Sainsbury's to appoint its CFO as CEO of Home Retail

London’s FTSE 100 is expected to open seven points lower at 6,225.

Stocks to watch

J Sainsbury has announced it will appoint its chief financial officer John Rogers as chief executive of Home Retail Group on completion of its £1.4bn takeover. Rogers will replace John Walden, who is stepping down from the company. The takeover deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter.

BP and Det norske oljeselskap on Friday said they were creating of Aker BP ASA, an independent oil and gas company combining the assets and expertise from both companies' Norwegian exploration and production operations to form the largest Norwegian independent oil and gas producer. Under the terms of the proposed deal, Aker BP will be independently operated and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It will be jointly owned by current Det norske shareholder Aker (40%), other Det norske shareholders (30%) and BP (30%). BP will also receive a cash payment of $140m plus positive working capital adjustments as part of the transaction. The companies said they believed the new “Norwegian super-independent” could organically grow production to more than 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the early 2020s.

Grocery giant Tesco confirmed the proposed sale of its Kipa and Giraffe businesses on Friday, as it continues to slim down and focus on its core retail business. The FTSE 100 firm said it has agreed to sell its 95.5% controlling share in Turkish supermarket chain Kipa to Swiss retail group Migros. It confirmed that the disposal, which remains subject to the usual local regulatory approvals, will result in estimated cash proceeds of £30m and contribute to a reduction of around £110m in total indebtedness.

In a separate transaction, Tesco confirmed it is also selling the Giraffe restaurant chain which it picked up in 2013, to Harry Ramsden’s owner Boparan Restaurants Holdings. The sale of Giraffe includes 54 standalone restaurants - of which 12 are franchised - and three restaurants within Tesco stores.

In the press

Boots has parted company with the boss of its UK operation weeks after a Guardian investigation revealed concerns about its business practices. The pharmacy chain’s US parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance, said Simon Roberts would be leaving in July “to pursue new opportunities”. He has been with the company for 13 years, the last three as president of Boots. – The Guardian

Fears that Sky could lose its title to a new team with wealthy owners have been dispelled after the British satellite broadcaster spent a record sum for the lion’s share of German football rights. The four-year rights auction generated €4.64 billion (£3.63 billion) for the Bundesliga, an 85 per cent increase on the previous deal, making it the second-wealthiest football league in Europe. – The Times

Britain's final salary pension funds are facing a crippling £309billion shortfall that could see them forced to increase emergency payments by millions of pounds a year. The Pensions Regulator has revealed that the liabilities in these schemes have shot up by 35 per cent in the past three years, posing a threat to the retirements of tens of thousands of workers. – The Daily Mail

Many tenants renting privately are likely to be hit with rent increases following changes to the tax regime for landlords, according to a report to be published this Friday. Research by the lender Kent Reliance found that about a third of buy-to-let landlords intended to pass on increased costs to their tenants following the surcharge on stamp duty for second property owners and cap on tax relief for buy-to-let mortgages. – The Guardian

Government borrowing costs dropped to an all-time low yesterday while negative interest rates in Europe left banks considering the extraordinary step of hoarding banknotes to avoid central bank charges. Yields on 10-year gilts and 10-year German bunds dropped to record lows as investors worried about the sustainability of global growth. – The Times

US close

US shares closed slightly lower on Thursday as the S&P 500 gave up three days of gains as bond yields and oil prices fell.

The S&P was down 3.61 points to 2,115, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 19.52 points lower to 17,985 and the Nasdaq slipped 16 points to 4,958.

Oil prices slipped again as the dollar strengthened. Brent crude fell 0.97% to $50.58, while West Texas Intermediate was down 1.27% to $50.58 which in turn hit oil and energy equities.

Investors were holding back ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy announcement. However, many expect the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged after a weak non-farm payrolls report last Friday and a dovish speech by chair Janet Yellen.