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- FTSE 100 up 54 points at 8,225
- Polling day
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German economic recovery suffers fresh blow
German factory output suffered a steep decline in May, providing another blow to chancellor Olaf Scholz in his bid to guide the country back to economic recovery.
Orders tanked by 1.6% in the month from April to May, moving in the opposite direction compared to market expectations, which had hoped for a recovery after industry weakness at the start of 2024.
Foreign demand was also weak, with export orders slipping by 2.8%, going against Germany's typical characteristic of being one of the top sellers of products globally.
Orders were down 8.6% year-on-year in May, marking its lowest level of demand since the midst of the pandemic in June 2020.
Claus Vistesen at Pantheon Macroeconomics said: “These data suggest that the downturn in factory orders remained well entrenched in the second quarter.
“Strong real disposable income growth is now likely driving a rebound in consumption growth."
Germany's main index the DAX 40 lifted by 0.35% today, while the FTSE 100 is up by around 54 points.
Marston's appoints new chairman
Marston’s (LON:MARS), the pub group, has appointed former Vertu Motors (LON:VTU) director Ken Lever as its new chairman, replacing Willian Rucker next week.
Lever, who brings experience working in leadership roles at the car dealership will become non-executive chairman and the hospitality firm on July 8.
It follows the recent hiring of Justin Platt as chief executive in January after the sudden departure of Andrew Andrea, who spent two years at the helm.
Lever brings extensive experience, having held "held a number of senior executive and non-executive positions at UK listed firms, across multiple sectors including retail, manufacturing, construction, software and business services," the company said.
He recently retired from the board of Vertu Motors and serves as non-executive chairman at data company Cirata, formerly known as WANdisco, and waste management firm Biffa.
Marston’s operates 1,370 pubs and employs around 10,000 staff and recently reported a 5.20% increase in revenue, reaching £428.10 million for the half-year ending March 30.
Construction growth slows more than expected in June
Britain's construction sector saw growth for the fourth consecutive month in June, however, it was slightly held back after a dip in output from the housebuilding industry.
S&P Global's UK construction PMI reached 52.2 last month, down from May's 54.7 and lower than the 53.5 that markets had hoped for.
Keeping above the 50 mark that separates the industry from growth and contraction, much of the gains came from commercial activity, while housing output fell.
The dip in the housebuilding sector came after it recorded its first increase in 19 months in May.
Andrew Harker at S&P Global said: "Continued growth of the UK construction sector in June meant that the sector has recorded sustained expansion throughout the second quarter of the year.
"While there were signs of a slowdown in the latest survey period, most notably around housing activity, firms indicated that a slowdown in new order growth was in part related to election uncertainty.
"We may therefore see trends improve once the election period comes to an end."
Barclays offloads German consumer banking arm
Shares in Barclays (LON:BARC) jumped more than 1.5% higher this morning after it confirmed the sale of its German consumer banking business to Bawag, the Austrian lender.
Bawag paid a "small premium to net assets" for the division, but Barclays said the sale is not expected to increase shareholder returns.
The cash sale of Hamburg-based Consumer Bank Europe is expected to release around €4 billion (£3.4 billion) of risk-weighted assets.
"This is another example of disciplined execution," said the FTSE 100-listed bank, referring to the plan presented at an investor update in February.
Consumer Bank Europe, which offers credit cards, consumer loans and deposits to customers in Germany and Austria, had gross assets of €4.7 billion at the end of March.
Bawag said the purchase was expected to make a profit before tax contribution of over €100 million in 2027 once the deal is fully integrated.