Indivior shares collapse on US fraud charges over Suboxone. Shares in Indivior (INDV) plunged on Wednesday after US prosecutors opened a criminal case against the UK pharmaceutical company over alleged fraud. Indivior, which has denied all charges, could face a fine of up to $3bn if found guilty. Such a penalty, along with hefty legal fees, may left the FTSE 250 firm bankrupt, according to some analysts. The Department of Justice (DoJ) claims Indivior ran an illicit nationwide scheme to boost sales of its top-selling opioid-dependency drug Suboxone Film. Most of the 28 charges relate to actions Indivior carried out before 2014, when it was still part of consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, the company said.
Tesco profits jump as Dave Lewis declares turnaround is nearly done. Tesco (TSCO) has toasted its turnaround by delivering its biggest leap in profits under Dave Lewis, giving the supermarket confidence that it has finally drawn a line under the accounting scandal that engulfed the business five years ago. Britain’s biggest supermarket posted a 28.8% jump in annual pre-tax profits to £1.7bn. Sales rose by 11.5% to £56.9bn while like-for-like sales in the UK rose by 1.7%. Mr Lewis, chief executive, said that the results meant the grocer had “met or are about to meet the vast majority of our turnaround goals. I’m very confident that we will complete the journey in 2019 and 2020”.
Supreme Court ruling leaves mining firms facing new legal threats. Mining companies and oil producers could face the threat of legal action in the UK for environmental damage or human rights abuses committed elsewhere in the world after a landmark Supreme Court ruling. The UK’s highest court has ruled that 1,800 impoverished villagers in Zambia can pursue damages against Vedanta Resources (VED) for alleged contamination of water supplies by its subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM). Judges threw out Vedanta’s appeal against two earlier rulings in the villagers’ favour by the High Court and the Court of Appeal. They agreed that Vedanta was ultimately liable as the parent company of KCM, which operated the mine.
Redundancies and restructuring hit McCarthy & Stone (MCS) profits. Half-year profits at McCarthy & Stone tumbled by two-thirds as it ploughed more cash into a turnaround to cope with a slowdown in the housing market. The retirement housebuilder handed consultants £4.5m for advice relating to its strategy shake-up, which included closing offices in Scotland and the south-west of England and making almost 200 of its 2,500 staff redundant at a cost of £3.5m. Those and other one-off costs left McCarthy & Stone with pre-tax profits of £3.6m for the six months to February, down from £10.5m the previous year.
‘We can do better’ Asos admits after profits slump. ASOS (ASC) profits have crashed by almost 90pc in the first half of the year as its chief executive admitted that the online retailer had made mistakes and “can do better”. Pre-tax profits tumbled 87% from £29.9m to £4m in the six months to February, which the company blamed on the “disruption” caused by overhauling some of its warehouses, logistics and technology. Asos said that its “transformation plans” had hit its creative teams and product ranges, which damaged customer perception. Nick Beighton, Asos boss, claimed that there was not “the velocity of newness” in the clothing ranges the fast-fashion brand normally offered and the website “didn’t look and feel as it normally does”.
Stagecoach disqualified from rail franchise bids in pensions row. Stagecoach Group (SGC) has issued a furious rebuke to the Government after being disqualified from three rail franchise bids for not stumping up more funding for the industry-wide pension scheme. The FTSE 250 company had been shortlisted by the Department for Transport (DfT) for the franchise tender for the East Midlands service, which it has run since 2007. It was also shortlisted for the Southeastern franchise, where it intended to partner with Alstom, and the West Coast Partnership franchise, as part of a joint bid with Virgin Group and French rail company SNCF.
Debenhams handover is expected to trigger a wave of store closures. Debenhams (DEB) new owners were last night drawing up plans to shut down more than 50 stores at the risk of 4,000 jobs, as Mike Ashley complained that his defeat in the battle for control of the chain was a “national scandal”. The 206-year-old retailer fell into the hands of its lenders on Tuesday, in a pre-packaged deal with administrators. The new ownership consortium is led by hedge funds Silver Point Capital and GoldenTree, which built strong positions by buying up Debenhams’ bond debt. Mr Ashley’s 30% stake, acquired by Sports Direct at a cost of £150m, has been wiped out along with the rest of the equity.
From cheese to cashmere, Trump’s tariffs are not just about aircraft. The Transatlantic trade row isn’t just about flying objects. Airbus may have been the catalyst but US President Donald Trump is targeting hundreds more products. All manner of items are packed into a 14-page document that the US claims benefit from EU subsidies. Indeed, aircraft and helicopters only took up the first page. There’s a lot of cheese listed. Roquefort, stilton, cheddar, edam and emmental are all there. It then canters through olive oil, butter, seafood and fruit before getting to drinks; alcoholic and soft beverages alike represent key EU exports. Even chocolate milk is in the firing line.
Standard Chartered pays $1.1bn to settle claims of Iran sanction breaches and money laundering. Standard Chartered (STAN) will pay more than $1bn (£777m) to end long-running US and UK probes into alleged breaches of sanctions against Iran. The FTSE 100 bank said it will pay $947m to US agencies to settle allegations that it helped Iran and other sanctioned countries launder money, as well as a further £102m to the Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA penalty marks the City watchdog’s second-largest fine for money laundering. The regulator said it found “serious and sustained shortcomings” in the bank’s anti-money laundering controls.
Bankers’ jobs under threat as Barclays and SocGen wield the axe. Bankers are bracing for a new round of redundancies after Barclays (BARC) and Société Générale unveiled job cuts within hours of each other. The union Unite said it was “extremely alarming” that 460 jobs were on the line at Barclays, shortly after the lender’s French rival Société Générale (SocGen) unveiled plans to let go 1,600 people. Barclays’ cuts mostly affect those working in operations and technology who are based in the West Midlands. A spokesman said the bank hoped to relocate 400 of the affected roles to Glasgow, Greater Manchester and Northampton, adding that Barclays would “remain a significant employer in both Coventry and Birmingham”.
Allied Minds lifted by activist interest. Neil Woodford-backed Allied Minds (ALM) surged to the top of London’s leaderboard after activist fund Crystal Amber launched a bid to seize control and break up the tech and life sciences investor. Crystal Amber, which claims to hold a 2.7% stake in the company, said that it has lined up “a US-based lawyer with direct experience of running-off and realising assets” to take control of Allied, arguing that it could slash annual running costs by around 70%.
Questor: Majestic Wine (WINE) transformation is a shock but we’ll hold while we see what form it takes. Questor share tip: the wine retailer is to focus on its online arm and the store chain will be sold or slimmed down.
