Closing summary: UK car industry welcomes 'pragmatic decision' on Brexit tariff delay
The UK car industry has swung firmly behind the European Commission proposals to extend the deadline on Brexit tariffs.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has been begging the UK and EU to extend the deadline for months. It points out that the EU is the UK’s largest export market, and that the UK buyers get almost half their elecric cars from the EU.
The SMMT said the UK and EU need more time to get a battery supply chain in place.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said:
Adopting the Commission’s proposal would be a pragmatic solution, safeguarding the future of the EU and UK automotive industries, supporting motorists, the economy and the environment. Such an extension would avoid damaging tariffs on the very vehicles we need consumers to buy, allow UK and EU manufacturers to compete with the rest of the world and, crucially, give the European battery industry time to catch up.
Above all, voting for the proposal will enable us all to cut carbon emissions while supporting growth and jobs across the entire EV supply chain. We urge every party to get behind it.
The Commission said the decision was in its interest because it would save its carmakers from difficulties.
The change of tack from Europe means that the only holdouts could be individual member states – they could still veto the tariff delay, but at the cost of angering members such as Germany.
In other business news from today:
McDonald’s is hoping to add another 10,000 restaurants by 2027, cementing its position as the world’s biggest fast-food chain.
The veteran TV executive Samir Shah is to be appointed as the next chair of the BBC.
The Bank of England has warned that rapid developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning could pose risks to the UK’s financial stability, triggering a fresh review into their use across the City.
Morrisons and Marks & Spencer have been censured by the UK’s competition regulator for unlawfully restricting rivals from buying land.
Nationwide has told the 13,000 staff it had said would not be forced to return to the office when Covid lockdowns ended that they must start coming in from early next year for at least two days a week for most.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is seeking to raise $1bn (£0.8bn) as the world’s richest man tries to keep pace with rivals including OpenAI, Microsoft and Google in the race to dominate the field.
Europe’s biggest package holiday operator, Tui, is considering moving its stock exchange listing from the FTSE 250 to Frankfurt, in a further blow to London’s status as a global finance centre.
You can continue to follow our live coverage from around the world:
In our coverage of the Cop28 climate summit, UN climate chief warns nations not to ‘fall into the trap of point-scoring’
In the UK, Boris Johnson rejects claims he could not make up his mind about lockdown
In our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war, Putin makes rare trip outside Russia
In our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, the UN human rights chief warns of ‘heightened risk of atrocity crimes’ in Gaza; Israeli strikes intensify around Khan Younis
In our coverage of US politics, the Republicans are set to block vote on Ukraine and Israel aid as they press for stricter border policies
Thanks for reading today, and please do join us again tomorrow, same time, same place, for more. JJ
McDonald's aims to open another 10,000 restaurants worldwide
McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast food chain, has said it wants to be even bigger: it wants to open another 10,000 restaurants around the world by 2027.
It said in a statement on Wednesday that it wants to have 50,000 restaurants by 2027, in what it said would be its fastest period of growth in the brand’s history.
It is already in expansion mode, in what it calls its M-C-D strategy: marketing, “core” (me neither), and the “three Ds”, “Delivery, Digital, Drive Thru” and now “Development [maybe also dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge]”.
Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s chief executive, said:
We have a clear trajectory for future growth as we continue to build on the brand strength, global footprint and digital ecosystem that have resulted in unparalleled competitive advantages and cemented McDonald’s as one of the world’s leading consumer-facing brands.”
Was the EU cars situation helped by the new foreign secretary, ex-prime minister David Cameron?
He probably came quite late in the game on this long-running issue, although the presence of a pro-EU politician may make negotiations with the UK’s largest trading partner go more smoothly.
Vice-president of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič revealed he and Cameron are on texting terms. We know something of Cameron’s schmoozing style already, at least when it comes to texting politicians, thanks to disclosures after the collapse of Greensill, a lender to businesses.
When lobbying for the scandal-hit financial services company, Cameron used WhatsApp messages as his key tool to catch the ear of potentially useful people. Šefčovič can expect message to sign off with “Dc” or a simple “👍” – or with attempted joviality such as this pandemic-era diplomatic gem:
see you with Rishi’s for an elbow bump or foot tap. Love Dc.
You can read more about Cameron’s WhatsApp lobbying here:
The car industry has been tearing its hair out over the past year over whether or not the Brexit tariff deadline would be extended. If confirmed, today’s U-turn has prevented months of chaos in the industry.
But why did it take so long, considering the Brexit deal was agreed back in the mists of time under one Boris Johnson (who today has other things on his mind – you can follow that live here)?
The answer, at least in part, is that the EU did not want to hand a political concession to the UK, which after all decided to leave the single market that guarantees no tariffs will be imposed.
