Wednesday 4 July 2018

Company news, markets and financial talking points, available from 8am Monday to Friday

Scrap business rates to save the high street says expert

The government should abolish business rates to help save the high street, according to retail veteran Bill Grimsey. Writing for the Daily Telegraph, the former boss of Iceland, Wickes and Focus also called for "decisive action" from local councils to help high streets respond to the rise of online shopping and soaring costs. In recent months, Toys R Us and Maplin have collapsed.

SFO abandons criminal probe into Lloyds on Libor

The Serious Fraud Office has scrapped a criminal investigation into Lloyds Banking Group traders over Libor rigging. According to The Times, the fraud office was having difficulty sourcing an expert prepared to provide evidence on the traders’ behaviour after the recent controversy involving Saul Haydon Rowe, the expert witness hired by the anti-fraud agency.

Solar power records smashed as heatwave rages on

The UK heatwave has helped break a series of solar power-generation records, notes The Guardian. Solar broke the record for weekly output between 21 and 28 June, producing 533 gigawatt hours of power. It generated more than 75GWh on five of the seven days, and hit more than 8GW for eight consecutive days. Over the weekend it briefly eclipsed gas power stations as the UK’s top source of electricity.

Are Barclay bros looking to sell as Telegraph stumbles?

Profits at the Telegraph Media Group halved last year - falling from £27.1m in 2016 to £13.7m. Revenues from print advertising and circulation fell by 9%. "Evolving consumer habits" and industry changes were blamed. The company’s decision to publish its results has led to speculation that the Barclay brothers, who also own the Ritz hotel, are looking to sell the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph titles.

Watchdog says water bonuses have hit public trust

The bonuses of water company bosses have damaged trust, says Ofwat. The watchdog said it would run an assessment to establish whether water companies were doing enough to link performance-related pay to customer delivery. Firms will submit their business plans to the regulator. A spokeswoman said: "Water companies must put customers’ interests and those of future generations, at the heart of all the decisions they take."

Quote of the day… The world may be facing a perfect storm

"It is a different picture today. The Powell Fed is more hawkish. The US economy is closer to overheating. The Trump tax package is drawing US corporate funds overseas back into the US. And there is a trade war. China – and the world – may be facing a perfect storm." Ambrose Evans-Pritchard says 2018 is different to the 2016 Chinese currency crisis, when the Fed halted its tightening cycle.

THE NUMBERS... AT 0658 GMT

FTSE 100: down -0.49 to 7,593.29
Dow Jones: down -0.54 to 24,174.82
Dax: down -0.55 to 12,238.17
Cac 40: up +0.76 to 5,316.77
Nikkei: down -0.15 to 21,752.85
Hang Seng: dow -1.21 to 28,199.61
US dollar: buys €0.857 and £0.7572
Sterling: buys $1.3201 and €1.1314
Oil: $78.10 up +0.34