The Times - UK (2020-08-07)

the times | Friday August 7 2020 1GM RM 45

MarketsBusiness

Exchange rates

Bank sells Bank buys

Australia $ 1.725 1.983

Canada $ 1.649 1.897

Denmark Kr 7.758 8.849

Egypt n/a n/a

Euro ¤ 1.055 1.206

Hong Kong $ 9.629 10.948

Hungary 344.361 418.561

Indonesia 17525.600 21971.400

Israel Shk 4.197 4.919

Japan Yen 129.787 149.861

New Zealand $ 1.867 2.206

Norway Kr 11.063 12.799

Poland 4.397 5.366

Russia 85.881 103.133

S Africa Rd 21.270 25.116

Sweden Kr 10.801 12.148

Switzerland Fr 1.128 1.309

Turkey Lira 8.852 10.347

USA $ 1.258 1.434

Rates for banknotes as traded by Royal Bank of

Scotland plc yesterday

Dollar rates

Australia 1.3827-1.3835

Canada 1.3296-1.3297

Denmark 6.2740-6.2750

Euro 0.8420-0.8422

Hong Kong 7.7499-7.7504

Japan 105.47-105.47

Malaysia 4.1860-4.1910

Norway 8.9669-8.9694

Singapore 1.3690-1.3691

Sweden 8.6880-8.6910

Switzerland 0.9098-0.9098

Other Sterling

Argentina peso 95.658-95.671

Australia dollar 1.8202-1.8204

Bahrain dinar 0.4930-0.4997

Brazil real 7.0309-7.0348

Euro 1.1082-1.1083

Hong Kong dollar 10.199-10.200

India rupee 98.573-98.585

Indonesia rupiah 18889-19399

Kuwait dinar KD 0.4012-0.4034

Malaysia ringgit 5.5092-5.5158

New Zealand dollar 1.9737-1.9742

Singapore dollar 1.8016-1.8020

S Africa rand 22.950-22.962

U A E dirham 4.8245-4.8271

Money rates %

Base Rates Clearing Banks 0.10 ECB Refi -0.50 US Fed Fd 0.00-0.25

Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.74

Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth 0.015; 3 mth 0.034. Sell: 1 mth 0.000; 3 mth 0.015

1 mth 2 mth 3 mth 6 mth 12 mth

Interbank Rates 0.0605 0.0705 0.0716 0.1436 0.2931

Eurodollar Deps 0.05-0.25 0.06-0.31 0.07-0.32 0.11-0.36 0.25-0.50

Mkt Rates for Range Close 1 month 3 month

Copenhagen 8.2292-8.2904 8.2569-8.2581 44ds 127ds

Euro 1.1130-1.1047 1.1083-1.1082 5pr 14pr

Montreal 1.7395-1.7523 1.7497-1.7500 1pr 4pr

New York 1.3119-1.3185 1.3159-1.3161 2pr 5pr

Oslo 11.704-11.866 11.799-11.806 3ds 11pr

Stockholm 11.341-11.483 11.421-11.431 21ds 59ds

Tokyo 138.43-139.21 138.79-138.80 3ds 10ds

Zurich 1.1915-1.1994 1.1972-1.1974 9ds 26ds

Premium = pr Discount = ds

Sterling spot and forward rates

London Grain Futures
LIFFE Wheat (close £/t)
Nov 163.80 Jan unq Mar unq
May unq Jul unq Volume: 837

London Metal Exchange
(Official)

Cash 3mth Dec 21

Copper Gde A ($/tonne)
6453.5-6453.5 6450.5-6450.5 6456.0-6456.0

Lead ($/tonne)
1913.0-1913.0 1931.5-1931.5 1969.0-1969.0

Zinc Spec Hi Gde ($/tonne)
2377.5-2377.5 2390.0-2390.0 2425.0-2425.0

Alum Hi Gde ($/tonne)
1722.0-1722.0 1758.5-1758.5 1834.5-1834.5

Nickel ($/tonne)
14381.0-14381.0 14433.0-14433.0 14667.0-14667.0

Tin ($/tonne) 15mth
17900.0-17900.0 17846.0-17846.0 17599.0-17599.0

Gold/Precious

metals (US dollars per ounce)

