Capita in talks to sell education software unit, Cairn Energy reveals new chair
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open seven points lower on Friday, having closed down 0.44% on Thursday at 6,362.93.
Stocks to watch
British outsourcing group Capita on Friday said it was in exclusive talks with private equity firm Montagu over the potential sale of its Education Software Solutions unit. The London-listed company in June put the division, whose platform SIMS is used by 21,000 schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, up for sale to secure at least £500m. Reports last month stated rival private equity house CVC Capital Partners was exploring a possible bid. “There can be no certainty that a sale will be concluded nor any certainty over the terms of any such sale,” Capita said.
Cairn Energy announced on Friday that non-executive director Nicoletta Giadrossi would be appointed chair of the company, with effect from 1 January. The FTSE 250 firm said she was succeeding Ian Tyler who, after seven years on the Cairn board including six as chairman, announced in May that he would retire on appointment of a successor.
Newspaper round-up
Black Friday is expected to smash online sales records this year as struggling retailers slash prices in a desperate attempt to drum up trade after a lost November on the high street. The discount day has become the biggest shopping event of the year but the stakes are far higher this time round as coronavirus restrictions mean some retailers have shops closed in three of the four home nations. - Guardian
A new tech regulator will work to limit the power of Google, Facebook and other tech platforms, the government has announced, in an effort to ensure a level playing field for smaller competitors and a fair market for consumers. Under the plans, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will gain a dedicated Digital Markets Unit, empowered to write and enforce a new code of practice on technology companies which will set out the limits of acceptable behaviour. - Guardian
Decommissioning Britain’s old nuclear sites will cost taxpayers £132bn and take 120 years, the Public Accounts Committee has said. The process will be hampered by what the spending watchdog called “decades of poor records” leading to a “perpetual” lack of knowledge about nuclear materials and old power stations, compounded by “weak oversight” from the Government. - Telegraph
The chief executive of one of Britain’s biggest traditional pension funds has warned that tens of thousands of its members will be £34,000 worse off on average as a result of planned changes to the retail prices index. Morten Nilsson, head of the BT Pension Scheme, condemned the move as “a massive transfer of wealth” from defined benefit scheme members to the government and accused ministers of backtracking on earlier statements. - The Times
The postal regulator appears to have cleared the way for the government to relax the statutory commitment of Royal Mail to deliver six days a week to all addresses in the UK. An Ofcom review of Royal Mail’s universal service obligation, enshrined in law, found that most homes and businesses will experience little impact in cutting deliveries to five days a week. - The Times
US close
Markets in the US were closed on Thursday, for the Thanksgiving holiday.
They had closed in a mixed state on Wednesday, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.58% at 29,872.47.
At the same time, the S&P 500 lost 0.16% to 3,269.65, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.48% firmer at 12,094.40.