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Murdoch's REA Group makes fourth swoop for Rightmove
Rupert Murdoch's REA Group has launched a fourth bid for FTSE 100-listed Rightmove PLC (LON:RMV) and urged the property portal to engage with it over a potential deal.
This new proposal values Rightmove at £6.2 billion, a £100 million improvement on the last rejected offer.
REA has clearly become frustrated with the Rightmove board’s refusal to cooperate, with the Aussie-listed business compelling management to “engage now” before the 30 September deadline... Read more
German unemployment ahead of expectations
Unemployment has climbed faster than expected in Germany this month, raising expectations for further interest rate cuts on the continent soon.
The number of unemployed people across Europe’s largest economy ticked up by 17,000 to 2.82 million and ahead of expectations for a 12,000 increase.
Excluding adjustments, the figure dipped by 65,000 people, though analysts warned the data showed ongoing deterioration in Germany’s labour market.
“Recruitment plans in both industry and services have already fallen to the lowest level in a year,” ING global macro head Carsten Brzeski said.
“Also, the number of vacancies is gradually coming down.”
He added the data further brought the prospect of an October cut to base interest by the European Central Bank to the table.
“Let’s not forget that the labour market is always a lagging and not a leading indicator.”
Travelodge owner firms up deal to buy Abrdn property portfolio
Travelodge owner GoldenTree Asset Management has struck a deal to buy the majority of Abrdn PLC (LSE:LON:ABDN)’s property subsidiary's portfolio.
The London-listed firm said Friday that US-based GoldenTree would acquire some 39 properties from its subsidiary Abrdn Property Holdings for £351 million.
This covers the property wing’s entire portfolio apart from land at Far Ralia in the Cairngorms.
Some £35.1 million has already been paid as a cash deposit, Abrdn said, with the rest set to come after the deal has been completed.
Abrdn Property Holdings chair James Clifton-Brown noted the sale came after a vote in May to wind down the business.
“Following a second round of bids, the board considered the GoldenTree Asset Management bid provided the best solution for shareholders,” he said.
“[this] compared with the net present value of what might be achieved by way of individual sales over a longer period [representing] a swift implementation of the shareholder resolution to conduct a managed wind down.”
Custodian Property Income REIT had moved in on the Abrdn assets earlier in the deal earlier in the year, though the offer fell through after failing to secure shareholder support.
Burberry , Watches of Switzerland higher as China pledges boost luxury stocks
Burberry Group (LON:BRBY) climbed a further 5.3% on Friday, while Watches of Switzerland Group PLC (LON:WOSG) continued to gain after commentary coming out of China this week boosted stocks.
Alongside fuelling sentiment around commodities, measures aimed at cutting interest rates and easing lending restrictions helped to boost stocks earlier in the week, before Thursday saw Chinese leaders pledge “necessary spending” to meet a growth target of 5% this year.
Burberry appeared on course for an 18.4% gain over the week as a result, given the luxury market’s exposure to China, while Watches of Switzerland added 17.5% in the meantime.
Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy and Hermes also ticked up over the week, having risen by 18.2% and 16.8% by Friday morning.
London third-most targeted for M&A activity
UK-based companies have been the third-most targeted for merger and acquisition (M&A) activity this year, figures on Friday showed.
Some US$137.1 billion (£102.4 billion) was spent on such activity in the UK over the first nine months of the year, according to LSEG Deals Intelligence, up 54%.
Most of this came from foreign buyers, which accounted for 72% of the total to take the highest share in three years.
This coincided with a 79% increase in activity, with deals around UK targets equating to 6% of the global total, behind only the US and China.
Falling uncertainty around UK politics and expectations for further interest rate cuts have buoyed the figures this year, LSEG Deals Intelligence senior manager Lucille Jones said.
These “bode well for dealmaker appetites,” Jones added, “and may encourage more companies off the sidelines to pursue acquisitions”.
Property portal Rightmove PLC has emerged most recently as a target of Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group, while DS Smith PLC (LSE:LON:SMDS) and Darktrace PLC (LSE:LON:DARK) have also seen multi-billion bids.
Some US$52.1 billion has been spent on ongoing deals from the UK over the year so far, marking an increase of 15%.
