after a review of economic data in 2016, found that inflation in telecommunications services may have been overstated by 90 per cent from 2010 to 2015. – The Times

US close

Fears of a partial government shutdown saw US stocks close lower on Thursday as weaker industrials also weighed on investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.37% or 97.84 points lower at 26,017.81, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.16% to 2,798.03 and the Nasdaq 0.03% to 7,296.05.

The Dow hit an an intraday high near the opening bell before before the slide began and it plunged 168 points at one stage before paring back losses in late trading.

Yields on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury rose three basis points to 2.62% as the Fed’s Beige Book report showed a strong domestic economy that hinted at a tightening in the labour market.

General Electric shares fell below $17 briefly, and hit their lowest level in seven years. The sell off was prompted earlier in the week as the company reported disappointing results after a review of its GE Capital insurance portfolio.