Pound Could Fall Vs Euro on BOE Rate Decisions, Brexit

Sterling could weaken against the euro if the Bank of England raises interest rates by less than anticipated and if the post-Brexit trade dispute intensifies, Danske Bank says. "We do not think the Bank of England is going to hike [rates] nearly as aggressively as priced in markets, creating some upside risks to EUR/GBP over the next three months," Danske Bank analyst Kristoffer Kjaer Lomholt says. "In addition, there is renewed Brexit uncertainty, which may start to weigh on GBP sooner or later if things are escalating." Overall, EUR/GBP may rise slightly in coming months, he says. EUR/GBP falls 0.1% to 0.8390, having earlier reached a 20-month low of 0.8383, according to FactSet. 


 
Companies News:

Wynnstay Properties 1H Pretax Profit Increased on Lower Costs

Wynnstay Properties PLC on Thursday reported a rise in pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 as it booked lower costs.

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Eagle Eye Solutions Sees FY 2022 Adjusted Ebitda Above Views

Eagle Eye Solutions Group PLC said Thursday that it expects to report adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for fiscal 2022 ahead of management expectations thanks to revenue growth of 35% in the first quarter.

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Roquefort Investments Plans Up to GBP3 Mln Placing to Fund Acquisition

Roquefort Investments PLC said Thursday that it will place up to 3 million pounds ($4 million) of shares to finance the cash component of its acquisition of Lyramid Pty Ltd., as well as pre-clinical drug development and for working capital.

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Chill Brands' Shares Rise on Distribution Deal in U.S.

Shares in Chill Brands Group PLC on Thursday rose after the company said that U.S. company BettermentRS has implemented its CBD flavor pouches and other CBD products into more than 300 stores across the country.

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Mobile Streams Says Revenue in Argentina Was Ahead of Views in October

Mobile Streams PLC said Thursday that its LiveScores Argentina service generated higher revenue than expected in October.

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PCF Group Sees Publishing of FY 2020 Accounts Around Year-End

PCF Group PLC said Thursday that it expects to publish its fiscal 2020 report and accounts in late December to early January, with its interim results following shortly afterward.

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Abingdon Health Shares Fall on Going Concern Warning

Abingdon Health PLC shares fell as much as 26% in early trade Thursday after the group warned over its ability to continue as a going concern due to the continuing dispute with the U.K. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care over unpaid monies for Covid-19 test kits.

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Close Brothers Asset Management CEO to Step Down

Close Brothers Group PLC said Thursday that the chief executive officer of its Close Brothers Asset Management business has decided to step down.

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ASA International Loan Collection Efficiency Improves in Most Countries

ASA International Group PLC said Thursday that all of its operating companies achieved collection efficiency of more than 90% in October, with the exception of those in India and Myanmar.

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Leaf Mobile to Raise C$10 Mln in London IPO

Leaf Mobile Inc. said Thursday that it plans to raise 10 million Canadian dollars (US$7.9 million) and float on the London Stock Exchange this winter.

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EnQuest Shares Fall After Cutting Production Guidance

Shares in EnQuest PLC dropped Thursday after the company downgraded full-year production guidance and reported some operational issues at its fields in the U.K.

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French Regulator Caught in Crossfire as SMCP Investor Battle Shows No Signs of Abating

France's market regulator is failing to enforce its own rules, a shareholder group has alleged, as a legal tussle continues over the ownership of fashion group SMCP SAS.

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David Moyes Finally Fixed West Ham -- Two Years After Getting Fired

When West Ham hired David Moyes to be its manager last season, the club was widely mocked for lacking imagination. Not only had it chosen a coach who had failed spectacularly at Manchester United, it had picked someone who had also failed at West Ham.

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Contango Holdings Raises GBP2.5M to Bring Lubu Coal Project Into Production

Contango Holdings PLC said Thursday that it has raised 2.5 million pounds ($3.4 million) via a share issue to fast-track the Lubu Coking Coal Project into production by the first quarter of the next year. 


