Oil Majors Rise as Supply Jitters Boost Crude Prices
Oil majors gain as supply concerns sparked by increasing demand
boost crude prices. BP, Eni, Repsol, Royal Dutch Shell and
TotalEnergies all rise 1% or more as Brent crude advances 1.9% to
$78.71 a barrel. Goldman Sachs is raising its Brent price forecast
for December 2021 to $90 a barrel versus $80 previously, saying the
price has reached new highs since October 2018 and it expects the
rally to continue. "While we have long held a bullish oil view, the
current global oil supply-demand deficit is larger than we
expected," Goldman analysts say. "Winter demand risks are further
now squarely skewed to the upside as the global gas shortage will
increase oil-fired power generation."
Companies News:
Cornerstone FS 1H Pretax Loss Widened; Confident on Higher FY
2021 Revenue
Cornerstone FS PLC reported on Monday a significantly widened
pretax loss for the first half of 2021 but said that it expects to
post revenue growth for the full year on higher trading volumes in
the second half.
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Journeo 1H Pretax Profit Rose; Supply-Chain Issues Could Hurt
2022 Profit
Shares in Journeo PLC fell 13% in early trade Monday after the
company said that supply-chain issues could hurt next year's
profit, as it reported a higher pretax profit for the first half of
2021.
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After Early Investors Flee SPAC Deals, Day Traders Rush In
Day traders are targeting some companies that recently closed
SPAC mergers, reinvigorating some of the meme-stock excitement that
helped make such deals popular early in the year.
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London Security 1H Pretax Profit Rose as Coronavirus Disruption
Subsides
London Security PLC said Monday that first-half pretax profit
and revenue rose as operations largely returned to normal after the
disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Renishaw Delays FY 2021 Results; Confirms Figures in Line With
Views
Renishaw PLC said Monday that its fiscal 2021 results have been
delayed by three weeks to Oct. 21, but that they are expected to be
in line with recently updated expectations.
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Sutton Harbour Group Says Summer Performance Benefited From
Strong Visitor Numbers
Sutton Harbour Group PLC said Monday that its performance
throughout summer benefited from the strong recovery in visitor
numbers.
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Gores Guggenheim, Exxon, Carnival, PG&E: What to Watch When
the Stock Market Opens Today
U.S. stock futures were mixed, with contracts on the Dow Jones
Industrial Average up, the Nasdaq-100 down and the S&P 500
flat. Here's what we're watching as Monday's trading gets under
way.
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Rolls-Royce Holdings Signs Deal to Sell ITP Aero for EUR1.7
Bln
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC said Monday that it is selling ITP Aero
for 1.7 billion euros ($1.99 billion) to a consortium lead by Bain
Capital Private Equity, as part of its disposal program.
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Location Sciences Group 1H Pretax Loss Widened
Location Sciences Group PLC said Monday that its pretax loss
widened for the first half as revenue decreased, and that the board
has taken steps to reduce operating costs further.
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Bion PLC Shares Fall on 2020 Accounts Delay, Upcoming Share
Suspension
Shares of Bion PLC fell 10% on Monday after the company said
that its shares will be suspended from trading Friday, as it won't
be able to file its 2020 accounts by the Sept. 30 deadline.
Market Talk:
Centamin Shares Remain Cheap But Have Few Catalysts, Peel Hunt
Says
1228 GMT - Centamin's capital markets day and half-year report
were relatively eventless, although they reflected consistent
operations and good financial guidance, Peel Hunt says. Shares in
the gold miner have traded near its 2020 low of 89 pence, but the
CMD didn't provide any near-term catalysts for the stock, the
brokerage says. Peel Hunt reaffirms a buy rating on Centamin and
maintains the 150 pence target price, but sees few catalysts to get
investors back into the stock. "The higher-cost period of mine
redesign is not yet over, and exploration costs are on the rise,"
Peel Hunt notes.
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Energy Crunch May Revive Value of European Gas
Infrastructure
1220 GMT - As the pace of decarbonization has accelerated in
Europe, there has been a major shift in strategic appetite against
midstream gas infrastructure over the last two years, and current
owners are heading toward or queueing at the exit, Timera Energy
says. However, the current market environment is illustrating
Europe's strong dependency on gas supply infrastructure and
flexibility, and this is a ripe for a major shift in asset
ownership, the firm says. New owners need greater risk tolerance
and an understanding of the risks and potential upside of
decarbonization trends, Timera says. "That points toward private
equity and alternative investors buying assets from utilities,
infrastructure and pension funds," it says.
