Hilton Foods trading in line, AstraZeneca announces Singapore facility

Stocks to watch

Hilton Foods said trading in the year to date had been in line with expectations, with volumes and sales ahead of last year despite a challenging economic environment and lower raw materials prices in some of its markets. UK & Ireland volumes and revenue were ahead of last year, benefiting from a strong Easter trading period as well as slowing inflation and good growth in Ireland, while the momentum of turnaround at its UK Seafood operation continued, the company said in an update on Monday.

AstraZeneca announced plans to build a $1.5bn manufacturing facility for antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) in Singapore on Monday, to enhance the global supply of its cancer treatments. The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant said the facility, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, would be its first end-to-end ADC production site, designed to incorporate all manufacturing steps and achieve zero carbon emissions. Construction would start by the end of 2024, with the facility expected to be operational by 2029.

Newspaper round-up

Post-Brexit border checks will cost UK businesses £470m a year, the government’s public spending watchdog has said. Plans to bring in border checks on goods coming from the EU faced “significant issues” including critical shortages of inspectors before their introduction last month, the National Audit Office said in a report. – Guardian

The average British house price reached a record high of £375,131 in May, according to Rightmove. The average prices of properties coming to market rose 0.8%, or £2,807, month on month. Pent-up demand from would-be buyers who paused their plans last year is a key driver behind increased home mover activity despite mortgage rates remaining elevated for longer than anticipated, the property website’s report said. – Guardian

Showing face in the House of Lords to claim a £300 daily attendance fee was once so widespread that a peer was brazen enough to leave a taxi engine running outside the Houses of Parliament while he signed in. Minutes later, he was back in the car and on the road home. Similar tactics are now taking place in corporate Britain. As more and more bosses force staff back to their desks, employees are finding ways to bend the rules. – Telegraph

The government is opening a branch of its new AI Safety Institute in Silicon Valley this summer, in an attempt to be closer to the companies developing the technology. The plan builds on an existing partnership with the institute’s American equivalent signed this year and will be in addition to the London headquarters where 32 people are based, the technology department said. – The Times

The number of new apprenticeships has fallen by up to two fifths since the introduction of the government’s “broken” levy system, new research shows. There has been a 41 per cent decline in the number of apprenticeship starts for those under the age of 19 since the scheme came into force, according to analysis by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). For those aged between 19 and 24, participation has fallen by 36 per cent. – The Times

US close

Stocks on Wall Street closed in a mixed state on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.34% at 40,003.59.

The S&P 500 added 0.12% to 5,303.27, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.07% to settle at 16,685.97.