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9.29am: Norsk Hydro to axe hydrogen and battery projects
Norway’s Norsk Hydro will no longer fund its green hydrogen and battery businesses due to challenging market conditions.
“Battery materials and green hydrogen will no longer be strategic growth areas for Hydro,” the hydropower and aluminium producer said on Wednesday.
The business units will rather be phased out over time, after the battery division was set up in 2017.
Battery recycling business Hydrovolt, which was set up as a joint venture with Northvolt in 2020, will continue to be supported under the plan, Norsk Hydro said... Read more
9.10am: EV rules weighed by government as Vauxhall shuts factory
Britain's electric vehicle mandate could be dialled down as companies grapple to hit targets against lacklustre demand.
Britain’s government on Tuesday firmed up plans to consult on the mandate, coinciding with news Vauxhall would close its factory in Luton, risking 1,100 jobs.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told companies that a consultation on the rules would be fast-tracked at trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders’ annual dinner.
"We get it. We get the seriousness of the situation and we get the urgency,” he said.
The rules mean carmakers risk fines if 22% of sales are not made up of electric models this year, with the figure set to rise annually to 100% by 2035... Read more
8.47am: Trump tariffs threaten UK economic growth - BoE official
Bank of England deputy governor Clare Lombardelli has signalled tariffs under Donald Trump’s presidency threaten economic growth in the likes of the UK.
Trump on Monday evening posted plans on social media to hit Canada and Mexico with tariffs of 25% upon taking office in January.
He also separately warned of measures for Chinese goods, with the threats buoying fears that tariffs could stretch to the likes of Europe.
Lombardelli in response warned growth across foreign nations could take a beating in the short term and that long-term productivity could also be hit.
“I don’t want to speculate on the specifics but we know barriers to trade are not a good thing, whether they are tariffs or regulatory or others,” she told the Financial Times.
“Whether you are an economic historian, an economic theorist or a data-driven economist, the impact is clear in terms of its direction. In terms of its size, that depends on the circumstances.”
8.31am: Just Eat to delist from London Stock Exchange (LON:LSEG)
Just Eat Takeaway (LON:JETJ).com NV (LSE:JET, NASDAQ:GRUB) has become the latest high-profile company to announce plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange.
Citing ‘complexity’ and ‘administrative burden’, the Denmark-founded company unveiled the decision in a statement on Wednesday… Read more
8.20am: FTSE 100 opens higher
London’s blue-chip index overcame an expected decline to tick up 8 points to 8,266 as trading got underway on Wednesday.
easyJet PLC led risers early on, climbing 2.6% after reporting a profit jumped by more than a third over the course of the year.
Anglo American PLC (LSE:LON:AAL) also gained by over 2.3% following news it had sold a 6.6% stake in its platinum business for proceeds of US$527 million through a share placing.
Banks were among early fallers in the meantime, with Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) (LSE:BARC) and NatWest Group PLC (LSE:LON:NWG) leading the way with declines of 1.0% and 0.9% respectively.
8.10am: Mitchells & Butlers warns of £100mln Budget hit
Mitchells & Butlers PLC (LSE:MAB) has become the latest to warn over surging costs after last month's Budget after reporting a jump in full-year profit.
Cost headwinds for the year ahead were guided at £100 million in final results on Wednesday, reflecting increased minimum wages and employer national insurance (NI).
“Against a benign backdrop of general inflation, by far the most significant increase is now expected to be in relation to labour costs,” the pub chain said, adding this would increase its current cost base by 5%.
Mitchells & Butlers also reported a 41.2% increase in operating profit to £312 million for the year just gone, as revenue ticked up 4.3% to £2.6 billion... Read more
7.47am: easyJet profit up a third on record summer
easyJet PLC's profit surged by over a third over this year, aided by a record summer period and boom in its holiday business.
Reported pre-tax profit soared 34% to £610 million over the year to September on the back of a 14% increase in revenue to £9.31 billion.
Some 89.68 million passengers flew with the airline over the year, against 82.75 million in 2023, as capacity grew 8% to 100.45 million seats and load factors remained at 89.3%.
easyJet’s holiday arm recorded a 54% jump in pre-tax profit to £190 million, while profit per seat jumped 24% to £6.08 driven by higher inflight spending.
A 12.1p dividend per share was recommended, against 2023’s 4.5p, on the results... Read more
7.14am: Stocks to fall further
Futures had the FTSE 100 moving 4 points lower ahead of Wednesday’s opening, threatening a further decline after Tuesday’s 33-point drop.
Stocks came under pressure on Tuesday following a social media post by president-elect Donald Trump threatening tariffs for Mexico, Canada and China once he took office.
Asian markets had also dropped on the threats, with Tuesday evening bringing some brighter fortunes as Chinese indices regained ground.
News of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah also broke late on Tuesday, with easing fears around the Middle East aiding gains for US markets and pushing oil lower.
5.00am: easyJet among those to report
Wednesday brings easyJet's final results, alongside figures from the likes of Pets at Home.
Eyes will be on easyJet's outlook for travel demand in boss Johan Lundgren's parting results... Read more
Announcements due:
Interims: Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Ltd (LSE:LON:CORD), Iomart Group, Motorpoint PLC, Pets at Home Group PLC (LON:PETSP) (LSE:PETS)
Finals: Auction Technology Group PLC (LSE:LON:ATG), Focusrite PLC (AIM:LON:TUNE), easyJet PLC
AGMs: Altona Rare Earths PLC (LSE:REE), European Metals Holdings (LON:EMHE) Limited, Neometals Ltd (ASX:NMT, OTC:NMTAY, AIM:NMT), Renishaw PLC (LSE:LON:RSW), Seeing Machines Ltd (AIM:SEE, OTC:SEEMF), Transense Technologies (AIM:TRT) PLC
Economic announcements: BRC Shop Price (UK), MBA Mortgage Applications (US), Balance of Payments (US), Durable Goods Orders (US), Gross Domestic Product (US), Core PCE Price Index (US), Personal Spending (US), Wholesales Inventories (US), Pending Homes Sales (US), Crude Oil Inventories (US)