Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week down 1.93%, or 144.51 points, closing at 7,332.12 on Friday.

Equity view

BT Group on Friday said it was combining its global and enterprise units to create a new corporate operation, in a move designed to save £100m a year by the end of 2025. The new unit will be called BT Business. No job loss figures were outlined.

RS Group said Lindsley Ruth was stepping down as chief executive with immediate effect for personal reasons. Lindsley will be available to the Board, if required over the next twelve months, equal to the length of his notice period. Chief financial officer David Egan will continue to lead the group as acting CEO until a process to find a replacement has concluded.

Miniature wargames manufacturer Games Workshop said on Friday that it has reached an agreement in principle with Amazon Content Services for Amazon to develop its intellectual property into film and television productions. In a brief statement, Games Workshop said it's intended that rights will initially be granted to develop the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Bowling alley operator Hollywood Bowl said on Friday that annual profit and revenues had grown against 2019 pre-Covid comparators, supported by "strong" customer demand. Hollywood Bowl said total revenues were up 49.2% in the twelve months ended 30 September at £193.7m, a fresh record for the firm, while gross profits were 47.6% higher at £164.3m and adjusted group pre-tax profits rose 77% to £39.4m.

Electricals retailer Currys cut its full-year profit outlook on Thursday as it said it swung to a loss in the first half after its international business took a hit due to heavy discounting from competitors. In an update for the half to 29 October, the company said it now expects 2023 adjusted pre-tax profit of between £100m and £125m, down from previous guidance of £125m to £145m on a like-for-like basis.

The US Food and Drug Administration has given AstraZeneca and MSD a three month extension to review a new drug application for its prostate cancer treatment Lynparza. Both companies said they would continue to work with the FDA to facilitate the completion of the agency's review.

Waste management specialist Biffa said on Thursday that it swung to a half-year profit on the back of higher prices. Group statutory revenues jumped 23% in the 26 weeks to 30 September, to £825.6m, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 13% to £103.2m.

Tullow Oil has signed a production sharing contract for an offshore exploration licence in Côte d'Ivoire. UK-listed Tullow will operate the licence with 90% equity and the remaining 10% is held by PetroCi. The licence covers an area of 1,345 square kilometres and is adjacent to licence CI-524 which is also held by Tullow and PetroCi.

LXI REIT said it had agreed a lease regear with Travelodge Hotels on 122 properties which formed part of the Secure Income REIT portfolio. The company has extended the unexpired lease terms on the 122 Travelodge hotels by a weighted average of nine years in return for inserting caps and collars (4% pa and 1% pa, respectively) on the previously uncapped and uncollared RPI rent reviews.

Staffing firm SThree said on Wednesday that it had delivered a "record performance" for the year ended 30 November, with double-digit growth across all regions. SThree stated group net fees were up 19% year-on-year, driven by demand for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills.

IntegraFin Holdings reported a jump in annual revenues on Wednesday, despite "significant" market volatility during the year. The owner of Transact, an investment platform used by UK financial advisors and their clients, said group revenues in the year to 30 September had risen 8% to £133.6m, while underlying group profits nudged 1% higher to £65.8m.

InterContinental Hotels said on Tuesday that it has appointed Michael Glover as its new chief financial officer. Glover, who has been with the company for 18 years, currently serves as CFO of the Americas and group head of commercial finance. He succeeds Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, who announced in October that he was planning to pursue an opportunity outside IHG after 19 years of service.

UK defence firm Chemring Group on Tuesday reported a rise in annual pre-tax profit as it maintained guidance for the current year. The company posted pre-tax profit for the year to October 31 of £51.8m compared with £48.8m a year earlier. Revenue rose13% to £442.8m.

Outsourcer Capita reported an uptick in revenue on Tuesday, in line with its full-year guidance. In the 11 months to the end of November, adjusted revenue grew 2%.

Centamin updated the market on its Sukari resource and reserve on Tuesday, delivering a 1.3 million ounce increase in measured and indicated mineral resources at the gold mine. The FTSE 250 company said that took Sukari to 11.11 million ounces at 1.08 grams of gold per tonne, representing a 13% increase in ounces after 12 months of mining depletion, inclusive of mineral reserves.

Warehouse REIT, the specialist urban and 'last-mile' industrial warehouse investor, has completed four long-term lettings totalling 121,400 sq ft, increasing portfolio occupancy to 93.3% from 92.7% as at September 30. Paul Makin, investment director of Tilstone Partners, advisor to Warehouse REIT, said: "The UK warehouse occupier market remains in robust health, reflecting the breadth of tenant demand in a market beset by structural undersupply.”

Primary Health Properties said chief executive Harry Hyman would retire at its annual general meeting in 2024. This intention is consistent with plans outlined after the Medicx merger announced in January 2019 that Hyman would commit to managing PHP for a further five years.

Clothing company Superdry's founder Julian Dunkerton has allegedly held discussions with private equity firms surrounding a potential buyout. According to the Sunday Times, talks between Dunkerton, who owns 23.9% of the firm, and potential investors have taken place throughout the course of 2022, with the chief executive said to be mulling over the idea of rolling his stake into a new private vehicle.