 
Market Talk:

Share Buyback Is Coming for Imperial Brands, Will Be Essential to Lift Share Price

1117 GMT - A share buyback is coming for Imperial Brands and it will be essential to reviving the share price, RBC Capital Markets says. It isn't a matter of if, but when, according to the company, RBC says, adding that the second half of the fiscal year ending in September 2022 looks more likely. "We wanted Imperial Brands to go big and go early, but having seen some (moderate) signs of improving momentum in the business, we understand its tentative approach." The Canadian bank has an outperform rating on the tobacco company and raises the target price to 2,100 pence from 1,900 pence on increased revenue expectations.

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Halma Drops After 1H; Jefferies Keeps Underperform Rating

0958 GMT - Safety-equipment group Halma is the biggest FTSE 100 faller, down 2.5% to 3049 pence, despite reporting higher first-half pretax profit and keeping its full-year guidance unchanged. Jefferies, which has a 2435p price target on the shares, described the results as healthy and said they were modestly better than the brokerage's expectations. "How the market takes this (given Spirax yesterday) will be interesting," Jefferies analyst Andrew Douglas says. The bank reiterates its underperform rating on the stock on valuation grounds, he says.

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National Grid 1H Results, Outlook Top Expectations

0943 GMT - National Grid first-half results were better than expected, says Citigroup. The power-network operator reported higher first-half profit and forecast full-year earnings significantly above the guidance range. The bottom line was better than the bank's forecast and market expectations, Citi says. In addition, the market is likely to welcome the company's increase in full-year earnings per share guidance to "significantly above" the top end of the 5-7% range, Citi says. "The announced GBP400m per annum cost saving at the end of three years should also help to underpin the five-year EPS growth guidance of 5-7%," Citi analyst Jenny Ping says. "Overall, we think NG shares will be supported by the announcements today. We currently rate NG as buy." Shares rise 0.4%.

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Royal Mail Rises as Investors Cheer Capital Returns

0908 GMT - Shares in Royal Mail top the FTSE 100 risers, up 5.7% after the U.K. letter and parcel courier reported higher first-half pretax profit and announced a share buy-back program. The company reported group adjusted operating profit of GBP404 million versus consensus of GBP399m, Citigroup says. "More importantly, the company has announced a special dividend and a buy-back program of GBP400m--circa. 9% of market cap," Citi analysts say. "This is in addition to the interim dividend of 6.7 pence per share. We see the capital return announcement as likely to be taken positive."

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UK Yields Outperform After Muted Impact From Inflation Data

0901 GMT - A bigger-than-expected jump in consumer prices in the U.K. had a muted reaction in U.K. borrowing costs and credit markets, says Mizuho. The annual rate of inflation accelerated by 4.2% in October from 3.1% the previous month, beating expectations and marking the highest reading in a decade, official data showed Wednesday. Markets remain "fully priced" for a 15 basis-point interest-rate increase by the Bank of England in December and sterling rates actually outperformed on Wednesday "after previously having reacted to Tuesday's labour market numbers," analysts at the bank say. Yields rose on Tuesday after a data showed the jobs market remained strong despite the end of the furlough scheme in September. The 10-year gilt yield trades last at 0.936%, according to Tradeweb.

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National Grid 1H Results Look Strong; Boost From New Interconnectors Is Temporary

0802 GMT - Although the boost from the commissioning of new power interconnectors is somewhat temporary, National Grid has released a strong set of 1H results as its embarks on its new corporate structure with WPD and steps up its growth ambitions, John Musk at RBC Capital Markets says. Figures for the six months ended Sept. 30 were slightly ahead of consensus, and full-year guidance was increased after a strong start to the year and the early commissioning of the NSL interconnector, the analyst notes. "We reiterate our Outperform rating on the back of strong 1H results and ahead of this afternoon's CMD," Musk says.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-18-21 0636ET