GCP Infra proposes combination, CMA approves takeover of EMIS
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 38 points lower on Friday, having closed up 0.41% on Thursday at 7,618.60.
Stocks to watch
GCP Infrastructure Investments announced a proposed combination with GCP Asset Backed Income Fund (GABI) on Friday, that would result in the transfer of GABI's assets to GCP Infra in exchange for new GCP Infra shares to GABI shareholders. The company’s board said it was also in discussions for a potential combination with RM Infrastructure Income. Following completion of the GABI scheme, GCP Infra said it planned to increase returns to shareholders, reduce its leverage, and shift its investment policy to focus on sustainable assets.
EMIS Group’s plans to be taken private got the go-ahead on Friday, as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally approved its acquisition. On 17 June last year, the boards of Bordeaux UK Holdings II (Bidco) and EMIS agreed on terms for Bidco to acquire all of EMIS' ordinary share capital, which the UK's CMA referred for a phase two investigation. Bidco and EMIS said they would now await the CMA's final decision after the public consultation, expected by 5 October.
Wheaton Precious Metals reported a 12.5% decline in second quarter revenues to reach $265m, for a 5.1% drop in net earnings to $141.4m. Operating cash flows behaved better, dipping by just 1.9% to $202.4m. The precious metals streaming company however saw gold output rise by 28.1% to 85,083 ounces, although that of silver shrank by 32% to 4,417 ounces. Wheaton reiterated its full-year production guidance, while its cash balance stood at $829m with no debt and it declared an interim dividend of 15 US cents per share.
Newspaper round-up
Joe Biden has called China a “ticking time bomb in many cases” because of its economic challenges, saying the country was in trouble because of weak growth. The US president pointed to the country’s high unemployment and ageing workforce, saying: “China is in trouble.” “They have got some problems. That’s not good, because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things,” Biden said at a political fundraiser in Utah on Thursday. He said he did not want to hurt China and wanted a rational relationship with the country. - Guardian
Rishi Sunak’s stealth tax raid has seen payments to the Exchequer surge by 40pc since the pandemic, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) analysis shows. Payments of taxes on earnings and wealth – such as income tax and capital gains tax – were up by 39.2pc in the first quarter of this year compared with the final months of 2019, the OECD found. The tax burden on households has shot up more quickly in the UK than in other big rich economies, analysts said, despite all facing similar blows from Covid-19. - Telegraph
Top brands including Versace, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors and Kate Spade will be brought together under one roof in a £7billion luxury mega-merger. Tapestry, the parent company behind the designer handbag seller Coach, is set to buy Capri Holdings creating a new US fashion powerhouse. New York-listed Tapestry owns brands including Kate Spade and shoe firm Stuart Weitzman, as well as Coach, whose bags are advertised by singer Jennifer Lopez. - Daily Mail
West African leaders have ordered a standby force to be immediately activated for possible use against coup leaders in Niger after the junta defied the bloc’s deadline to reinstate the ousted president. Speaking after an emergency summit of the bloc, President Tinubu of Nigeria said “no option is taken off the tables, including the use of force as the last resort”. An official communiqué was read out at the gathering of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) in Abuja, which included a resolution asking the bloc’s defence chiefs to “activate the Ecowas Standby Force with all its elements immediately”. - The Times
The social media company formerly known as Twitter, now called X, will introduce video calls to its platform as executives led by Elon Musk attempt to transform it into an “everything app”. X plans to launch the feature and enable users to ring one another without providing a phone number, Linda Yaccarino, its chief executive, said. Yaccarino, 59, the veteran advertising executive hired by Musk to revive the platform’s fortunes, also claimed in an interview yesterday that brands including Coca-Cola and Visa had returned to Twitter. - The Times
US close
US stocks closed in the green on Thursday – though off session highs – having been bolstered by positive consumer inflation indicators which raised hopes that the Federal Reserve could take a pause from tightening monetary policy at its next meeting.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.15% at 35,176.15, while the S&P 500 saw a modest increase of 0.03%, ending the day at 4,468.83.
In a similar vein, the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 0.12%, settling at 13,737.99.
On the currency front, the dollar was last up 0.01% on sterling, trading at 78.9p, while it dipped 0.03% on the common currency to 91.04 euro cents.
Against the yen, the greenback edged 0.05% higher to change hands at JPY 144.82.