BOE Could Begin to Cautiously Cut Rates in 4Q
0820 GMT - The Bank of England could begin to cut the key rate in the forth quarter of 2023 as underlying inflationary pressures begin to ease, says Berenberg senior economist Kallum Pickering in a note. "After hiking rates to a peak of 4.5% or possibly 4.75%, we expect the BOE to remain on hold until Q4 when it will likely begin to cautiously cut the bank rate," he says. The BOE could cut the key rate by 50 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2023, and by 100 basis points to 3.0% by the end of 2024, according to Pickering. The bank is likely to be cautious in cutting rates for fear of "restoking inflationary pressures," says Pickering. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
Companies News:
Fresnillo Doesn't See Material Impact From Mexico's New Mining Law
Fresnillo PLC on Tuesday said it doesn't believe the enactment of Mexico's new federal mining law will have any material impact on its operations.
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SDX Energy Names William McAvock as New CFO
SDX Energy PLC on Tuesday appointed William McAvock as its chief financial officer with immediate effect.
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JD Sports in Talks to Buy Groupe Courir for EUR325 Mln
JD Sports Fashion said Tuesday that it has entered negotiations with owners of Groupe Courir to potentially buy the company for 325 million euros ($357.7 million), and it is reviewing options to simplify its European shareholdings.
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Direct Line Insurance 1Q Gross Written Premiums Rose
Direct Line Insurance Group said Tuesday that adjusted gross written premiums for the first quarter rose, driven by its motor and home divisions, and that its earnings outlook for 2023 continued to be challenging.
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WANdisco Names Stephen Kelly as Interim CEO
WANdisco said Tuesday that it will appoint Stephen Kelly as interim chief executive officer, effective Wednesday.
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Rainbow Rare Earths Raises GBP7.5 Mln for South African Project
Rainbow Rare Earths on Tuesday said it had raised 7.5 million pounds ($9.5 million) via private share placement to complete its rare earth pilot project in South Africa.
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TT Electronics Revenue Rose In First Four Months of 2023
TT Electronics said Tuesday that its revenue rose in the first four months of the year as its order intake nears record levels.
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Purplebricks No Longer Sees Cash Generation in Early FY 2024
Purplebricks Group PLC said Tuesday that it doesn't expect to return to cash generation in early fiscal 2024 as previously forecast, and potential transactions being contemplated in its sales process could be at a discount to share price.
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Victrex 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Lower Sales Volumes
Victrex said Tuesday that pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2023 fell as sales volumes declined, with full-year volumes tracking to be down by a double-digit percentage compared with fiscal 2022.
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Treatt 1H Profit Fell on Exceptional Items; Revenue Rose
Treatt said Tuesday that its first-half pretax profit fell 26% on exceptional items, though revenue rose and it hiked its dividend.
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Mincon Group's 1Q Revenue Fell as Mining Segment Lags
Mincon Group said Tuesday that revenue has declined in the first quarter of 2023 but that margins have improved, and that it keeps a positive outlook for the year.
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MacFarlane Group on Track to Meet 2023 Views After 1Q Growth
MacFarlane Group PLC on Tuesday said it is on track to meet its full-year expectations after a solid start to 2023.
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Petards 2022 Pretax Profit Fell on Lower Rail Market Sales
Petards Group said Tuesday that pretax profit and revenue fell in 2022 due to lower sales in the rail market.
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Marshalls' Performance to End of April Hurt by Lower New Housing Starts; Lowers Guidance; Shares Fall
Shares in Marshalls fell Tuesday after it said National House Building Council new housing starts in the first quarter were 27% lower than in 2022 and that this hurt its performance and lowered guidance.
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Osirium Technologies 1Q Revenue Rose; Shares Jump
Shares in Osirium Technologies rose 13% on Tuesday after the company reported continued positive trading over the first quarter on new customer wins and license upsells and expansions with existing customers.
