BlackRock goes green
Fink urges climate action
The world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock, will sell some of its thermal coal holdings as part of a new sustainability strategy. Chief executive Larry Fink said “every government, company, and shareholder must confront climate change”, although the new environmentally-friendly approach won’t remove all businesses involved in coal from his company’s holdings. Those that get 25 per cent or more of their revenues from thermal coal – the type burned in power plants – will be sold off from the company’s active funds, meaning major producers Anglo American (AAL), BHP (BHP) and Glencore (GLEN) will still be held.
Lekoil swindled
Shares slumped
Nigerian oil and gas company Lekoil’s (LEK) shares plunged after it said that it had been swindled by a company pretending to be the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Lekoil had announced a transformational loan deal worth $184m (£142m) on 2 January, sending its shares soaring to 9.4p. But on 13 January, it suspended its shares, after the QIA questioned the validity of this agreement. The next day, all gains were wiped out. Lekoil said it had run due diligence on fraudulent company Seawave Invest and handed over $600,000 for arranging the loan.
Rising value of Aim takeovers
Up 32 per cent
The value of takeovers of Aim companies rose by 32 per cent last year, to £2.88bn, according to national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young. This was largely driven by an increase in buyers acquiring fast-growing financial technology (‘fintech’), technology and financial services companies. UHY said there has also been a rebound in the value of takeovers of oil and gas companies. The value of takeovers of fintech and Aim technology companies climbed by 86 per cent to £907m.
Just Eat acquired
Takeaway.com success
The Just Eat (JE.), Takeaway.com and Naspers love triangle has come to an end. On 10 January, Takeaway.com said that it had received acceptances for its offer representing 80.4 per cent of Just Eat's voting rights. The combination will create a takeaway food behemoth, to be named Just Eat Takeaway.com. Takeaway.com was expected to win approval, after it raised its bid to the equivalent of 916p a share in late December, well above the 800p offered by Naspers’ investment unit Prosus.
Low consumer spending
Despite confidence
Consumer spending grew by just 1 per cent in December, according to Barclaycard. While last month saw consumer confidence in the UK economy reach its highest level of 2019, this failed to lift Christmas spending. Supermarkets saw a 0.9 per cent downturn, and specialist retailers (such as toy stores) saw sales fall 4 per cent. That said, cinema sales rose by almost a fifth, thanks to films such as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. And spending in pubs and on takeaways also increased.
Writedown at Astra
$100m dent
AstraZeneca (AZN) is discontinuing a trial for heart disease drug Epanova due to its low likelihood of being able to benefit patients with mixed dyslipidaemia. The pharmaceuticals giant said that it expects to take a $100m (£77m) writedown, impacting its core profits for the fourth quarter of 2019. The decision followed recommendations from an independent data monitoring committee. Mene Pangalos, executive vice-president, biopharmaceuticals R&D, said: “We are disappointed by these results, but we remain committed to addressing the needs of patients in the cardiovascular space where we have an extensive pipeline.”
Credit card betting ban
Helping problem gamblers
The Gambling Commission has announced a ban on gambling businesses allowing consumers to use credit cards to gamble. This will come into effect on 14 April. The Commission noted that 24m adults in the the UK gamble, with 10.5m of those doing so online. UK Finance estimates that 0.8m consumers use credit cards to gamble. Meanwhile, research carried out by the Commission shows that more than a fifth of online gamblers using credit cards to gamble are classified as problem gamblers.
