GSK's Jemperli recommended for expanded use in Europe, Aussie regulator launches proceedings against Entain

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 12 points lower on Monday, having closed down 0.14% on Friday at 8,300.33.

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GSK said the European Medicine Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended expanding the approval of its Jemperli drug in combination with chemotherapy for first-line treatment of all adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer who are candidates for systemic therapy. The CHMP opinion is one of the final steps prior to a marketing authorisation decision by the European Commission, with an approval decision expected in the first quarter of 2025, the company said on Monday.

Australia’s financial crime regulator has commenced civil penalty proceedings against Entain Group related to alleged contraventions of an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing act. Entain has said that, judging by the fines handed out for similar cases in the past, the investigation “may result in a penalty being levied which could be potentially material”.

Computacenter announced the immediate departure of Christian Jehle as its chief financial officer and an executive director by mutual agreement on Monday, with his responsibilities temporarily managed by the finance team and executive management until a successor was appointed. The FTSE 250 company said Jehle would remain employed until 31 December to ensure a smooth transition, receiving his salary, pension, benefits, and potential bonus for the period, while his 2023 and 2024 PSP awards would lapse. It said its nomination committee would now lead the search for a new CFO.

Newspaper round-up

Water companies should spend more on helping vulnerable customers, according to consumer groups, as households in England and Wales brace for steep bill increases to be announced this week. The water regulator, Ofwat, is due to reveal on Thursday how much water bills will rise over the five years from next April. – Guardian

Voters have broadly accepted that the £40bn in tax rises in Rachel Reeves’s first budget are “necessary” to improve public services, despite the majority expecting to be worse off as a result, according to research. The chancellor announced in October a package of tax increases in order to fund investment in public services, particularly the NHS and schools – with the largest revenue-raiser a £25bn increase in employer national insurance contributions (NICs). – Guardian

Standing charges on business electricity bills have risen sixfold since 2018 and are set to climb further in the next five years, analysts have said. The charges have increased from £31 per day – or 3.2pc of total energy bills – to £190 per day or 12.8pc, according to the consultancy Cornwall Insight. It means businesses already hit by National Insurance and minimum wage increases face an additional squeeze from what many see as a stealth charge. – Telegraph

TalkTalk is to cut hundreds of jobs as the debt-laden broadband business scrambles to strip out £120m in costs. In an update to investors last week, TalkTalk outlined plans for a “radical” restructuring that is expected to lead to hundreds of job losses. The company has already begun a redundancy consultation as it prepares to scrap around 130 jobs at its Salford-based consumer division. It is understood that further cuts will follow at a wholesale business, dubbed Platform X, taking total losses into the hundreds. – Telegraph

Budget tax rises and a new cladding levy will cost Persimmon Homes up to £40 million a year and add “billions” of expenses across the industry, the boss of one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders has warned. Dean Finch said there was a “disconnect” between the government imposing ever-increasing costs on the sector and its calls for developers to build 300,000 new homes a year. – The Times

US close

Major indices delivered a mixed performance on Friday as the blue-chip Dow Jones turned in its seventh-consecutive losing session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.20% at 43,828.06, while the S&P 500 was flat at 6,051.09, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.12% firmer at 19,926.72.

The Dow closed 86.06 points lower on Friday, extending losses recorded in the previous session after last month's producer price index came in hotter than expected.

On Friday's macro slate, US import prices rose more or less as expected last month on the back of dearer energy.

According to the US Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, import prices edged up at a month-on-month pace of 0.1%.

Economists had forecast a decline of 0.2%.