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AltynGold Shares Rise as Trading Resumes After Publication of 2022 Audited Results
Shares in AltynGold PLC rose 22% on Tuesday after the company's trading suspension was lifted upon publication of its audited results for 2022.
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Echo Energy Shares Soar As Company Plans Sale of Argentinian Assets
Shares in Echo Energy jumped Tuesday after the company said it plans to sell 65% of its current 70% working interest in the assets in Santa Cruz Sur, Argentina, to Selva Maria Oil and InterOil Exploration and Production for up to 1.73 million pounds ($2.2 million).
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Kanabo Appoints Ian Mattioli Nonexecutive Chairman, to Raise Around GBP2.5 Mln
Kanabo Group said Tuesday that it has appointed Ian Mattioli as nonexecutive chairman with immediate effect, and that it will raise around 2.5 million pounds ($3.2 million) via a discounted share issue subscription.
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Tirupati Graphite Shares Rose as FY 2023 Profit, Sales Increased
Tirupati Graphite PLC shares rose Tuesday after it said fiscal 2023 gross profit and sales rose significantly.
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Kin and Carta Buys Forecast Data for GBP3 Mln to Strengthen Data, AI Capabilities
Kin and Carta said Tuesday that it has bought Forecast Data for an initial 3 million pounds ($3.8 million) to strengthen its data and artificial intelligence capabilities.
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Griffin Mining 2022 Pretax Profit, Revenue Fell on China Operation Suspensions
Griffin Mining said Tuesday that its pretax profit and revenue fell in 2022 as results were severely hit by several suspensions in operations for nearly five months of the year.
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Amala Foods Shares Rise on Reverse Takeover Opportunities
Amala Foods PLC shares rose Tuesday after it said it has prepared a shortlist of reverse takeover opportunities, and it has sufficient funding to carry out a transaction.
Market Talk:
JD's Planned Courir Acquisition Looks a Good Fit
0924 GMT - JD Sports Fashion is keen to continue its expansion into most of its current territories, and is planned acquisition of French sports retailer Courir for an enterprise value of EUR520 million neatly fits the bill, Peel Hunt says. The sports-and-fashion retailer's balance sheet is strong and even more acquisitions should be expected in the future, Peel Hunt analysts say in a research note. "[Courir] is a much more female-focused brand: within JD's, roughly 80% of sales are to men. However it is a much more even male-female split in Courir stores, and this differentiation allows it to be competitive with the big brands on allocations," the brokerage says. Peel Hunt retains its buy rating and 250 pence price target. Shares are up 2.3% at 166.35 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
Fresnillo's Future Growth Could Be Hindered by Mexico's New Mining Law, RBC says
0838 GMT - Fresnillo's operations are unlikely to be materially impacted by Mexico's new mining laws given the length of the existing concessions, RBC Capital Markets says. The precious metals miner earlier said it doesn't believe the law--which was approved by the Senate on April 29--will affect its current operations and advance exploration projects. "Nonetheless, we see the new law as making the discovery of new deposits more challenging, which could potentially impact future growth," analysts Marina Calero and Tyler Broda say in a note. RBC has a sector perform rating on the stock. Shares fall 1.3% at 720.2 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)
Sterling Gains as Market Bets on Further BOE Rate Rises
0704 GMT - Sterling rises and the market is expecting at least two further interest rate rises by the Bank of England, Commerzbank says. The BOE will likely lift rates by 25 basis points on Thursday given elevated inflation but is unlikely to sound surprisingly restrictive about future policy due to concerns about past rate rises slowing the economy, Commerzbank currency analyst currency analyst You-Na Park-Heger says in a note. "I therefore see a certain potential for disappointment and thus the risk of a downside correction in Sterling as the market's rate expectations seem quite ambitious." GBP/USD rises 0.1% to 1.2633 after hitting a one-year high of 1.2669 overnight, according to FactSet. EUR/GBP falls 0.2% to 0.8695, a 20-week low. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-09-23 0543ET
