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☆ British homebuilder Taylor Wimpey flags market uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A builder working for Taylor Wimpey builds a roof on an estate in Aylesbury, Britain, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 9 (Reuters) - UK homebuilder Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) on Thursday flagged "significant market uncertainty" as high mortgage rates dent demand, but forecast annual operating profit at the top end of its previous outlook range. Taylor Wimpey's trading update echoed sector peer Persimmon's (PSN.L), which on Tuesday marginally lifted its annual home-build targets while pointing to "highly uncertain" market conditions in 2024. Taylor Wimpey said year-to-date cancellation rate improved to 18%, compared with 24% during the four weeks to July 30, while its total order book excluding joint ventures as at Nov. 5stood at about 1.9 billion pounds ($2.33 billion), down 27% from a year earlier. ($1 = 0.8143 pounds)Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Taylor Wimpey, Eddie Keogh, Taylor Wimpey's, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Rashmi Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, FTSE, Thomson Locations: Aylesbury, Britain, Bank of England, Bengaluru

☆ UK housebuilder Persimmon lifts home-build target in tough market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A company logo is seen on the outside of a sales office at a Persimmon housing development in Liverpool, Britain, August 23, 2023. The target hike comes after peers Barratt (BDEV.L) and Vistry (VTYV.L) last month flagged that challenges in the British housing market would continue over the coming months. High mortgage rates have dented sales for much of this year, forcing builders to warn on profits and cut home-build targets at a time when the UK economy is battling marked challenges, including sticky inflation and slowdown. The FTSE 250 (.FTMC) firm now expects to build 9,500 homes in 2023, above its August forecast of 9,000 units, helped by improved sales since the start of October. Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Phil Noble, Barratt, Persimmon, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Subhranshu Sahu Organizations: REUTERS, FTSE, Thomson Locations: Liverpool, Britain, York, Bengaluru

☆ Big government will drive the next market cycle
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Growth picked up while quiescent inflation permitted interest rates to fall. Bereft of government support, central banks tried to stimulate their economies by pushing interest rates to new lows. That means interest rates will struggle to return to the ultra-low levels seen after 2008. The first takeaway is that higher debt levels, inflation and interest rates should be bad for bonds. Vincent Deluard of StoneX has proposed a division between intangible and tangible companies.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, ” Ronald Reagan’s, Milton Friedman –, Britain’s Margaret Thatcher –, Reaganomics ”, Réka Juhász, Nathan J, Lane, Dani Rodrik, government’s, Vincent Deluard, StoneX, Lockheed Martin, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Republicans, Capitol, REUTERS, Reuters, Bank, Asset, Monetary Fund, Treasury, Capital Economics, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Capital, Facebook, Meta, Lockheed, Micron Technology, U.S, Congress, Nasdaq, Energy, Exxon Mobil, Labour Party, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, “, Ukraine, Covid, Europe, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan

New anti-obesity drugs have the potential to transform public health, while obliterating demand for products and services from the medical, food and fitness industries. Drugs developed by Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) and Eli Lilly (LLY.N) appear to be the first truly effective diet treatments. In one clinical trial, patients taking Eli Lilly’s soon-to-be-launched weight-loss drug lost about 50 pounds (23 kg). Only about a third of those who started taking the drugs for obesity were still doing so a year later, according to one analysis. Yet even as Novo, Lilly and others see their addressable markets expand, some companies will see theirs shrink.