The deal could still be vetoed by the EU member states. Nevertheless, many in the car industry had thought it inevitable that the EU would budge eventually, simply because the vast majority of the European car industry had pleaded for a compromise. They were helped by the argument that the imposition of tariffs on electric cars would benefit China.
You can read a more detailed explainer of the situation here, from yours truly:
David Cameron’s appointment as foreign secretary has further thawed EU and UK relationship with the vice-president of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič revealing they are already on texting terms.
Šefčovič said the atmosphere at the top level Brexit bilateral body was now “very good indeed”. The body was originally headed by Šefčovič and Lord Frost, who was followed by Cameron’s predecessor, James Cleverly.
Šefčovič was speaking to reporters he unveiled a proposal for the EU to tweak the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement with a “one-off” three-year suspension of tariffs due to be levied on exports of electric cars from the UK to the EU and vice versa.
He said this was done because it was in the EU’s interest.
But he smiled broadly when asked about his relationship with Cameron. He said he had previously known him when working on green issues at a time when he was prime ministers.
But at the meeting last week – Cameron’s first in the EU since he lost his premiership over Brexit – they agreed to stay in touch. Šefčovič said:
We exchanged our phone numbers and we are texting each other.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Associations (ACEA) has welcomed the European Commission’s proposal to seek a three-year extension to the current rules of origin for electric car batteries.
Jonathan O’Riordan, ACEA’s international trade director said:
It’s really good news for us. The dominant sentiment is one of relief. There have been positive signs in the last few months but it was clear some member states still need to be convinced.
Now we need the member states to agree to the proposals but the signs are positive.
EU agrees deal to change Brexit deal to 'help its carmakers'
The EU has agreed to tweak the Brexit trade and cooperation deal to help its own manufacturers, not the UK’s exports, the vice president of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič has said.
The European Commission on Wednesday agreed a proposal that the 10% tariff on electric car imports from the UK and on exports to the UK from the EU should not apply until 1 January 2027 on any cars that are more than 45% made in Europe.
Sefcovic said it was a “one off” deal that would not be repeated even if the car industry had not sufficiently developed its electric battery technology by the end of the three-year grace period.
The extension of the tariff-free zone will be made by a change to the annexe of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which Sefcovic said was provided for in the original deal.
The proposal will go to the European Council of leaders and will need to be approved by qualified majority and then by the Partnership Council, the top level body that oversees the Brexit deal chaired by Sefcovic and Lord Cameron for the UK.
Given the controversy surrounding the Brexit deal and France’s insistence that the UK gets no special favours, it is expected that unanimous backing will be needed. This is expected on the week of the 18 December.
Sefcovic said 10 states were affected by the car manufacturing measure but the chemical industry and nascent electric battery sector would also benefit.
The EU has also announced a €3bn fund for the electric battery industry to help accelerate homegrown production of the most expensive part of any electric car.
Updated
TV executive Samir Shah to be appointed BBC chair
The veteran TV executive Samir Shah is to be appointed as the next chair of the BBC, the Guardian understands.
Shah, 71, who has previously served as non-executive director at the broadcaster, is expected to have his appointment announced on Wednesday.
The BBC referred inquiries to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which has been approached for comment.
Shah would succeed Richard Sharp, who resigned as BBC chair in April after he breached rules on public appointments in connection to a secret £800,000 loan made to Boris Johnson.
You can read the full report here:
KFC is significantly expanding its portfolio of company-run restaurants in the UK with acquisition of more than 200 outlets currently run under franchise by petrol forecourts group EG.
The deal, is part of EG’s efforts to cut debt which also included the sale of its UK forecourts business and the Leon takeaway chain to sister company Asda.
KFC currently runs just 50 of its 1,040 UK restaurants directly and so buying out its largest franchise EG, taking on 7,800 more staff, will mark a significant change. KFC said underlying sales were up 5% in the UK and Ireland and the UK was now “close to being a £2bn business”.
Meg Farren, managing director of KFC UK and Ireland, said:
With the market for high-quality, great-tasting chicken growing all the time, we see a big opportunity to capitalise on our leadership position and to unlock new value for all our stakeholders in the UK and Ireland.
The Bank of England is launching a fresh review into artificial intelligence and machine learning amid fears the rapidly developing sector could pose risks to the UK’s financial stability.
AI and machine learning have been used across the City for at least a decade, for example, to help detect fraud and money laundering. However, a recent increase in technological advances and available data, as well as falling costs of computing power, had sparked “considerable interest” and more widespread use across the sector, regulators on the Bank’s financial policy committee (FPC) said.
While most companies suggested the way they were using the technology was “relatively low risk”, the FPC warned that wider adoption “could pose system-wide financial stability risks”. That could mean greater “herding behaviour”, where there is a concentration of firms making similar financial decisions that skew markets, and an increase in cyber risks.
