Polymetal doubles divi; Provident Financial swings to a loss
London open
The top-flight index was expected to open 10 points higher at 6,047.
Stocks to watch
Russian miner Polymetal reported sharply higher interim profits and doubled its dividend, driven by higher gold and silver prices. The company on Wednesday said adjusted core earnings leapt by 53% to $616m as revenue increased by a fifth to $1.13bn. An interim dividend of 40 cents a share, twice the 20 cents paid a year ago. Net earnings were $381m, up from $153m, with basic earnings per share of 81 cents a share compared with 33 cents last year.
Provident Financial swung to a loss in the first half as revenue fell and bad debts increased at its consumer credit business. The company reported a £32.6m adjusted pre-tax loss compared with an £80.4m profit a year earlier as group revenue fell to £445.6m from £501.5m.
Virgin Atlantic was thrown a lifeline on Tuesday after creditors backed a £1.2bn rescue deal to help it through the Covid-19 crisis. The company said 99% of trade creditors, each of whom is owed more than £50,000 by the airline, approved the deal at a High Court hearing in London, easily surpassing the 75% threshold of total money owed. Each creditor will receive 80% of the money owed by Virgin Atlantic which will be paid in instalments. Another UK court hearing will take place on September 2 to approve the plan, and a procedural hearing will take place in the US a day later.
In the press
A slump in UK consumer spending during the coronavirus lockdown has erased almost the same carbon emissions as produced by the city of Nottingham in a year, according to a new report. Carbon emissions from the UK’s main consumer industries tumbled by more than a quarter during the national coronavirus lockdown as people travelled less and cut down on clothes shopping. - Guardian
He has previously praised the “solidarity” of the English-speaking nations that share strong bonds with the UK. Now the former Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, is tipped to be appointed to advise the UK – his birthplace – on how to seize trade opportunities post-Brexit. The Guardian understands there’s been speculation in Australian government circles for some time that Abbott – a social conservative who was prime minister for nearly two years until he was toppled in a snap party vote in 2015 – was in line for a British trade advisory role of some form. – Guardian
Two of the City's most powerful firms have called an end to the daily commute by allowing staff to permanently split their time between home and the office after the Covid crisis. The world's biggest investment bank JP Morgan has told staff in London that they will be continuing to work remotely on a part-time basis. Meanwhile Linklaters, one of London’s elite Magic Circle law firms, said employees will be free to work from home for up to half of the week. – Telegraph
US Close
Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as signs of potential progress in trade talks between the US and China where offset by some weaker-than-expected consumer confidence data.
At the close, the Dow Jones Jones Industrial Average was down 0.21% at 28,248.44, while the S&P 500 was 0.36% higher at 3,443.62 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.76% firmer at 11,466.47.
The Dow closed 60.02 points lower on Tuesday, cutting into gains recorded yesterday after the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorisation for convalescent plasma on Covid-19 patients.