Melrose signs $5bn deal with GE Aerospace, Kosmos reports solid quarter

Stocks to watch

FTSE 100-listed aerospace group Melrose has signed a new $5bn aftermarket services agreement with engines giant GE Aerospace. Melrose's GKN Aerospace division is widening its current risk and revenue sharing partnership (RRSP) surrounding GE Aerospace's high-thrust GEnx engine. The new deal, estimated at $5bn over the full 30-year-plus life of the GEnx engine, will now cover new technology insertion, aftermarket repair of high-volume engine structures, and production of fan cases for a range of GE engines.

Kosmos Energy reported third-quarter net income of $85m on Monday, or 18 cents per diluted share, while its adjusted net income for the quarter was $126m or 26 cents per diluted share. Net production came in at around 68,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with the board highlighting the start-up of the Jubilee South East development in offshore Ghana and a significant oil discovery in the US Gulf of Mexico. Revenue for the quarter was $526m, with production expenses of $139m and capital expenditures of $193m.

Newspaper round-up

A fashion industry push to reduce the environmental impact of the clothing it sells is being undermined by an ongoing addiction to buying new clothes, with the average Briton buying 28 items every year. Asos and Primark are among the big names signed up to Wrap’s voluntary environmental pact, Textiles 2030. – Guardian

Rishi Sunak will this week announce legislation for a new annual system for awarding oil and gas licences as part of a highly political king’s speech which the Conservatives hope will open up clear dividing lines with Labour. The government said the plans would protect thousands of jobs and bolster energy security, reducing the UK’s reliance on imports from hostile foreign regimes such as Russia, even though the UK has committed to move away from fossil fuels. – Guardian

Grant Shapps has warned Aviva against any “immoral” withdrawal of backing for defence companies, after a letter it sent to investors triggered a backlash from the Ministry of Defence. Aviva, which manages £221bn of assets including insurance and pension funds, told customers last week it would be selling out of “certain companies that do not meet our Aviva Baseline Exclusion Policy”. – Telegraph

NatWest is to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that it claims will provide more human interaction to customers after closing hundreds of bank branches in recent years. The bot, built using technology from IBM, will employ so-called “generative” AI technology, similar to that of ChatGPT, which can hold human-like conversations with customers looking for information about the bank. – Telegraph

Shareholders in CAB Payments have called on regulators to investigate whether the prospectus for one of London’s biggest stock market flops this year misled investors. The initial public offering of CAB, promoted by JPMorgan and Barclays, has come under scrutiny after the company issued a profit warning four months after floating. The FTSE 250 foreign exchange firm, which specialises in processing payments to and from developing nations, floated in July with a valuation of £851 million, raising £335 million. It was London’s largest conventional IPO this year. Its market capitalisation has since collapsed to only £173 million, making it the world’s worst performing IPO this year, data from Bloomberg shows. – The Times

Dominic Chappell, who became engulfed in the BHS scandal, has been released from prison after serving half of his six-year sentence for evading tax. Chappell, 56, was released on parole from Guys Marsh prison in Dorset on Friday. BHS collapsed into administration in April 2016 just over a year after Sir Philip Green sold the chain for £1 to a consortium led by Chappell. – The Times

US close

US stocks closed higher on Friday following the release of a weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls report for last month.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrials was up 0.66% at 34,061.32, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.94% to 4,358.34 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.28% firmer at 13,478.28.

The Dow advanced 222.24 points on Friday despite the Department of Labor revealing that hiring had slowed to a pace of 150,000 in October, short of consensus estimates for a reading of 170,000.

Average hourly earnings growth also came in below forecasts at 0.2% month-on-month (consensus: 0.3%), while readings for the prior two months were revised down by a combined 101,000