BOE's Independence Seen Softening Impact of Brexit on Pound
1113 GMT - The Bank of England's independence and commitment to targeting inflation cushioned the impact of Brexit on sterling, Societe Generale says. That prevented "some of the direst predictions about what would happen to the pound from occurring" after the U.K. voted to leave the EU, SocGen forex strategist Kit Juckes says in a note. "Brexit will continue to throw spanners into the wheels of the U.K. economy," he says. "But the MPC [Monetary Policy Committee] will go on targeting inflation and that probably matters more for sterling." The purchasing power parity for GBP/USD is just below 1.50, which is a "good guess" of where it will be in 20 to 30 years' time, he says. GBP/USD trades flat at 1.3614. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
Companies News:
NatWest Swung to 4Q Profit, Plans Share Buyback of Up to GBP750 Mln
NatWest Group PLC reported Friday a swing to an operating pretax profit and net profit for the fourth quarter of 2021, which came in ahead of market views, and said it intends to launch a share buyback program of up to 750 million pounds ($1.02 billion).
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Segro 2021 Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Investment Properties Gains
Segro PLC said Friday that pretax profit for 2021 rose after booking higher gains on wholly-owned investment properties, and that it entered 2022 confident in its outlook for the business and ability to deliver continued growth.
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Cineworld Group Agrees to Payment Deal With Former Dissenting Shareholders of Regal Entertainment
Cineworld Group PLC said Friday that it has concluded discussions with former dissenting shareholders of Regal Entertainment Group, and that an agreement has been reached for the remaining $79.3 million to be paid by June 30.
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Severstal 4Q Net Profit Fell, Revenue Rose on Higher Steel Prices
Severstal PAO said Friday that net profit for the fourth-quarter fell despite revenue rising, and declared a dividend payout.
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TBC Bank Says 4Q Pretax Profit Rose; Is Confident About Outlook
TBC Bank Group PLC reported on Friday a significant rise in pretax profit for the fourth quarter of 2021 and said it is confident about its outlook.
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Kingspan 2021 Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Revenue; Is Cautiously Optimistic About 2022
Kingspan Group PLC said Friday that 2021 pretax profit and revenue rose, and that despite a slower fourth quarter, the board was cautiously optimistic about 2022's outlook given the company's strong order backlog.
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UK Watchdog Could Refer CVS' Acquisition of the Vet for In-Depth Probe
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it may refer CVS Group PLC's completed acquisition of The Vet for a further investigation, as it believes the deal raises competition concerns.
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Pod Point Group Holdings 2021 Revenue Rose, Pretax Loss Widened as Costs Increased
Pod Point Group Holdings PLC said Friday that revenue for 2021 jumped but that its pretax loss widened as costs rose.
Market Talk:
UK Gilt Yields Could Rise More Than Those of US Treasurys
1120 GMT - U.K. borrowing costs could rise more than those of U.S., given the disparity in market pricing of interest rate expectations, says Mark Dowding, chief investment officer at BlueBay Asset Management. "There seems more scope for UK yields to rise than US Treasuries, given seven US hikes are now priced in 2022," he says. Slowing U.K. growth in response to inflation may be a risk as the year progresses and this could, in turn, leave the Bank of England facing a dilemma, he says. The 10-year gilt yield trades last 1.440%, according to Tradeweb. (lorena.ruibal@wsj.com)
Casino, Ocado JV Unlikely to Have Much Immediate Impact
1107 GMT - Don't expect much anytime soon from a joint venture between French grocer Casino and UK food-delivery firm Ocado, Bryan Garnier says. Outlined on Thursday, the JV will see Ocado provide its delivery tech to Casino, which owns the Monoprix and Franprix supermarket chains. Because of an exclusivity clause in an existing contract between the two, Ocado had no choice but to create a JV with Casino in order to offer its tech to other food retailers, but convincing and signing them up will take some years, Bryan Garnier forecasts. Casino will in any case be a minority shareholder, the investment bank notes. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)
Contact: London NewsPlus, paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-18-22 0641ET
