Bunzl H1 profit up, BHP Samarco report on disaster blames flaws in dam design

London’s FTSE 100 was set to open seven points higher than Friday’s close at 6,845.

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Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl reported a rise in first-half profit as revenue grew and the company lifted its interim dividend.

For the six months to the end of June, pre-tax profit increased to £155.6m from £147.1m on revenue of £3.45bn, up from £3.14bn.

Chief executive Frank van Zanten said: “We continue to have a strong balance sheet and an active pipeline of opportunities for further acquisitions and expect to complete more transactions during the rest of the year. The board is confident that Bunzl's well positioned businesses will develop further and that the prospects for the group are positive."

Also on Tuesday, the company announced that it has completed two further acquisitions in Canada and has entered into an agreement to acquire a business in Hungary.

The Samarco dam disaster at a mine part-owned by BHP Billiton in Brazil last year that killed 19 people was caused by construction and design flaws , according to a review conducted by a panel of experts.

The, report commissioned by BHP, said problems at the dam made it more unstable, causing “liquefaction” in the dam wall, the Daily Telegraph reported.

BHP Billiton, and its partner Vale, have set aside up to $1.3bn (£1bn) to cover costs arising from the fatal accident that occurred at an iron ore mine in Brazil last year.

In the press

Poland has become the latest European country to woo some of Britain’s biggest banksin the wake of the Brexit vote with a charm offensive in London this week to lure City institutions to Warsaw. The Polish deputy prime minister will arrive on Thursday armed with a package of incentives to offer senior executives at some of the biggest banks in the City that have shown an interest in shifting jobs to the continent. – Financial Times

Investment into the UK boomed last year as firms from around the world backed a record 2,213 British projects, including infrastructure developments, manufacturing plants and life sciences projects. The number of foreign-backed projects increased 11pc, creating 82,650 jobs, as well as safeguarding more than 30,000 jobs and bolstering economic growth in the run up to the EU referendum. – Telegraph

Accounting giant Deloitte has posted record revenue of £3.1bn, triggering higher payouts for its legion of partners around the globe. Revenue shot up 11.2pc last year as every part of the business grew. Deloitte now audits 23pc of the FTSE 100 companies’ accounts, and said it also increased its work on mergers and acquisitions in the 12 months to the end of May 2016. – Telegraph

US close

US stocks finished on a mixed note as Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen signalled the possibility of an interest rate hike at next month’s meeting, alongside similar remarks from several other top US central bank officials in attendance at Jackson Hole, especially her number two, Fed vice chair Stanley Fischer.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted lower by -0.29% to 18,395.50 points, the S&P 500 gave back 0.16% or 3.43 points to finish at 2,169.04 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.13% to 5,218.92 points.

Trading on Friday was volatile, with the stock market initially heading higher on the back of the Fed chief´s remarks and later falling back, although shares managed to clamber off their intra-session lows, with the Nasdaq rising for a ninth consecutive week.