Weekly review

Equity view

British taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland more than doubled first quarter losses to £968m after paying out a £1. 2bn dividend to the UK government.

Pharmaceutical company Shire posted better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and earnings on Friday as it said its acquisition of US-based Baxalta was on track.

AstraZeneca posted a drop in first-quarter earnings but a rise in revenue as core research and development costs increased, reflecting recent acquisitions.

Laird said first quarter revenue grew 15% to £171m, in line with expectations and was confident of growth weighted towards the second half of the year.

Shares in Restaurant Group tumbled on Friday after it warned over its annual profits, as it highlighted a further deterioration in trading conditions and announced the departure of its chief financial officer.

Favourable exchange rates and contributions from acquisitions helped drive a 0. 7% increase in first quarter revenues at valve maker Rotork.

Education publisher Pearson was trading in line with expectations in the first quarter, it reported on Friday, with adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share before the costs of restructuring still expected to be £580-£620m and 50p-55p respectively.

Airline group IAG said first quarter operating profits were €155m before exceptional items compared with €25m in 2015. Pre-tax profits were up to €124m from a loss of €37m.

Rio Tinto said on Thursday that it has priced an offer to buy back $1. 36bn in debt, as it looks to cut debt amid the downturn in commodity prices.

Africa-focused oil miner Tullow said first quarter production was slightly below expectations due to technical issues at the Jubilee field off Ghana, but said 2016 capital expenditure would be cut by $100m to $1bn “with further savings expected”.

First-quarter results from Lloyds Banking Group revealed a 6% fall in underlying profit to £2. 05bn due to the sale of TSB, but this was largely better than forecast as a reduction in impairment charges, PPI provisions and lower costs counterbalanced a small decline in income.

Wealth manager Schroders said total quarter on quarter assets under management rose to £324. 9bn from £313. 5bn, but first quarter pre-tax profits fell to £137. 9m from £141. 7m.

The prospect of a British exit from the EU had not affected trading at house builder Taylor Wimpey in the first four months of the year, the company said on Thursday, adding that underlying demand was “solid” across all the countries it operated in.

GlaxoSmithKline posted a rise in first-quarter sales and core earnings per share amid healthy demand for the company’s new drugs.

FTSE 250 transport operator Stagecoach said revenue in the UK over the last year has been low as it cautioned the outlook for the UK rail industry was becoming increasingly challenging.

Weir Group has said it expects first-half profits to be slightly ahead of market expectations, despite a decline in oil and gas activity, supported by cost-cutting and a "resilient" minerals division.

Estate agent Foxtons reported a jump in first-quarter revenue but warned the first half of the year would be challenging due to a reduced sales pipeline and Brexit-fuelled uncertainty.

Argos owner Home Retail Group reported a full pre-tax loss of £804m after taking a hit from a £852m impairment charge as a result of its £1. 4bn takeover by Sainbury's.

Barclays reported a dip in profit in its first quarter on Wednesday, with group profit before tax at £793m in the three months to 31 March, down from £1. 06bn a year earlier.

London Stock Exchange delivered a solid increase in total income in the first quarter as it battled to keep its merger with Deutsche Börse on track and neared completion of sale of Russell Investment Management.

Antofagasta said first quarter copper production rose 7. 3% year-on-year to 157,100 tonnes, adding that movements in the copper price over the period suggesting the market was beginning to stabilise.

Buildings materials firm CRH said a positive trading backdrop in its major markets resulted in a 9% increase in first quarter sales compared 2015 on a constant currency basis.

Upmarket High Street retailer Austin Reed was set to become the second iconic British name to go into administration in as many days, UK media reported on Tuesday.

Shares in FTSE 250 aerospace and defence group Cobham tanked after it proposed a £500m rights issue in the second quarter of the year as it reported a big drop in first-quarter trading profit.

Listed real-estate agency Countrywide warned that it expected the housing market to slow down in the second quarter on the back of uncertainty over June's EU referendum.

British American Tobacco reported more smokers puffing on its products on Monday, with increased volumes and market share in the first quarter of 2016.

Hospitality group Whitbread reported sizeable increases in revenue and earnings in its preliminary results on Tuesday, with total revenue up 12% to £2. 91bn, and underlying profit before tax up 11. 9% to £546. 3m.

The weak oil price pushed exploration and refining giant BP to a $485m first quarter replacement cost loss, compared with a profit $2. 1bn profit in the same period last year.

UK retailer BHS was placed in administration on Monday, putting almost 11,000 jobs at risk.

Economic news

Mortgage approvals for house purchases in Britain unexpectedly fell in March as the surge at the start of the year subsided ahead of higher taxes, data from the Bank of England revealed.

UK house price growth slowed in April following a rush of purchases ahead of higher taxes on second homes and buy-to-let properties, data showed on Thursday.

Retail sales in the UK fell rapidly in April, the results of a widely-followed survey revealed, although analysts attributed the drop to poor weather and the different timing of Easter in 2016.

Britain’s economy could be 3% lower by 2020 if the UK votes to leave the EU, according to the latest study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

UK economic growth slowed to 0. 4% in the first quarter of 2016, its weakest pace since the end of 2012, the Office for National Statistics revealed on Wednesday.

British banks approved fewer mortgages in March ahead of a higher tax on buy-to-let properties, data from the British Bankers’ Associated showed on Tuesday.

The UK manufacturing sector’s output was stable in the three months to April, according to the CBI’s quarterly Industrial Trends Survey on Monday.

International events

Consumer prices in the Eurozone fell more than expected in April, according to data released by Eurostat. Prices declined 0.2% on the year, having been steady in March. This was a bigger drop than the 0.1% forecast by economists, with energy prices proving to be the biggest drag as they slid 8.6% on the year.

The Eurozone economy grew more than expected in the first quarter, according to the preliminary flash estimated published by Eurostat on Friday. Seasonally-adjusted gross domestic product rose 0.6% compared with the previous quarter when it grew 0.3%. This was stronger than the 0.4% growth pencilled in by economists.

US economic growth slowed surprisingly in the first quarter of the year, falling to an annual rate of 0. 5% that was short of the forecast of 0. 6%.

US central bankers chose to stay put on policy at Wednesday´s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Oil prices pared gains on Wednesday after official data showed US crude oil inventories rose more than expected last week.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the USA´s deficit in its trading of goods with the rest of the world shrank from -$62. 86bn in February to -$56. 90bn in March, according to an advance estimate from the US Department of Commerce.

US consumer confidence fell in April, missing economists’ expectations, according to data from the Conference Board.

House prices in the US rose a touch less than expected in February, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.

New orders for US durable goods rose 0. 8% in March to $230. 7bn, according to the Commerce Department, missing expectations of a 1. 8% increase.

Sales of new US single-family homes unexpectedly fell in March, marking the third month in a row of declines, according to official data.

Further quantitative easing from the Bank of Japan in 2016 was not the most likely scenario instead, the second installment of Abenomics would require large fiscal stimulus measures, analysts at Societe Generale said.