Pound Seen Supported by Bets BOE Will Tighten Before ECB

Sterling falls versus the euro but remains near its recent highs due to the market's view that the Bank of England will be more responsive to inflation than the European Central Bank, ING says. The market is pricing in a 5 basis points U.K. interest rate rise in November followed by 25 basis points in February, ING analysts say. "We think that is too aggressive, but the BOE has yet to disavow the market of these expectations." Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is reportedly working on a new bond-buying program for when its pandemic scheme ends in March, which should serve as a reminder that the ECB won't be rushing into removing stimulus, the analysts say. EUR/GBP rises 0.1% to 0.8518. 


 
Companies News:

Hardide 2H Revenue Expected to Be in Line With 1H

Hardide PLC said Thursday that revenue for the second half of fiscal 2021 will be in line with the first, and that its loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization should meet expectations.

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Impax Asset Management: 4Q Assets Under Management Rose

Impax Asset Management Group PLC said Thursday that assets under discretionary and advisory management rose in the last quarter of fiscal 2021.

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Workspace Group Says Customer Demand Improved During 2Q 2022

Workspace Group PLC said Thursday that customer demand improved during the second quarter of fiscal 2022 with a strong pickup in September, and that it has collected 97% of rent for the quarter to date.

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Central Asia Metals 3Q Copper Production Above 2Q

Central Asia Metals PLC said Thursday that its third-quarter copper production was above that of the second quarter, and that it was on track to achieve the top end of its 2021 copper production guidance at the copper-recovery plant in Kazakhstan.

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Ramsdens Holdings Says 2H Performance Was Resilient

Ramsdens Holdings PLC said Thursday that its performance was resilient in the second half of fiscal 2021 as a result of its diversified business model and income streams.

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Thruvision Expects to Post Fall in Revenue for 1H

Thruvision Group PLC said Thursday that it expects to report a fall in revenue for the first half of fiscal 2022, and that it is in discussions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection about potential orders for the second half of the year.

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Royal Dutch Shell Warns of Hurricane Hit, Expects Cash Boost from Power Prices -- Update

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Thursday that Hurricane Ida's impact in the Gulf of Mexico hit its operations but it expects a cash boost from high global energy prices in the third quarter.

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Phoenix Global Resources Gets Increased Debt Funding from Shareholder

Phoenix Global Resources PLC said Thursday that its major shareholder has agreed to further increase a bridging debt facility to $67.5 million from $50 million, to fund its planned work programs.

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Aura Energy Shares Fall on Offtake Agreement News; To Resume Trading on ASX

Shares in Aura Energy Ltd. fell Thursday after the company said that it had reached a $10 million offtake financing agreement with Curzon Uranium Trading Ltd., and that its shares on the Australian Securities Exchange will restart trading today at market open.

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Radiator Company Stelrad to Raise GBP25 Mln in London IPO

Stelrad PLC, a manufacturer and distributor of steel panel radiators, said Thursday that it is planning to raise 25 million pounds ($34 million) and float on the London Stock Exchange.

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Softline Holding to Proceed with London, Moscow IPOs

Softline Holding Ltd. said Thursday that it plans to proceed with an initial public offering of its global depositary receipts on the London and Moscow Stock Exchanges, as first flagged last week.

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Tungsten West to Float on London's Junior AIM; Trading Expected to Start Oct. 21

Tungsten West PLC said Thursday that it plans to float on London's junior AIM, with trading expected to start on Oct. 21.

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Headlam Group's CEO Steve Wilson Steps Down

Headlam Group PLC said Thursday that Chief Executive Steve Wilson has stepped down from the board and the group.

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Mining Minerals & Metals in Talks to Acquire African Exploration Licenses

Mining Minerals & Metals PLC said Thursday that it has entered a nonbinding term sheet with Africa Resources Holdings, LLC to acquire exploration licenses in South Africa in a deal that would constitute a reverse takeover.

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NatWest Pleads Guilty Over Money-Laundering Breach, Will Take 3Q Provision

NatWest Group PLC said Thursday that it has pleaded guilty to breaches of money-laundering regulations and warned of booking a provision in its third-quarter results in relation to a potential fine. 


 
Market Talk:

Pendragon Flags Strong 3Q, But Shortages May Weigh

0933 GMT - Shares in Pendragon rise more than 6% after the U.K. car dealership reported strong third-quarter trading and raised its full-year underlying pretax profit guidance. "Pendragon has become the latest car retailer to upgrade expectations, suggesting strong demand remains intact," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says. "How much longer the sector can continue to race ahead remains in question, given the impact that shortages of key components and supply-chain issues are having on auto manufacturers."

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UK Construction Stocks Gain After House-Price Rise

0902 GMT - U.K. house-builders gain after industry data showed average house prices rising by 1.7% in September, though experts said the end of tax relief could have played a role. The rate of monthly growth was the strongest since February 2007, pushing year-on-year price inflation up to 7.4%, according to mortgage-lender Halifax. "Against a backdrop of rising pressures on the cost of living and impending increases in taxes, demand might be expected to soften in the months ahead, with some industry measures already indicating lower levels of buyer activity," Halifax Managing Director Russell Galley says. Taylor Wimpey is the sector's biggest top-flight riser, up 1.5%, while other FTSE 100 and FTSE 250-listed builders and property-related stocks also gain.

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Shell Says Hurricane Hit Output By 90,000 Barrels a Day

0745 GMT - Royal Dutch Shell PLC says Hurricane Ida curbed its oil and natural gas production and earnings in the third quarter, noting a 90,000 barrel a day impact on its upstream unit. The integrated gas business is expected to produce between 890,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day and 950,000 barrels, says Shell. Production from its upstream unit is expected at between 2.03 million barrels of oil equivalent a day and 2.1 million, the company says. "Upstream and integrated gas volumes, even if guided as low due to maintenance and outages, were impacted less than expected," says Giacomo Romeo, analyst at Jefferies.

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Shell Says Hurricane Ida Cost $400 Mln

0716 GMT - Royal Dutch Shell PLC says Hurricane Ida cost the company around $400 million, mostly in its oil and gas production unit. "The magnitude of this looks broadly in line with expectations," says Biraj Borkhataria, analyst at RBC Capital Markets. The hurricane damaged a platform which transfers oil and natural gas from Shell's Mars corridor to onshore terminals. Repairs are expected to keep the platform offline until the end of the year, the company says, which has a knock-on impact to production from the facilities it connects to.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-07-21 0612ET