Hackers, houses and jets

Friday 4 December 2015

The blue-chip index opened lower after yesterday’s eagerly awaited monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank failed to impress and ahead of US non-farm payroll figures which are seen as key to whether the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.

“Pub group JD Wetherspoon has become the latest victim of hackers with customers and staff both targeted,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Details were taken from the group’s old website which has since been replaced but Wetherspoon (LSE:JDW) has called in cyber security specialists to conduct a full forensic investigation. Only the last four digits of customers’ card numbers were taken and while this is insufficient to be used for fraudulent purposes, the group will be anxious to allay concerns and rebuild confidence in the run-up to the important Christmas/New Year period.

“House-builder Berkeley (LSE:BKG) topped the blue-chip board in early trading after wooing investors with a further interim dividend of 100p a share. Interim pre-tax profits fell to £293.3m from £304.9m due to the impact of ground rent sales. But adjusted pre-tax profits were up and the group is on track to deliver pre-tax profits of £2bn over the next three years.

“Low-cost airline easyJet’s (LSE:EZJ) passenger figures soared by 9.6% in November despite having to cancel 178 Sharm el-Sheikh flights following the downing a Russian passenger jet. The airline cancelled a total of 378 flights in the month compared with only 16 a year ago with the majority being due to adverse weather conditions.”

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