UKX FTSE 100 Index

Sterling Could Face Renewed Weakness After UK Policy U-Turn

1038 GMT - Sterling rises after the U.K. government abandoned its plan to scrap the highest rate of income tax but the currency is far from out of the woods, Rabobank says. Cutting the top tax rate would have cost about GBP2 billion, a modest part of the GBP45 billion fiscal package announced on September 23, Rabobank forex strategist Jane Foley says in a note. Moreover, the Bank of England's intervention to stabilize U.K. government bonds, or gilts, ends on October 14, leaving the market exposed to the "weight of extra gilt issuance during the coming fiscal year," she says. Rabobank expects GBP/USD to fall to 1.04 in three to six months, from 1.1194 currently. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

 
Top News: 

U.K. Makes Major U-Turn on Tax Cuts

The U.K. government said it won't proceed with the removal of a 45% top rate of income tax, removing a key element of a plan announced late last month that triggered turmoil in the country's financial markets.

 
Companies News: 

James Halstead FY 2022 Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose; New Year Started Well

James Halstead PLC said Monday that its fiscal 2022 pretax profit and revenue rose on sales growth and despite increased costs, and the new year has begun well.

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Halma Acquires IZI Medical Products in US

Halma PLC said Monday that it has acquired IZI Medical Products, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of medical consumable devices headquartered in Maryland in the U.S., for an initial consideration of $153.5 million in cash.

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QinetiQ to Buy Air Affairs for $33.9 Mln; To Sell Belgian Division for $31.4 Mln

QinetiQ Group PLC said Monday that it has agreed to buy Air Affairs (Australia) Pty for 53 million Australian dollars ($33.9 million) in cash, and that it will sell QinetiQ Space NV for 32 million euros ($31.4 million) in cash.

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Argentex Expects Higher 1H Revenue

Argentex Group PLC said Monday that it expects to report a rise in revenue for the first half and the board is confident the company will exceed current market expectations for the year.

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Renew Holdings Sees FY 2022 Adjusted Profit Ahead of Views

Renew Holdings PLC said Monday that it expects performance for fiscal 2022 to be marginally ahead of market expectations despite the current inflationary backdrop.

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Genel Energy Appoints New CEO

Genel Energy PLC said Monday that it has appointed Paul Weir as chief executive with immediate effect.

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Pelatro Chairman Richard Day Resigns

Pelatro PLC said Monday that Richard Day has decided to resign as chairman of the board.

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Real Good Food FY 2022 Loss Widens; Sees Challenging Year Ahead

Real Good Food PLC said Monday that fiscal 2022 pretax loss widened on a significant one-off impairment charge, and it expects fiscal 2023 to remain loss-making.

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Tortilla Mexican Grill Warns Industry Headwinds Will Hurt 2H Profitability; Shares Fall

Shares in Tortilla Mexican Grill PLC fell Monday after it said that industry headwinds will hurt profitability in the second half as it reported a fall in pretax profit for the first half on higher costs.

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Essentra CEO Paul Forman to Step Down; Scott Fawcett Named Successor

Essentra PLC said Monday that Chief Executive Paul Forman has decided to step down at the end of 2022, to be succeeded by Scott Fawcett, managing director of the components division.

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Peel Hunt Expects 1H Revenue to Fall on Lower Capital Markets Activity

Peel Hunt Ltd. said Monday that it expects to report a fall in revenue for the first half of fiscal 2023 due to a market-wide backdrop of historically low levels of capital markets activity throughout the period.

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Investec to Repurchase Up to $66 Mln Worth of Shares in Capital Optimization

Investec PLC said Monday that it will repurchase up to 1.2 billion South African rand ($66.3 million) worth of shares, as part of its capital optimization strategy.

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Essentra to Sell Filters Business for GBP262 Mln; Will Pay Special Dividend

Essentra PLC shares rose Monday after it said it will sell its filters business to a subsidiary of Centaury Management Ltd. for an enterprise value of around 262.1 million pounds ($292.7 million), and will pay a special dividend.

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STM Group Appoints Interim CEO

STM Group PLC said Monday that Therese Neish has been appointed as interim chief financial officer and that she will also join the board on an interim basis.

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Hyve Group Confident in FY 2023 Outlook on Forward Bookings

Hyve Group PLC said Monday that it is confident in its fiscal 2023 outlook due to the continued positive performance of its business.

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IDOX Buys LandHawk Software Services for GBP1.1 Mln

IDOX PLC said Monday that it has bought LandHawk Software Services Ltd. for 1.1 million pounds ($1.2 million), enhancing its geospatial information services, or GIS, offering.

 
Market Talk: 

UK Policy Reversal Gives Gilts Short-Term Relief But Damage Still Visible

1030 GMT - The U.K. government's reversal of its decision to cut the top-bracket income tax offers short-term relief to government bonds, but the damage to the market is still present, Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro says in a note. "Much of the damage from last week is also still visible, with 10-year bond yields up by a quarter from early September and by half from August, implying higher costs for all borrowers," Laidler says. "The government is not out of the woods yet with the vast majority of its unfunded spending plans still intact." U.K. 10-year gilt yields edge down 3 basis points to 4.068%, still well above levels below 3% traded in early September, according to Tradeweb. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

UK Policy U-Turn Still Leaves Uncertainty For Gilts, Sterling

1000 GMT - The U.K. government's U-turn on its plan to cut the rate of income tax for top earners "clearly eases some of the worries surrounding unfunded tax cuts" and has helped sterling and gilts to recover a little but it still leaves uncertainty, Premier Miton Investors says. "The Bank of England and the government are at loggerheads and, as importantly, there is no conviction in government policy. It all makes a for a very uncertain backdrop for markets, particularly gilts and sterling," says chief investment officer Neil Birrell in a note. "It is not the solution to the turmoil in the markets," with inflation still high and economic growth "under severe threat," he says. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

Oil Stocks Rise as OPEC+ Expected to Debate Production Cut

0952 GMT - Oil stocks across Europe are higher Monday ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on Wednesday where it is expected that an oil output cut of one million barrels a day will be considered. Brent crude oil rises 4% to $88.52 a barrel. "OPEC+ is of course very well aware of the fast slowdown in the global economy and want to pre-empt any possible oil market balance surplus," DNB Markets analyst Helge Andre Martinsen says. TotalEnergies, Repsol and BP are 2% higher, while Eni and OMV are up 1.9% and Shell's shares are up 1.3%. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

UK PM's Policy U-Turn Seen as Symbolic

0928 GMT - U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss's U-turn on plans to cut the highest rate of income tax was probably less about saving money and more about the poor signal delivered of ideological unfunded tax cuts, ING says. The decision to reverse the planned abolishment of the 45% tax bracket is "rather symbolic," ING analyst Chris Turner says in a note. "The move looks driven by a backlash from [Truss's] own party and perhaps the threat of a sovereign rating downgrade, where the S&P rating agency on Friday shifted the U.K. outlook to negative from stable in an unscheduled move." GBP/USD rises 0.2% to 1.1199 and EUR/GBP falls 0.2% to 0.8745. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 03, 2022 06:57 ET (10:57 GMT)

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