UKX FTSE 100 Index

BOE Meeting Could Push Sterling in Either Direction

The Bank of England's policy decision later on Thursday represents a major risk event for sterling, says Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM. Markets widely expect the central bank to leave monetary policy unchanged, with traders' focus likely to turn to bank officials' comments on inflation, he says. Sustained weakness in GBP/USD below 1.3670 could open a path back down towards the July low at 1.3570, he says. Conversely, a solid move above 1.3670 could prompt an advance towards 1.3750. GBP/USD is last up 0.3% at 1.3668.

 
Companies News: 

AdEpt Technology Says 1Q Performance Was In Line With Views; Warns of Effects of Supply Chain Issues

AdEpt Technology Group PLC said Thursday that its start to fiscal 2022 was positive and its current performance is in line with management expectations.

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Petards Shares Jump on Swing to 1H Pretax Profit

Shares of Petards Group PLC rose as much as 16% in early trade Thursday after the company reported a swing to pretax profit for the first half of 2021, and said trading remains broadly in line with market expectations.

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Anglo Asian Mining Hit by Higher Fuel, Reagents Costs -- Commodity Comment

Higher costs are threatening the profitability of some mining companies, as evidenced by Anglo Asian Mining's first-half results. Shares in the company, which owns precious-metals mines in Azerbaijan, fell 6.5% after it reported inflation in consumables such as diesel and reagents. Here's what AAM had to say:

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Zaim Credit Systems Says 2Q Was Profitable Even as Weighted Average Default Rate Rose

Zaim Credit Systems PLC said Thursday that its subsidiary Zaim-Express LLC continued to be profitable in the second quarter even as the weighted average default rate rose to 20.8% due to a greater number of first-time customers.

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Ecotricity's Improved Bid for Good Energy Gets 2.5% Acceptance

Ecotricity Group Ltd. said Thursday that its latest offer for Good Energy Group PLC has been accepted by 2.5% of the energy supplier's shareholders.

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CVS Group's FY 2021 Profit Rose Significantly, Early FY 2022 Sales Strong

CVS Group PLC reported on Thursday a significant rise in pretax profit for fiscal 2021 and said that sales grew significantly in the first two months of its current financial year.

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Xeros Technology 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed Slightly

Xeros Technology Group PLC on Thursday reported a slightly narrowed pretax loss for the first half of the year, and said that it is confident that revenue will grow in 2022 and beyond despite suffering royalty income delays.

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Eve Sleep 1H Pretax Loss Widened; Full Year on Track to Meet Board's Views

Eve Sleep PLC said Thursday that its pretax loss widened for the first half after booking higher costs, but that it was on track to deliver the board's expectations for the full year.

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Marley Group to Proceed With London IPO

Marley Group Ltd. said Thursday that it will proceed with its planned initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, as first indicated last week.

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XLMedia Swung to 1H Pretax Loss; Backs Guidance

XLMedia PLC said on Thursday that it swung to a pretax loss for the first half after booking higher costs, and backed its guidance for the year.

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Aquis Exchange 1H Pretax Profit More Than Doubled

Aquis Exchange Ltd. on Thursday reported a more-than-doubled pretax profit for the first half on the back of higher revenue, and said that its current performance is in line with market expectations for the full year.

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Attraqt Group 1H Pretax Loss Widened

Attraqt Group PLC said Thursday that its pretax loss widened for the first half after booking higher costs, and that it expects full-year revenue performance on a constant currency basis to be in line with expectations.

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Distribution Finance Capital 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed Materially

Distribution Finance Capital Holdings PLC reported on Thursday a significantly narrowed pretax loss for the first half of 2021 and said that momentum has started to build in growing its loan book.

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Eve Sleep 1H Pretax Loss Widened; Full Year on Track to Meet Board's Views

Eve Sleep PLC said Thursday that its pretax loss widened for the first half after booking higher costs, but that it was on track to deliver the board's expectations for the full year.

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GreenRoc Mining Prices IPO at 10 Pence a Share; Trading to Start Sept. 28

GreenRoc Mining PLC on Thursday priced its initial public offering on London's junior AIM at 10 pence a share and said that trading is expected to start on Sept. 28.

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Civitas Social Housing Shareholders Reject Pre-emption Resolution at AGM

Civitas Social Housing PLC said Thursday that all resolutions proposed at its annual meeting passed except for resolution 13, which failed to receive enough shareholder support.

