BOE's Taper Hints Expected to Boost Pound in Coming Weeks

Recent comments by Bank of England policy makers hinting that asset purchases may need to be scaled back earlier than previously expected in order to contain inflation should boost the pound in coming weeks, ING said. On Thursday, the BOE's Michael Saunders said the central bank could end its bond-buying program early to rein in inflation, which came after fellow policy maker Dave Ramsden expressed concerns about growing inflation pressures. A lack of data or central bank speakers on Friday could allow EUR/GBP to stabilize temporarily, but over the couple of weeks it will likely break below 0.8500 "if markets increasingly price in a more hawkish stance at the 5 August BoE meeting," ING said. EUR/GBP was last down 0.2% at 0.8526, while GBP/USD rose 0.2% to 1.3858. 


 
Companies News:

RBG Holdings 1H Trading in Line With Views; To Pay Interim Dividend

RBG Holdings PLC said Friday that it continues to trade in line with market expectations for the first half of 2021 and that the board intends to pay an interim dividend.

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Nucleus Financial 2Q Assets Under Administration Rose

Nucleus Financial Group PLC said Friday that assets under administration rose 19% in the second quarter.

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Burberry 1Q Comparable Sales and Retail Revenue Rose, Full-Year Guidance Largely Unchanged -- Update

--Apart from wholesale, which is now seen rising by around 60% on-year in 1H, full-year guidance is unchanged

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Pantheon Resources Shares Rise on Upgraded Resource Estimate at Alaska Well

Shares of Pantheon Resources PLC rose as much as 15% in early trade Friday after the company said that recent analysis of the SMD-B zone at the Talitha A well in Alaska indicates higher resources than initially thought.

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Luceco 2Q Trading Performance Continues to Improve; Raises 1H Guidance

Luceco PLC said Friday that its trading performance during the second quarter has continued to improve, and raised its guidance for the first half.

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Renold FY 2021 Profit Grew Despite Revenue Fall

Renold PLC said Friday that its fiscal-year pretax profit grew despite revenue being hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Ascential Buys 51% of Digital Content Business ASR Group for $122M -- Deal Digest

ACQUIRER: Ascential PLC

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Burford Capital Receives Full $103 Mln Entitlement From Akhmedov Matter

Burford Capital Ltd. said Friday that it has received the full cash entitlement of around $103 million from the Akhmedov matter, boosting its 2021 operating profit.

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X5 Retail 2Q Sales Rose 11%

X5 Retail Group NV said Friday that net retail sales for the second quarter rose 11% on year and that like-for-like offline sales rose 4%.

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Kore Potash CFO Quits After 5 Weeks for Personal Reasons

Kore Potash PLC said Friday that Chief Financial Officer Jean-Michel Bour plans to leave for personal reasons after just over five weeks in the job. 


 
Market Talk:

Burberry's 1Q Update Was Good But Investors Aren't Too Enthused, Says AJ Bell

0917 GMT - Burberry's trading update has a lot to like with first-quarter sales recovering to pre-pandemic levels, so it is a wonder investors aren't more enthused, AJ Bell market analyst Danni Hewson says. The British luxury-goods company's share price fell early Friday, perhaps reflecting some disappointment that guidance for fiscal 2022 remains mostly unchanged, concerns the company is facing hefty headwinds in foreign-exchange movements and a pall cast by the impending departure of Chief Executive Marco Gobbetti, the brokerage says. "Investors will be crossing everything that Gobbetti isn't followed out the door by top designer Riccardo Tisci who has helped drive a rejuvenation on the creative side of the business," Hewson says. Shares are down 3.9% at 1,990 pence.

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US Approval of AstraZeneca's Roxadustat Seen Unlikely

0911 GMT - The Food and Drug Administration's Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee's recommendation against pharma giant AstraZeneca's new drug application for roxadustat isn't binding but is likely to be confirmed by the FDA, according to Shore Capital. The investment group says the decision is unsurprising, given AstraZeneca's partner FibroGen said in April that the safety profile of roxadustat became less compelling on updated data. "We wouldn't expect roxadustat to be approved in the U.S. at this stage based on existing data," Shore says. Still, the investment group retains its buy rating on the stock and a fair value of 8,800 pence. Shares are down 1% at 8,264 pence.

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Burberry's Early FY 2022 Sales Recovery Could Lead to Upgrades

0906 GMT - Burberry has bolted out of the blocks in its new financial year, rising to pre-pandemic sales levels across the board, Richard Hunter of interactive investor says. The British luxury-goods company seems to have benefited from some of globally accumulated consumer savings, mitigating lost income from a lack of international travel, the online investment platform says. The share price has also recovered to pre-pandemic levels, rising 41% over the last year compared with a 12% hike for the wider FTSE 100, interactive investor says. "Indeed, given the strength of the start to the new year, the long-standing market consensus of the shares as a hold could even be subject to some upgrades," Hunter says.

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BOE Likely to Begin Shrinking Balance Sheet After First Rate Rise

0835 GMT - Recent communications from Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee raise uncertainty around the sequencing of expected policy tightening in terms of policy rates versus balance sheet shrinkage, says HSBC. Its central case is that a gradual balance sheet reduction will begin a little after the first rate hike in May 2022, by ending or just tapering quantitative-easing reinvestments rather than outright sales. A second interest rate rise of 25 basis points would follow in November 2022, taking the base rate to 0.50% by end-2022 from 0.1% at present. Another rate rise is likely in 2023. "Although the inflation data are throwing up surprises, we think much of the upside news will prove transitory and not affect the inflation outlook 2-3 years ahead," it adds.

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Rio Tinto's 2Q Underwhelms But Shares Look Cheap

0828 GMT - Rio Tinto's 2Q production report was underwhelming with significant on-year declines in Pilbara iron ore, bauxite and mined copper, but share values look inexpensive and large capital returns can be expected, Jefferies says. The Anglo-Australian metals and mining company's formal guidance ranges are unchanged, but the bottom end of the range is most likely in iron ore, bauxite and copper given various operational issues and the effect of the coronavirus pandemic, Jefferies says. That said, lower volumes could imply higher prices, particularly for iron ore, and Rio trades on a cheap price, the U.S. bank says. Jefferies reiterates its buy rating on the stock and price target of 7,600 pence. Shares are down 1.4% in London at 6,055 pence.

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Burberry's Positive 1Q Update Deflated by Caution From CEO Year-End Departure

0811 GMT - British luxury-goods company Burberry's update would usually reassure but uncertainty around senior-management transitions is likely to persist after it said its chief executive officer will depart at the end of the year, Citi says. Usually Burberry's first-quarter retail sales beat and raised wholesale guidance would be sufficient to drive a small earnings upgrade, reinforce investor sentiment on the reality of Burberry's brand turnaround and make it a perfect day for the shares, but caution remains, the U.S. bank says. "We think Burberry's strong brand heritage, global scale, public listing and attractive compensation could attract a lot of top candidates," Citi says. Citi keep a neutral rating on the stock, with a 2,250 pence target price. Shares are down 3.4% at 1,999 pence.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-16-21 0536ET