Next scores again, and Lloyds counts down the days to PPI claims deadline

“Donald Trump has done it again after turning aggressive with regards to the trade war with China. All it took was a few tweets criticising the country for markets to turn sour. Following a sell-off last night in the US, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% on Wednesday to 7,630 and Asian markets were also flashing red as investors lowered their hopes for an amicable resolution on trade talks.

“Elsewhere on the markets, Aston Martin crashed to 472p – more than half the price (£10) at which Italian private equity firm InvestIndustrial said it would pay to buy another 3% stake less than two weeks ago,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.

Next

“Retailer Next is back in top gear as it reverts to its historical trend of quietly getting on with the job and delivering an impressive trading update.

“Importantly, full price sales are up which shows it can still attract customers who are happy to pay up for goods rather than only shopping where there are discounts or low-priced items.

“A key theme among consumer-facing companies’ trading updates in recent months has been the difficulty in beating last year’s comparative period which was helped by good weather. There are no such excuses with Next which has managed to produce a good set of numbers despite this year’s weather being less favourable.

“Online remains the growth driver for the group and its latest performance would suggest Next is doing something right to attract a decent level of business in a market where the consumer is cautious towards spending.”

Lloyds Banking

“Most people dread the end of August as it represents the end of the summer and it is back to work or school. Lloyds’ management are likely to be more optimistic as that time also represents the cut-off point for making PPI claims.

“The bank has been hit once again by very large PPI charges, negatively impacting half year results and putting the boot into its share price.

“Management will want to draw a line under the PPI issue so the bank’s financial results can start to reflect its day-to-day business rather than endless ‘one-off’ items associated with compensation payments.

“There is likely to be a last minute rush from people putting in PPI claims and so we won’t have heard the last of the issue until it reports full year results.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.