Persons: Lilly, George Frey, Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly’s, Novo, Wegovy, Kraft Heinz, Burger, LSEG, Michael Farrell, Zimmer Biomet, Smith, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Novo Nordisk, Pharmacy, REUTERS, Reuters, TAM, Drugs, Alpha, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Cadbury, Mondelez, Fortune Business, Burger King, KFC, Yum Brands, Centers for Disease Control, Milken Institute, BMJ, Novo, Inspire Medical Systems, Novo Nordisk’s, WW International, Fashion, Thomson Locations: Provo , Utah, U.S, New, United States, Lilly, England

☆ From holidays to mortgage waivers, UK homebuilders dish out freebies to revive sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Ajose Koilparambil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

If they have a 5% deposit, then deposit boost works well where we give an additional 5% so that they can secure a 90% loan-to-value mortgage," said a sales director with Persimmon. Some homebuyers are opting for exchange options, where the builder purchases the buyer's existing property and the payment helps fund the new-home purchase. "Mortgage holidays", offered by Persimmon and other builders, are also popular among homebuyers with builders contributing towards home-loan payment during a specific period. Reuters GraphicsKNOCK ON MARGINSThe incentives, while aimed at boosting demand, come at a cost for homebuilders struggling to keep costs low. Persimmon said last month sales incentives and marketing costs shaved off 2.1% from its half-year gross margins.

Persons: Toby Melville, Barratt, Persimmon, Aynsley Lammin, Peel Hunt, Sam Cullen, Cullen, Taylor, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Sweta Singh, Saumyadeb Organizations: REUTERS, British, Reuters Graphics, Bank of England, Reuters, Peel, Thomson Locations: Bristol, Britain, British, Bengaluru

☆ UK's FTSE 100 opens lower ahead of BoE decision; LSEG falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoSummaryCompanies FTSE 100 down 0.8%, FTSE 250 off 0.3%Aug 3 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 opened lower on Thursday, with shares of London Stock Exchange Group weighing on the index, while investors awaited the Bank of England's verdict on monetary policy tightening later in the day. By 0710 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.8%, hovering near a two-week low hit on Wednesday, while the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) lost 0.3%. London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) lost 3.9% after its first-half profit before tax fell 17.6%. Also weighing was BT Group (BT.L), which fell 5.1% as shares of the telecom firm traded ex-dividend.

Persons: Toby Melville, Smith, SN.L, BoE, Shashwat Chauhan, Varun Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, REUTERS, London Stock Exchange, Bank of, BT Group, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Bengaluru

☆ UK homebuilders under pressure as lofty mortgages deter first-time buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Ajose Koilparambil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Midcap firms Bellway (BWY.L) and Crest Nicholson (CRST.L) have also pointed to high mortgage rates hampering demand from first-time buyers. Even a potential revival of the government's 'Help to Buy' scheme, which offered incentives to first-time buyers, will not be enough to improve affordability, analysts have said. Persimmon (PSN.L), one of Britain's biggest homebuilders heavily exposed to first-time buyers compared to its FTSE 100 peers, has offered new customers a "10 months mortgage free" deal. Still, the housing sector faces an uncertain path to recovery, given the ultra-elevated mortgage rate levels. Meanwhile, investors will look out for updates on demand when a couple of high-profile homebuilders report half-year results next month.

Persons: Barratt, BDEV.L, Nicholson, Steve Turner, Bellway, Peel Hunt, Sam Cullen, housebuilders, Cullen, Persimmon, Rob Perrins, Jeremy Hunt, Aynsley Lammin, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Sweta Singh, Saumyadeb Organizations: Berkeley, Reuters, Home Builders Federation, Bank of, Times, Housing, Thomson Locations: Berkeley, England, Wales, Bank of England, Bengaluru

☆ Post-it maker 3M is in danger of coming unstuck
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

There will be up to $1.5 billion of costs related to separating the health care business, 3M has said. Its interest cover, after backing out estimated operating income from health care, would fall to about 4 times from 11 times. And its net debt, using all these assumptions and excluding the health care division, would swell to nearly 5 times EBITDA from less than 2 times. Back out $2.5 billion from health care, as estimated by the Morgan Stanley team, and $1.5 billion of capital expenditure costs noted by Wolfe Research. For example, the water settlement, as drafted, only envisions $4.6 billion of outlays through 2025, and the rest over the ensuing 11 years.

