the times | Wednesday January 19 2022 45
MarketsBusiness
A
n Australian
brewing
giant has
decided that
it couldn’t
give a XXXX for
British craft beers after
putting its breweries in
Huddersfield and
London up for sale
(Dominic Walsh
writes).
Lion, ultimately
owned by Kirin, of
Japan, has appointed
Greenhill, the
investment bank, to
conduct a strategic
review of Lion Little
World Beverages UK.
Its British business
comprises Fourpure
Brewing Co in London
and Huddersfield’s
Magic Rock Brewing,
plus a microbrewery
and four taprooms.
Lion said that
Greenhill would “scope
potential buyers and
explore alternative
structures and
funding”, insisting that
an outright sale was
not the only option.
Lion acquired
Fourpure in 2018 for
an undisclosed sum
from Dan and Tom
Lowe, brothers who
started the business in
2013 on the
Bermondsey Beer
Mile. The following
year, Lion swallowedcent, to £18.72¼ and BP gained 2p, or
0.5 per cent, to 395¾p.
Shares in BT powered up as
Goldman Sachs added the telecoms
group to its “buy conviction” list,
driving up the share price 5½p, or
3.1 per cent, to 186½p. Pearson rose
16½p, or 2.7 per cent, to 632½p before
the publishing and education
company’s trading update today.
On the mid-caps, investors piled
into Elementis. The group, which
makes chemicals used in products
such as deodorants, advanced 3p, or
2.2 per cent, to 137¾p after it said that
fourth-quarter adjusted operating
profits were expected to be in the
range of $105 million to $107 million.
Marshalls, which makes patios, lays
driveways and supplies paving stones,
was one of the best performers on the
mid-cap index, rising 24½p, or 3.6 per
cent, to 713p after it said that its
revenue stood at £589 million for the
year to the end of December, a 26 per
cent rise on the year before and
8.7 per cent higher than in 2019.Glencore in focus as ‘BHP
seeks transformative deal’
Jessica Newman Market report
L
ondon’s markets are
dominated by its miners, so
nothing rouses its interest
like talk of a mining mega
merger, which is exactly
what the City was given yesterday.
According to Bloomberg, BHP, the
behemoth that is the world’s biggest
listed miner, could be considering a
move for Glencore, its rival digger
and commodities trader. Both are
UK-listed.
Such a move could fit with the
strategy of Mike Henry, BHP’s chief
executive, to pursue “future-facing”
metals that are expected to be in
demand for the energy transition.
BHP is also preparing to quit the oil
and gas sector and is gearing up for a
shareholder vote this week on a
planned simplification of its Anglo-Australian structure, in which it will
retain a main listing in Australia and
lose its FTSE 100 status.
Both BHP and Glencore declined
to comment on the report — which
suggested that BHP may also be
eyeing Freeport-McMoRan or Vale’s
base metals business — and both
stocks rose, Glencore by 2½p, or
0.6 per cent, to 413¾p and BHP by
2½p, or 0.1 per cent, to £24.15.
Just Group caught the City’s
attention, too. The FTSE 250 insurer
specialises in selling retirement
policies to people with shorter life
expectancies, such as smokers and
heavy drinkers, as well as to those
with chronic medical conditions. Its
shares rose to their highest level in
ten months after it unveiled a 29 per
cent rise in retirement income sales to
£2.7 billion for the year to the end of
December. The shares closed up 7p,
or 8.3 per cent, at 93¼p.
Despite a flurry of positive
corporate updates, London’s leading
share index, which hit its highest levelsince January 2020 on Monday, fell
back, along with other global markets.
The FTSE 100 closed down 47.68
points, or 0.6 per cent, at 7,563.55,
while the more UK-focused FTSE
250 shed 218.93 points, or 1 per cent,
to 22,652.71.
Scottish Mortgage Investment
Trust, which has large interests in
companies such as Tesla, came under
selling pressure again as its shares slid
31p, or 2.7 per cent, to £11.18½.
