Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Vodafone Group and CK Hutchison Holdings on Monday said the merger of telecoms firms Vodafone UK and Three UK was successfully completed on May 31. The combined business, named VodafoneThree, will be 51% owned by Vodafone and 49% by CKHGT. Vodafone will fully consolidate VodafoneThree in its financial results. Vodafone UK CEO Max Taylor will lead the merged group, while Three UK's Darren Purkis has been appointed chief financial officer.
Instant-service equipment business Me Group said on Monday that it had delivered record H1 profitability in the six months ended 30 April, driven by a "strong" performance in its Revolution laundry division, and said it was on track to deliver FY25 profits in line with expectations for another record year. Group pre-tax profits were up approximately 14%, while group revenues were roughly 2% firmer. Excluding the H124 contribution from SEMPA SAS, which was sold in May 2024, interim revenues grew approximately 3.5% year-on-year.
Anglo American has officially completed the demerger of its Valterra Platinum business following the approval of shareholders, allowing the company to focus on its copper, iron ore and crop nutrients operations. Valterra, which was already listed in Johannesburg, was scheduled to start trading in a secondary listing in London from Monday, with Anglo retaining a 19.9% interest in the platinum producer. Anglo's chief executive Duncan Wanblad said the deal was a "major step in our plan to unlock the inherent value in our portfolio".
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The UK government is being pressed to wipe billions from the energy costs facing households and heavy industry by reforming the high taxes levied on electricity bills. These policy levies mean the UK pays some of the highest energy bills in the world, and are simultaneously disadvantaging British industry and stifling the efforts of households to transition to lower-carbon heating systems, according to industry trade groups. – Guardian
Starling Bank has handed its staff an almost fivefold increase in bonus pay despite an embarrassing regulatory fine and losses on government-backed Covid loans that the digital lender has blamed on its own weak controls. The digital-only challenger bank paid out £24.6m in bonuses for the 2024-25 financial year, compared with £5.3m a year earlier. – Guardian
Rachel Reeves's tax raid on farmers will cost the Treasury almost £2bn, analysis has found, despite Treasury claims that it could boost the public purse by as much as £1.8bn. Inheritance tax reforms due to come into force next April will cause family businesses to slash investment and jobs and lead to a slowdown in the economy, according to independent consultants at CBI Economics. – Telegraph
The US will never default on its debts, Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary has claimed, as he sought to downplay growing concerns over the state of the country's public finances. Scott Bessent told CBS news on Sunday that the US was "on the warning track" but insisted it would not run out of cash despite approaching the so-called debt ceiling – the legal limit that the US government is permitted to borrow. - Telegraph
The cryptocurrency market has moved closer to shedding its Wild West image after one of Britain's biggest online trading firms set out plans to allow retail clients to deal directly in digital assets. IG Group said it would become the first UK-listed company to enable retail investors in Britain to buy and sell individual tokens including bitcoin and ethereum when it starts a new service this week. – The Times
Airline ticket prices will come down as the cost of jet fuel falls, according to the boss of an airline industry body. Kerosene has been falling in price as the cost of crude comes down. Willie Walsh, the director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), told Bloomberg: "It’s typically our single biggest cost so it would help to offset any weakening demand if we were to witness a slowdown. It also tends to have an impact on pricing. There's almost a direct correlation between the price of oil and the price of airline tickets." – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered a mixed performance on Friday after Donald Trump claimed that China had violated their preliminary trade agreement, reviving fears that the US may be on the brink of a protracted trade war. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.13% at 42,270.07, while the S&P 500 lost 0.01% to 5,911.69 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.32% weaker at 19,113.77.