Taylor Wimpey FY profits seen at top end of consensus, Rolls-Royce gets green light for sale of ITP Aero

Stocks to watch

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said on Wednesday that full-year profits were expected to be at the upper end of forecasts as it reported a rise in interim earnings, driven by strong selling prices.

The FTSE 100-listed company said pre-tax profits rose 16.3% to £334.5m and stated that looking ahead, full-year group operating profits will be around the "top end of the current market consensus range", driven by strong average selling prices on completions that were expected to be 4-5% higher than in the prior year.

Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce said on Wednesday that the Spanish government had approved the sale of its ITP Aero subsidiary to a consortium of investors led by Bain Capital Private Equity.

Rolls-Royce stated the government's sign-off on the deal follows the receipt of approval from all other relevant regulatory authorities. As a result, completion of the transaction, at an enterprise value of approximately €1.8bn, was expected to take place in the coming weeks.

Newspaper round-up

Petrol prices at the pumps are not falling fast enough and in line with wholesale price drops, according to the RAC. Over the last eight weeks, the average price paid for unleaded by drivers across the UK has only dropped by 9.0p a litre– all of which came off in July – despite wholesale petrol prices falling by 20.0p in the same time period. – Guardian

Robinhood, the trading platform that gained notoriety for allowing amateur stock investors to play the market, is laying off nearly a quarter of its staff – citing economic conditions and the crash of the cryptocurrency market. The news it was slashing 23% of its staff came as the company posted a 44% decline in revenues on slumping trading activity, in a surprise earnings report that came one day earlier than scheduled, and sent the company's shares down more than 3% in extended trading. – Guardian

Airbnb has unveiled record bookings as the travel industry recovers from the pandemic and hosts scramble to sign up. The holiday rental firm said it is "in the midst of our strongest peak travel season yet" and 4 July was its highest single-day revenue ever. The US company expects to deliver record revenue and profits in its third quarter, ending in September. – Telegraph

Two American law firms have leap-frogged "magic circle" competition to become the highest earning practices in the City as US lawyers continue to flex their muscles in London. Figures published today show that Latham & Watkins, which has its headquarters in Los Angeles, has seen revenue from advice on corporate deals at its Square Mile office rocket by nearly 170% in two years to a current annual figure of £270.0m. – The Times

Cazoo has launched a strategic review of its operations in mainland Europe just months after the heavily lossmaking online car retailer launched a big expansion in the region. The company posted record revenues and sales in the second quarter on the back of strong UK growth, but said its focus must be on preserving cash after losses more than doubled. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed below the line on Tuesday amid heightened tensions between the US and China as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.23% at 32,396.17, while the S&P 500 lost 0.67% to 4,091.19 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.16% weaker at 12,348.76.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com