British Land lets more space at Doncaster retail park
London open
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 32 points higher than Friday's close of 6,775.25.
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British Land has let a further 36,000 square foot (sq ft) at Wheatley Retail Park in Doncaster after Next and Marks & Spencer Simply Food agreed terms for two new units. Next is to upsize to a 23,518 sq ft with a full cover mezzanine floor, on a 15-year lease, whilst Marks & Spencer Simply Food will open its first store at the park, taking a 12,502 sq ft unit.
Bus and rail operator Stagecoach reported higher revenue across its businesses, particularly its UK bus networks, and said it was on track to hit annual targets despite facing "a number of challenges" in increasing profit. Stagecoach said its UK regional buses boosted revenue by 4% in the 12 weeks to 20 July, although like-for-like passenger volumes rose by just 0.9%.
Oil and gas explorer Petrofac saw revenues decline to $2.5bn over the six months ended on 30 June. Operating profits on an EBITDA basis were off by 16% to $340m. Engineering, construction, operations and maintenance (ECOM) order intake stood at $7.2bn for the first half, raising the backlog 35% to $20.3bn, "giving very good revenue visibility for the rest of the year".
In the Press
The prospect of political upheaval over the next year will hinder economic growth, according to Deloitte. The accountancy firm said that fallout from the Scottish independence referendum next month, the build-up to the general election in the spring and a potential referendum on European Union membership would put a dampener on the economy at the start of 2015. - The Times
An independent Scotland should walk away from its share of the UK's national debt if Westminster continues to refuse a sterling union, one of the Yes campaign's leading economic gurus has advised. "Britain inherits the debt," said Sir James Mirrlees, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and a prestigious figure on Scotland's Council of Economic Advisers. - The Daily Telegraph
The Labour party believes the rules covering fracking - or hydraulic fracturing - for gas are not tight enough and will attempt to strengthen regulation of the controversial drilling method by tabling a series of amendments to the infrastructure bill in the House of Lords on Tuesday. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) says there are adequate safeguards covering drilling for shale gas under existing rules or voluntary agreements. - The Guardian
US close
The main US equity benchmarks continued to grind higher on Monday, buoyed by a spate of merger and acquisitions-related news-flow, with the S&P 500 at one point edging past the psychological 2,000 point mark for the first time ever.
The above followed on the heels of what was seen by some as a somewhat hawkish speech from Janet Yellen at the Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers.
Speaking to her audience the Fed chair said that if unemployment continued to decrease more quickly than expected then the central bank might have to raise rates sooner than is currently priced into financial markets.