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Metro Bank £10m for breaching the listing rules by publishing incorrect information to investors, it announced on Monday. It also decided to fine Metro Bank’s former chief executive officer Craig Donaldson, and its former chief financial officer David Arden, a respective £223,100 and £134,600 for “being knowingly concerned” in the bank’s breach.

Quarried materials specialist SigmaRoc said in a trading update on Monday that revenues up to 30 November totalled £498m, up 20% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis. The AIM-traded firm said demand conditions had “evolved broadly” as expected across its market segments, as it benefited from its “broad” end-market and geographic diversification.

Economic news

Halifax said on Friday that the average UK house price had risen £12,801 to £285,579, while annual house price growth was up 4.7% in the year to November. Halifax said the UK housing market was "buoyant" in the first half of 2022, with pandemic-driven shifts in housing preferences and low interest rates keeping transaction demand elevated and leading to annual house price growth peaking at 12.5% in June - the strongest rate of annual growth since January 2005.

The downturn in UK economic activity eased in December, but output in the manufacturing sector fell to a four-month low, according to a survey released on Friday. The S&P Global/CIPS flash composite purchasing managers' index, which measures activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors, rose to a three-month high of 49.0 from 48.2 in November. This was ahead of expectations for a reading of 48.0.

UK retail sales unexpectedly fell last month, according to data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics. Sales declined by 0.4% in November following a 0.9% increase in October, missing expectations for a 0.3% jump. Sales in October had bounced back from the impact of the additional Bank Holiday in September for the Queen’s funeral.

UK consumer confidence remains at historic lows, a survey showed on Friday, as the poor economic climate continues to weigh heavily. The latest GfK Consumer Confidence Index was -42, up two points on November but still only seven points off September’s record low of -49.

The Bank of England hiked rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, as expected, as it looks to tackle surging inflation. This marked the Bank’s ninth increase in a row and leaves rates at 3.5% - their highest level since the financial crisis in October 2008. Last month, the Bank hiked rates by 75 basis points, which was the biggest increase for 33 years.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt is reportedly considering continuing to help all UK businesses pay their energy bills when the current government support package expires at the end of March. As it stands, support after the end of March is set to be extended only to the most needy firms.

A planned 72-hour strike by ground handlers at Heathrow airport will go ahead on Friday, after the latest round of pay talks broke down. Unite said on Thursday that a "miserable" pay offer from Menzies Aviation had been rejected, and around 400 union members at Heathrow terminals 2, 3 and 4 would walk out from 0400 GMT on Friday.

UK house prices jumped in October, official data showed on Wednesday, hitting fresh highs. According to the Office for National Statistics, average UK house prices rose by 12.6% over the year to October, up from 9.9% in September.

UK inflation eased to 10.7% last month, official figures showed on Wednesday, as transport costs fell back. The Office for National Statistics said the consumer prices index rose by 10.7% in the 12 months to November, down on October’s 41-year high of 11.1% and below consensus expectations of 10.9%.

Supermarket sales surged last month, industry data showed on Tuesday, driven by historic levels of food inflation. According to NielsenIQ, total till sales jumped 7.6% in the four weeks to 3 December, compared to growth of 5.3% in the previous month.

International events

Economic activity in the US slowed sharply further at the end of 2022, according to the results of two surveys. S&P Global's Purchasing Managers' Index for US manufacturing fell from a reading of 47.7 in November to 46.2 in December.

Paris-based global auditor Mazars has suspended all of its work with cryptocurrency firms, it was reported on Friday, as the fallout from the collapse of FTX continued. According to Bloomberg, Mazars had been working with crypto giant Binance as well as other exchanges on work including proof-of-reserves statements.

The Euro Area's trade deficit narrowed to €26.5bn in October, according to Eurostat, down from €37.7bn in September as rising energy prices continued to weigh on the bloc. Imports surged by 30.7% to €279.3bn, while exports expanded at a softer 18% clip to €252.8bn.

The fall in Eurozone business activity slowed in December, indicating that any recession in the single currency bloc could be milder than expected, a survey showed on Friday. The downturn in the eurozone was seen easing in December, helped by an improvement in economic conditions in Germany, according to S&P Global.

Industrial production growth in the US fell short of forecasts last month due to the drag from factory and mining activity. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, total industrial production slipped at a month-on-month pace of 0.2% in November.

The European Central Bank will continue hiking interest rates by 50 basis points per meeting for "a period of time", President Christine Lagarde said. At her press conference following the ECB's rate announcement on Thursday, Lagarde explained that the ECB was "in for a long game".

Americans unexpectedly reined in their spending a bit in November. According to the US Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, retail sales volumes fell at a month-on-month pace of 0.6% to reach $689.4bn.

US first-time unemployment claims fell by 20,000 in the week ended 10 December, dropping to 211,000 - the lowest level since the end of September and well below market expectations of 230,000. According to the Labor Department, jobless claims fell by 39,095 to 248,881 on a seasonally unadjusted basis, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,000 to 227,250.

Factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region continued to shrink at the end of 2022, albeit at a slower clip, the results of a closely followed survey revealed. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector index rebounded from a reading of -19.4 for October to -13.8 in November.

The European Central Bank hiked interest rates on Thursday by 50 basis points, as expected, in the face of surging inflation. The deposit and refinancing rates were lifted to 2.00% and 2.50%, respectively.

Reporting by Sharecast.com staff and contributors.