BHP to pay record interim dividend, Ferrexpo taps Jim North for CEO
London pre-open
The FTSE 100 was being called to open just 1.3 points lower ahead of the bell on Tuesday after closing 1.69% lower in the previous session at 7,531.59.
Stocks to watch
BHP is handing back more than $7.0bn to shareholders in a record half-year dividend as soaring commodities helped the world's biggest mining company post a jump in profits.
The FTSE 100-listed company said net profits rose to $9.4bn in the six months to 31 December from $3.9bn a year earlier.
Iron ore pellets exporter Ferrexpo tapped Jim North to take over as permanent chief executive officer on Tuesday, with immediate effect.
North has held the position of acting CEO since May 2020, having previously been the group's chief operating officer since 2014.
Newspaper round-up
NatWest has become the first bank in 2022 to announce it will close some of its outlets as customers shun branches for mobile banking. The high street lender will shut 32 branches across its NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland brands in England and Wales over the next year. - Guardian
The major buy now, pay later companies Clearpay, Klarna, Laybuy and Openpay have agreed to change “potentially unfair and unclear” terms and conditions after an intervention from the financial regulator. The Financial Conduct Authority said it was able to use consumer law to enforce the changes. However, the regulator acknowledged that it was still lacking the powers to regulate the sector to the same standard as other consumer credit companies. - Guardian
Working from home was more expensive than going to the office for one in five workers last month, as rising household bills undermined the financial benefits of avoiding the commute. The largest proportion of respondents to an Office for National Statistics survey - almost half - said working from home still offered savings on their pre-pandemic lifestyle. - Telegraph
One of Britain's fastest-growing technology companies has secured $116.0m in investment in a deal that gives it a "unicorn" valuation of $1.4bn. The London-based Tripledot Studios, which makes smartphone games such as Woodoku, a woodblock-style puzzle, said that it would use the funds to develop titles and acquire rival studios. - The Times
An "urban miner" that recycles metals for reuse in electric vehicle batteries is preparing to list in London. Neometals, which is already listed in Australia with a valuation of about £400.0m, is seeking a dual-listing on Aim, London's junior stock market. Chris Reed, its chief executive, described Neometals as a "new-age urban miner", adding: "We're like the Wombles, making good use of the things that we find. Just think of me as Orinoco." - The Times
US close
Wall Street stocks disappointed on Monday on the back of ongoing rate hike worries and fears of a possible imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.49% at 34,566.17, while the S&P 500 was 0.38% weaker at 4,401.67 and the Nasdaq Composite was broadly flat at 13,790.92