Persons: Mike Roman, Roman, Sackler, Johnson, Aearo, ”, Morgan Stanley, Smith, Nephew, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Streisand Neto Organizations: YORK, Reuters, U.S . Environmental, Purdue Pharma’s, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, Bayer, Monsanto, Aearo Technologies, Partners, Honeywell International, Siemens, 3M, Refinitiv, Reuters Graphics, Wolfe Research, Thomson Locations: . Oregon, Republic, Corning

☆ UK housebuilder Taylor Wimpey sees improving buyer confidence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 27 (Reuters) - British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey Plc (TW.L) said on Thursday buyer interest has risen over the past few months, helped by an improvement in sales and mortgage rates, even as the group remained cautious over broader economic woes. Daly, however, said the company remained cautious over continued macroeconomic uncertainty. Taylor Wimpey said its total order book value - a key measure that gauges near-term demand - stood at about 2.38 billion pounds ($2.97 billion) in the reported period, up from 2.15 billion pounds seen in the first two months of the year. Taylor Wimpey's bigger rival Persimmon (PSN.L) said on Wednesday trading over recent weeks had offered some signs of encouragement, with cancellation levels normalising and sales rates steadily improving since the start of the year. ($1 = 0.8019 pounds)Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane VenkatramanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The blue-chip index (.FTSE) fell 0.3%, down for the third straight session, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) shed 0.4% as of 0829 GMT. The FTSE 100 had a good run earlier this month, buoyed by strength in commodity stocks and defensives like pharmaceuticals. However, markets have taken to a wait-and-see mode as earnings kicked in, to assess the impact of monetary tightening on results. Oil and gas stocks (.FTNMX601010) rose 0.6% as crude prices gained on reports of falling U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories. Drax Group's shares (DRX.L) rose 3.8% after the power generator announced a 150 million pound ($187 mln) share buyback programme.

The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 (.FTSE) edged 0.1% lower, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) was flat as of 0814 GMT. "Gains in homebuilders is being counteracted by ex-dividend moves today," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group. Even as concerns over a potential U.S. recession have weighed on investor sentiment, defensive stocks such as pharmaceuticals as well as commodity-linked stocks have kept FTSE 100 afloat recently. Shares of Lloyds Group (LLOY.L), Unite Group (UTG.L) and Persimmon (PSN.L) among others were down between 1.7%-3% as the stocks traded ex-dividend. Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami and Janane VenkatramanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK house prices slide further but market pessimism eases: RICS
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) house price balance, which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices, fell to -48 in February from -46 the previous month - the lowest reading since April 2009. While Thursday's survey still showed the housing market firmly in decline, some measures indicated that a more stable picture was emerging in 2023, RICS said. Tarrant Parsons, senior economist at RICS, said he expected housing market activity to remain subdued over the coming months. "Given the ongoing weakness in demand, house prices remain on a downward trajectory, and are expected to see further falls through the first half of the year at least," Parsons said. In contrast, another lender, Nationwide, last week said house prices dropped by the most in more than 10 years in February.

Britain's housing market has slowed markedly in recent months as higher mortgage rates and broader economic concerns deter buyers. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) company proposed a final dividend of 60 pence per share for fiscal 2022 as per its new capital allocation policy. Persimmon has paid an annual dividend of 235 pence per share for the last five fiscal years except one, when pandemic lockdowns disrupted operations. Analysts had said in January that British housebuilders might cut dividends to preserve cash and ride out the property downturn. Persimmon stock slid as much as 10% to a near seven-week low of 1,310 pence and was the top percentage loser on the blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index.

