(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Tuesday.
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COMPANIES
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Mining company BHP Group said it plans to unify its corporate structure under its Australian parent company and expects to move its primary listing to Sydney's Australian Securities Exchange in 2022, amid the merger of its oil operations with Woodside Petroleum. BHP added that it plans keep a standard listing on the London Stock Exchange, a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and an American depositary receipt program on the New York Stock Exchange. Since 2001, BHP has had two parent companies - Sydney-listed BHP Group Ltd and London-listed BHP Group PLC - which operate as a single economic entity. Unifying its dual-corporate structure under the Australian parent would improve its "simplicity and flexibility" in future, the company said. London and Melbourne-based BHP and Perth-based Woodside Petroleum have agreed to merge their oil and gas portfolios to create one of the 10 largest independent energy producers in the world and the largest listed in Sydney. BHP and Woodside had confirmed talks about such a combination on Monday. They said on Tuesday that, following the all-stock merger of the two oil and gas businesses, Woodside shareholders will have 52% of the new company and BHP shareholders 48%.
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BT named Adam Crozier as its new chair, a position he will vacate at online retailer ASOS. BT said Crozier will take the chair from December 1, but will join the board as a non-executive director and chair designate from November 1. His appointment confirms a Sunday Times report from earlier in August. Crozier is chair of Premier Inn-owner Whitbread PLC, a role he will keep despite joining the telecommunications firm. Crozier was formerly chief executive of broadcaster ITV PLC, a position he held for seven years until June 2017. He is also a former CEO at postal service firm Royal Mail PLC and joint CEO at advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. At BT, Crozier will be expected to stabilise the ship after the resignation of previous chair Jan du Plessis, whose relationship with Chief Executive Philip Jansen reportedly broke down. Crozier also will have to manage BT's relationships with UK regulator Ofcom and shareholders including billionaire Patrick Drahi.
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UK supermarket sales remained above pre-virus levels despite a decline in recent months, data from Kantar showed, noting a slight slip in online grocery buying as some old shopping habits return. In the 12 weeks ended August 8, grocery sales fell by 4.0% year-on-year to GBP29.55 billion from GBP30.77 billion. Sales were 9.9% higher than they were in 2019, before the virus outbreak. A slowdown in online buying meant Ocado's sales declined for the first time on record. Most major grocers saw sales fall, though Tesco, J Sainsbury and German discount chains Aldi and Lidl gained market share. Kantar noted shoppers have been "steadily returning to pre-pandemic" habits, making less sizeable but more frequent trips to supermarkets.
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Just Eat Takeaway.com NV reported a wider first-half loss after heavy investments to battle food delivery rivals, but said profitability will start to improve from the second half. Revenue in the first half of 2021 more than doubled year-on-year to EUR1.77 billion from EUR675 million. The company's pretax loss widened to EUR395 million from EUR26 million. On a combined basis - including the acquired Just Eat and Grubhub businesses for both periods - revenue was up 47% to EUR2.61 billion from EUR1.78 billion. The combined adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation loss was EUR190 million, swung from a profit of EUR205 million a year ago. Profit was hit by a jump in courier costs to EUR1.02 billion from EUR181 million, as Just Eat Takeaway expanded its delivery business to compete with rivals such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Previously, Just Eat Takeaway took orders for restaurants who then delivered the food themselves.
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Glencore has invested in battery startup Britishvolt, the Financial Times reported. Britishvolt is a Blyth, Northumberland-based company planning to build a GBP2.6 billion factory on the site of a former coal power station to make batteries for electric vehicles. As part of the deal, Glencore will supply 30% of the cobalt that Britishvolt uses to make batteries from 2024 to 2030. Glencore did not disclose the size of its investment, but it will become one of the startup's largest backers, the newspaper said. Britishvolt is considering whether to go public in London or New York through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, the FT added.