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3i Infrastructure to Sell Four European Liquid Storage Terminals to Evos

3i Infrastructure PLC said Thursday that it has agreed to the conditional sale of a 45% stake in four European liquid storage terminals to energy storage company Evos, and that this is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

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Lloyds Nonexecutive Directors Nick Prettejohn, Stuart Sinclair to Step Down

Lloyds Banking Group PLC said Thursday that Nick Prettejohn and Stuart Sinclair intend to step down as nonexecutive directors.

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French Connection Group Gets GBP29 Mln Bid Approach

French Connection Group PLC said Thursday that it has received a 29 million pound ($39.5 million) takeover approach from a consortium that includes its second-largest shareholder.

 
Market Talk: 

Online Delivery to Continue Boosting Royal Mail After Covid-19

0957 GMT - Royal Mail's domestic parcel delivery volumes are normalizing after the lifting of lockdown restrictions, but total delivery volumes are still up 18% from 2019 levels, with parcel revenue up a third, Adam Vettese from eToro says. This suggests that either volumes are going to rebase at a higher level post-pandemic, or that the pandemic boost is temporary and volumes are just taking longer than expected to return to normal, the analyst says. "We believe the former to be more likely, with online delivery becoming an increasingly important revenue generator for retailers and supermarkets," Vettese says.

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Royal Mail Revenue Tops Hopes, Consensus Rises Likely

0935 GMT - Royal Mail's revenue in the first five months of 2021/22 topped forecasts as the U.K. mail and parcel courier's letter and international businesses did better than expected, Citigroup says. Group revenue in the five months to August increased 8.2% year-on-year versus consensus expectations of a 5% rise and Citi's 6% forecast, mainly driven by better-than-expected trading in letters and GLS. Citi says it expects low-to-mid-single-digit percentage consensus upgrades. "We see the outlook on margin as a sentiment positive, given the market concerns on wage pressure," Citi analysts say. Shares rise 0.8%.

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Weak BOE Tightening Signals Could Nudge Sterling Lower

0911 GMT - The Bank of England may fail to meet market expectations regarding the path of interest rate rises, which could cause sterling to fall, says ING. "The BOE may not deliver on market expectations of a first hike next April and 40bp of tightening for 2022," it says. A failure by rate-setters today to support those expectations could see EUR/GBP rise towards the 0.8615 level and break the well-defined range of 0.8500-0.8610 of recent weeks, the Dutch bank says. EUR/GBP is last up 0.1% at 0.8583. Similarly, it could cause GBP/USD to fall towards a big chart support level at 1.3570/3600, from 1.3663 at present, especially given that the Fed's upbeat announcement Wednesday should support the dollar, ING says. The BOE's announcement is due at 1100 GMT.

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Sterling Little Moved by Weaker UK PMI Data as Market Awaits BOE

0904 GMT - Sterling is little moved by provisional U.K. purchasing managers' surveys showing a loss of momentum in activity as traders focus on the upcoming Bank of England announcement at 1100 GMT. The U.K.'s composite PMI index fell to a seven-month low of 54.1, from 54.8 in August and below the consensus in a WSJ poll for 54.5. Rates of expansion in output and new orders weakened, although job creation remained elevated and inflationary pressures "showed little sign of abating," says IHS Markit, which compiles the survey. Investors are waiting to see whether a stronger economy and concerns about inflation prompt the BOE to signal it is coming closer to raising interest rates. EUR/GBP is last flat at 0.8583, while GBP/USD recovers from overnight falls, last up 0.3% at 1.3660.

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UK's Business Activity Slows Further in September, PMIs Signal

0855 GMT - Economic activity in the U.K.'s private sector continued to lose growth momentum in September, according to data from the PMI survey compiled by IHS Markit. The composite PMI, which gauges both manufacturing and services sectors, stood at 54.1 in September, still signaling expansion but down from 54.8 in August. Rates of expansion in both output and new orders were the weakest in seven months, job creation remained high and inflationary pressures showed little sign of abating, the data show. "The September PMI data will add to worries that the U.K. economy is heading towards a bout of 'stagflation', with growth continuing to trend lower while prices surge ever higher," IHS Markit's chief business economist Chris Williamson said.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 23, 2021 06:15 ET (10:15 GMT)

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