7th Aug 2020 11:15
(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Friday.
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COMPANIES
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Hargreaves Lansdown said it delivered a strong performance in financial 2020 despite myriad external challenges. The Bristol, England-based company, which offers an investment platform for retail investors, said assets under administration for the year to June 30 increased 5% year-on-year to GBP104.0 billion from GBP99.3 billion a year ago. Net new business inflows also rose 5% year-on-year to GBP7.7 billion from GBP7.3 billion. Annual pretax profit jumped 24% to GBP378.3 million from GBP305.8 million profit a year ago. This included a gain on disposal of GBP38.8 million relating to FundsLibrary. Hargreaves Lansdown upped its final dividend to 26.3 pence per share from 33.7p a year ago. The total annual dividend, including special payouts, was up 31% at 54.9p from 42.0p.
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Hikma Pharmaceuticals posted a rise in earnings for the first half of 2020, as it revised its full-year guidance amid a positive outlook. Hikma said pretax profit for the six months ended June 30 was USD274 million, up 21% year-on-year from USD226 million. This was as revenue rose 7.6% to USD1.13 billion from USD1.05 billion the year prior. Operating margin was 25%, improved from 24%. An interim dividend of 16.0 cents was declared, up 14% from 14.0 cents. Hikma said the improved performance reflected growth in all three of its businesses, highlighting a "particularly strong" performance from its Injectables business.
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Standard Life Aberdeen said it swung to an interim loss, with the asset manager pointing to the shutdowns in economic activity due to Covid-19 causing significant negative growth shocks across the world. For the half-year ended June 30, the company's fee-based revenue fell 13% to GBP706 million from GBP815 million last year. The Scottish company swung to a pretax loss of GBP498 million from a profit of GBP649 million last year, reflecting impairment charges relating to goodwill and intangible assets.
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Rightmove reported a knock to earnings in the first half of 2020, due to discounts it offered to estate agents to help them get through the lockdown. The property portal reported pretax profit of GBP61.6 million in the six months ended June 30, down 43% from GBP108.0 million a year prior. Revenue was down 34% to GBP94.8 million from GBP143.9 million a year before. The company said this reflected the impact of the 75% discount it offered to its estate agent customers for four months from April. Rightmove extended its discounts through to the end of September, with a 60% discount in fees will be offered from August, reducing to a 40% discount in September. Rightmove did not declare an interim dividend, having paid out 2.8 pence per share last year. The company also cancelled its final dividend of 4.4p per share for the year ended December 31, given the uncertainties presented by Covid-19.
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MARKETS
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London shares were mixed amid increasingly bitter relations between the US and China that some investors fear could lead to a renewal of their painful trade war. In London, Hikma was the best blue-chip performer, up 11%. Wall Street was pointed to a lower open after US President Donald Trump ordered sweeping restrictions against Chinese social media firms TikTok and WeChat. The US jobs report for July is due at 1330 BST.
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FTSE 100: down 0.2% at 6,017.30
FTSE 250: flat at 17,476.75
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 1.1% at 926.97
GBP: down at USD1.3092 (USD1.3137)
EUR: down at USD1.1811 (USD1.1845)
GOLD: up at USD2,058.03 per ounce (USD2,052.10)
OIL (Brent): down at USD44.76 a barrel (USD45.37)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is resisting calls to extend the furlough scheme with targeted measures to stave off widespread job losses, saying the support cannot go on "indefinitely". The scheme that has so far cost GBP33.8 billion supporting the payrolls of 9.6 million workers during the coronavirus crisis has begun tapering off before ending completely in October. Sunak visited Glasgow on Friday to praise the benefits the programme has had on Scotland. The chancellor warned "there is hardship ahead for many people" as he again ruled out extending the jobs retention scheme. "It's one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make in this job," he told Sky News. "I don't think it's fair to extend this indefinitely, it's not fair to the people on it. We shouldn't pretend there is in every case a job to go back to."
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UK house prices increased to the highest levels since the Halifax house price index began thanks to a mini-boom in the housing market, Halifax said. On an annual basis, UK house prices were 3.8% higher than in the same month a year earlier, while on a monthly basis, prices were 1.6% higher in July than in June - its highest ever monthly increase. The average price of a house in the UK was GBP241,604 versus GBP237,616 in June.
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Beijing accused the US of "arbitrary political manipulation and suppression" after President Donald Trump ordered sweeping restrictions against Chinese social media giants TikTok and WeChat. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular press briefing that the US move came at the expense of American users and companies. Trump on Thursday ordered sweeping restrictions against Chinese-owned social media giants TikTok and WeChat that could strangle their ability to operate in the US. The executive order, which takes effect in 45 days, bars anyone under US jurisdiction from doing business with the owners of TikTok or WeChat.
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China's trade surplus surged in July ahead of expectations amid a 10% rise in exports. China's trade surplus in July was CNY442.23 billion, about USD63.49 billion, a 46% annual jump according to the General Administration of Customs. Consensus according to FXStreet predicted a trade surplus of CNY264.99 billion, so the July figure beat market expectations. Exports rose 10%, figures showed, while imports were up 1.6%.
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Ottawa will impose "dollar-for-dollar" tariffs on US goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump's decision to slap a 10% tariff on aluminium imports from Canada, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Thursday. Trump had previously imposed increased tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium in 2018 but then removed them last year. In a speech in Ohio at a factory, where he announced the plan on Thursday, Trump accused Canada of "taking advantage" of the US. A statement from the US Trade Representative Office said Canadian imports have "surged above historical levels," in justifying the measure, which has been on the cards since last June. The move comes just five weeks after a new North American free trade deal, known as USMCA, went into effect between Canada, Mexico and the US. Trump had pushed hard for the agreement, which replaced NAFTA from 1994.
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