Serco wins $320m space base contract, JD Sports returns to like-for-like growth

Stocks to watch

Serco has been awarded a $320m contract by the US Army Corps of Engineers, it announced on Thursday, to modernise the backup electrical plant at the US Space Force's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. The FTSE 250 outsourcing giant said the four-year contract would involve upgrading the plant to enhance the capacity and stability of the base's electrical network. Serco's chief executive Mark Irwin highlighted the company's expertise in defence construction and its commitment to supporting mission-critical infrastructure for the US Space Force.

Sports apparel and footwear retailer JD Sports Fashion saw a return to like-for-like growth in its second quarter, with its store rollout programme in North America and Europe providing a boost while the UK market remains subdued. LFL sales were 2.4% higher than last year in the three months to 3 August, following a 0.7% year-on-year decline in the first quarter. The company maintained its profit guidance for the full year but said it “continues to be cautious on our outlook”.

Newspaper round-up

The owners of Asda are facing mounting pressure after figures showed the struggling supermarket chain’s share of the grocery market reached a “new nadir” as sales fell sharply this summer. The grocer’s sales fell 6.4% in the three months to 10 August, equivalent to more than £2bn in annual lost revenues, as it became the only member of the traditional “big four” supermarkets to see sales shrink, according to analysts at NIQ. – Guardian

Rachel Reeves is coming under renewed pressure to end the two-child benefit limit in October’s budget, after the Guardian revealed the chancellor is preparing to keep it in place. MPs and anti-poverty campaigners are warning that any delay in scrapping the policy will keep hundreds of thousands of children in poverty, with just weeks until Reeves unveils her first major fiscal package. -Guardian

The Post Office has spent more than £250m on legal fees linked to the Horizon IT scandal, a sum almost equivalent to the compensation paid out to the victims. Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the company had paid £256.9m to law firms and barristers’ chambers in the last decade, specifically in relation to the Horizon scandal. – Telegraph

Marks & Spencer is pushing to remove additives from its ready meals and sandwiches amid an outcry over so-called ultra-processed foods (UPFs). The supermarket is in heated discussions with food manufacturers in an effort to get rid of ingredients such as stabilisers, acidity regulators, antioxidants and emulsifiers from products sold under M&S’s Eat Well label, according to The Grocer. Such additives have long been common in supermarket products but have attracted fierce criticism recently over concerns they could be negatively impacting people’s health. – Telegraph

Frasers Group is stepping up its property-buying spree by adding another shopping centre to its portfolio. The FTSE 100 retailer majority-owned by Mike Ashley, is under offer to buy Fremlin Walk, an outdoor shopping centre, in Maidstone, from M&G Real Estate. The 350,000 sq ft scheme, which opened in 2005, is home to tenants including H&M, Boots, JD Sports and Pandora and generates an annual gross income of £4.3 million. In the autumn, a multi-brand anchor shop, which will be occupied by Frasers, Flannels and Sports Direct, store is to open. – The Times

US close

US stocks edged higher on Wednesday, after minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve policy meeting and a downward revision to labour-market data cemented expectations for an interest-rate cut in September.

The Dow rose 0.14% to 40,890.49, the S&P 500 gained 0.42% to 5,620.85 while the Nasdaq advanced 0.57% to 17,918.99.

Minutes from the 30-31 July Federal Open Market Committee meeting released at 1400 EDT revealed that the "vast majority" of Fed officials thought it would "likely be appropriate" to ease monetary policy in September, as long as inflation trends continue as projected.

The US economy created 818,000 fewer jobs than originally reported throughout the 12 months ended 31 March, according to the Labor Department's preliminary annual benchmark revision.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated annual job growth was nearly 30% less than the 2.9m initially reported for the period and marked the largest revision to total payrolls since 2009.