SSE pulls out of Npower merger, Croda finalises deal to buy Brenntag Biosector
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open six points higher on Monday, having closed down 0.47% at 6,845.17 on Friday.
Stocks to watch
British energy supplier SSE on Monday pulled out of its planned merger with Innogy's Npower retail unit, saying the two companies could not agree on commercial terms. “The transaction has been impacted by multiple factors including the performance of the respective businesses, clarity on the final level of the default tariff cap, changing energy market conditions and the associated implications of these for both the joint business plan and the market in which the business would be operating,” SSE said. “These implications meant the new company would have faced very challenging market conditions, particularly during the period when it would have incurred the bulk of the integration costs.”
Chemicals group Croda International has wrapped up a deal to buy Denmark-based vaccine adjuvant specialist Brenntag Biosector for €72m. Biosector, which is expected to be folded into the group by the end of the year, specialises in innovative aluminium and saponin-based adjuvants used in human and veterinary vaccines to increase their effectiveness.
Polymetal International has sold its 100% interest in Khakanja - Okhotsk Mining and Exploration Company - to a group of unrelated private Russian buyers for a total consideration of $30m in cash and assumed debt, it announced on Monday. The FTSE 250 firm said the assets sold comprised the 600 Ktpa processing plant, other related infrastructure at Khakanja, and old stockpiles at Khakanja, Avlayakan and Ozernoye deposits, with current ore reserves of about 0.1 Moz of GE. It said the sale also included the advanced exploration properties of Kundumi and Mevachan.
Newspaper round-up
Theresa May’s cabinet allies have publicly demanded that she puts Brexit in the hands of the Commons and allows MPs a series of votes on options to break the deadlock. Liam Fox, the trade secretary and Mrs May’s longest-standing ministerial friend, and Damian Hinds, the education secretary, both backed the plan yesterday. - The Times
The pillars of the global financial system are fundamentally unstable and could lead to a frightening chain-reaction in the next crisis, the world’s top watchdog has warned. Giant "central counterparties" (CCPs) that clear much of the $540 trillion (£428 trillion) nexus of derivatives are themselves vulnerable to failure in times of extreme stress. - Telegraph
Retailers vying for customers in the last full week of trading before Christmas are in for a tough time according to the latest predictions, with footfall expected to fall by about 3% this week as cash-strapped shoppers rein in spending. The forecast by retail analysis firm Springboard adds to the bleak picture facing the sector in the key festive trading season, as consumers uncertain about what Brexit will mean for the economy and their finances cut back on gift-buying this year. - Guardian
US close
Wall Street stocks closed sharply lower on Friday following the release of some weak Chinese data that spread concerns regarding the state of the world's second-largest economy.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 2.02% lower at 24,100.51, while the S&P 500 lost 1.91% to 2,599.95 and the Nasdaq Composite moved 2.26% softer to 6,910.66.
Chinese data released earlier showed that industrial production rose 5.4% on the year in November, versus expectations of 5.9% growth. Meanwhile, retail sales were up 8.1%, falling short of expectations for 8.8% growth and marking the weakest pace of growth since 2003.
Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said: "Talk of China resuming purchases of US soybeans has helped provide another element of optimism after the recent trimming of tariffs on US cars."
"However, with Chinese retail sales and industrial production joined by a batch of weaker eurozone PMI surveys, it is easy to see why that’s been overshadowed."