European money

deposits %

Currency

1mth 3mth 6mth 12mth

Dollar

0.13 0.20 0.29 0.55

Sterling

0.06 0.07 0.14 0.29

Euro

0.10 0.15 0.20 0.50

Bullion: Open $2035.69

Close $2056.40-2058.40 High $2068.74

Low $2034.67

AM $2048.59 PM $2066.52

Krugerrand $2036.00-2146.00 (£1547.02-

1630.60)

Platinum $986.00 (£749.19)

Silver $28.21 (£21.43)

Palladium $2209.50 (£1678.85)

Data as shown is

for information

purposes only. No offer is made by

Morningstar or this publication

B

oeing admitted
that harassment
of its own
employees during
certification of
aircraft under
construction was

intolerable after it was

fined $1.25 million by

the Federal Aviation

Administration

(Robert Lea writes).

An inquiry into work

at its factory in

Charleston, South

Carolina, found that

Boeing management

put pressure on

employees involved in

the self-certification of

its 787 Dreamliner

With high streets back open for

business, demand for sausage rolls

and steak bakes appears to be

recovering. HSBC upgraded Greggs

to its “buy” list, citing the bakery

chain’s “particularly impressive” post-

lockdown progress. An “unwarranted”

unravelling of its shares, which

stumbled this week to £11.93, their

lowest in almost two years, presented

investors with an attractive entry

point, it argued. Shares in Greggs

advanced 49p, or 3.8 per cent, to

£13.53.

Cineworld stooped to its cheapest

level since the virus first pulled down

the shutters on multiplexes around

the world in the spring. Viacom CBS,

which owns the Paramount film

studios, said yesterday that its

executives remained committed to

cinemas, but emphasised that movies’

cinema-only phase after their release

would probably shorten to allow for

swift distribution on digital platforms.

Shares in Cineworld closed down

2¾p, or 7.2 per cent, at 35¼p.

WANG YING/XINHUA/ALAMY

McColl’s dragged down by

view of trouble in stores

Callum Jones Market report

C

onsumers have been buying

more from their corner

shop but making fewer trips

since the pandemic struck.

Fluctuating concern over

the prospects for convenience stores

and newsagents during the crisis has

carved a V-shaped path for McColl’s

Retail Group and its network of more

than 1,400 outlets.

Its shares tumbled to a record low

of 15½p in March before snapping

back to a subsequent peak of 53½p in

June. They were halted in their tracks

yesterday, however, as its half-year

results prompted a downgrade from

Peel Hunt, the broker. While

comparable sales were up by a “good

if not spectacular” 14 per cent since

mid-February, the analysts

highlighted how margins were under

pressure and the scope for profit

growth was “very limited”.

Demand for different products

during the pandemic had created

challenges, they noted. “Customers

visited the stores less in general but

had more items per shop,” Peel Hunt

told clients. “The problem was that

many of these items were multibuys

or at the value end of the spectrum,

and that had had a material impact

on the gross margin, which fell from

25.4 per cent to 24.9.”

Jonathan Miller, chief executive of

McColl’s, acknowledged that

customers had been “spending less on

impulse and buying more multipack

products”.

While business rates relief provided

the chain with a boost, Peel Hunt,

which cut its rating from “buy” to

“add”, noted this was largely offset by

costs attached to running stores at

present, such as those attached to

switching to card payments and

acquiring PPE.

Although the chance of closer ties

with Wm Morrison had persuaded

analysts to remain broadly positive

for now, they argued that McColl’s

shares had enjoyed “a decent run”

over recent weeks. Investors headed

for the exit and the shares fell 5½p, or

13.3 per cent, to 35½p.

Contrast that with the broker’s

stance on Ocado. Shares in the digital

grocer and technology company have

more than doubled since the spring.

Even after this “epic run”, Peel Hunt

urged clients to keep their eyes “on

the long-term prize” as Ocado seeks

to maximise its market share. It

maintained its “buy” rating and raised

its target price from £17 to £24.90. The

shares were up 9p, or 0.4 per cent, to

£22.04.

The FTSE 100 dropped 77.78 points,

or 1.27 per cent, to 6,026.94 as poor

corporate results weighed and the

pound climbed. The FTSE 250, which

is dominated by more domestic-

focused stocks than its blue-chip

sister index, slipped 158.92 points, or

0.9 per cent, to 17,479.38.

