FTSE 100 Closes Tuesday Slightly Up as Share -2-

CPPGroup PLC on Tuesday reported revenue and Ebitda growth in its core operations for last year as the company continues to exit the legacy business as part of a plan announced last October.

MARKET TALK:

Bellway 1H Profit Slips After Difficult Year But Prospects Look Bright

1202 GMT - Between build-cost inflation, mortgage mayhem, the cost-of-living crisis and more, Bellway, like its peers, has had a difficult year - and now it has reported that first-half pretax profit fell 5%, Interactive Investor says. The house builder's shares are down more than 20% on year, outperforming peer Persimmon which slipped 40%, but underperforming Barratt Developments, down around 12%, Interactive head of investment Victoria Scholar says in a research note. "Nonetheless the house builders have had a strong start to the year, rebounding from last year's losses as investors look toward the potential imminent peak of the rate hiking cycle and as buyers look to return to the market later this year as house prices and mortgage rates become more affordable again," Scholar says. Shares are down 0.8% at 2,024 pence. ([e-mail])

---

Carnival's Soft FY23 Guidance Could be Conservative

0759 ET - Carnival's soft full-year earnings guidance that spooked investors is likely a lowball forecast, analysts at Stifel say in a research note. They say the management team has a track record for setting low guidance and beating it. They say that the selloff in shares of Carnival on the disappointing earnings guidance and the higher cost expectations was "irrational." "With investor expectations remaining subdued, we believe the company has de-risked 2023 to the point where this could be a solid beat and raise story," they say. Shares rise 2% in pre-market trading. ([e-mail]; @WillFOIA)

---

Policymakers Might Fail to Predict Consequences of Interventions During Financial Crisis

1146 GMT - The forced takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS casts doubt on the ability of policymakers to put out fires in the case of a financial crisis without causing problems to flare up elsewhere, Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics says in a note. The treatment of AT1 bonds shows that, in a crisis, ad-hoc decisions are often made with unintended consequences, Kenningham says. One such outcome might be spillover to non-bank intermediaries exposed to interest rates, such as it happened with U.K. pension funds hit by problems in gilt markets after the short-lived government "mini-budget" in the fall, he says. It is unclear how effectively policymakers would respond if the macroeconomic backdrop gets more difficult, he adds. ([e-mail])

---

888 Holdings' Shares Continue to Struggle After GBP19.2 Mln William Hill Settlement

1106 GMT - Shares in 888 Holdings trade down 2.8% after news that William Hill Group has agreed to pay GBP19.2 million for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures, the largest penalty in U.K. gambling history. Shares in 888 have had a rough ride over the past year, shedding more than 70% of their value, interactive investor's head of investment Victoria Scholar says, adding that the share price slide is in stark contrast to Flutter Entertainment, which is the best performing stock on the FTSE 100 over a one-year period. This suggests that 888's woes are idiosyncratic rather than related to the macroeconomic backdrop and the cost-of-living crisis, she adds. ([e-mail])

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-28-23 1231ET