Berkeley reiterates three-year outlook, easyJet flights fuller in August

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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 13 points higher on Tuesday, after closing down 0.22% at 6,879.42 on Monday.

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Housebuilder and property developer The Berkeley Group Holdings issued an interim management statement for the period from 1 May to 31 August on Tuesday, as investors gathered for its annual general meeting. The FTSE 100 firm said it entered 2016/17 with record cash due on forward sales of £3.25bn and future estimated land bank gross margin of £6.15b, respectively. “This is a consequence of Berkeley operating its added value strategy which manages risk through the cycle,” the board said in the statement. The forward sales provide good visibility over the next two years, it said, and Berkeley reiterated its guidance for the delivery of £2.0bn of pre-tax profit over the three year period ending on 30 April 2018, having delivered the first £0.5bn of this in the year ended 30 April 2016.

FTSE 100 listed budget airline easyJet increased passenger numbers by 6.4% in August, compared to the same month the previous year, as the load factor, the number of passengers as proportion of the number of seats available, increased by 0.5%. For the rolling 12 months ended 31 August passenger numbers were up 6.8% as the load factor also rose by 0.4%.

FTSE 250 housebuilder Redrow reported a jump in pre-tax profit for the full year as revenue grew and the company lifted its dividend. For the year to the end of June, pre-tax profit was up 23% to £250m on revenue of £1.38bn, up 20% from the year before. Legal completions rose 17% and the company upped its full-year dividend to 10p from 6p.

Newspaper round-up

Theresa May did not raise concerns about Chinese overproduction of steel, which has been blamed for crippling the British steel industry, in her first meeting with China’s president, Xi Jinping. During a half-hour bilateral on Monday, immediately after the G20 summit in the country, the prime minister avoided the controversial subject that overshadowed Xi's visit to the UK last year at a time when the industry was in crisis. Thousands of workers at Port Talbot and other plants are still facing an uncertain future. – Guardian

Sainsbury’s is to open mini-Habitat shops and more than double the number of Argos outlets in its supermarkets by Christmas after finalising its £1.4bn takeover of Home Retail Group. The supermarket said it would open 30 new Argos outlets, joining the 20 that have been trading for more than a year, as it kicks off the integration of its new acquisition. – Guardian

Japan’s companies could flee the UK post-Brexit, the country’s government has warned, if Britain is cut off from Europe and the world. The bold statement does not reflect the public aims of Britain’s leaders nor those of the EU, but Japan’s warning reflects worries over the potential shock to global trade if ties with other nations are severed altogether. – Telegraph

Britain’s biggest and most toxic nuclear waste site is facing fresh questions over its safety after allegations that staffing levels are frequently too low and that radioactive waste is being stored in degrading plastic bottles. If a fire were to break out at the Sellafield site in Cumbria, it could “generate a plume of radiological waste that will go across Western Europe”, one whistleblower claims in a BBC Panorama documentary. –Telegraph

For years women have been told to “lean in” at work, to be more assertive about securing pay rises and promotions. Now it turns out that they have been leaning in so hard it’s a wonder they don’t fall over. Yet they are still less likely than men to get a salary increase when they ask. Women demand wage rises as often as men, but men are 25 per cent more likely to succeed, according to research from the Cass Business School, the University of Warwick and the University of Wisconsin. – The Times

Jes Staley has dipped once again into the senior talent pool at JPMorgan Chase, his former employer, as the Barclays chief executive tries to build a coterie of trusted lieutenants. Mr Staley, who spent 34 years at the American investment bank, has recruited Tim Throsby as head of Barclays’ corporate and international division. Mr Throsby will join its executive committee and will report directly to Mr Staley. – The Times

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Markets in the United States were closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.