Euromoney to review asset management arm, Cairn swings to H1 profit
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The FTSE 100 was called to open 15 points lower at 7,220.
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Euromoney Institutional Investor said it had started a strategic review of its asset management businesses, which consist of BCA Research, Ned Davis Research and Institutional Investor.
"Euromoney has a well-established strategy to transition towards a 3.0 business-to-business information services company, which is reflected in the company's capital allocation,” the company said.
Cairn Energy swung to a first half profit on higher oil and gas output as it upgraded full year production forecasts.
The company reported a profit of $66.5m against a loss of $500.5m a year earlier as oil and gas sales revenue rose to $257m from $174.3m. Full year oil production guidance was upgraded to 21,000-23,000 barrels a day from 19,000-22,000.
Ashtead's first quarter revenues rose 17% to $1.3bn following strong growth in the US and Canadian markets, sending profits 9% higher.
Having invested a total of $717m in capital and bolt-on acquisitions in the period, the industrial equipment rental company added 27 new locations and remains confident in its medium-term prospects amid a continued focus on organic growth supplemented by targeted acquisitions.
Newspaper round-up
The head of the Treasury spending watchdog has warned Sajid Javid that he is on track to break government borrowing rules after embarking on the biggest annual increase in spending for 15 years. Robert Chote, the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said the chancellor had set a course for the public finances that would probably breach a Conservative manifesto pledge to deliver balanced budgets by the mid-2020s. – Guardian
Amazon received €241m in tax credits last year that it can deduct from future bills for its European business, despite efforts by authorities in Brussels to ensure the company pays more tax. Amazon Europe, which is based in Luxembourg and aggregates the billions of pounds of sales the retailer makes from individual countries across the continent, received the credits after reporting a pre-tax loss of €493m in 2018. Sales rose 11.6% to €28bn. – Guardian
Business creation in Britain slumped last year, research has found. The number of new start-ups fell by almost 42,000, or 12.9 per cent, compared with 2017, an analysis of official figures revealed. The study from the Enterprise Research Centre, a joint venture from Warwick and Aston university business schools, suggested that the slowdown may reflect uncertainty linked with Brexit. The researchers also said that a continuing lack of clarity could have dented the growth ambitions among some more established companies. – The Times
US close
US stocks closed mixed on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 26,835.51, the S&P 500 ended flat at 2,978.43 and the Nasdaq ticked down 0.2% to 8,087.44.