For once the polls got it right. Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron was elected French president, after beating Marine Le Pen in the second round of the election. While France’s benchmark equity index surged following Mr Macron’s success in the first round of the election, it has since pulled back slightly. Mr Macron is viewed as a pro-business leader – one of his stated aims is to liberalise France’s notoriously strict labour laws in order to boost the economy. Workers unions have unsurprisingly already voiced their opposition.
Oil in deficit
Demand increase expected
As expected, the global oil market has finally tipped into a supply deficit, and demand is expected to outpace production over the remainder of this year if Opec agrees to extend its production cuts, according to latest analysis from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA). Global demand is expected to ratchet up by 1.3m barrels a day (boed) in 2017, which is actually a relatively modest annual increase, although world output pulled back by 0.75m boed during March as producers fell into line with the output reduction pact.
BT’s recruiting
TV chief walks
The head of BT (BT.A) TV has quit her role, just months after securing another three-year contract to broadcast Champions League football. Delia Bushell has led TV and sports at the telecoms giant since 2013 and has pioneered the group’s strategy to invest more in content in order to compete with rival Sky. Soon after her arrival, BT’s consumer arm reported revenue growth for the first time in nearly five years. Ms Bushell’s departure leaves a third top job in British television up for grabs after Adam Crozier stepped down as chief executive of ITV last week and Channel 4 has yet to replace boss David Abraham who announced his resignation in March.
Barratt’s confident
Allays market fears
Barratt Developments (BDEV) has allayed concerns over a slowdown in the housing market post-referendum, announcing its highest level of completions in nine years during the first four months of 2017. Its total forward sales were at record levels, up almost 13 per cent to £3.2bn. It said increased competition in the mortgage market had helped increase consumer demand. It expects pre-tax profit for the full year to be at the top end of analyst expectations.
Energy caps
May curries favour
Theresa May has proposed to cap energy prices should the Conservatives be re-elected to government on 8 June. Mrs May has promised to give the UK’s energy regulator Ofgem new powers to regulate prices of standard tariffs, amid reports that two-thirds of the UK population are paying more for their bills than they have to. The proposal could save about 17m people up to £100 a year, according to Mrs May. The Liberal Democrats have, however, suggested that an energy cap would be bad for business while leading industry figures have criticised the plan. British Gas-owner Centrica (CNA) said that a cap on the price of standard tariffs could actually lead to an increased average rate due to the eventual decrease in choice and competition in the market.
Akzo rejects PPG bid
Elliot Advisors gets involved
Dutch paint and coatings group AkzoNobel has rejected the €26.9bn (£22.6bn) offer from PPG Industries – the third made by its US rival. AkzoNobel chief executive Ton Buchner said the bid undervalued the group. Activist investor and shareholder Elliott Advisors has launched legal action in the Netherlands to oust chairman Antony Burgmans over his handling of PPG’s takeover approach. The hedge fund has filed a suit with Amsterdam’s Enterprise Chamber to ask a judge to order an extraordinary meeting of shareholders to debate the removal of Mr Bergmans.
Staley says sorry
Whistleblower unknown
Barclays (BARC) chief executive Jes Staley has apologised for his attempts to identify a whistleblower at the banking group. At the bank’s annual meeting he told shareholders he had “made a mistake in becoming involved in an issue which I should have left to the business to deal with”. Chairman John McFarlane said the board believed it was dealing with an external whistleblower. Mr Staley has been formally reprimanded by the board and it has pledged to cut his pay by a significant amount.
London rents reduced year on year for the first time in eight years in April, according to data from tenant referencing company HomeLet.
Average rents on new tenancies declined 1.2 per cent last month, compared with the same time in 2016. Annualised rents in Wales increased the most of any UK region, at 2.3 per cent.
This reduction in rental values could be as a result of increased supply coming onto the market, following the rush by buy-to-let landlords to gain mortgage approvals ahead of the stamp duty increase last year.
