Market Buzz
Friday newspaper round-up: WPP, Trump, Google, Playtech
WPP will name company insider Mark Read as its new chief executive next week after the world’s largest advertising group decided against an external hire to replace its founder, Sir Martin Sorrell. Read has been running WPP on an interim basis since Sorrell resigned in controversial and acrimonious circumstances in April. Read is a WPP veteran whose time at the group includes 10 years on the board, and had been tipped as the favourite internal candidate for the job.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Dyson, Panasonic, Macron, Canada
A dramatic rise in land values pushed Britain’s wealth to a fresh high of more than £10tn last year, highlighting the huge gains made by developers in property hotspots across the UK. From London and the home counties to Cambridge and popular parts of Devon and Cornwall, land values have become the single largest element of wealth, dwarfing household wealth locked up in property and financial savings. Official figures showed that the UK’s net worth rose by £492bn between 2016 and 2017 to £10.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit drugs, Didi, RBS, Aston Martin
The health secretary’s plan to set aside six weeks’ worth of vital medicines to avoid supply disruptions in the event of a no-deal Brexit could cost up to £2bn, campaign group Best for Britain warns today. Matt Hancock wrote to healthcare providers last week, saying the government would set in motion plans to “ensure the UK has an additional six weeks’ supply of medicines in case imports from the EU through certain routes are affected”. Data collated by thinktank the King’s Fund earlier this year suggested the total drugs bill for the NHS in 2016-17 was £17.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, landowners, Uber, online VAT,
Theresa May claimed that a no-deal Brexit “wouldn’t be the end of the world” as she sought to downplay a controversial warning made by Philip Hammond last week that it would cost £80bn in extra borrowing and inhibit long-term economic growth. The prime minister conceded that crashing out of the European Union without a deal “wouldn’t be a walk in the park” but went on to argue that the UK could make an economic success of the unprecedented situation if it proved impossible to negotiate a satisfactory divorce.
Sunday newspaper round-up: No-deal Brexit, UK banks, Melrose, GVC
Theresa May is to hold a cabinet crisis summit to prepare for a no-deal Brexit amid fears that a cabinet row between remainers and Brexiteers will stop Britain going it alone, and undermine her negotiating position with Brussels.
Friday newspaper round-up: Australian PM, Ryanair, National Lottery, accounting firms
Australia will have a new prime minister in Scott Morrison – the socially conservative architect of Australia’s hardline anti-asylum seeker policies – after he mounted a late challenge during a drawn-out struggle for power in the governing Liberal party. On Friday, incumbent Malcolm Turnbull failed in his attempt to stare down a challenge from hard right MP Peter Dutton, with insurgents in his party gathering enough signatures to call for a “spill” of the leadership.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Aramco, Uber, Sainsbury-Asda
Britain would take unilateral action in the event of a no-deal Brexit to keep trade and transport flowing freely, Dominic Raab will pledge. In a speech coinciding with the publication of the first batch of technical notices laying out the government’s contingency plans for a no-deal scenario, the Brexit secretary will say that Britain would not risk triggering a tit-for-tat battle with Brussels by imposing new border checks or travel restrictions. – Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Superdrug, Sainsbury/Asda, Slack
Britain would face labour shortages in London and the south-east from a no-deal Brexit, according to a report calling for the government to extend freedom of movement for EU migrants to protect the wider economy. The Centre for Cities thinktank urged the government to extend freedom of movement for two years after the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019, in the event of no deal on the terms of exit and future relations with the union. – Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Jeremy Hunt, hospitals, parcel delivery, Musk
The British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is to urge Donald Trump to face down Moscow’s threat to western values by imposing wider economic sanctions against Russia and agreeing new rules to protect the legitimacy of democratic elections. In a speech in Washington on Tuesday during his first visit since taking over from Boris Johnson as the UK’s most senior diplomat, Hunt will specifically call for tighter regulation of online political advertising and new measures to prevent cyber attacks on electoral machinery.
Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit, G4S, Sainsbury's, banks
Britain’s political landscape has already been reshaped irrevocably by the Brexit vote. But there is a growing feeling at Westminster that the deep divisions over whether, and how, Britain should break from the EU, cannot be contained within the existing party system. - Guardian.