Unilever extended its losses for
another day — falling 145½p, or 4 per
cent, to £35.16½ — as investors
continued to react to news that its
£50 billion bid for GlaxoSmithKline’s
consumer health business had been
rejected. Barclays served up another
blow, downgrading the stock from
“overweight” to “equal-weight”.
The oil majors were among the top
risers thanks to surging prices for the
black stuff, with Brent crude, the
international benchmark, jumping
above $87 a barrel. It meant that the
likes of Shell rose 29½p, or 1.6 perTraders express fear of inflation
I
nflation and the
US Federal
Reserve’s
aggressive monetary
policy are by far the
biggest concerns
among traders,
according to
Deutsche Bank’s
latest stock market
sentiment survey.
Of the 500 global
investors questioned,
47 per cent said that
rising inflation and
interest rate increases
posed the biggest
risks to global stock
markets. They
thought that the Fed
was likely to lift rates
three times this year,
one more rise than in
the last survey.
Last month, they
had been more
concerned thatvaccines would not be
effective against new
Covid variants.
There was also a
10 per cent rise in the
number of investors
who expected the
next recession in the
United States to
happen as soon as
2024, Deutsche found.
Almost 50 per centsaid that American
technology shares
were in bubble
territory.
Jim Reid, a
strategist at
Deutsche Bank, said:
“Higher-than-
expected inflation
continued to be the
predominant driver
of those bearish
fears, but its
counterpart, a more
aggressive Fed, drew
much more concern
this month.”
Technology and
other growth stocks,
which attract
investment for what
they could be, rather
than what they are
now, are sensitive to
inflation as it reduces
the present value of
future cashflows.Investors think the Fed
is likely to lift rates
three times this yearWall Street report
The prospect of interest rate rises
arriving more quickly than had been
expected drove up Treasury yields
and sparked a flight in equity
markets, with the Dow Jones
industrial average falling 543.34
points, or 1.5 per cent, to 35,368.47.Company Change
Just Group Shares jump on the back of strong trading update 8.2%
QinetiQ Upbeat quarterly trading update 6.9%
Darktrace Rebounds after Monday’s sell-off 5.0%
Baltic Classifieds Recovers some losses 4.5%
Energean Shares rally after trading update 3.7%
Drax Loses momentum after recent run higher -4.8%
Ashtead Positive sentiment evaporates -5.0%
Chrysalis Investments At seven-month low as it extends losing streak -7.6%
Trustpilot Shares in decline after last week’s disappointing trading update -8.1%
Petropavlovsk Weakness in gold price -11.5%
The day’s biggest movers
Magic Rock Brewing,
again for an
undisclosed price.
Magic Rock, founded
in 2011 by Richard
Burhouse and Stuart
Ross, makes beers
including Cannonball
IPA, Saucery and
Fantasma.
Lion’s international
business was launched
in 2015 to sell a range
of Australian and New
Zealand craft beers.
