Rio extends Pilbara JV, Man Group a rock in a storm
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 3 points higher on Friday, after three up days so far this week.
Stocks to watch
FTSE 100 miner Rio Tinto and Sinosteel Corporation announced the extension of their Channar Mining joint venture in Australia’s Pilbara region on Friday. Rio said the joint venture extension, coupled with a separate agreement for it to supply iron ore from the Pilbara, will enable sales of up to 70m tonnes of iron ore to Sinosteel over the next five years, with Sinosteel making a one-off payment of $45m to Rio Tinto.
In spite of a small £0.5bn net inflow into its raft of hedge funds, Man Group's funds under management shrank very slightly in a volatile first quarter of 2016 for global markets. Funds under management (FUM) sat at $78.6bn at 31 March, down from$78.7bn at the end of December, which chief executive Manny Roman said was a demonstration of the value and benefits of a diversified business model in what are challenging market conditions for the global investment management industry.
Newspaper round-up
Brussels has stepped up its efforts to finalise antitrust charges related to the Android mobile operating system, advancing a case which is set to sharply escalate the stand-off between the EU and Google. Four lawyers involved in the case said on Thursday that the European Commission had, over recent days, sent out requests for information from complainants with 24-hour deadlines. – Financial Times
Britain and its European allies have announced new “hammer blow” rules against tax evasion in direct response to the Panama Papers leak that exposed how the world’s richest and most powerful people hide their wealth from the taxman. George Osborne announced on Thursday, in partnership with his counterparts from France, Germany, Spain and Italy, new rules that will lead to the automatic sharing of information about the true owners of complex shell companies and overseas trusts. – Guardian
China’s economic growth slowed in the first quarter of 2016 to 6.7%, largely in line with expectations, but at its slowest pace since the global financial crisis, sparking hope growth may be stabilising. The report showed that the annualized growth rate for the world’s second-largest economy ticked lower from the previous quarter’s 6.8%. – Guardian
The future of a British mutual was in doubt for the first time since the run on Northern Rock in 2007 yesterday, after Manchester Building Society wrote to customers warning them to keep balances within the £75,000 limit covered by the official compensation scheme. – The Times
US close
US stocks ended little changed on Thursday as investors digested key bank earnings and jobs data that suggested some resilience in the labour market, while the earnings season saw some notable reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1% gain, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended flat.
Bank earnings were in focus after JPMorgan Chase released better-than-expected first-quarter numbers on Wednesday.
Bank of America ended in the black, as though it posted a drop in first-quarter profit on the back of falling trading revenue, the result was better than expected.
BlackRock also finished up despite falling short of its profit expectations, but Wells Fargo edged lower after saying first-quarter net income fell 7.6% from last year to $5.46bn.