Rightmove rejects REA Group's third offer, LondonMetric buys six properties

Stocks to watch

LondonMetric Property said it had bought six single let urban UK logistics properties for £78m from an unnamed FTSE 100 pension fund. The portfolio generates income of £4.8m a year, which is expected to rise to £5.8m over the next two years, the company said on Wednesday. Separately, LondonMetric said it also sold a further office asset in Edinburgh for £6m.

UK property platform Rightmove has rejected a third takeover offer from Australian outfit REA Group, saying it “materially undervalued the company and its future prospects”. REA’s latest cash-and-shares proposal, equivalent to an offer price of 759p, was a 37% premium to Rightmove’s share price on 30 August, the day before the first offer. However, as Rightmove pointed out, since that time REA’s own share price has dropped by 12%, essentially bringing the offer price down.

IG Group announced the start of the second tranche of its share buyback programme on Wednesday, with a maximum value of £75m, expected to conclude by 31 January. The FTSE 250 company said the tranche was part of a broader £150m programme aiming to reduce share capital by purchasing shares to be held in treasury. It said the buyback was being conducted by UBS, under the authorisation granted by the resolution passed at its recent annual general meeting.

Newspaper round-up

Business leaders have warned that the government’s plans for a major global investment summit are in danger of falling flat, amid growing frustrations over high costs of involvement and its timing two weeks before the budget. As a central plank in Labour’s proposals to drive up investment in Britain, the party pledged in the general election campaign to host the summit within the first 100 days of winning power to show that the UK would be “open for business” under a new government. – Guardian

The US Department of Justice has sued Visa, accusing one of the world’s largest payment networks of antitrust violations that affect “the price of nearly everything”. The financial giant has suppressed competition by threatening merchants with high fees and paying off potential rivals, according to the complaint, filed in US district court for the southern district of New York. – Guardian

Caroline Ellison, the ex-girlfriend of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, has been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the $8bn (£6bn) fraud that triggered the implosion of the cryptocurrency exchange. Ellison, 29, was given a prison sentence on Tuesday night at a hearing in Manhattan, even though the judge recognised her extensive cooperation with prosecutors. She had pleaded guilty to seven felony counts of fraud and conspiracy. – Telegraph

The City regulator has admitted that it mishandled plans to start naming firms it is investigating after the proposals faced a fierce backlash from the financial services industry. In a sign that the Financial Conduct Authority is preparing to compromise on elements of its plan, a senior official at the watchdog used a speech on Tuesday to reassure the industry that the regulator was listening to business concerns. – The Times

Brookfield, the asset manager chaired by Mark Carney, the former Bank of England governor, has sold its 25 per cent stake in the hydropower group First Hydro Company to a leading Canadian pension fund. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is buying the stake for £500 million, valuing the company at £2 billion. Engie, the French utility company, remains the largest shareholder with a 75 per cent holding. – The Times

US close

US stocks rose on Tuesday, helping the Dow and S&P 500 both to set new record highs, with sentiment continuing to be lifted by last week's bumper rate cut by the Federal Reserve, along with a raft of stimulus measures announced in China.

Investors were largely shrugging off data showing an unexpected plunge in US consumer confidence this month, after China's central bank unveiled a raft of cuts to reserve requirements and lending rates, including for existing home loans, as it tried to stimulate the country’s stagnant economy.

The Dow finished 0.20% higher at a new closing high of 42,208.22, while the S&P 500 rose 0.25% to a new peak of 5,732.93. The Nasdaq meanwhile gained 0.56% to 18,074.52.

In economic data on Tuesday, confidence levels among US consumers fell by their most in more than three years in September, with the outlook on business conditions turning negative.

The Conference Board's US Consumer Confidence Index dropped below the long-term average to 98.7 in September, down from an upwardly revised 105.6 in August. Economists had expected a small decline to around 104.