Anglo lifts 2019 Minas-Rio guidance, Playtech updates on Italian gambling taxes

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The FTSE 100 was called to open 34 points lower at 6,687.

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Anglo American raised 2019 guidance for its Minas-Rio iron ore operation in Brazil after receiving regulatory approval relating to the Step 3 licence area.

The mining giant said it now expected production to be 18m -20m tonnes (wet basis), from the previous guidance of 16m -19m.

Online gaming company Playtech said new Italian gambling taxes would hit Adjusted EBITDA by approximately €20m-25m.

The Italian Senate on Sunday passed the government's 2019 budget which includes legislation to increase taxation on various types of gambling activities.

The legislation is expected to receive final approvals, including from the Chamber of Deputies, before the end of 2018, Playtech said.

Newspaper round-up

Global investors are braced for more turbulence in 2019 after the White House intensified its criticism of the US’s most senior central banker. Over the weekend, a flurry of reports claimed Donald Trump had discussed the possibility of firing the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell. Such an unprecedented move would trigger further instability in the markets, which have already had their worst year since the 2008 crisis. – Guardian

Deliveroo has offered to review individual cases after being criticised for sacking more than 100 drivers days before Christmas. The food delivery company terminated a raft of driver contracts last week over alleged fraud, where food orders were marked as complete but went undelivered. – Guardian

Hundreds of customers with smart meters will cook their Christmas Dinner without paying a penny for their power, after Octopus Energy said it would offer four free hours of energy. The challenger brand said it would enable the price pause by tweaking its so-called “time of use” tariff, which is available to people with smart energy meters. Octopus is making the festive gesture following fears that smart meters might cause bills to spike at times of high demand because of “surge pricing”. – Telegraph

US close

US stocks tumbled on Friday as worries about global economic growth and the US government shutdown weighed on investors’ minds.

The Dow slumped 1.8% to 22,445.37, the S&P 500 closed down 2.1% at 2,416.62 and the Nasdaq slid 3% to 6,332.99.