UK Government Policy U-Turn Likely to Give Pound Limited Boost
0803 GMT - The U.K. government backtracking on its pledge to cut the rate of income tax for top earners has lifted the pound, but this boost is likely to be limited, MUFG currency analyst Lee Hardman says in a note. The U-turn is "another small step to help restore investor confidence in the U.K.'s public finances although it is unlikely to be sufficient on its own," he says. The measure is only a relatively small element of the recent mini-budget--costing GBP2 billion versus the total cost of the tax-cutting package at GBP45 billion--that sent the pound sliding, he says. GBP/USD rises 0.3% to 1.1207, having hit a high of 1.1280. MUFG doesn't believe it has much room to rise further. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)
Top News:
U.K. Makes Major U-Turn on Tax Cuts
The U.K. government said it won't proceed with the removal of a 45% top rate of income tax, removing a key element of a plan announced late last month that triggered turmoil in the country's financial markets.
Companies News:
James Halstead FY 2022 Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose; New Year Started Well
James Halstead PLC said Monday that its fiscal 2022 pretax profit and revenue rose on sales growth and despite increased costs, and the new year has begun well.
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Halma Acquires IZI Medical Products in US
Halma PLC said Monday that it has acquired IZI Medical Products, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of medical consumable devices headquartered in Maryland in the U.S., for an initial consideration of $153.5 million in cash.
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QinetiQ to Buy Air Affairs for $33.9 Mln; To Sell Belgian Division for $31.4 Mln
QinetiQ Group PLC said Monday that it has agreed to buy Air Affairs (Australia) Pty for 53 million Australian dollars ($33.9 million) in cash, and that it will sell QinetiQ Space NV for 32 million euros ($31.4 million) in cash.
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Argentex Expects Higher 1H Revenue
Argentex Group PLC said Monday that it expects to report a rise in revenue for the first half and the board is confident the company will exceed current market expectations for the year.
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Renew Holdings Sees FY 2022 Adjusted Profit Ahead of Views
Renew Holdings PLC said Monday that it expects performance for fiscal 2022 to be marginally ahead of market expectations despite the current inflationary backdrop.
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Genel Energy Appoints New CEO
Genel Energy PLC said Monday that it has appointed Paul Weir as chief executive with immediate effect.
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Pelatro Chairman Richard Day Resigns
Pelatro PLC said Monday that Richard Day has decided to resign as chairman of the board.
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Real Good Food FY 2022 Loss Widens; Sees Challenging Year Ahead
Real Good Food PLC said Monday that fiscal 2022 pretax loss widened on a significant one-off impairment charge, and it expects fiscal 2023 to remain loss-making.
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Tortilla Mexican Grill Warns Industry Headwinds Will Hurt 2H Profitability; Shares Fall
Shares in Tortilla Mexican Grill PLC fell Monday after it said that industry headwinds will hurt profitability in the second half as it reported a fall in pretax profit for the first half on higher costs.
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Essentra CEO Paul Forman to Step Down; Scott Fawcett Named Successor
Essentra PLC said Monday that Chief Executive Paul Forman has decided to step down at the end of 2022, to be succeeded by Scott Fawcett, managing director of the components division.
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Peel Hunt Expects 1H Revenue to Fall on Lower Capital Markets Activity
Peel Hunt Ltd. said Monday that it expects to report a fall in revenue for the first half of fiscal 2023 due to a market-wide backdrop of historically low levels of capital markets activity throughout the period.
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Investec to Repurchase Up to $66 Mln Worth of Shares in Capital Optimization
Investec PLC said Monday that it will repurchase up to 1.2 billion South African rand ($66.3 million) worth of shares, as part of its capital optimization strategy.
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Essentra to Sell Filters Business for GBP262 Mln; Will Pay Special Dividend
Essentra PLC shares rose Monday after it said it will sell its filters business to a subsidiary of Centaury Management Ltd. for an enterprise value of around 262.1 million pounds ($292.7 million), and will pay a special dividend.
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STM Group Appoints Interim CEO
STM Group PLC said Monday that Therese Neish has been appointed as interim chief financial officer and that she will also join the board on an interim basis.
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Hyve Group Confident in FY 2023 Outlook on Forward Bookings
Hyve Group PLC said Monday that it is confident in its fiscal 2023 outlook due to the continued positive performance of its business.
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IDOX Buys LandHawk Software Services for GBP1.1 Mln
IDOX PLC said Monday that it has bought LandHawk Software Services Ltd. for 1.1 million pounds ($1.2 million), enhancing its geospatial information services, or GIS, offering.
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-03-22 0421ET