New AI and data providers could also end up becoming important participants in financial markets and require closer oversight. The Bank, its regulatory arm the Prudential Regulation Authority, as well as the City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority will launch a consultation paper on these “critical third parties” later this month.
You can read the full report – written deep within the bowels of the Bank’s headquarters at Threadneedle Street – here:
Asked about migration policy, Andrew Bailey says the Bank is not responsible for migration.
It’s not for us to judge those policies, Bailey says. (Many economists and businesses think that the government’s decision this week to raise the salary threshold for immigrants will dent the UK’s growth by making it harder for businesses to hire.)
And that is the end of the press conference.
Sam Woods, another deputy governor, said the UK handled the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank “pretty well”, highlighting how fast a buyer was found.
There were three options by the Sunday evening after the US bank collapsed.
There was a lot of concern about the lack of access of companies to their deposits when the bank was transferred to HSBC. He says work is advanced on changes that would allow companies to continue to access their money during a similar situation.
Sarah Breeden, the Bank’s deputy governor, says there has been a sizeable decline in commercial real estate prices, but there have not been forced sales (which would imply financial stability problems).
Less of the debt to property companies is provided by banks, so it poses less of a risk to UK financial stability, she says.
Andrew Bailey says “thank goodness” that we are seeing fewer repossessions of homes, partly because of changes to laws, but also because the banking sector is better able to help struggling borrowers.
Asked about renters, Bailey says the Bank has to be alert to the position of renters particularly because of the decline in the proportion of homeowners in Britain.
Renters are more likely to be poorer, Bailey says. The aggregate is important for financial stability, but the distribution of renters is more broadly important for public policy.
Bailey says he is not an expert in AI – “palpably not”.
But he says productivity increases would be a welcome thing:
AI has tremendous potential as well… we can’t just describe it as a bag of risks.
Andrew Bailey: 'We have to embrace AI with our eyes open'
We’re all learning about AI at rapid pace, Bailey says, in response to a question from the Guardian’s banking correspondent Kalyeena Makortoff.
He says:
We obviously have to go into AI with out eyes open… It is something that we have to embrace
Bailey says there could be profound implications for economic growth and productivity – and he sounds broadly positive about that. But:
We have to embrace it with our eyes open… If you’re a firm using AI, you hve to understand the tool you’re using.
It’s not out of control in the sense of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s actually that the thing is so complicated in many of its forms that understandingexactly what the black box delivers is very hard.
Bailey highlights “hallucinations” – unexpected creations from generative AI. “You can’t have that sort of thing happening” in financial firms, Bailey says.
Updated
Asked about government policies aiming to boost higher-return investing by pension funds, Bailey says it is a “very good idea” to try to encourage investment in the real economy.
The more leveraged elements of the system are a “very distinct thing”, and he doesn’t think pension funds are being encouraged to invest in leveraged lending.
He pushes back against the description of intervention during the crisis under Liz Truss as “quantitative easing”.
He says the Bank needs to be able to act on financial stability even if there are monetary policy implications.
Onto questions, Bailey says financial stability makes setting monetary policy easier.
The Bank needs to pay more attention to the “non-bank world”, he says, but he is not yet worried about a financial crisis:
I’m not predicting that the next financial crisis is coming from the non-bank system
Andrew Bailey pays tribute to 'outstanding public servant' Alistair Darling
Bailey concludes that the outlook for the economy is uncertain, and there are new political risks.
He ends on a personal note, paying tribute to former chancellor Alistair Darling, who died last week. Darling was an outstanding public servant” with a “wicked sense of humour,” Bailey says. Of Darling’s time as chancellor during the crisis (and working closely with Bailey), he said:
He dealt with almost unimaginable circumstances in the most professional way.
Overall lending by banks “remains subdued”, reflecting more caution from banks, Andrew Bailey says.
But vulnerabilities in some parts of the non-bank lending sector have increased. Bailey cites “riskier corporate borrowing” such as private credit.
The weakness of the Chinese property sector is a key element in global economic uncertainty, Bailey said.
He cites developers Country Garden and Evergrande in particular.
The Bank is looking at the effect on UK banks of a possible crash in China’s property sector via Hong Kong.
Updated
There are “pockets of riskier borrowers” among UK businesses, but overall businesses are looking resilient, Andrew Bailey says.
Bringing inflation back to target helps financial stablity, Bailey says.
Finances remain stretched by the high cost of living, and mortgage payments are putting some people under pressure.
Some landlords have passed these costs on to renters.
But evidence of people in arrears on debts remains limited.
Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England is speaking at a press conference now.
He says that so far borrowers on the whole have been resilient, but within the averages he acknowledges that some people are struggling with rising interest rates.
Global risks have increased “following the tragic events in the Middle East”.
