Whitbread returns to profit in H1, HSBC posts 42% fall in Q3 profits

Stocks to watch

Premier Inn parent company Whitbread said on Tuesday that interim profits had exceed pre-pandemic levels, leaving the group "significantly ahead" of the wider UK market.

Whitbread said first-half statutory revenues had surged 104% year-on-year to £1.35bn, helping the group swing from an interim adjusted pre-tax loss of £56.6m in 2021 to an adjust of pre-tax profit of £271.9m a year later.

HSBC has appointed Georges Elhedery, a former head of its investment bank, as its new chief financial officer as it posted a 42% fall in third quarter profits due to rising loan losses and asset sales.

The bank posted a pre-tax profit of $3.15bn for the three months to September 30, down from $5.4bn last year, but above the $2.45bn consensus of analyst estimates compiled by the bank. Results also included a $2.4bn hit from the sale of the bank's business in France as part of a pivot to Asia by HSBC in an effort to boost profits.

Newspaper round-up

The UK’s City watchdog is to examine how to regulate “big tech” companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon over fears they could harm competition in Britain’s financial services sector. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that big tech companies could provide innovations in financial services and drive down costs, but also expressed concerns that they could build dominant positions leading to the “potential exploitation of market power”, according to analysis published on Tuesday. – Guardian

The number of low-deposit 95% mortgages on sale has fallen by more than half since last month’s scrapped mini-budget, stoking fears that financial uncertainty could lead some banks to scrap the deals that are often the only way first-time buyers with small deposits can own a home. Data from Moneyfacts shows that the number of new 95% mortgages stood at 137 on Monday. – Guardian

Lawyers are to be hit with a £200 penalty if they fly to meetings as part of efforts by one of the country’s largest legal firms to cut down on its carbon footprint. Shoosmiths will dock the sum from its communal travel budget if its lawyers choose to hop on a flight, as part of its ambitious plans to reach net zero emissions. – Telegraph

Executives involved in a major bribery scandal at Glencore are to have their identities kept secret as British fraud prosecutors decide whether to charge them. A total of 17 individuals are under investigation and could face criminal charges, according to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after the mining titan pleaded guilty to paying more than $28m (£22m) in bribes to gain access to oil cargoes. – Telegraph

City law firms are gearing up for a potential wave of legal disputes after pension funds were forced to sell assets quickly in the wake of the mini-budget. Professional advisers are assessing a range of legal risks arising out of the crisis that engulfed defined-benefit pension schemes, legal sources said. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks put on a solid performance on Monday as market participants prepped for a week packed full of earnings from the nation's top tech firms.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.34% at 31,499.62, while the S&P 500 was up 1.19% at 3,797.34 and the Nasdaq Composite started off the session 0.86% weaker at 10,952.61.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com