Meggitt wins another US defence contract, Finsbury Food sees unprecedented cost increases
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The FTSE 100 is expected to open four points lower on Monday, having closed up 0.14% at 7,661.87 on Friday.
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Aerospace, defence and energy components and systems company Meggitt announced a $21m contract with the Defense Logistics Agency in Richmond, Virginia on Monday, to supply fuel cell equipment for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter until 2022. The FTSE 250 company said its crashworthy, self-seal fuel tanks, which met the “ultra-rigorous” standards of flexibility, strength, impact and cut-and-tear resistance of US MIL-T-27422B, had stopped fuel spillage and reduced fire-related death and injury in survivable helicopter crashes to “almost zero”.
A US court has granted a preliminary injunction to prevent Dr Reddy's Laboratories from selling a generic version of Indivior's Suboxone Film for treating opioid addiction until a decision is made on patent litigation. The New Jersey district court also ordered Indivior to post a bond to provide security to Dr Reddy's in case the court decides that its patent, number 9,931,305, is invalid and/or has not been infringed.
Finsbury Food said it expected annual profit to meet expectations despite what it described as unprecedented increases in the cost of labour and ingredients. The core UK bakery division grew sales 2.8% on a like for like basis, while the overseas division declined by 0.7%.
Newspaper round-up
Justine Greening became the most high profile Conservative to endorse the idea of a second referendum, to end what she said would be a likely parliamentary deadlock over Brexit, warning that Theresa May’s Chequers plan did not represent “a workable compromise” that a majority of MPs could get behind. The former education secretary and remain supporter said that May’s plan was “a fudge I can’t support” and, in a blow to the prime minister, said it amounted to “the worst of both worlds” – complying with EU rules without the influence of being a member of the multi-country bloc. – Guardian
Global workforces will fall as the next industrial revolution gets under way, the head of one of Germany’s biggest firms has warned, unless workers are retrained with new skills. Joe Kaeser, global chief executive of the engineering giant Siemens, said up to almost a third of jobs could be lost as the transition from combustion engines to electric cars takes place over the next decade, in what will be “one of the single most important transformations of all time”. - Guardian
Debenhams is seeking to reassure the City it is in financial good health after a top credit insurer cut cover to suppliers of the troubled retail chain. Euler Hermes is understood to have reduced cover amid growing concerns about the department store giant’s ability to pay its bills in full and on time. A credit insurance industry source said the decision to reduce cover would be taken to “avoid unacceptable risk” and was a “similar sign to what other unsecured creditors might do” to limit exposure to the risk of unpaid bills. – The Telegraph
Boards must give themselves discretion to override formulaic executive pay deals, the watchdog that sets boardroom rules has decided in the wake of the Persimmon fiasco. Flexibility to intervene in bonus schemes that pay out an undeserved jackpot is the most eye-catching reform in a string of changes to the principles and rules governing how power is exercised in listed companies. – The Times
Mike Lloyd, the head of the AA insurance business who was punched by the group’s former chairman in an altercation last year, is leaving the company. The Times understands that Mr Lloyd will leave at the end of this year after about four years at the group. The executive, 39, who also has responsibility for marketing, digital and public affairs, is in the process of handing over his responsibilities. Mr Lloyd was in the headlines after Bob Mackenzie, then AA chairman, was dismissed for “gross misconduct” for punching him at a company gathering at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey. At the time it was suggested that Mr Lloyd, who did not retaliate when he was assaulted, was being lined up to replace Mr Mackenzie, now 65, when he retired. – The Times
US close
Wall Street's main indices finished slightly higher on Friday despite the drag from banks' share prices following earnings from several sector heavyweights and a spot of weakness in a key gauge of consumer sentiment that fed into yet higher government bond prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 0.38% or 9.52 points to 25,019.41 and the Nasdaq Composite finished ahead 0.03% to 7,825.98. The S&P 500 added 0.11% to end at 2,801.31.
From a sector standpoint, the best performance was seen in Coal (2.84%), Drug retailers (1.68%) and Aerospace (1.34%).
However, the KBW index of lenders' shares fell 0.99% to 104.53, as the latest updates on earnings from JP Morgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo failed to spark investors' buying appetite.
In parallel, investors were keeping tabs on the Treasury yield curve, which slipped by one basis point to 25 on Friday.