3rd Feb 2020 11:33
(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Monday.
----------
COMPANIES
----------
Ryanair Holdings reported a profit in the third quarter, compared to a loss the year before, on better-than-expected Christmas and New Year bookings. In the three months to December 31 - traditionally a weak season for airlines - the budget airline recorded operating profit of EUR91.3 million, compared to a loss of EUR68.0 million for the same period a year before. Total operating revenue in the third quarter was up 21% year on year to EUR1.91 billion from EUR1.58 billion. Traffic rose 6.2% to 35.9 million, while revenue per passenger grew 13%. Turning to the ongoing Boeing 737 MAX aircraft delivery delays, Ryanair said it is now likely the first delivery will be September or October 2020. The aircraft were grounded after hundreds of people were killed in two crashes. Ryanair added its target to carry 200 million passengers a year would have to wait until financial 2025 or 2026.
----------
Imperial Brands said car dealer Inchcape's current Chief Executive Stefan Bomhard will join the tobacco company in the same role, effective at a future date. The FTSE 100-listed tobacco company added that Alison Cooper has stepped down as chief executive and as a board director with immediate effect now that a replacement has been found for her. Imperial Brands has appointed Dominic Brisby, currently divisional director for Americas, Africa, Asia & Australasia region, and Joerg Biebernick, divisional director of Europe, as joint interim chief executive officers, until Bomhard assumes the top post.
----------
Tesco said its current chief executive will extend his tenure until new CEO Ken Murphy takes over in October. It was announced back in October that Dave Lewis would be leaving, and at that time Lewis was scheduled to depart in summer 2020. However, Lewis will now remain until September 30 "to facilitate a smooth and seamless handover" with Murphy succeeding him and joining the board October 1 "after fully respecting his contractual non-compete obligations".
----------
MARKETS
----------
London shares were higher after heavy losses incurred last week amid fears over the spread of the coronavirus. The pound was down against the dollar as investors mull what a post-Brexit trade future for the UK will look like. Wall Street was set for a higher open. Ahead in the US earnings calendar, Google parent Alphabet will report earnings after the market close in New York.
----------
FTSE 100: up 0.4% at 7,315.75
FTSE 250: up 0.3% at 21,215.82
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 952.66
GBP: down at USD1.3062 (USD1.3186)
EUR: down at USD1.1066 (USD1.1083)
GOLD: down at USD1,579.80 per ounce (USD1,586.60)
OIL (Brent): down at USD56.44 a barrel (USD56.86)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
The UK manufacturing sector stopped shrinking in January as political uncertainty subsided following the Conservative Party's victory in the general election in December, according to IHS Markit. The IHS/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index reading came in at the neutral mark of 50.0 in January, up from December's figure of 47.5. The score was a nine-month high and also beat the flash estimate of 49.8. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction, while one above expansion. The UK manufacturing PMI last posted a reading above the neutral 50.0 mark in April last year.
----------
The eurozone's manufacturing sector remained in decline in January, although somewhat tempered, numbers showed on Monday, with business confidence at the highest level in 16 months. IHS Markit's eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 47.9 in January, from 46.3 in December and marginally above the 47.8 flash estimate. It is however the 12 month in succession that the index has come in below the 50.0 mark which separates contraction from expansion. France manufacturing sector continued to expand, and at a faster rate in January. The manufacturing PMI rose to 51.1 from 50.4 in December. Germany was the eurozone's weakest performer again in January. The manufacturing PMI rose to an 11-month high of 45.3 in January from 43.7 in December, however.
----------
China accused the US of spreading "panic" in its response to the deadly coronavirus, including imposing a ban on Chinese travellers. The US "hasn't provided any substantial assistance" and has only created "panic", said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing. Washington on Friday declared a public health emergency and temporarily banned the entry of foreign nationals who have travelled to China over the past two weeks, to contain the spread of the outbreak. Sweeping new restrictions will also be imposed on American citizens, with those returning from the province at the disease's epicentre placed in facilities for a mandatory 14-day quarantine. There have been eight confirmed US cases of the new coronavirus, which originated in a live seafood market in Wuhan, in China's Hubei province. The virus has since spread to more than 24 countries, despite many governments imposing unprecedented travel bans on people coming from China. The World Health Organization has already declared the outbreak a global emergency, and the Chinese death toll has risen to 362 while total infections reached over 17,000, surpassing the SARS epidemic of two decades ago. On Sunday the first foreign death from the virus was reported in the Philippines.
----------
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened to walk away without a Brexit trade deal rather than accepting EU rules as battle lines were being drawn up by the two sides. The PM will use a speech to say there is "no need" for the UK to commit to following the "full panoply" of Brussels' regulations. But the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier is likely to stress that the further the UK moves from the EU model, the greater the barriers to trade will be, as he sets out his position in Brussels. Barnier underscored the difficulties of the trade negotiations with the UK ahead for the rest of the year when he highlighted the small but emblematic fisheries industry, which was a key issue in the protracted Brexit process in the UK too. Barnier told France Inter radio that "there will be no trade deal with the British if there is no reciprocal access deal for our fishermen".
----------
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
RYA.L