the times | Friday April 8 2022 2GM 45
MarketsBusiness
A
mazon is
facing the
prospect of an
investor vote
on a proposed
independent audit of
its treatment of
warehouse workers
after America’s senior
financial regulator
rejected its attempt to
drop the resolution
(Callum Jones writes).
Shareholders in the
world’s largest retailer
are set to vote on the
issue at its annual
meeting after a ruling
from the US Securities
and Exchange
Commission.
The proposal
“transcends ordinary
business matters”, the
agency said in a letter
to Amazon’s lawyers,
seen by the Reuters
news agency, pushing
back against the
suggestion that it could
be discarded on the
ground that it related
to “ordinary business”
operations.
Amazon declined to
comment on the
specific proposal, but
said staff safety was
“always a top priority”
and stressed that it was
"committed to the
creation of good jobs”.
Shares in the
company fell by 0.6 per
cent, or $19.43, to closecent, to £12.26 after Jefferies cut its
advice on the stock to “hold.”
Among the biggest risers was
Workspace Group. The flexible
offices provider ticked up 22p, or
3.2 per cent, to 705½p as it reported a
strong final quarter to end of March.
AJ Bell’s shares were pushed higher
after Liberum resumed coverage with
a “buy” recommendation. James
Allen and his team of analysts had a
lot to say about the UK-listed
investment platform as they resumed
coverage of the sector. For them
AJ Bell is a value for money stock and
its high-quality service makes it an
attractive proposition to customers.
The shares zipped up 9½p, or 3.2 per
cent, to 313¼p.
De La Rue, the banknote printer,
said that it expected operating profit
for the full-year to be in line with
expectations. In a brief trading
update, which pushed the shares up
3¾p, or 3.6 per cent, to 108¼p, it also
said net debt should be slightly better
than City forecasts of £75 million.20TH CENTURY STUDIOSFlow of bad news keeps
hurting TI Fluid Systems
Jessica Newman Market report
A
ll it took to slam the
brakes on TI Fluid
Systems was one bearish
broker note, which caused
the shares to drop to their
lowest level in 18 months. Analysts at
Jefferies aired their concerns about
“significant uncertainty” surrounding
the FTSE 250 car parts maker,
questioning its ability to recover
rising costs and whether production
disruptions would continue.
Vanessa Jeffriess said that she and
her team at the investment bank were
worried that TI Fluid faced some of
the most difficult market conditions
among the stocks it covered, leading
them to reduce their “buy”
recommendation to “hold” and nearly
halving their price target to 195p.
“Although the group continues tohave an above-average margin profile
relative to auto supplier peers, there is
risk this gap could narrow as
challenging pricing conditions
persist,” she said. Jeffriess still believes
the longer-term equity story remains
attractive, but a lack of positive
catalysts in the near term means
“another highly challenging year”.
Another turbulent year is probably
the last thing shareholders want to
hear about. The shares have lost
about 50 per cent of their value since
the July peak of 327p after large
shareholders offloaded hefty stakes in
the business. In November one of
Bain Capital’s companies sold a stake
worth £100 million, putting its share
price under pressure once again. The
pressure has still not yet alleviated as
TI Fluid Systems’ shares fell a further
18p, or 9.9 per cent, to 163¼p last
night.
Nerves over the US Federal
Reserve’s attempts to tackle inflation
got the best of traders in the Square
Mile. Policymakers at the Fed are tobegin reducing its $9 trillion balance
sheet by up to $95 billion each month
to combat surging inflation, according
to minutes released last night, which
also revealed that they considered
raising interest rates by half a
percentage point.
The FTSE 100 fell 35.89 points, or
0.5 per cent, to 7,551.81. Part of the fall
was down to companies trading ex-
dividend, which meant shares in
Aviva fell 21¾p, or 4.9 per cent, to
422½p; abrdn slipped 8p, or 3.8 per
cent, to 203p, and Smurfit Kappa lost
76p, or 2.4 per cent, to £30.54.
The FTSE 250 fell back by 62.93
points, or 0.3 per cent, to 21,037.80,
despite a stellar performance from
888 Holdings, the gaming group —
up 32¼p, or 16.8 per cent, to 224¼p
— as investors dumped their shares
in companies such as Countryside
Partnerships, the housebuilder,
which tumbled 40½p, or 14.6 per cent,
to 238p. Energean, an oil and gas
explorer focused on the
Mediterranean, slipped 50p, or 3.9 perElectric motors’ path to market
MANUFACTURINGA
n electric
motor specialist
will make its
debut on London’s
main stock exchange
today. DG Innovate,
which has been
acquired via a reverse
takeover by Path
Investments, a cash
shell, has raised
£4.6 million at 0.5p a
share, valuing the
business at just over
£44 million.
The research
and development
company works
on making
environmental
and sustainable
improvements to
electric mobility
and storage and is
focusing on the busand lorry market. It
specialises in two
areas: enhanced drive
technology, which
involves high-
efficiency, cost-
efficient electric
motors; and enhanced
battery technology,
involving fullyrecyclable sodium-ion
batteries.
Christopher Theis,
62, the chief
executive, said that it
was working with
clients including the
Ministry of Defence,
which has said that it
wants to switch its
entire fleet over to
electric vehicles, and
was in talks with a
“very large global
tier-one commercial
vehicle supplier”, with
which he hopes to do
a deal within the next
year.