Oil prices steady, BP and Shell regain
Oil prices steadied on Friday morning, aiding Shell PLC (LON:SHEL) and BP PLC towards slight recoveries following Thursday’s sharp drops.
Benchmark Brent crude ticked up 0.6% to US$71.69 a barrel early on, having fallen by almost 4% over the week as outlook on prices deteriorated throughout.
Reports that Saudi Arabia was set to ditch an unofficial US$100 oil price target and press ahead with production hikes later this year had driven declines most recently.
Falling prices subsequently hit shares in FTSE 100 heavyweights Shell and BP earlier on in the week, with Friday’s stabilisation coinciding with slight gains of 0.3% and 0.8% respectively.
French inflation below 3% for first time in three years, slows in Spain
Inflation readings from France and Spain on Friday morning have shown the rate of price rises dropped this month.
In France, the consumer price index fell to 1.5% for the first time in three years in September.
Spanish inflation climbed by 1.7% in the meantime and fell below the 2.0% mark for the first time since June last year.
This was against respective readings of 2.2% and 2.4% in France and Spain recorded for August, with falling fuel prices said to be key in driving the declines.
Prudential leads stocks higher at open
The FTSE 100 climbed on Thursday morning, led by Prudential PLC as news of a partnership in Indonesia helped fuel further gains after this week’s economic pledges from China.
Prudential climbed 3% early on, having announced a deal with the country’s sixth-largest lender which will see the FTSE 100 firm provide products through Bank Syariah Indonesia.
“Indonesia is a key growth market for Prudential,” strategic business group managing director Solmaz Altin said, “and this partnership will accelerate our growth ambitions”.
This added to gains for Prudential over the course of this week as it emerged as a beneficiary of announcements from China aimed at stimulating the country's struggling economy.
BP PLC was also among the index’s risers early on, as it recouped after a drop on Thursday on the back of deteriorating prospects for oil prices, while Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) also moved higher.
Overall, the FTSE 100 added 12 points to reach 8,297.
Gambling ads triple over Premier League opening weekend
The opening weekend of this season's Premier Leage saw gambling adverts almost triple, prompting calls for tougher regulation.
Nearly 30,000 gambling adverts were recorded across the likes of social media, television and radio channels over the first weekend of England’s top football league in August, University of Bristol researchers found.
This was up from 10,999 over the same weekend a year earlier, leaving researchers warning over a heightened risk to fans as well as children watching fixtures.
“It’s clear that the industry’s attempt to self-regulate is wholly inadequate and tokenistic,” co-lead author Raffaello Rossi commented... Read more
Chinese stocks on course for best week since financial crisis
Chinese stocks are on course for their best weekly performance since 2008, when the world was in the midst of the global financial crisis.
China’s CSI 300 climbed by 4.2% overnight, leaving the index set to gain over 15% for the week, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.7%, meaning it was on track for a 13% weekly gain.
A string of measures aimed at buoying China’s struggling economy, including rate cuts and eased lending restrictions, earlier in the week were followed by a vow from the country’s leadership on Thursday to inject “necessary spending” to hit a 5% annual growth target.
These have boosted Chinese and global stocks alike, alongside fuelling sentiment around commodities, sending the likes of iron ore, copper higher over the week.
“Beijing seems finally determined to roll out its bazooka stimulus in rapid succession,” Nomura chief economist Tin Lu commented.
“Beijing’s recognition of the severe situation of the economy and lack of success in a piecemeal approach should be valued by markets.”
BlackBerry breaks even as revenue beats forecasts
BlackBerry Ltd broke even over the second quarter following a jump in cybersecurity and internet of things (IoT) revenue.
Adjusted earnings climbed by US$23 million to see the figure break even, BlackBerry said overnight, following a loss in the second quarter of last year.
This came as revenue exceeded expectations over the quarter, climbing by 10% to US$145 million, against anticipations for US$140 million.
Analysts had been expecting a US$0.03 per share loss, with BlackBerry noting improvement came on the back of double-digit cybersecurity and IoT growth, alongside restructuring efforts.
Chief executive John J. Giamatteo commented the results marked a “significant milestone on our path to profitability,” as operating cash burn dipped by 24% over the quarter to US$13 million... Read more