Abrdn announces cost-cutting plans, Fresnillo silver production stable

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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 17 points higher on Wednesday, having closed down 0.03% on Tuesday at 7,485.73.

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Asset manager Abrdn announced it is embarking on a new cost-cutting initiative to save £150m by the end of 2025 as it reported net outflows of over £12m in the second half. The new transformation programme is "designed to restore our core Investments business to an acceptable level of profitability and allow for incremental reinvestment into growth areas".

Fresnillo reported steady attributable silver production in the fourth quarter on Wednesday, driven by increased Saucito production and higher San Julián Veins ore grades, offset by lower grades at Fresnillo and San Julián (DOB). Compared to 2022, quarterly silver production increased 13.1%, primarily due to the Juanicipio ramp-up. Full-year gold production in 2023 meanwhile decreased 4%, mainly from declining production at Noche Buena, while quarterly gold production increased 15.1% over the third quarter, but decreased 9.1% year-on-year.

Budget airline easyJet said it had taken a £40m hit from the Middle-East conflict, but said it expected first-half losses to narrow and reported positive booking momentum for the summer. The airline was forced to suspend flights to Israel and Jordan after the Hamas Islamic group attacked Israel last October, with demand also softening on its routes to Egypt. Pre-tax losses for the three months to December 31 came in at £126m from £133m a year earlier. Revenues were up 16% to £1.1bn.

Newspaper round-up

Fake reviews and unavoidable hidden online charges – which cost consumers £2.2bn a year – are to be banned under new laws to force businesses to be more clear with shoppers. Under the new rules, which will become law as part of the digital markets, competition and consumers bill currently progressing through parliament, mandatory fees must be included in the headline price or at the start of the shopping process, including booking fees for cinema and train tickets. – Guardian

A nose wheel fell off a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 passenger jet and rolled away as the plane lined up for takeoff over the weekend from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson international airport in the US, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). According to a preliminary FAA notice, none of the 184 passengers or six crew members aboard were hurt in the incident. – Guardian

Hinkley Point C will cost as much as £35bn to complete and will come online up to four years later than planned, its French developer has said. EDF on Tuesday said the cost of building Britain’s first new nuclear power station in a generation had risen by as much as £10bn after delays to construction and inflation to costs. – Telegraph

Treasury officials advised Rishi Sunak that cutting taxes would have little impact on growing the economy and he should instead focus on boosting immigration. According to leaked Treasury documents presented to Mr Sunak’s senior team in late 2022 before he became prime minister, civil servants said personal tax cuts would have a “low impact” on boosting growth despite coming at a “medium fiscal cost”. – Telegraph

The chairman of Royal Mail owner International Distributions Services has argued that a six-day delivery service should not be preserved for “nostalgic” reasons ahead of potential reform of the lossmaking mail operator. On Wednesday Ofcom, the regulator, is expected to release the findings of its review of the universal service provided by Royal Mail after calls from the company to ditch Saturday letter deliveries. – The Times

US close

Wall Street experienced a mixed performance on Tuesday, with its main market indices showing varied results following a record close in the previous session.

Investors were closely monitoring upcoming economic data, including a preliminary reading for fourth-quarter US GDP scheduled for Thursday and key inflation readings set for release on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a modest decline of 0.25%, settling at 37,905.45 points.

On the other hand, the S&P 500 index managed to gain 0.29%, reaching 4,864.60 points, and the Nasdaq Composite posted a gain of 0.43% to finish at 15,425.94 points.

In currency markets, the dollar was last down 0.05% on sterling, trading at 78.78p, while it remained steady with no change against the euro at 92.13 euro cents.