Gordon Treanor, 51,
managing director of
its UK business, said
the company had been
making significant
craft investments in
Australia and America
and needed “to make
choices as to where we
continue to direct our
investment”.Craft beers
are canned
by brewer
Exchange rates
Bid Change
Australia $ 1.889
Canada $ 1.702 -0.01
Denmark Kr 8.912
Euro ¤ 1.197
Hong Kong $ 10.583 -0.05
Hungary 428.593 +2.56
Indonesia 19473.949 -68.66
Israel Shk 4.255 +0.01
Japan Yen 155.581 -0.88
New Zealand $ 2.006
Norway Kr 11.950 +0.05
Poland 5.428 +0.01
Russia 104.338 +0.60
S Africa Rd 21.027 +0.02
Sweden Kr 12.369 +0.07
Switzerland Fr 1.245
Turkey Lira 18.523 +0.17
USA $ 1.358 -0.01
Rates supplied by MorningstarDollar rates
Australia 1.3939-1.3940
Canada 1.2556-1.2556
Denmark 6.5713-6.5725
Euro 0.8829-0.8832
Hong Kong 7.7915-7.7918
Japan 114.63-114.64
Malaysia 4.1770-4.1800
Norway 8.8131-8.8229
Singapore 1.3514-1.3516
Sweden 9.1341-9.1388
Switzerland 0.9173-0.9174Other Sterling
Argentina peso 141.46-141.47
Australia dollar 1.8925-1.8927
Bahrain dinar 0.5084-0.5156
Brazil real 7.5651-7.5691
Euro 1.1988-1.1990
Hong Kong dollar 10.578-10.579
India rupee 101.26-101.28
Indonesia rupiah 19499-19499
Kuwait dinar KD 0.4095-0.4119
Malaysia ringgit 5.6745-5.6786
New Zealand dollar 2.0093-2.0097
Singapore dollar 1.8348-1.8351
S Africa rand 21.087-21.099
U A E dirham 4.9944-4.9953Money rates %
Base Rates Clearing Banks 0.25 ECB Refi -0.50 US Fed Fd 0.00-0.25
Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.59Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth 0.101; 3 mth 0.215. Sell: 1 mth 0.050; 3 mth 0.0151 mth 2 mth 3 mth 6 mth 12 mth
Interbank Rates 0.3267 0.0000 0.5321 0.8523 0.0000
Eurodollar Deps 0.04-024 0.05-0.25 0.13-0.33 0.30-0.50 0.66-0.86Mkt Rates for Range Close 1 month 3 month
Copenhagen 8.8818-8.9242 8.9225-8.9238 76ds 231ds
Euro 1.1992-1.1937 1.1990-1.1989 7pr 21pr
Montreal 1.6990-1.7082 1.7046-1.7048 1ds 0pr
New York 1.3575-1.3660 1.3577-1.3577 2ds 6ds
Oslo 11.865-11.986 11.967-11.981 41pr 141pr
Stockholm 12.288-12.405 12.403-12.407 56ds 181ds
Tokyo 155.49-156.88 155.63-155.64 7ds 23ds
Zurich 1.2432-1.2487 1.2454-1.2456 13ds 37ds
Premium = pr Discount = dsSterling spot and forward rates
Gold/Precious
London Grain Futures metals (US dollars per ounce)
LIFFE Wheat (close £/t)
Jan 206.00 Mar 215.00 May 213.50
Jul unq Nov 194.00 Volume: 931
London Metal Exchange
(Official)
Cash 3mth Dec 22
Copper Gde A ($/tonne)
9705.0-9707.0 9690.0-9692.0 9420.0-9430.0
Lead ($/tonne)
2356.0-2357.0 2352.0-2354.0 2237.0-2242.0
Zinc Spec Hi Gde ($/tonne)
3542.0-3544.0 3532.0-3534.0 3113.0-3118.0
Alum Hi Gde ($/tonne)
3005.0-3006.0 3005.5-3006.0 2733.0-2738.0
Nickel ($/tonne)
22735.0-22740.0 22180.0-22190.0 21225.0-21275.0
Tin ($/tonne) 15mth
42450.0-42500.0 42050.0-42100.0 40615.0-40665.0
European money
deposits %
Currency
1mth 3mth 6mth 12mth
Dollar
0.13 0.20 0.29 0.55
Sterling
0.33 0.53 0.85 0.81
Euro
0.10 0.15 0.20 0.50Data as shown is
for information
purposes only. No offer is made by
Morningstar or this publicationBecause of a technical issue, the gold fix
prices are from Monday.
Bullion: Open $1819.09
Close $1811.16-1811.62 High $1822.57
Low $1806.24
AM $1820.05 PM $1817.85
Krugerrand $1792.00-1889.00 (£1319.87-1391.31)
Platinum $991.00 (£729.91)
Silver $23.40 (£17.23)
Palladium $1919.00 (£1413.41)