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BP joins group of FTSE 100 firms maintaining dividends
Thursday 30 Apr 2020Oil and gas giant BP ( BP. ) has shown there are still some dividend payers on the FTSE 100 after committing to a $2bn payout despite reporting a $4.37bn loss for the first three months of 2020. Increasing numbers of companies are cutting dividends as more and more look to preserve cash to survive...
Investors might have to take dividends in new shares not cash
Thursday 23 Apr 2020The pressure on dividends from UK stocks continues to build amid the coronavirus crisis – at our last count 274 London-listed companies have cut, deferred or cancelled payouts totalling some £20.5bn. This includes 34 FTSE 100 firms. On the other side of the ledger, 82 firms have retained £4.4bn...
Deliveroo ‘saved’ by CMA and Amazon with implications for Just Eat Takeaway.com
Thursday 23 Apr 2020Takeaway app Deliveroo has had its investment from Amazon effectively greenlit by regulators in a move which will have implications for listed rival Just Eat Takeaway.com ( JET ) . The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared Amazon’s investment in Deliveroo after the...
Leaked report on Gilead coronavirus trial lifts global stock markets
Thursday 23 Apr 2020Shares in California-based biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences jumped 15% in after-hours trading on 16 April after an industry healthcare magazine reported rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory systems in coronavirus patients given remdesivir in a study being conducted at the University of...
Can the UK's banks weather the coronavirus storm?
Thursday 23 Apr 2020Since the start of the year, the banks have been one of the worst performing sectors in the FTSE 350 index, losing over 40% along with oil services and travel and leisure. It’s been a similar story in Europe and the US, which suggests that investors across the globe are concerned about banks’...
Promising signs as Next gets back to business
Thursday 16 Apr 2020The ‘very limited’ re-opening of clothing and homewares retailer Next’s ( NXT ) online operations (14 Apr) shows businesses’ emergence from the coronavirus-enforced shutdown is likely to be a gradual process. Next’s phased reintroduction of its online operations shows that the recovery will happen...
£2bn raised by London-listed companies in race for cash
Thursday 16 Apr 2020Approximately £2bn has now been raised by 63 London-listed companies since the start of March as businesses race to strengthen their finances during the coronavirus crisis. Of these, 34 companies have each raised £5m or more, nearly all at a discount to the market price before the fundraising was...
What will the coronavirus crisis mean for the defence sector?
Thursday 16 Apr 2020On 19 March NATO secretary general Jens Stollenberg made a plea for allies to maintain defence spending despite the significant economic costs associated with the coronavirus crisis. The simple fact he was even making this statement reflects a genuine fear that expenditure in this area will be cut...
£1.6bn fundraising frenzy: companies tap markets to ensure their survival
Thursday 09 Apr 2020Against a backcloth of unprecedented dividend and buyback suspensions and director pay cuts, an increasing number of companies are raising money as the global lockdown squeezes finances. Since the start of March, companies spanning an array of sectors have tapped markets for more than £1.6bn of...
UK industrials ‘unlikely’ to breach debt covenants
Thursday 09 Apr 2020Banking covenants across the hard hit engineering and industrials sectors are unlikely to be breached, according to analysis by investment bank Berenberg, even for the most levered businesses. ‘We believe these companies are very well placed,’ it says, referring to the likes of FTSE 100 firm Halma...