Bunzl buys US-based safety business, Pearson recruits Andy Bird as next CEO

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 56 points higher on Monday, having closed down 0.19% on Friday at 6,001.89.

Stocks to watch

International distribution and services group Bunzl said it had bought a US-based safety business and a flexible packaging distributor in Ireland for an undisclosed sum. The twin deals involve MCR Safety, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee and Dublin-based Abco Kovex.

Pearson has recruited Andy Bird, the former boss of Walt Disney's international division, as the FTSE 100 company's next chief executive. Bird, who is already a non-executive director at Pearson, will replace John Fallon on 19 October.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund has acquired 50% of the copyright interest and writers share in the song catalogue of the hip hop artist, songwriter and producer, and leader of Wu-Tang Clan, Robert 'RZA' Diggs, it announced on Monday. The FTSE 250 music intellectual property investor said it acquired 50% of RZA's worldwide copyrights, including publishing and writer share, in his catalogue comprising 814 songs, though financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Newspaper round-up

The travel industry has said 39,000 people have already lost their jobs or been told their job was at risk, as the sector worst affected by the coronavirus crisis called on the government for more financial support to avoid further job losses. The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said the job cuts represent about 18% of the UK’s travel industry jobs and warned that thousands more tour operators, travel agents and airline jobs could be lost. – Guardian

The amount paid out by big companies to their investors plummeted between April and June as firms cancelled or cut their dividends to conserve cash during the coronavirus pandemic crisis. Total shareholder payouts made globally slumped by $108.1bn (£82.6bn) to $382.2bn, a fall of 22%. A quarter (27%) of companies expected to pay a dividend in the second quarter slashed their payments, while half of that group cancelled the payout altogether. – Guardian

TikTok is planning legal action over Donald Trump’s executive order which would ban American companies from doing business with the video app and its Chinese owner ByteDance. The social media business said over the weekend that it had tried to engage with the US president’s administration for close to a year but had been frustrated by a “lack of due process”. – The Times

The City regulator has been accused by campaigners and its own complaints commissioner of rushing through a plan to minimise liability for its failings. Before the publication of three independent reviews into its competence, the Financial Conduct Authority has proposed a cap on the compensation available from its complaints scheme. – The Times

US close

Stocks on Wall Street closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day up 0.69% at 27,930.33.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, added 0.34% to 3,397.16, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.42% firmer at 11,311.80.