Avast in talks over NortonLifeLock merger, Just Eat claims losses have 'peaked'

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 21 points lower on Thursday, having closed down 0.47% at 7,091.19 on Wednesday.

Stocks to watch

UK-based cybersecurity firm Avast on Thursday confirmed it was in advanced talks over a merger with NortonLifeLock. Any deal would be a cash-and-share offer, Avast said, but added there was no certainty a deal would be agreed. NortonLifeLock, previously known as Symantec, confirmed late on Wednesday that it was in discussion with Avast regarding a possible combination, but did not provide further details.

Hammerson said on Thursday that its rent collection rates had continued to improve, with 89% of billable rents collected for the 2020 financial year, and 68% for the first half of 2021. The FTSE 250 retail landlord said initial third quarter rent collection stood at 47%, which was ahead of the first and second quarters at the same point, with 2021 financial year-to-date collection now standing at 62%. It said it expected all rent collections to continue to improve as remaining Covid-19-related restrictions were lifted, adding that it was not expecting to grant future concessions.

Just Eat Takeaway.com said its losses had peaked and it expected to move back into profit after orders increased by more than half in the first six months of 2021. Combined orders for Just Eat and Grubhub rose 51% resulting in a gross transaction value of €14.1bn and annual GTV will be €28bn-€30bn, the company said. Losses, caused mainly by fee caps in North America and investment spending, have peaked and Just Eat will "trend back to profitability" , the food delivery group said.

Newspaper round-up

Ministers are being urged to levy a £3bn sugar and salt tax as part of a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to break Britain’s addiction to junk food, cut meat consumption by nearly a third and help tackle climate change. The government-commissioned National Food Strategy, drawn up by the restaurateur Henry Dimbleby, says the UK population’s “malfunctioning” appetites and poor diets – fuelled by consumer and manufacturer’s reliance on processed food – place an unsustainable burden on the NHS and contribute to 64,000 deaths each year. - Guardian

Consumers have been conned out of more than £2.3bn in the space of a year after a “devastating surge” in scams as fraudsters exploited the pandemic. The consumer body Which? found that in the year to April 2021, 413,553 instances of fraud were reported in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – an increase of 33% on the previous 12 months. Online shopping scams topped the table as criminals took advantage of the fact that locked-down consumers were buying more items via the internet. - Guardian

Bosses have been told to set up mental health hotlines for anxious staff in official guidance from Whitehall as the country gears up for a return to the office on Monday. Workers may be suffering from mental health issues and will need "extra consideration" from their employers after over a year spent working remotely or on the furlough scheme, the Department for Business said in eagerly-anticipated documents released on Wednesday. - Telegraph

The economics of music streaming should be “completely reset”, a group of MPs has concluded in a report that could threaten the business models of streaming giants Spotify and Apple Music. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should step in to investigate a lack of competition in the music industry in an attempt to raise the amount of royalties paid to musicians and songwriters, said MPs on the Culture select committee. - Telegraph

The key whistleblower in a case that resulted in a former Airbus subsidiary being fined £28.1 million for corruption was “hung out to dry” by the Serious Fraud Office, it has been claimed. Ian Foxley’s evidence led to a guilty plea this year from GPT Special Project Management over bribes related to a UK government contract to provide services to Saudi Arabia’s military. However, he accused the SFO of downplaying his role in the conviction and undermining his compensation claim. - The Times

US close

Wall Street’s main indices closed in a mixed state on Wednesday, as second-quarter earnings from some of the biggest banks in the country rolled in.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.13% at 34,933.23 and the S&P 500 added 0.12% to 4,374.30, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.22% to 14,644.95.

The Dow closed 44.44 points higher on Friday, reversing some of the losses recorded in the previous session as hotter-than-expected inflation numbers weighed on sentiment.

With inflationary fears taking somewhat of a backseat on Wednesday, the session's main focus was again on earnings, with several big names reporting prior to the open.

On the macro front, the number of Americans applying for home mortgages increased in the week ended 9 July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with its seasonally adjusted market index rising 16.0% week-on-week.