FIVE at FIVE: Ocado lands legal blow, IPO party still going, run on
Here’s Proactive’s round-up of the top financial stories of the day, with helpful links taking you direct to the news and analysis
1 – Ocado wins the latest round of ‘robot wars’
The legal battle between online grocer Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) and Norwegian rival AutoStore has been running for a few years, but the big hits are starting to land, with this round going decisively in favour of the FTSE 100 group.
2 – Ocado and M&S predict “best-ever” Christmas
Ocado was in the news a second time as its UK joint venture with Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LSE:MKS) delivered a bit of a curate’s egg, with sales down for the past quarter amid a driver and other staff shortages but underlying demand strong in the run-up to Christmas.
3 – IPO party keeps going
December is normally a quiet period for new listings but not so this time around with double figures of new arrivals expected between now and the end of 2021.
4 – Run on Covid test kits gives boost for lateral flow makers
The NHS website has worryingly run out of home testing kits after prime minister Boris Johnson warned of a “tidal wave” of coronavirus infections as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreads around the UK – the only ones celebrating will be those companies that make them.
5 – FTSE 100 first fights back but then takes a late tumble
At the close, the UK blue-chip index was down 12.80 points, or 0.2% at 7,218.64, the session low, well below the day’s peak of 7,284.47
Are we allowed six?
Although rocking and rolling on the ropes under repeated jabs from the pandemic and associated government restrictions, Anglo-Iberian airline group International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE:IAG) is planning to restart budget flights under the British Airways banner from Gatwick next spring.
What about seven?
Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) had the least headroom of all the FTSE 100 banks in the latest stress testing exercise carried out by the Bank of England, with analysts split on whether this will impinge on its plans for dividends and acquisitions under new chief executive Charlie Nunn.
…one and one more please
For those investors watching cannabis developments in Europe, particularly with an eye on whether the UK will ever succumb to the benefits of further regulatory softening towards the saw-leaved weed, the latest country to decriminalise is Malta, with changes also eyed at Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
The day ahead: Fed taper expected
The US central bank is widely anticipated to announce an early wrapping up of its bond purchasing scheme – aka quantitative easing – at its meeting on Wednesday but will the market’s preparedness mean there is a calm reaction or will volatility spike and the Nasdaq and other growth stocks tumble?
The diary for the day ahead also includes UK consumer price inflation and house price data,…
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