Market Pulse
Sunday share tips: British American Tobacco, BT Group, Luceco,
Buy shares in British American Tobacco, said the Sunday Times' Inside the City column as the cigarette maker tries to buy rival Reynolds American. Though the industry faces innumerable hurdles, cigarette companies keep rewarding those hooked on yield. As BAT made a £4. 56bn profit from operations last year it hiked its total dividend 4% to 154p. BAT owns 42% of Reynolds and has offered $47bn for the remaining shares, which the US company is expected to reject.
Sunday newspaper round-up: More 'Nissan' deals, Carney, RBS, HSBC, Capita
Pharmaceuticals giants want the government to plug a £1bn-a-year funding gap that will be created when Britain leaves the EU, as part of a list of demands being drawn up by big business after last week’s deal with Nissan. After the Japanese car maker said it would make two new models at its Sunderland plant — safeguarding nearly 7,000 jobs — after receiving written assurances about post-Brexit trading arrangements from business secretary Greg Clark, other big employers from key sectors are now using Nissan’s perceived sweetheart deal as leverage to ask for their own favours.