NatWest raises full-year guidance, FirstGroup buys bus operator Lakeside

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open eight points higher on Friday, having closed up 0.13% on Thursday at 8,269.38.

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NatWest raised its full-year income forecasts on Friday after a strong third quarter, in which profits jumped by more than a third. Profit for the three months ended 30 September totalled £924m, up 34.6% on last year, as total income rose 7.3% to £3.49bn. The banking group said it now expected to achieve a return on tangible equity above 15%, up one percentage point on previous guidance, while adjusted income should come in at £14.4bn, compared with an earlier forecast of £14bn.

FirstGroup announced the acquisition of Lakeside Group on Friday - a profitable Shropshire and Cheshire-based company with a fleet of approximately 145 buses and coaches. The FTSE 250 passenger transport operator said Lakeside, known for school, B2B, and B2C private hire services, generated revenue of £12.5m and EBIT of £2.5m in the year ended March. It said the acquisition aligned with its strategy to expand its First Bus portfolio, with Lakeside’s leadership set to continue under managing director Neal Hall and current owner Gareth Davies.

Newspaper round-up

City firms are only rarely docking pay and bonuses in cases of bad behaviour including sexual harassment, bullying and drug use, according to the industry’s watchdog, which recorded a 40% rise in complaints about non-financial misconduct last year. The findings are the result of the City regulator’s first survey looking at the issue, which was launched in the wake of high-profile allegations of sexual harassment, including those against individuals at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) lobby group. – Guardian

Keir Starmer has hinted at tax rises for those who earn their income from shares and property, saying that they did not fit his definition of “working people”. Ministers are expected to announce increases in inheritance tax and capital gains tax (CGT) in the budget next week. – Guardian

Excess heat from data centres and factories will be pumped into thousands of English homes to keep them warm under new plans announced by ministers. Seven “heat network zones” are planned, with one in Leeds, Plymouth, Bristol, Stockport and Sheffield, and two in London, to share warmth across urban areas via underground pipe networks. The networks will transfer excess or unused heat out of some buildings to others nearby such as residential apartment blocks. – Telegraph

Richard White, the billionaire tech pioneer, has resigned as chief of WiseTech Global in Australia after weeks of lurid allegations wiped billions from the market capitalisation of the company he founded 30 years ago. The departure of White, 69, a tech entrepreneur who started his career repairing guitars for the band AC/DC, followed an investigation by the Australian newspapers the Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age which alleged that he purchased multimillion-dollar houses for a string of women he had been in secret relationships with. – The Times

Rachel Reeves has been warned by the Labour grandee Lord Blunkett that imposing national insurance on employers’ pension contributions risks damaging people’s standard of living in their retirement. The chancellor is expected to use her budget on October 30 to announce plans to impose national insurance on employers’ pension contributions as she seeks to balance the books. The measure is expected to raise about £15 billion. – The Times

US close

US markets ended mixed on Thursday as investors digested a barrage of economic data and corporate earnings amid ongoing political uncertainty, but a surge in Tesla's stock pushed the Nasdaq firmly higher.

The Dow finished down 0.3% at 42,374.36, falling for its fourth straight day to its lowest since 8 October, while the S&P 500 edged 0.2% higher to 5,809.86.

The Nasdaq however jumped 0.8% to 18,415.49.

Market sentiment over recent days has been dominated by rising political uncertainty ahead of the US elections – which remain too close to call – as well as nervousness around the future path of monetary policy worldwide after numerous Fed policymakers called for more gradual rate cuts.

On the macro front, US initial unemployment claims fell by 15,000 week-on-week to 227,000, according to the Labor Department, the lowest reading so far this month and well below market expectations for a flat print of 242,000.