Proactive Investors -
- Blue chips up 31 points to 7,942
- Entain (LON:ENT) up 5.5% on take private reports
- Gold at all-time high
Ted Baker to shut 15 stores
Ted Baker (LON:TED) administrators revealed that 15 stores will be closing within the next few weeks as it looks to find a way for the brand to return to liquidity.
Teneo, the fashion brand's administrator, said it decided to shut 11 outlets by April 19, which will result in the loss of 120 jobs.
Stores closing include those in Bristol, Liverpool One, London Bridge, Oxford, Nottingham and others.
25 head office workers will also be laid off as part of the cuts.
Landlords at an additional four sites, which include a store in Floral Street, London and Manchester Trafford have served Ted Baker with notice, leading to an extra 100 jobs cuts.
Benji Dymant, joint administrator said: "These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health."
TUI ascends in first session after leaving London
TUI (LON:TUIT), the airline, is trading more than 4% higher on its first day as a solely German stock, having exited its London listing.
Shareholders voted in February in favour of removing its listing in London, in which it was placed in FTSE 250, and instead become exclusive to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
As the stock jumped to €7.90, the immediate surge reinforced the issue that many others have brought up. London is undervaluing its listings.
From small caps to FTSE 100 constituents, many have gone across the Atlantic, been taken private or set up listings in mainland Europe in response to the poor valuations.
However, the issue reached a new level today when Shell (LON:RDSa), the FTSE 100's largest company, warned it would consider other locations for listing if the LSE doesn't improve.
US stocks to open flat
US stocks are on course to start the week flat having suffered a pullback from 2024's rally during the first week of the second quarter.
Today, the Dow Jones is on track to open 11 points higher at 39,232, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are flat at 5,254 and 18,303 respectively.
Despite the index sliding backwards last week, it ended on a positive note, having posted stronger-than-expected jobs data, highlighting a resilient economy and growth in corporate earnings - even if it is at the expense of higher interest rates for longer.
Investors will also be reading through an open letter from JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, who spoke on topics from global economics to the power of shareholder advisors.
Of course, he spoke on AI too, arguing that the tech "has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition."