(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Monday.
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COMPANIES
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Reliance Industries is mulling a bid for BT, a newspaper in India reported. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Economics Times reported that Reliance could make an unsolicited offer to buy into BT or try to take a controlling stake. It also could propose to partner with BT's fibre optic arm Openreach and fund its expansion plans. The sources cautioned that deliberations are at an early stage and may not lead to a transaction.
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Telecom Italia confirmed late Friday that Luigi Gubitosi has resigned as chief executive officer and general manager, as the board continues to review the takeover approach from US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Gubitosi, who will remain a board director, has been replaced as general manager by Pietro Labriola, who also will remain CEO of Brazilian subsidiary TIM. Meanwhile, Chair Salvatore Rossi will take on additional responsibilities in the areas of partnerships & alliances and public affairs. Telecom Italia said it has set up an ad hoc committee to review the non-binding indication of interest received from KKR on November 19 and has appointed Paola Sapienza as lead independent director for the process. Telecom Italia gave no reason for Gubitosi's resignation. The Financial Times on Friday, citing three people with knowledge of the discussions, reported that it followed a clash with the company's largest shareholder, Vivendi. On Tuesday, Vivendi, which holds a nearly one-quarter stake, said it has no interest in selling to KKR.
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Mizuho Financial Group on Friday said its chief executive officer will step down in the new year as a result of the fallout the bank's IT issues. Tatsufumi Sakai will leave the Tokyo-headquartered bank on April 1 next year. The Financial Services Agency in Japan said Mizuho didn't pay enough attention to risks within its computer systems. The regulator also said Mizuho failed to learn from past incidences and asked the bank to clarify who is responsible for the outages. As part of the shake up Satoshi Ishii will depart on January 17. Ishii was chief digital innovation officer, head of IT & Systems, and head of operations. Additionally, Mizuho Bank chief Koji Fujiwara has resigned.
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Automaker Nissan Motor wants half its global sales to be electric or hybrid vehicles by 2030 and plans to plough billions of dollars into the effort, AFP reports. The move follows in the footsteps of other major global automakers, which have increasingly signalled a move towards electric and hybrid vehicles as concern about climate change grows. Unveiling its new long-term plan, Nissan said it will launch 23 new models, including 15 new electric vehicles, in a bid to reach the 2030 goal. Last year, only around 10% of Nissan's global sales were EVs or hybrids, and the firm said the new target would help it achieve carbon neutrality across the lifecycle of its products by 2050. Nissan Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta stressed the importance of its Sunderland plant in the UK for the firm's plans. During a news conference, he told PA Media: "Europe will take the lead on electrification around the world for Nissan. In Europe, Sunderland is the one which will take the lead towards electrification."
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US-listed Chinese microblogging platform Weibo is seeking to raise up to USD547 million in a share offer in Hong Kong, documents showed, the latest China tech company to list closer to home as tensions with the US rise. Several US-listed Chinese tech firms such as Alibaba have held initial public offerings in Hong Kong over the past two years as the US has stepped up scrutiny of Chinese companies. Listing in Hong Kong is seen as a hedge against the risk of being removed from US exchanges and a way of accessing an investor base closer to their home markets. China also has been encouraging its big tech players to list either in Hong Kong or Shanghai. On Monday, Nasdaq-listed Weibo – China's answer to Twitter – said in a filing that it plans to sell 11 million shares for as much as HKD388, about USD49.75, each. Shares are expected to start trading on December 8. Its shares have traded on the Nasdaq since 2014.
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An anti-Covid pill developed by Merck & Co has proved effective in treating the disease, the US Food & Drug Administration said Friday in a much-awaited preliminary report. But the report, from an FDA advisory panel, cautioned that pregnant women should not use the drug, known as molnupiravir, saying the potential benefits do not outweigh the risks for those patients. The report is meant to provide guidance to an FDA experts panel convening Tuesday to consider whether to authorize emergency use of molnupiravir. Approval, analysts say, would represent a major step forward in the ongoing battle against the global pandemic, handing healthcare professionals a powerful new tool to help those infected.
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Land Securities will start the process to look for a new chair as Cressida Hogg prepares to step down from her role, Sky News reported. A replacement will not be appointed until 2023, which is when Hogg's tenure at the FTSE 100 real estate investment trust reaches nine years, Sky News noted. It has not been made clear whether Hogg's successor will be picked from Landsec's non-executive directors. Hogg was appointed chair in 2018, replacing Alison Carnwath, and has also been part of Landsec's board since 2014.
