FTSE 100 Rises as Admiral, Oil Stocks Gain

The FTSE 100 gains 0.2% as insurer Admiral gets a broker upgrade and oil stocks gain despite falling crude prices. Berenberg says Admiral, up 0.7% at 2950 pence, is one of the highest-quality names to own in the European insurance sector despite a 20% drop in its share price since August. "We now think there's an opportunity for investors to begin re-building a position in the name," Berenberg says, raising its price target to 3245p and upgrading the stock to buy. Royal Dutch Shell rises 2% after outlining plans to simplify its share structure and to move its tax residency to the U.K. BP also advances 1.4%, though the Brent crude price falls 0.5% to $81.72 a barrel. 


 
Companies News:

Shell Proposes Single-Share Structure, UK Tax Residence

Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Monday laid out plans to simplify its share structure, ending its current dual-share class, and to move its tax residency to the U.K.

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S4 Capital CFO Peter Rademaker to Step Down

S4 Capital PLC said Monday that Chief Financial Officer Peter Rademaker is stepping down on Jan. 3, and will be replaced by Mary Basterfield.

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Urban Logistics REIT to Raise GBP200 Mln Toward Acquisitions

Urban Logistics REIT PLC said Monday that it plans to raise 200 million pounds ($268.2 million) via a share placing, offer for subscription and intermediaries offer and will use the money toward acquisitions.

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Ocean Outdoor Expects to Close 2021 With Significant Growth

Ocean Outdoor Ltd. said Monday that it expects to report significant revenue growth for 2021, noting that it remains well placed to take advantage of the post-pandemic recovery.

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600 Group Swung to Pretax Profit in 1H on Higher Sales

600 Group PLC on Monday reported a swing to a pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 as activity recovered to pre-pandemic levels with strong demand in the laser business.

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Serco Upgrades 2021 Guidance on Stronger-Than-Expected Performance

Serco Group PLC on Monday raised its 2021 guidance as the company benefited from higher volumes of work related to Covid-19 support to governments.

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Vistry to Appoint Ralph Findlay as New Chairman

Vistry Group PLC said Monday that it will appoint Ralph Findlay as chairman at the group's annual general meeting on May 18.

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ADM Energy Shares Drop on Discounted GBP475,000 Equity Raise

Shares in ADM Energy PLC fell Monday after it said that it has raised 475,000 pounds ($636,928) via a discounted share issue.

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Billington Holdings' Shares Fall After Warning on Missing Pretax Profit Views

Shares in Billington Holdings PLC fell Monday after the company said it will miss pretax profit market views for the full year as a result of delayed contracts.

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Zaim Credit Says 3Q Loans Issued Increased Over Previous Quarter

Zaim Credit Systems PLC said Monday that its subsidiary Zaim-Express LLC performed profitably in the third quarter, and that loans continued to increase compared from the previous three-month period.

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Kainos Says 1H Pretax Profit Increased; Is Confident About Full Year

Kainos Group PLC on Monday reported an improved pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 and said it remains confident about the current and future years.

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Power Metal Resources' Shares Climb on Raising of GBP1 Mln via Share Placing

Shares in Power Metal Resources PLC on Monday rose after the company said it raised 1.1 million pounds ($1.5 million) via a share placing.

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MTI Wireless Edge Nine-Month Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Revenue

MTI Wireless Edge Ltd. on Monday reported a higher pretax profit for the first nine months of 2021, and said it is well-placed going forward as it has won several contracts that will increase future orders.

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Ascential Buys WhyteSpyder

Ascential PLC said Monday that it has acquired WhyteSpyder LLC, an ecommerce software and digital merchandising business. 


 
Market Talk:

Shell's Simplification to Benefit Buybacks, Portfolio Changes

Shell's intention to simplify its share structure, establishing a single line of shares, offers a clear benefit in terms of removing some liquidity restrictions on its buyback program, RBC Capital Markets says. Currently, there is a buyback limitation of around $2.5 billion per quarter, according to the company. Moving to a single-share class would likely more-than double this, and suggests Shell intends to return more to shareholders over the coming years, the bank says. The second advantage concerns portfolio changes, given that additional approvals are needed for buying and selling assets because of the dual-share class, while there are also likely complications around dealing with two separate tax authorities, RBC says.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-15-21 0427ET