Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Takeover target easyJet on Monday said it had extended the put up or shut up deadline for both competing offers from private equity firms Castlelake and Apollo to 1700 BST on 7 August. Castlelake had originally been set a deadline of 3 August, but as easyJet had been providing due diligence to both parties it had decided to align the dates. The low-cost carrier originally accepted a £5.5bn offer from Castlelake before switching to approval for a £5.7bn pitch from Apollo.
Shipping services group Clarksons said it expects full-year results to be "materially ahead" of market forecasts following a record first-half profit as it benefited from the volatility caused by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Clarksons, which plays an intermediary role in the movement of the majority of commodities, reported underlying pre-tax profits of £61.5m over the six months to 30 June, up from £39.4m the year before, as revenues surged to £413.5m from £297.8m.
Engineering and manufacturing firm Senior said on Monday that it had delivered a "strong performance" in the six months ended 30 June, with pre-tax profits sharply higher year-on-year as both its aerospace and flexonics divisions outperformed expectations. Senior said group revenues rose 7% on a constant‑currency basis to £390.8m, while adjusted pre-tax profits increased 38% to £34.8m and adjusted operating profits increased to £39.1m, helping lift operating margins to 10%, up 170bps.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The chancellor, John Healey, has said the government is standing by to prevent the public from "being taken for a ride at the pump or the till" as the Iran war continues to hit prices. While he said there had been "no significant evidence of so-called price gouging" during the crisis, he used a weekend column to tell the big retailers that ministers were "watching closely" for any signs of profiteering. – Guardian
Solar energy supplied more power to Great Britain's grid in July than in any previous month as households turned to rooftop panels to cut their energy bills. Solar farms and rooftop panels provided 14.4% of the country's electricity after some parts of the UK recorded almost twice the average sunshine hours for the time of year. – Guardian
Donald Trump's social media company has started selling VIP access to his posts despite claims the service amounts to a "shocking abuse" of power. Truth Social, the Twitter-like service where the president regularly posts updates, has started offering a high-speed feed to banks and high-frequency trading firms. – Telegraph
TalkTalk has offloaded swathes of customers to a start-up rival as it scrambles to raise cash. The deal to sell 130,000 customers to fledgling provider Rise Fibre marks the latest effort by the debt-ridden broadband provider to shore up its balance sheet. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. – Telegraph
Fears over job cuts are looming at Santander as unions start preparing for redundancies in the wake of the bank's £2.65bn acquisition of TSB. Staff representatives have launched negotiations over how to fairly evaluate employees working in similar roles as they await news on how many jobs will be axed, sources told The Times. TSB and Santander have different metrics for assessing the performance of their staff and it is understood that unions at both banks are in talks about how to create a fair system for evaluating individuals in the redundancy process. – The Times
Brunswick, the British public relations group, is considering selling a stake in the business in a move that could deliver a windfall for partners, The Times has learnt. The firm, which has 27 offices around the world, has appointed advisers to review its capital structure as it prepares for its next phase of growth. It would mark only the second time Brunswick has brought in external investors since it was founded in 1987 by its chairman Sir Alan Parker, 70, who started the company from his parents' kitchen table. – The Times
US CLOSE
Strong gains from Amazon were enough to offset a sell-off in Apple shares on Friday, with US stock markets finishing firmly higher after a volatile week.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.53% at 52,485.03, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.70% to 7,489.72, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.00% stronger at 25,373.85.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com