☆ UK housebuilders face slow and painful refurb
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - UK housebuilding is facing a bleak future. In previous slowdowns, the UK’s Conservative Party bailed out the sector with packages like Help to Buy, which subsidized mortgages to help buyers. After Wednesday’s 9% share price decline, it’s share price is now worth less than half of what it was before the outbreak of Covid-19. With little help on the horizon, UK housebuilders face a slow and painful rebuild. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Morning Bid: Markets March on China boomlet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

And after a bruising setback for stocks and bonds in February, investors now have to assess whether the unfolding economic rebound is sustainable given the eye-watering revision that it's forcing in inflation and interest rate expectations. This is emboldening both the hawks at the European Central Bank and markets keen to re-price the interest rate horizon. Money markets have already moved beyond that and now price peak ECB rates at year-end almost 150 bps higher at 3.90%. Even though U.S. consumer confidence and housing data on Tuesday questioned some of the reheating narrative, markets now assume peak Federal Reserve rates will be as high as 5.42% by July. And homebuilder Persimmon (PSN.L) dropped almost 10% after it warned the housing slowdown and higher mortgage rates would hit profit and home-building targets.

Feb 28 (Reuters) - British housebuilders Persimmon (PSN.L) and Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) publish full-year earnings this week with analysts seeking to establish whether a protracted sector downturn is on the cards. Analysts, therefore, will be focusing on sales updates within Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey's annual results statements on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. The two companies are expected to report a slight improvement to full-year earnings, but trading statements last month said their order books were down year on year. The focus in this week's earnings statements will be sales trends and pricing, said Aynsley Lammin, equity research analyst at Investec Bank. Barratt (BDEV.L), meanwhile, has cut its mid-year dividend by 9% as housebuilders increasingly look to preserve cash.

China's own production of refined tin was flat year-on-year at 165,900 tonnes in 2022, according to Shanghai Metal Market. ShFE tin price, market open interest and stocksSHIFT IN POSITIONINGWhile China has reshaped tin's fundamental picture, the price recovery has forced an equally significant shift in fund positioning. Investment funds turned net short on the LME tin contract in September as the price was imploding. Tin market open interest collapsed from 102,106 to 71,218 contracts in the week before the Lunar New Year holidays, indicating a big clean-out of short positions. GOLDILOCKS PRICEThe tin price is now in the Goldilocks zone, not high enough to frighten off physical users, and not low enough to threaten existing supply.

☆ Analysis: UK housebuilders may cut dividends as surging rates deter buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Ajose Koilparambil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The big, listed UK housebuilders have paid dividends worth 2.2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) for their respective last financial years. Potential cuts in dividends would weigh down on shares of housebuilders, after the sector index (.FTNMX402020) slumped more than 44% in 2022. Among the FTSE 100 builders, analysts are now forecasting dividend cuts from many firms, particularly those whose payouts are linked to earnings growth. High-end housebuilder Berkeley (BKGH.L) stuck to its cash-return plans, but cut its earnings estimates for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. Barratt, Persimmon and Berkeley have said they would be more cautious with land purchases, in a bid to reduce outgoings as falling property prices squeeze margins.

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The world is going to need another 50,000 tonnes of tin per year by 2030 to meet a looming surge in demand, according to the International Tin Association (ITA). The country exported 75,000 tonnes of refined tin last year with shipments running 8% higher through the first 10 months of this year. State producer PT Timah needs around two years to develop its existing tin chemical facility and longer to secure markets, Alwin Albar, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tin Exporters, told a parliamentary hearing. China imported 22,600 tonnes of refined tin in the first 10 months of the year with Indonesian metal accounting for 19,000 tonnes. After peaking at 5,160 tonnes in September, headline LME tin stocks have fallen to 3,075 tonnes with 535 tonnes awaiting physical load-out.

☆ UK house price rally to end next year but no big crash expected
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

House prices fell for the first time in 28 months in October, according to a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which also showed a measure of expectations for house prices in 12 months' time slumped. During the financial crisis house prices fell around 19% from peak to trough but have since roughly doubled, according to Land Registry data. When asked about the chance of a price crash within a year nine of 16 respondents said it was high or very high. Rating the value of national house prices on a scale of 1 to 10 from extremely cheap to extremely expensive, the median response from analysts was 8, up from August's 7 estimate. In London, usually bolstered by foreign investment and a dearth of supply, the median forecast showed prices would fall 7.0% next year.