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Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday submitted preliminary clinical data to US health authorities as part of their effort to seek authorization for a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine for all Americans. Last week, the US approved the booster shot of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for people with weakened immune systems. Pfizer and BioNTech presented the results of their phase one trial that evaluated the safety and efficacy of a third shot. "The data we've seen to date suggest a third dose of our vaccine elicits antibody levels that significantly exceed those seen after the two-dose primary schedule," Albert Bourla, Pfizer's chair and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
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MARKETS
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BHP was leading the FTSE 100 index to outperform a generally downbeat equities trading session globally. However, London's club of blue-chips is about to lose one of its biggest members. Ahead of the merger of BHP's oil operations with those of Australia's Woodside Petroleum, the miner said it will shift its main listing to the ASX in Sydney. BHP shares were up 7.1% in London, while Woodside Petroleum shares closed down 2.1% in Sydney.
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CAC 40: down 0.5% at 6,804.95
DAX 30: down 0.3% at 15,884.46
FTSE 100: up 0.1% at 7,157.74
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Hang Seng: closed down 1.7% at 25,745.87
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.4% at 27,424.47
S&P/ASX 200: closed down 0.9% at 7,511.00
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DJIA: called down 0.4%
S&P 500: called down 0.5%
Nasdaq Composite: called down 0.4%
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EUR: down at USD1.1765 (USD1.1785)
GBP: down at USD1.3803 (USD1.3850)
USD: up at JPY109.34 (JPY109.15)
GOLD: up at USD1,793.20 per ounce (USD1,786.04)
OIL (Brent): firm at USD69.30 a barrel (USD69.15)
(currency and commodities changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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New flash data from the eurozone pointed to an improving economic picture, with gross domestic product growth and a steady rise in employment. For the second quarter, seasonally adjusted GDP increased 2.0% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU compared with the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate published by the statistical office of the EU, Eurostat. This compares to a first quarter GDP decline of 0.3% in the euro area and 0.1% in the EU. Annually, second quarter GDP surged 14% in the euro area compared with a 1.3% drop in the previous quarter.
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The UK unemployment rate came in slightly lower than expectations in the second quarter of 2021, early data from the Office for National Statistics showed. The unemployment rate for the three months to June was estimated to be 4.7%, down a touch from 4.8% for the three months to May. This improved upon market expectations, according to FXStreet, which saw the unemployment rate remaining unchanged. The UK jobless rate started 2021 at 5.0%, representing the three months to January. Also, early estimates for July indicate that the number of payrolled employees rose by 2.0% compared with the same month the year before, which is a rise of 576,000 employees. However, the UK statistics office noted the number of payrolled employees remains down by 0.7% since February 2020, a fall of 201,000.
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Japan's government said it will expand a coronavirus state of emergency to seven new regions as it battles a record wave of infections a week before the Paralympic Games. Virus emergency measures that ban restaurants and bars from selling alcohol and require them to close by 8 pm are already in place in Tokyo and five other regions, and had been due to end by August 31. But the government will now expand the measure to additional areas, with the restrictions in all parts of the country running until September 12. "[Infection] is spreading across Japan on a scale we have never experienced before," said Yasutoshi Nishimura, the coronavirus response minister. "The number of patients in serious condition is rising each day," he said at an expert meeting. Japan has seen a smaller outbreak than many other countries, with around 15,400 deaths despite avoiding lockdowns. But its inoculation programme began later and more slowly than in many other developed countries, and in recent days it has reported more than 20,000 daily cases nationwide, a record for the country.
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New Zealand recorded its first locally transmitted case of Covid-19 in six months on Tuesday, sparking efforts to trace the origins of the infection as officials pondered a response. The health department said the case was identified in Auckland, the country's largest city, adding "a link between the case and the border or managed isolation is yet to be established". It said ministers would meet later Tuesday to determine how to respond to New Zealand's first community case since February 28. "A hard and early response is the best tool to stamp out any potential spread," the department said.
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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