FTSE 100 Live: Stocks lower with subdued open seen on Wall Street

FTSE 100 Live: Stocks lower with subdued open seen on Wall Street

Proactive Investors -

• FTSE 100 down 11 points at 7.493
• Ashtead (LON:AHT) warns of lower sales and profits than expected
• musicMagpie soars on bid approaches

OpenAI staff revolt over Altman departure

Across to the US, and the staff of OpenAI are in open revolt over the shock departure of Sam Altman.

Around 500 staff have signed a letter threatening to leave unless the board resigns and reinstates Sam Altman as CEO, along with cofounder and former president Greg Brockman.

The letter says OpenAI has pushed the field of artificial intelligence to new frontiers, but warned: "The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company."

Breaking: 505 of 700 employees @OpenAI tell the board to resign. pic.twitter.com/M4D0RX3Q7a

— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) November 20, 2023

"Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.”

Here’s a quick look at the risers and fallers on the junior market today

musicMagpie plc, the electronic devices rebuyer, jumped by a third in market value after it confirmed BT Group PLC (LSE:LON:BT.A) and private equity firm Aurelius Group have expressed interest in a takeover of the company.

Phoenix Copper has announced the initial term of its US$2 million (£1.6 million) short-term loan facility has been extended, sending shares in the firm higher on Monday morning. Shares in the AIM-listed firm jumped 18.4% 27.24p.

Shares of RUA Life Sciences (AIM:RUA) surged 38% following a promising update on its business operations alongside the news that it is looking for non-dilutive sources of funding.

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM:LON:ORR) led the charge in the small-cap mining sector on Monday after announcing a non-binding heads of terms (HoT) agreement with BCM International, a renowned mining and civil contractor based in Ghana. Shares rocketed up 87% to 0.19p following the announcement.

Shares in Velocys PLC (AIM:VLS), which is developing sustainable fuels for the aviation industry, saw its shares nosedive 60% after it updated on funding negotiations which included an offer to buy the entire business for a significant discount to the current valuation.

Goldman predicts modest tax cuts in Autumn Statement

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) expects the Autumn Statement to see the government’s headroom against the fiscal mandate rise to around £25 billion before new policy measures, a meaningful increase since the Spring Budget, as higher tax receipts outweigh increased interest expenses.

Goldman explained borrowing has come in roughly £20 billion below the OBR’s March forecast in the first six months of fiscal year 2023 predominantly driven by higher tax receipts with income tax, VAT, and corporation tax receipts all exceeding expectations.

As a result, the investment bank expects that the government will use this additional headroom to make modest tax reductions totalling up to around £10 billion

Measures that the government could consider include a reduction in inheritance tax, an extension of the full expensing capital allowances regime, or a cut in stamp duty.

But Goldman thinks that larger tax cuts are less likely at next week’s statement, because a more substantial fiscal loosening would risk raising inflation and interest rates.

Instead, it expects the government to conserve the majority of its headroom for the Spring Budget.

“We view reductions in income tax as less likely at next week's statement, given the risk of raising inflation, although it could be that the government commits to reducing income tax rates or raising thresholds at a future date,” it said.

Halfords and Redde Northgate fail to agree merger - report

Van rental outfit Redde Northgate has made a £1.4 billion merger approach for the high street bike and car repair chain Halfords (LON:HFD), according to the Telegraph.

It is understood that the pair have held detailed talks about a possible tie-up after Redde Northgate, which owns 130,000 vans and corporate cars in the UK and Spain, made a firm proposal to Halfords.

A City source said Redde Northgate had proposed a nil-premium merger, but the discussions were abandoned because of disagreements over price, the report said.

The Halfords board is thought to have concluded that any such deal on the terms laid out would have undervalued the company.

However, it is believed that Redde Northgate could mount a fresh bid if the valuation gap between the two sides closes, the report.

Shares in Halfords were trading 1% lower on Monday while Redde Northgate were trading 1.4% lower.

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