Oil reserve fears hit Hurricane

natural resources

S

hares in

Hurricane Energy

tumbled by

almost a fifth

yesterday after it

warned it may have to

make a “material

downgrade” to its oil

reserves (Emily

Gosden writes).

The one-time

darling of London’s

Aim market said a

technical review of

existing and new data

was in progress but

there was a

reasonable chance

there may be less oil

and more water than

envisaged at its

Lancaster field.

Hurricane is

focused on producing

from “fractured

basement” rock

formations to the west

of Shetland, which lie

deeper than most

oilfields. It had been

hoping to prove the

long-term viability of

producing oil that way

through early

production from

Lancaster, which

started last year. In

May it encountered

problems with one of

the wells and in June

it parted ways with its

founder and chief

executive, Robert

Trice, and initiated a

technical review.

The company said

there was a risk of a

“material downgrade

to estimated reserves”

at the Lancaster field

and there was likely

to be a “material

downgrade to

estimated contingent

resources across the

west of Shetland

portfolio”.

The shares closed

down 17 per cent at 5p

yesterday.

The company said one

of its fields may have

less oil than thought

Wall Street report

Traders pushed indices higher on

the hope of more stimulus measures.

The Nasdaq hit another record close

with a gain of 109.67 points, or 1 per

cent, to 11,108.07 and the Dow Jones

industrial average rose 185.46

points, or 0.7 per cent, to 27,386.98.

Company Change
Pearson Shares in recovery mode 7.8%
Aston Martin Lagonda Clawing back post-results losses 6.2%
Aviva Plans to reduce focus on Asia and Europe 4.6%
ITV Market reassured by half-year earnings 3.9%
Greggs HSBC upgrades to “buy” 3.8%
Cineworld ViacomCBS plans to reduce films’ cinema-only windows -7.3%
Glencore Scraps dividend -8.1%
WH Smith Slips after restructuring announcement -8.5%
Serco Cautious outlook spooks investors -15.2%
Hammerson Launches rights issue -15.3%

The day’s biggest movers

Name Pre-tax figure
Profit (+) loss (-)

Dividend

AIB Group (banking HY) -€909m (€436m) nil
Aviva (finance HY) £1.1bn (£1.5bn) 6p p Sep 24
Convatec Group (health HY) $81.5m ($61.3m) 1.717 cents p Oct 15
Fulcrum Utility Services (industrials FY) £1.3m (£6m) nil
Evraz (resources HY) $700m ($690m) $0.20 p Oct 2
Genel Energy (resources HY) -$354.7m ($76.4m) 5 cents p Dec 11
Glencore (resources HY) -$2.6bn ($226m) nil
Hammerson (property HY) -£1.1bn (-£319.2m) nil
Ibstock (construction HY) -£52m (£41m) nil
Induction Healthcare (health FY) -£3.5m (-£2.7m) nil
Intelligent Ultrasound (health HY) -£1.9m (-£2m) nil
ITV (media HY) £15m (£222m) nil
Joules Group (retail FY) -£25.3m (£12.9m) nil
McColl’s Retail Group (retail HY) -£1m (£1.4m) nil
Mondi (industrials HY) €466m (€632m) 19 cents p Sep 29
NMCN (construction HY) £0.8m (£3.5m) 10p p Sep 11
Phoenix Group (finance HY) £663m (-£53m) 23.4p p Sep 4
Savills (property HY) £7.7m (£24.7m) nil
Secure Trust Bank (banking HY) £5.1m (£18.1m) nil
Serco Group (services HY) £76.4m (£6.7m) nil
Spirent Comms (technology HY) $36m ($18.7m) 1.67p p Sep 11
Synthomer (industrials HY) £58.4m (£70.2m) nil
Tritax Big Box (property HY) £103.2m (£67.8m) 1.5625 p Aug 28
TT Electronics (industrials HY) -£4.8m (£5.1m) nil
Velocys (resources FY) -£9.9m (-£30.9m) nil
Vitec Group (technology HY) -£13.8m (£16.6m) nil
6 Results in brief are given for all companies valued at more than £30 million. f = final p = payable

Results in brief

aircraft. An FAA

report found Boeing’s

inspectors were

pressed to perform

inspections of aircraft

that were not ready, to

do them more quickly

and to report aircraft

ready for inspection

faster. A Boeing

official said: “Undue

pressure is inconsistent

with our values and

will not be tolerated.”

Boeing fined

over aircraft

inspections