London stocks tracked Asia higher after surprisingly strong activity from China’s manufacturers in March calmed fears of a global economic slowdown. Miners were among the biggest gainers after China’s official purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.5 from February’s three-year low of 49.2. A reading above 50 indicates growth. rose 45½p to £18.94; Glencore (GLEN) gained 8p to 326p; and Rio Tinto (RIO) added 103½p to £45.65.
WPP (WPP), the advertising giant, topped the FTSE 100 after being upgraded by Deutsche Bank from “hold” to “buy”. The analyst said: “We think that expectations for WPP are now so low that even delivery of current guidance will be enough for the shares to enjoy a re-rating.”
easyJet (EZJ) fell 78½p to £10.39 after the budget airline warned that full-year profits would be lower than the City had expected. The warning sent shares in rival Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) down 128p to £28.82.
Babcock International Group (BAB) rose 16p to 509½p after The Sunday Times reported that the defence contractor had lined up Ruth Cairnie, director of Rolls-Royce and former Shell executive, as its first chairwoman.
WANdisco (WAND), an Aim-listed company that helps businesses to move data from their old systems to cloud servers, shot up 30p to 671¾p after it said that it has secured a $2.2 million contract with a global provider of information and communications technology infrastructure in China.
MJ Gleeson (GLE) the low-cost housebuilder, added 22p to 826p, after it confirmed that it had appointed Lazard to explore and advise on the future of its strategic land business, including a possible sale.
RBS chases payment from ‘victims’ of mis‑sold loans. Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) is under fire for pursuing the owners of small and medium-sized companies for debts linked with a government loan scheme that it has admitted abusing. The all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking said that it would write to the Treasury to express its concerns about how the bank is treating small business owners who used the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, a taxpayer-backed lending scheme. Several small business owners told The Times they feared bankruptcy after RBS ordered repayment of debts they claim they did not know they were personally liable for and which, in some cases, the government has settled.
Stakes are high as Superdry (SDRY) investors prepare to decide. Investors will gather in the City to vote on resolutions to elect Mr Dunkerton alongside Peter Williams, 65, the former chairman of Boohoo, the online fashion brand . He has vowed to restore Superdry to its “former glory” and to turn around a “catastrophic” decline in the share price, which has wiped more than a £1 billion from its value and led to its demotion from the FTSE 250 mid-cap index of London-listed shares. “Superdry needs to reverse the current buyer-led approach and return to being a design-led business to reinvigorate the DNA of the brand,” Mr Dunkerton told shareholders and analysts last month.
Grainger handed keys by TfL as home rental developer in London. Transport for London has selected Britain’s biggest listed residential landlord as its preferred partner to build and manage more than 3,000 homes for rent across the city. Grainger (GRI), the FTSE 250 landlord of rental homes, has fought off competition from Argent Related, a regeneration specialist, and Greystar, an American rental housing developer, to be selected as the London transport provider’s investment partner. The partnership, which will be 49%-owned by Transport for London and 51% by Grainger, is expected to provide homes over eight sites next to stations, including the Hounslow West and Cockfosters Underground stations.
Watchdog prompts funeral directors to change rule on price comparison sites. A leading trade group for funeral directors has changed its code of conduct after the competition regulator raised concerns that it had blocked members from promoting services on price comparison websites. The Competition and Markets Authority, which announced a full market investigation into the £2 billion funeral industry last week, has been scrutinising the role of trade associations. It conducted a ten-month inquiry into the industry because of concerns about above-inflation price rises by funeral directors — particularly larger companies — a lack of transparency and the vulnerability of customers. The focus has been largely on the profit margins and practices of the big chains, such as Dignity (DTY) rather than the trade groups. Dignity and Co-op Funeralcare account for about 27% of the market.
Shareholder opposes SThree (STHR) director tainted by fall of Interserve. A recruitment company faces unrest from shareholders over a director who has been caught in the fallout from the collapse of Interserve. Anne Fahy, 58, had chaired the audit committee of the outsourcing business since 2013 and holds the same role at Sthree, a staffing business. She is seeking re-election to the Sthree board at its annual meeting on April 24, but an influential City investment house has raised concerns about her audit role. The head of governance at the fund manager, which declined to be identified but holds shares in Sthree, said: “Where a director has lost the trust of shareholders at one company, then we don’t see why we would make an exception if they serve on another committee at another business.”