☆ Taylor Wimpey scales back home building plans due to cost-of-living crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Ajose Koilparambil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The company joined bigger rival Persimmon (PSN.L) in flagging increasing stress in the housing market. Taylor Wimpey said it now expects 2022 volumes to be broadly similar to the previous year. For the second half of the year to date, Taylor Wimpey said its sales rate had dropped to 0.51 homes per outlet per week and its cancellation rate had risen to 24%. That compares with a sales rate of 0.95 homes and a cancellation rate of 14% for the same period a year ago. ($1 = 0.8662 pounds)Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Heavily discounted UK Plc may have further to fall
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Hani Redha, global multi-asset portfolio manager at U.S. investment firm PineBridge, said that UK valuations do not look cheap when looking at a multi-year timeframe and the "structural issues facing the UK economy". UK stocks (.FTAS) are already trading at a record discount to their global peers (.MIWD00000PUS), Refinitiv data shows, but investors expect new lows next year. UK discountThe domestic-orientated FTSE 250 mid-cap index (.FTMC) has broken three consecutive quarterly declines after new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dumped most of his predecessor's market-crushing fiscal plan. Half of all borrowing by UK non-financial companies is in dollars, totalling about 350 billion pounds ($399.5 billion), according to S&P Global. "Bearing in mind in what state the UK economy is right now, I would stay clear of UK small-caps," he said.

☆ Morning Bid: Midterms vigil and new crypto wobble
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. Tuesday's U.S. mid-term elections held world markets in thrall and investors now assume policy gridlock will emerge as the winner. With a critical U.S. inflation reading due on Thursday, there was some attention on San Francisco Fed research showing credit across the economy is tighter than the Fed's policy rate suggests and financial conditions by September were more reflective of a 5.25% policy rate than the current 3.75%-4%. FTX token , the native token of crypto exchange FTX, plunged 20% amid a range of reports and speculation that dragged the whole crypto complex lower and saw drop 5%. FTX has come under pressure after the head of rival exchange Binance said on Sunday his firm would liquidate its holdings of the FTX token due to unspecified "recent revelations".

☆ UK's FTSE 100 falls as miners, energy stocks weigh
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 down 0.6%, FTSE 250 off 0.3%Nov 8 (Reuters) - British stocks fell on Tuesday, dragged down by miners and energy sector shares on worries of softening demand from China, while shares of Associated British Foods jumped after posting higher annual profit. The export-oriented FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) fell 0.6% by 0818 GMT. Energy firms (.FTNMX601010) slipped 1.1%, while miners (.FTNMX551030) shed 0.4%, as worsening COVID-19 outbreaks in China receded hopes of recovering demand for raw materials. METL/The home construction sector index (.FTNMX402020) fell 4.0% after Persimmon (PSN.L) tumbled 8.4%, as Britain's second-largest housebuilder said its sales rate slipped further in the last six weeks. In a bright spot, Associated British Foods (ABF.L) jumped 4.7% to the top of the FTSE 100, after the Primark owner reported a 42% surge in 2021-22 profit.

☆ GSK picks Burberry's Brown as CFO
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGSK (GlaxoSmithKline) logo is seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/SummarySummary Companies Brown to join GSK in April, start as CFO in MayCFO Iain Mackay to retireSept 26 (Reuters) - GSK (GSK.L) named luxury fashion brand Burberry's (BRBY.L) Julie Brown as its new chief financial officer on Monday to succeed Iain Mackay, at a time when the British drugmaker is sharpening focus on its core business. The change comes after GSK spun off its large consumer business, Haleon (HLN.L), to focus on prescription drugs and vaccines. Burberry had said on Friday that Brown would step down as its CFO and chief operating officer in April to take up a role outside the luxury industry. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Amna Karimi and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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