FirstGroup gets extension to West Coast rail contract, Intertek appoints new finance chief

London open

The FTSE 100 was expected to open 91 points lower on Monday, having closed down 1.01% on Friday at 7,335.40.

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FirstGroup said the UK government had extended its current contract for its troubled West Coast rail contract to October 15. The contract comprises the operation of Avanti West Coast and acting as shadow operator to the HS2 programme. Discussions are ongoing with the Department for Transport regarding the longer-term National Rail Contract for (the) West Coast Partnership, the transport operator said on Monday.

Intertek said on Monday that it has appointed Colm Deasy as group chief financial officer and as an Executive Board director. Deasy replaces Jonathan Timmis, who has stepped down with immediate effect. Intertek also said it was establishing a new Group Executive Committee effective immediately. Deasy joined the company in 2016 as Group Treasurer. Prior to Intertek, he worked in banking and insurance in EMEA, before coming to the UK to take up senior roles in finance and general management.

Newspaper round-up

Plans by loss-making retailer John Lewis to end more than seven decades as a 100% employee-owned business have drawn criticism from an MP and supporters of its mutual ownership model. Sharon White, who chairs the company behind the eponymous department store chain and Waitrose, believes the business could raise up to £2bn in new investment by diluting its mutual model, according to reports. – Guardian

The government’s failure to support the ailing UK steel industry in last week’s budget has put thousands of jobs at risk, the prime minister has been told. In a letter to Rishi Sunak, shared with the Guardian, the trade union Unite said it was “disappointed” that the government had not announced plans to tackle the “serious threats facing the sector”. – Guardian

Morrisons is cutting its prices for the third time in three months as it steps up efforts to lure shoppers back from Aldi. The supermarket said it was slashing prices on another 490 products, including fresh meat, baby essentials and freezer items. The latest round of reductions follows rounds of price cuts last month and in January. – Telegraph

Britain has little hope of hosting a successful orbital rocket mission this year, space officials have admitted, after the failure of Virgin Orbit's "Start Me Up" satellite launch in January. Staff at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have privately told members of the space industry that there is unlikely to be another mission in 2023, according to two sources. – Telegraph

A British-based nuclear company backed by Italy’s Agnelli family plans to raise nearly £900 million to advance a plan to build a fleet of small nuclear reactors in Britain. Newcleo, based in London, has an ambitious scheme to build one plant a year in the UK up to 2050 and eventually generate 4 gigawatts of electricity, more than will be produced by the large new nuclear plant being built at Hinkley Point in Somerset by EDF. – The Times

US close

Stocks on Wall Street closed in negative territory on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.19% at 31,861.98.

The S&P 500 was off 1.1% at 3,916.64, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.74% weaker at 11,630.51.