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Hikma Pharmaceuticals' Acquisition of Custopharm Strengthens Its
US Business
1109 GMT - Hikma Pharmaceuticals' deal to acquire Custopharm for
an initial $375 million complements and strengthens its U.S.
injectables business profitably, Jefferies analysts say, seeing the
transaction as favorable. The company is adding 13 approved
products and thus increasing its offering in the U.S. by 10%, the
U.S. bank says. Jefferies has a buy rating on the stock and a
2,950-pence target price. Shares are up 1.1% at 2,411 pence.
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Pernod, Diageo Seen With Long-Term Boon From Refreshing Spirits
Profile
1108 GMT - Makers of spirits have a long-term advantage in the
wider drinks sphere thanks to demographic demand trends and
attractive top lines, analysts at Jefferies say, reiterating buy
ratings on French group Pernod Ricard, the maker of Absolut vodka
and Jameson whiskey, as well as U.K. peer Diageo. Spirits have a
cooler image and more potential for premiumization than beer or
wine, and are more popular among younger drinkers, Jefferies says.
As well as these top-line tailwinds, spirits' higher gross margins
render them more resilient to cost pressures. "Pricing power varies
across categories, but mix is a further lever," the investment bank
says, keeping a EUR225 target price on Pernod, and one of GBP42 for
Diageo.
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Polestar to Go Public Through Merger With Gores Guggenheim
SPAC
0657 ET - Swedish electric-vehicle maker Polestar has agreed to
go public through a combination with special-purpose acquisition
company Gores Guggenheim, a deal that would give the combined
company an enterprise value of about $20B. WSJ on Sunday reported
that the companies were nearing a deal. Polestar CEO Thomas
Ingenlath says the company is seeking to expand to 30 markets by
2023 from its current 14 active markets in three continents.
Polestar is owned by Chinese car maker Zhejiang Geely Holding,
focuses on high-performance electric cars, positioning itself as a
rival to Tesla. and Lucid Group.
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Glencore's Sticking to Coal Looks to Be Paying off
1051 GMT - The annualized Ebitda run rate on spot coal prices
for Glencore's coal business has increased to $9.1 billion today
from $1.3 billion in August 2020, as prices for the combustible
tripled during the period, Jefferies says. On a mark-to-market
basis, the company's annualized Ebitda has increased to $24.3
billion from $21.8 billion since early August 2021, the bank
estimates. Conversely, Ebitda projections for other major miners
fell materially over this period due to declines in iron ore
prices, Jefferies says. "We think consensus upgrades should be
coming for Glencore." Rio Tinto, Anglo American, BHP, South32 and
Vale have divested coal assets to improve ESG grades, whilst
Glencore hasn't.
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United Utilities Drops; Finance Costs, Debt to Rise
1042 GMT - Shares in United Utilities Group fall 1% after the
U.K. water and waste utility said the post-lockdown recovery had
boosted demand, but also forecast higher 1H finance costs and net
debt. RBC Capital Markets describes the trading update as neutral
overall, though United Utilities (UU) has made a solid start to the
latest regulatory period, the brokerage says. "However, we await
further clarity on whether UU can bridge the [return on regulatory
equity] gap to domestic peers and, as such, we maintain a
sector-perform recommendation," RBC analyst Alexander Wheeler
says.
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Rolls-Royce's B-52 Engine Replacement Contract Looks Like a Good
Win
0935 GMT - Rolls-Royce has been chosen for the B-52 engine
replacement program by the U.S. Department of Defense and analysts
at Jefferies consider this a good win for the engineering company.
The DoD reports on its website that the contract is worth $500
million with a six-year base period and a potential total of $2.6
billion if all options are exercised, and this will highlight the
company's ability to execute on the numerous opportunities in their
Defense business, the U.S. bank says. "We suspect there will be
little change to consensus forecasts on the back of this contract
announcement, but it provides additional comfort to longer-term
consensus forecasts and is a positive for sentiment," the bank
says. Jefferies rates the stock buy.
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka
Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 27, 2021 09:26 ET (13:26 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.