Thursday 23 August 2018

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

Longest bull run in US history despite political chaos

The longest bull run in US stock market history was confirmed yesterday despite turmoil in the White House. The S&P 500 index marked the record with a small fall of 1.14 points to close at 2,861.82, confirming the 3,453rd day that it has been in bull mode. A bull market is generally considered to be a period when the stock market climbs without suffering a drop of 20% or more.

Corbyn to press for windfall tax to fund journalism

Jeremy Corbyn is to argue that a windfall tax could be levied on tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook to pay for public interest journalism. In a speech at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the Labour leader will also propose a "digital licence fee" - funded by big tech companies and internet providers - and the release of social class data on BBC employees.

The end may be nigh for the 1p coin

It may be time up for the penny coin as the Bank of England argues that inflation means it’s time to kill off coppers. BOE economists Marilena Angeli and Jack Meaning said in a blog post that "as inflation steadily erodes the purchasing power of low denomination coinage, the case for its removal becomes stronger". They concluded that "overwhelming" evidence suggested the withdrawal of coppers would have "no significant impact on prices".

Questions for City as Saudis cancel mega IPO

The $2 trillion listing of Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant has been shelved indefinitely. The listing of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, would have been the world’s biggest initial public offering, and the centrepiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil. The development raises questions for City authorities who relaxed Britain’s listing rules in a bid to lure the IPO.

Booze sales would collapse if punters kept to guidelines

Revenue from alcohol sales in England would collapse by £13bn if customers kept to recommended drinking guidelines, according to a report from the Institute of Alcohol Studies. The report concluded that the scale of the conflict of interest for producers and retailers shows that they should not be allowed to influence government policy on dangerous drinking.

Quote of the day… An OMG moment

"A bit of an 'oh my god' moment." Sainsbury’s store manager Adil Majid recalls when he heard news that the chain could merge with Asda, as employees express concern over the plan.

THE NUMBERS... AT 0640 GMT

FTSE 100: up +0.11 to 7,574.24
Dow Jones: down -0.34 to 25,733.60
Dax: up +0.01 to 12,385.70
Cac 40: up +0.22 to 5,420.61
Nikkei: up +0.57 to 22,398.82
Hang Seng: up +0.71 to 27,729.27
US dollar: buys €0.8652 and £0.7768
Sterling: buys $1.2873 and €1.1138

Oil: $74.60 down -0.24