Euromoney sees dip in full-year revenues amid tough market conditions
London open
The Footsie was being called to start the day 15 points lower from Wednesday's close of 6,032.24.
Stocks to watch
Euromoney said tough conditions in commodities markets will result in a 1% fall in full year revenues and an adjusted profit before tax of £107m against £116.2m in 2014. Headline revenues for the fourth quarter are expected to show a 5% decrease on the same period last year, and an underlying decrease, at constant currency and excluding acquisitions and disposals, of 7%, Euromoney said.
Building materials group CRH said announced that Mark Towe, currently president and chief executive of Oldcastle, will assume the new role of chairman of CRH Americas. CRH said Towe will work with the group chief executive to support performance and excellence programmes across the company. The appointment is effective from 1 January 2016 and Towe will remain an executive director on the board of CRH.
Thomas Cook released a trading statement on Wednesday ahead of its financial year end. The FTSE 250 listed travel company had a positive end to the financial year, with an encouraging start to winter trading. It announced 2015 summer holiday sales were 91% sold - in line with expectations and at the same level as 2014.
In the press
EU leaders agreed late on Wednesday to spend more than €1bn of aid across the Middle East and Africa in a bid to stem the flow of migrants into Europe, as they attempted at a high-profile summit to put an end to a bitter fight over how to respond to the burgeoning refugee crisis. In a communiqué, leaders said they would pump “at least” an extra €1bn into funding for the UN’s refugee and food programmes in the region, and vowed to turn their focus on to reinforcing the EU’s porous borders. – Financial Times
Standard Chartered has awarded Bill Winters shares worth more than £6m to compensate the bank’s new chief executive for income he forfeited by leaving the City of London hedge fund he founded. The practice of buying new executives out of previous remuneration schemes at the companies they are leaving is commonplace in finance. But the upfront payment to Mr Winters comes as StanChart shares have hit new six-year lows. – Financial Times
Britain’s steelmakers are urging the government to rescue the industry from a “perfect storm” that has pushed one of the UK’s largest steelworks to the edge of closure. UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said its members were facing their most difficult situation since privatisation 27 years ago after battling cheap imports, which are pushing down prices to unsustainable levels. The threatened closure of the largest steelworks on Teesside has sent shockwaves through the industry, leading unions and employers to call on the government for extra support. - Guardian
US close
US stocks fell on Wednesday, as oil prices fell and economic data indicated a slowdown in China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 51 points to 16,279.89, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost four and one point respectively. That cames as the Caixin preliminary Chinese manufacturing sector purchasing managers' index dipped to a reading of 47.0 for September - a 78-month low - down from 47.3 in August and compared with expectations for a reading of 47.5.