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MARKETS
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European stock markets were rebounding on Monday, and Wall Street was called higher. Asian markets had added to the loses made on Friday in response to the emergence of a concerning new Covid variant, but Europe was taking a more positive stance, partly due to what the health scare may mean for monetary policy. "The Omicron variant has punctured expectations of a Christmas rate hike [by the Bank of England], with February now emerging as the frontrunner to stage the much anticipated tightening of UK monetary policy," commented Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell. "Markets had really got ahead of themselves in so confidently predicting a 2021 rate rise...but it was always going to be risky for the bank to raise rates this year, with the heightened chance of a resurgence in the pandemic over the winter months, and employment data beyond the furlough scheme only just becoming available."
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CAC 40: up 0.9% at 6,801.87
DAX 40: up 0.5% at 15,338.64
FTSE 100: up 1.0% at 7,114.74
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Hang Seng: closed down 1.0% at 23,852.24
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.6% at 28,283.92
S&P/ASX 200: closed down 0.5% at 7,239.80
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DJIA: called up 0.6%
S&P 500: called up 0.8%
Nasdaq Composite: called up 1.0%
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EUR: down at USD1.1284 (USD1.1315)
GBP: up at USD1.3336 (USD1.3322)
USD: up at JPY113.36 (JPY113.24)
GOLD: soft at USD1,798.67 per ounce (USD1,799.30)
OIL (Brent): up at USD75.86 a barrel (USD73.54)
(currency and commodities changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Japan announced plans to bar all new foreign travellers over the Omicron variant of Covid-19, joining a growing list of countries trying to erect virtual fortresses against the heavily mutated new strain. G7 health ministers are set to meet later Monday to discuss the new strain – first detected in South Africa – and the fresh challenge it poses to global efforts to battle the pandemic. The Japanese government has become the latest country to reinstate strict border controls that many had hoped would be a thing of the past, barring all new foreign arrivals just weeks after announcing it would finally allow some visa holders to enter the country. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the country was "in a stronger position against the Omicron variant than other countries," citing voluntary mask-wearing and self-restraints about risk behaviours.
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Australia abruptly halted plans to reopen its international borders to skilled workers and students, an eleventh-hour decision prompted by concerns over the Covid-19 Omicron variant. After an emergency security meeting, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the much-heralded December 1 reopening will be delayed at least two weeks. Australia's borders have been closed to most non-citizens for more than 20 months, causing labour shortages and pummelling the vital tourist industry. Morrison described the delay as "a necessary and temporary decision" based on medical advice. Australia has so far detected five cases of the Omicron variant.
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Swiss voters turned out in force to back the law behind the country's Covid pass in a referendum Sunday, following a tense campaign marked by unprecedented levels of hostility. The law established the legal basis for the so-called Covid certificate to indicate that a person has been vaccinated or has recovered from the disease. The certificate has been required since September for access to restaurants, cinemas, other indoor spaces and outdoor crowded events. Opponents successfully triggered a referendum on the certificate law, claiming the pass was creating an "apartheid" system. Some 62% supported the law in a contest that saw voters surge to fill in their ballots.
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Consumer inflation in Spain is estimated to have risen in November, flash data from the National Institute of Statistics showed. The consumer price index is estimated to have grown 5.6% in November year-on-year, advancing from 5.4% in October. The flash figure for November would be the highest level of CPI since September 1992, INE said.
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This year is set to be the UK's busiest housing market since 2007, with one in 16 houses changing hands in 2021, a property company has said. Zoopla said its house price index shows strong buyer demand as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which has boosted the average value of homes in the country to GBP240,000, up from GBP200,000 five years ago. Over the past 12 months alone, average UK prices have risen by GBP15,500, with the South East and South West recording growth of more than GBP22,000. The annual rate of growth for all homes is 6.9%, up from 3.5% in October 2020, the firm said, a slight fall from the 7% increase recorded in August and September 2021. Its quarterly figures also show a slowdown in the overall pace of growth – down from 2.8% in July to 1.2% in October.
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France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany agreed to take tougher measures against the people smuggling gangs operating in the English Channel at an emergency summit held in the French port of Calais on Sunday. Britain needed to create legal migration channels for refugees, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said after the meeting. Darmanin added that Britain also needed to make it harder for refugees to find work in the shadow economy. A few days ago, 27 people attempting to reach Britain died when their boat capsized in the English Channel. France withdrew its invite for Britain to attend the meeting after a diplomatic row broke out when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson published a letter he wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron before Macron himself had received it.
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Iran is "firmly determined" to reach an agreement with major powers on salvaging its 2015 nuclear agreement at talks that resume Monday in Vienna, its foreign ministry spokesman said. "The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is in Vienna with a firm determination to reach an agreement and is looking forward to fruitful talks," Said Khatibzadeh told reporters. "The government has shown its willingness and seriousness by sending a quality team known to all. If the other side shows the same willingness, we will be on the right track to reach an agreement." According to local media, the Iranian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri has been greatly expanded for the new round of negotiations. "If the US comes to Vienna with the determination to break the deadlock and overcome the problems on which we did not agree in previous rounds, the path of dialogue will certainly be easier," said the spokesman.
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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