Trading little changed at HomeServe, claims payouts hit Beazley first-half profits
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 12 points lower on Friday, having closed up 0.1% to 7,683.97 on Thursday.
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Emergency home repairs group HomeServe said trading has been as expected during its traditionally quieter first quarter. Ahead of its annual general meeting, where shareholders will wave off chief executive Martin Bennett as he steps down after 15 years on the board, the FTSE 250 group reiterated that it saw good prospects for growth in the year ahead, with attractive opportunities in all its geographies.
Beazley’s first-half profit fell as the insurer paid out more for claims and investment returns declined but top-line growth was strong as rates firmed. Pre-tax profit for the six months to 30 June fell 64% to $57.5m (£44m) from a year earlier. Gross written premiums rose 15% to $1.32bn.
Unilever announced the successful completion of the first tranche of its share buyback programme on Friday, to buy shares with an aggregate market value equivalent of €3bn. The FTSE 100 consumer good giant also announced the start of a second tranche to buy back shares worth €3bn, in line with its stated objectives to buy back shares with an aggregate market value of up to €6bn in total. It said the programme was part of its goals for a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 2.0x, as well as its intention to return value to shareholders following the disposal of Spreads.
Newspaper round-up
Theresa May is to put the country on a no-deal Brexit footing this summer as she prepares a series of public warnings about the impact of leaving the European Union without agreement. Consumers and companies will be given detailed advice in weekly “bundles” from the start of next week on how to prepare for “a disorderly Brexit”, under government plans. - The Times
Millions of homes are due to be cut off from some of Britain’s most popular television channels this weekend after Virgin Media labelled the BBC a “dinosaur” with a “broken business model” in a bitter row over fees for UKTV, the broadcaster behind Dave and Gold. Ten channels run by UKTV, which is jointly owned by the BBC and Discovery, will be switched off in cable homes at midnight on Saturday and replaced in menus with new services. - Telegraph
Theresa May is to tell the European Union it is time to drop what she feels is their inflexible view on an Irish border solution and “evolve” their position to break the impasse in Brexit talks. In a speech in Belfast on Friday she is expected to brand the bloc’s calls for regulatory alignment north and south of the border as a “backstop” solution in the event of no deal as “unworkable”, and repeat her assertion that a border down the Irish Sea is unacceptable to any British prime minister. - Guardian
Thousands of jobs face the axe at budget retailer Poundworld as all of its 355 stores are set to shut by August 10. The firm, based near Wakefield, had around 5,100 employees when it fell into administration in June after its majority owner, private equity group TPG Capital, failed to find a buyer. - Daily Mail
Murder, knife crime and gun offences soared in England and Wales last year and nine in ten crimes overall did not result in any charges, figures have shown. The proportion of offences that led to a charge fell by two percentage points to 9.1 per cent in the year to March compared with 15 per cent three years ago. - The Times
US close
Wall Street finished Thursday’s session weaker, as concerns about international trade weighed on markets, eBay and American Express disappointed with second-quarter numbers and another twist in the battle for control of 21st Century Fox.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 0.52% at 25,064.50, the S&P 500 was off 0.4% at 2,804.49, and the Nasdaq 100 was 0.51% lower at 7,352.36.
Concerns had been growing that a trade war could erupt between the European Union and the US.
EU officials were set to travel to Washington next week to discuss trade, but US president Donald Trump warned that the bloc faces “tremendous retribution” if the talks do not work out, with EU trade commissioners also saying they were drawing up their own naughty list of potential tariffs.
Trump said he believed that the EU’s 10% tariff on cars was unfair compared to America’s 2.5% tariff, but the EU would only be able to reduce its rate if it did so for all World Trade Organisation members or agreed a wide-reaching bilateral accord with the US.
Washington had already imposed tariffs on a range of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to respond with its own tariffs and a complaint to the WTO.
The two sides were reportedly continuing to discuss trade, but there were growing concerns that the talks had stalled.