Path announced
last August that it had
agreed to buy the
Caerphilly-based
DG Innovate for
£32 million.Electric buses are a key
focus for DG Innovate
and, it hopes, investorsWall Street report
Indices clawed their way into positive
territory after a difficult day as
investors reacted to signs that the US
Federal Reserve is intent on limiting
inflation. The Dow Jones industrial
average closed on 34,583.57, up
87.06 points, or 0.3 per cent.Company Change
888 Holdings Discount on William Hill acquisition 16.8%
Chrysalis Investments Recovers some losses 4.6%
Workspace Upbeat trading update 3.2%
AJ Bell Analyst upgrade 3.2%
Oxford Biomedica Investors move in after recent weakness 2.9%
Direct Line Insurance Positive sentiment dries up -5.2%
Vistry Sets aside millions of pounds for cladding remediation work -5.3%
Network International Holdings Extends losses -6.1%
TI Fluid Systems Analyst downgrade -9.9%
Countryside Partnerships Profit warning -14.6%
The day’s biggest movers
at $3,155.69 in New
York last night.
It comes after the
SEC also rejected a
move by Amazon to
block a shareholder
vote on greater
transparency on its tax
affairs. Investors are
poised to vote on
whether the group
should publish a
detailed, country-by-
country breakdown of
its finances, including
its international
taxation practices.
Amazon is a
$1.6 trillion business,
employing 1.6 million
staff worldwide. Life
inside an Amazon
fulfilment centre was
featured in
Nomadland, above, the
Oscar-winning film.Amazon has
to deliver
investor vote
Exchange rates
Bid Change
Australia $ 1.748 +0.01
Canada $ 1.644 +0.01
Denmark Kr 8.906 -0.01
Euro ¤ 1.197
Hong Kong $ 10.241 -0.02
Hungary 453.496 -0.94
Indonesia 18762.086 -30.54
Israel Shk 4.212 -0.03
Japan Yen 161.926 -0.05
New Zealand $ 1.897 +0.01
Norway Kr 11.484 +0.02
Poland 5.555 -0.02
Russia 102.996 -5.97
S Africa Rd 19.296 +0.12
Sweden Kr 12.355
Switzerland Fr 1.219
Turkey Lira 19.264 -0.03
USA $ 1.307
Rates supplied by MorningstarDollar rates
Australia 1.3389-1.3390
Canada 1.2605-1.2605
Denmark 6.8315-6.8320
Euro 0.9186-0.9187
Hong Kong 7.8372-7.8378
Japan 123.87-123.88
Malaysia 4.2130-4.2170
Norway 8.8231-8.8281
Singapore 1.3614-1.3615
Sweden 9.4596-9.4623
Switzerland 0.9334-0.9335Other Sterling
Argentina peso 146.23-146.24
Australia dollar 1.7483-1.7485
Bahrain dinar 0.4887-0.4959
Brazil real 6.2117-6.2156
Euro 1.1995-1.1996
Hong Kong dollar 10.233-10.234
India rupee 99.158-99.159
Indonesia rupiah 18776-18776
Kuwait dinar KD 0.3966-0.3990
Malaysia ringgit 5.5096-5.5148
New Zealand dollar 1.8968-1.8971
Singapore dollar 1.7776-1.7779
S Africa rand 19.322-19.333
U A E dirham 4.7988-4.8015Money rates %
Base Rates Clearing Banks 0.75 ECB Refi -0.50 US Fed Fd 0.00-0.25
Halifax Mortgage Rate 3.59
Treasury Bills (Dis) Buy: 1 mth 0.289; 3 mth 0.559. Sell: 1 mth 0.240; 3 mth 0.4401 mth 2 mth 3 mth 6 mth 12 mth
Interbank Rates 0.7242 0.0000 1.0511 1.4747 0.0000
Eurodollar Deps 0.55-0.80 0.77-1.02 0.98-1.23 1.43-1.68 2.27-2.34Mkt Rates for Range Close 1 month 3 month
Copenhagen 8.8927-8.9444 8.9201-8.9214 109ds 361ds
Euro 1.2028-1.1958 1.1996-1.1992 9pr 34pr
Montreal 1.6405-1.6468 1.6458-1.6461 1pr 3pr
New York 1.3053-1.3106 1.3057-1.3058 2ds 1ds
Oslo 11.450-11.539 11.517-11.531 11pr 12pr
Stockholm 12.309-12.412 12.352-12.356 94ds 335ds
Tokyo 161.45-162.25 161.75-161.76 13ds 49ds
Zurich 1.2177-1.2215 1.2187-1.2189 16ds 53ds
Premium = pr Discount = dsSterling spot and forward rates
Gold/Precious
London Grain Futures metals (US dollars per ounce)
LIFFE Wheat (close £/t)
May 301.75 Jul unq Nov 270.50
Jan unq Mar unq Volume: 709
London Metal Exchange
(Official)
Cash 3mth Dec 22
Copper Gde A ($/tonne)
10291.0-10292.0 10300.0-10301.010245.0-10255.0
Lead ($/tonne)
2404.5-2405.0 2412.0-2414.0 2373.0-2378.0
Zinc Spec Hi Gde ($/tonne)
4249.0-4250.0 4220.0-4222.0 3520.0-3525.0
Alum Hi Gde ($/tonne)
3344.0-3346.0 3372.0-3374.0 3265.0-3270.0
Nickel ($/tonne)
33490.0-33500.0 33425.0-33475.033030.0-33080.0
Tin ($/tonne) 15mth
44200.0-44300.0 43600.0-43700.042730.0-42780.0
European money
deposits %
Currency
1mth 3mth 6mth 12mth
Dollar
0.13 0.20 0.29 0.55
Sterling
0.73 1.06 1.49 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 Wednesday.
Bullion: Open $1923.76
Close $1935.15-1935.23 High $1937.61
Low $1920.66
AM $1929.00 PM $1930.15
Krugerrand $1915.00-2018.00 (£1466.57-1545.45)
Platinum $960.00 (£735.20)
Silver $24.54 (£18.80)
Palladium $2254.00 (£1726.18)