29th Sep 2020 11:29
(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Tuesday.
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COMPANIES
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Ferguson said it will resume dividend payments despite the plumbing and heating products supplier's annual earnings being held back by the coronavirus outbreak. For the financial year ended July 31, revenue slipped 0.9% to USD21.82 billion from USD22.01 billion in financial 2019. The revenue figure, however, was higher than the company-compiled consensus forecast of USD21.76 billion. Pretax profit was down 4.8% to USD1.26 billion from USD1.32 billion, while trading profit, which excludes exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangible assets, was USD1.67 billion, up 8.6% from USD1.54 billion. The trading profit figure beat the consensus forecast of USD1.59 billion. Ferguson proposed a final dividend for the year of 208.2 cents which it said "effectively reinstates" the previously withdrawn interim dividend, and was in line with last year's payout. However, its USD500 million share buyback program remains suspended. The company separately said that Bill Brundage, currently chief financial officer of unit Ferguson Enterprises, will succeed Mike Powell as group CFO and executive director on November 1. Powell will step down at the end of October.
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B&M European Value Retail raised its earnings guidance as the discount retailer's knock-down prices and spacious stores were a hit among customers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The discount retailer expects to report double-digit first-half revenue growth following its recent FTSE 100 promotion, adding that it will open about 40 new stores this year, shaking off a wider UK retail malaise. B&M said its revenue in the six months to September 26, surged by just over 25% year-on-year, with its UK stores alone posting growth of 30%. In the second quarter alone, like-for-like growth in UK stores was 19%. In addition, B&M raised its earnings guidance, with interim earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation expected to come in at GBP285 million, up from July's previously guided range of GBP250 million to GBP270 million.
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Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto is facing accusations it "side-stepped" responsibility to clean up poisonous waste from a closed mine on Papua New Guinea's Bougainville island in a complaint filed in Australia. The complaint alleges the former Panguna copper and gold mine continues to leak waste into rivers more than three decades after it was shuttered, saying the company failed to mitigate the risks posed by billions of tonnes of mining waste that have turned riverbeds blue and caused health problems for more than 12,000 people living downstream. It urges the Australian government to bring the miner into negotiations with locals and investigate the situation if talks fall through.
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Greggs said it bounced back from a "slower August" but warned of a job losses to cut costs as the UK government's furlough scheme draws to a close. In September, like-for-like sales in company-managed shops improved to 76% of the level seen in 2019. Greggs explained it saw "higher levels of activity" compared to a "slower August". Since it re-merged from the Covid-19 lockdown in July, like-for-like sales in company-managed shops have on average sat at 71% of 2019 levels. Greggs plans roughly 20 net new site openings in 2020. In the 39 weeks to September 26, it closed 49 shops and opened 38. But although new store openings are planned, Greggs still warned that it may cut some jobs.
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MARKETS
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London shares were lower with a cautious approach among investors ahead of the US presidential election debate. Ferguson was the best blue-chip performer, up 5.8%. US stock market futures were pointed to a lower open.
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FTSE 100: down 0.8% at 5,877.64
FTSE 250: down 0.8% at 17,235.44
AIM ALL-SHARE: flat at 955.81
GBP: up at USD1.2875 (USD1.2855)
EUR: up at USD1.1694 (USD1.1653)
GOLD: up at USD1,884.12 per ounce (USD1,871.99)
OIL (Brent): flat at USD42.15 a barrel (USD42.10)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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There'll be no handshake, but venom to spare when President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden meet in Cleveland on Tuesday for the first of three televised debates that could shake up an already volatile race for the White House. Covid-19 restrictions will give the debate moderated by Fox News star Chris Wallace a streamlined look with a smaller audience. Naturally, there won't be the once standard – even if occasionally forced – show of goodwill in shaking hands as the rivals go on stage. What the 90-minute clash will have is a chance for Americans finally to see Trump, 74, and Biden, 77, go head to head. With Trump claiming Biden is virtually brain dead – "Biden doesn't know he's alive" – and Biden branding the president "a toxic presence," it won't be for the faint hearted.
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US Democrats unveiled a USD2.2 trillion relief bill Monday to help millions of Americans gutted by the coronavirus pandemic, trimming more than USD1 trillion off their earlier version hoping to reach agreement with Republicans after months of stagnation. The new plan "provides the absolutely needed resources to protect lives, livelihoods and the life of our democracy over the coming months," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her Democratic caucus in a letter. She said the measure includes new funding that would "avert catastrophe" for schools, small businesses, restaurants, performance spaces, airline workers and others.
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The ninth round of trade talks between London and Brussels is set to get underway as the two sides continue to clash over the controversial UK Internal Market Bill. At talks in Brussels on Monday, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic reiterated calls for British ministers to scrap provisions in the legislation which could see the UK unilaterally tear up elements of the Brexit divorce deal. At a news conference following the meeting of the joint committee on the implementation of the agreement, Sefcovic said the EU "will not be shy" in taking legal action if the UK does not withdraw measures from the draft Bill by the end of the month. However Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, who co-chairs the committee with Sefcovic, said the UK government intended to continue with passage of the bill, which is due to go through its report stage in the Commons on Tuesday.
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Leaders in Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester have warned the UK government their hospitality sectors are at risk of collapse unless coronavirus restrictions are reviewed. In a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Business Secretary Alok Sharma, the leaders and chief executives of the three city councils said restrictions in place in the regions were threatening a "huge, disproportionate" economic impact. The city bosses said hotel occupancy was down to 30% and footfall had dropped by up to 70%. Guidance in place in the cities advises people not to mix with other households but the council leaders said it was "unenforceable" as well as being "contradictory and confusing".
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