Friday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Sports Direct, Debenhams, fracking
The European Commission will cause significant and lasting economic harm to millions of families across the continent if it rejects Britain’s Brexit plan, Greg Clark, the business secretary, has said. In a significant escalation of the government’s rhetoric Mr Clark used a meeting with his Austrian and Finnish counterparts to express dismay at what the government regards as EU intransigence to its proposals. - The Times.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, railways, PwC, RBS, Uber
Road haulage firms have accused Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, of failing to put in place any credible contingency plans for a 'no-deal' Brexit scenario, as well as "knowing nothing" about their industry. Speaking to the Telegraph, industry leaders said they were left astonished in recent meetings with Mr Grayling where he appeared to be unaware that British lorry drivers would not be able to carry goods on the continent if the UK crashes out of the bloc.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: CEO pay, rail fares, Intel, House of Fraser
Pay for chief executives at Britain’s biggest listed companies rose more than six times faster than wages in the wider workforce last year as the average boss’s pay packet hit £3. 9m. Chief executive pay at businesses on the FTSE 100 index surged 11% on a median basis in 2017 while average worker earnings failed to keep pace with inflation, rising just 1. 7%, according to the High Pay Centre’s annual review of top pay. – Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Pensions scam, Turkey, EasyJet, ports
A TV advertising campaign to warn the public about pension scams is being launched by UK regulators as new figures show that victims are losing an average of £91,000 each. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Pensions Regulator have joined forces on the campaign to raise awareness of the most common tactics used by fraudsters. – Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit, train fares, Harwood Capital, House of Fraser
Companies are suffering from a “supply shock” as fewer EU citizens come to the UK, and companies struggle to fill vacancies, according to a survey of 2,000 employers. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said the number of applicants per vacancy had fallen since last summer across all levels of skilled jobs, and said shortages were forcing many companies to raise wages. – Guardian.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, accountants, Debenhams, Dixons, WPP
Supermarket giants have warned the Treasury that a no-deal Brexit would force up the price of the average weekly food basket by as much as 12%. Senior executives from some of the big four supermarkets made the alarming prediction in briefings to the Treasury on the impact on food prices of a no-deal Brexit. The biggest tariffs on imports from the EU could include cheese, up by 44%, beef, up by 40%, and chicken, up 22%. - Sunday Times.
Friday newspaper round-up: Immigration targets, News Corp, Drop Box, Poundworld
The Confederation of British Industry has urged Theresa May to drop her “blunt target” on immigration numbers and introduce new freedom of movement rules for EU citizens post-Brexit to ensure firms, large and small, can stay in business when the UK leaves the bloc. Outlining the results of a major consultation with business leaders, Josh Hardie, the CBI’s deputy director general, said companies believed an injection of honesty was urgently needed in the political debate about migration.
Thursday newspaper round-up: UK rents, Investec, 21st Century Fox, Barclays
UK rents are expected to climb by 15% over the next five years, as the supply of rental accommodation dwindles while demand from tenants continues to go up, according to a survey. Rents are expected to increase by nearly 2% across the UK over the next 12 months, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). – Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Tesla, ITV, Sky, Provident Financial
Elon Musk has launched a campaign to take Tesla private on a day that included several provocative tweets, a suspension (and resumption) of trading in the company’s shares, reports of a significant Saudi investment, a surge in stock price, and an evocative, Musk-tinged appeal to the Tesla faithful: “The future is very bright and we’ll keep fighting to achieve our mission. ” The ride started with Tesla’s stock rising more than 7% after Musk tweeted he was “considering taking Tesla private” and had funding in place to do so at a price of $420 (£325) per share.
Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit, defence, FCFM, House of Fraser
Britain faces a Japanese-style future of permanently weak economic growth if immigration drops steeply in the years after Brexit, as forecasts indicate the working age population could start to shrink in just nine years’ time. As a result the economy would stagnate, investment would slow as businesses see their customer base fall, and Government finances would be put under immense strain as larger numbers of pensioners would have to be supported by fewer workers.