Sterling May Weaken Even if BOE Looks Likely to Lift Rates

The pound may continue to weaken even as the Bank of England moves closer to raising interest rates, MUFG Bank says. "The negative supply shocks from Covid-19, Brexit and the energy price surge are set to have a clearer negative impact on the performance of the U.K. economy heading into year end," MUFG currency analyst Lee Hardman says. Despite slowing economic growth, the BOE will likely lift rates to curb inflation, he says. In light of these risks, MUFG maintains its short GBP/USD position, he says. Short positions bet on an asset price falling. MUFG has a target of 1.3200 and stop loss of 1.3950 for GBP/USD. 


 
Companies News:

Calnex Solutions Expects FY 2022 Revenue, Profit to Be Above Expectations

Calnex Solutions PLC on Tuesday said it expects revenue and profits for the fiscal year 2022 to be materially above previous expectations.

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Marley Group Pulls IPO Plan

Marley Group Ltd. said Tuesday that it won't be proceeding with its planned initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange due to the current market volatility.

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YouGov Says FY 2021 Revenue, Adjusted Operating Profit Rose

YouGov PLC on Tuesday said that it expects revenue for fiscal 2021 to have risen by 11% and that strong sales momentum continued in the first months of its fiscal 2022.

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Enwell Energy 3Q Production Rose Around 11% From Year Earlier

Enwell Energy PLC said Tuesday that its overall production volumes for the third quarter from its gas and condensate fields in Ukraine rose by around 11% from a year earlier.

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Carr's Group CEO Hugh Pelham Steps Down to Pursue Other Interests

Carr's Group PLC said Tuesday that Chief Executive Hugh Pelham has stepped down from his role and will leave the group with immediate effect to pursue other interests.

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YouGov Buys Technology Company Rezonence for Undisclosed Sum - Deal Digest

ACQUIRER: YouGov PLC

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Maestrano Group FY 2021 Pretax Loss Widened on Higher Costs

Maestrano Group PLC said Tuesday that its pretax loss widened in fiscal 2021 on increased costs, but that it is confident about a continuation in the current growth trend into fiscal 2022.

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EasyJet Fourth-Quarter Headline Loss Halves -- Second Update

EasyJet PLC said Tuesday that its headline loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 halved compared with the same period last year, and that it has moved to positive cash generation. 


 
Market Talk:

EasyJet's Pick Up in Business-Travel Demand Is Encouraging

1028 GMT - EasyJet reporting a pick-up in demand from business travel is encouraging and may point to companies cutting costs and telling staff to switch to cheaper airlines, Russ Mould of AJ Bell says. Moreover, the airline has said that the recovery is underway, with losses narrowing and bookings strong enough to warrant increasing capacity for the rest of 2021. Still, the airline needs to get back on the path to normality as there is only so long it can sustain hefty losses, Mould says. "A GBP1.2 billion rights issue has given it some breathing room on the financial front, and it is encouraging to see the company generate positive operating cash in the three months to the end of September," he says.

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Entain 3Q Tops Forecasts, But Spotlight Stays on Bid

0951 GMT - Entain's third-quarter update was better than expected, though the takeover bid from DraftKings is still the main focus, Citigroup says. The betting company's online net gaming revenue came in ahead of forecasts, though its retail equivalent was slightly soft, Citigroup says. The U.S. investment bank expects 2021 EBITDA consensus forecasts to move towards the top end of guidance. "The spotlight firmly remains on the recent Draftkings bid," Citi analyst James Ainley says. Shares fall 0.3%.

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OnTheMarket's 1H Results, Improved Outlook Prompt Forecast Upgrades

0914 GMT - OnTheMarket's first-half results detail a pleasing financial and operational performance, along with significant progress in advancing the group's strategic objective of building a differentiated, tech-enabled property business, Shore Capital says. The U.K. online property portal reported a positive performance going into the second half of fiscal 2022, with more agents paying and a greater number of listings on a trial basis, prompting Shore to upgrade its full-year adjusted earnings per share forecasts to 4.3 pence from 3.1p. OnTheMarket's current share price is very modest considering its positive momentum, attractive growth potential and increasingly compelling proposition, the investment group says. "We see scope for a significant share price re-rating," Shore says. Shares are up 8.7% at 100p.

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EasyJet's Depreciation Policy Changes Will Negatively Affect 4Q, FY 2022

0903 GMT - EasyJet's change in its depreciation policy will have a negative effect on 4Q results of around GBP10 million and cause an estimated GBP40 million hit in fiscal 2022, Goodbody says. The change reduced the useful economic life of the U.K. company's aircraft to 18 years, from 23 years. However, Goodbody said that EasyJet's update in general was positive, with the repaired balance sheet giving the company operational flexibility going into next year's recovery. Goodbody rates the stock buy.

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Strong Employment Data in the UK Increase the Chances of a Rate Hike

0815 GMT - The strengthening of the U.K. labor market in August may prompt the Bank of England to increase interest rates sooner than expected, Capital Economics' chief U.K. economist Paul Dales says. Data showed the unemployment rate declined to 4.5% in the three months to August from 4.6% in the previous three-month period, while the rise in job vacancies to a new record high suggests that demand for workers remained strong, Dales says. The redundancies arising from the end of the furlough program will help to ease the lack of labor supply, but shortages will be an issue until at least mid-2021 and will support wage growth, adding to the risks that the BoE will raise interest rates before May 2022, he says.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-12-21 0705ET