Bank of England to launch review into AI risks next year
The Bank of England says it will review the financial risks posed by artificial intelligence and machine learning in 2024.
It comes in response to the frenzy of AI-related activity this year, as large language models have rapidly developed human-like abilities.
In its financial stability report said the Bank was:
Being briefed on the continued adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in financial services, and potential financial stability implications. The FPC would further consider the financial stability risks of AI and ML in 2024, and alongside other relevant authorities would seek to ensure that the UK financial system is resilient to risks that may arise from widespread adoption of AI and ML.
On the UK banking sector, the Bank of England gives a thumbs-up on financial stability.
In minutes from its financial policy committee, just published, it said:
The UK banking system is well capitalised and has high levels of liquidity. It has the capacity to support households and businesses even if economic and financial conditions were to be substantially worse than expected.
But it thinks that profits from borrowing cheap and lending more expensively may have peaked, but that they will remain higher than before the global increase in interest rates after the coronavirus pandemic.
UK banks will not have to set aside more money in case of disasters, the Bank of England said.
Some global risks highlighted by the Bank of England:
High public debt levels in major economies – the Bank thinks that could impact global financial stability if investors sell bonds for fear of increased default risks.
The global property sector – banks are exposed if property prices fall…
And particularly China’s property sector – the sector is in the midst of a slow-grinding but severe crisis, which could have knock-on effects.
The Middle East (with the Israel-Hamas war left unsaid) – it said the unspecified disruption “increases uncertainty around the economic outlook, particularly with respect to energy prices”.
The Bank has said that the full effect of interest rate increases is yet to come through to the economy, suggesting there may be more pain ahead.
It said:
The full effect of higher interest rates has yet to come through, posing ongoing challenges to households, businesses and governments, which could be amplified by vulnerabilities in the system of market-based finance
That means that some assets appear to be overvalued still, the Bank said. (That could make them vulnerable to falling back.) It said:
The full impact of higher interest rates will take time to come through. Given the impact of higher and more volatile rates, and uncertainties associated with inflation and growth, some risky asset valuations continue to appear stretched.
Bank of England warns of 'challenging' global risks but says UK banks strong enough
The Bank of England has warned of “challenging” conditions for global financial stability, but said the UK’s banking sector is strong enough to weather shocks.
In its latest report on financial stability, published on Wednesday, the Bank said:
Conditions remain challenging, given increased geopolitical tensions and uncertainties over growth, inflation and interest rates.
However, its verdict on UK banks was positive:
The UK banking system is strong enough to support households and businesses, even if the economy does worse than expected.
Much more on this to come as we digest the Bank’s findings.
Morrisons and Marks & Spencer 'unlawfully restricted competition' on land
Morrisons and Marks & Spencer have been censured by the UK’s competition regulator for unlawfully restricting rivals from buying land.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the two supermarkets had agreed to “stop using unlawful anti-competitive land agreements” including restrictions on land being used by rival supermarkets, in a statement on Wednesday.
The breach was against 2010 rules to prevent supermarkets from restricting rivals if they sold or vacated land. The CMA found that:
Morrisons breached the order 55 times between 2011 and 2020. 41 of these restrictions are still outstanding.
M&S breached the order 10 times between 2015 and 2019. Five of these restrictions are still outstanding.
Adam Land, a senior director at the CMA said:
At a time when the weekly shop is a source of financial pressure for many families, it’s crucial that competition between supermarkets is working well to help people get the best deals they can.
These restrictive agreements by our leading retailers are unlawful. There can be no excuses made for non-compliance with an Order made in 2010, especially when we know the positive impact for shoppers of new stores on the high street.
Our continued crackdown on these unlawful restrictions is part of our wider action to tackle the cost of living and ensure that people benefit from more competition and choice.
The CMA has already censured other supermarkets on this issue: Tesco in 2020 (23 breaches), Waitrose in 2022 (7 breaches) and Sainsbury’s and Asda in 2023 (18 breaches and 14 breaches respectively).
The housebuilding slump has now lasted for a year, and residential building is at one of the weakest points since the global financial crisis of 2009.
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiled the survey said:
A slump in housebuilding has cast a long shadow over the UK construction sector and there were signs of weakness spreading to civil engineering and commercial work during November. Residential construction activity has now decreased in each of the past 12 months and the latest reduction was still among the fastest seen since the global financial crisis in 2009.
Elevated mortgage costs and unfavourable market conditions were widely cited as leading to cutbacks on housebuilding projects.
Rising interest rates and the uncertain UK economic outlook also hit commercial construction in November, while a lack of new work contributed to the fastest decline in civil engineering activity since July 2022.
It is also worth pointing out that the UK construction slump is worse than economists polled by Reuters had expected. They had forecast a reading of 46.3.
Here is the chart from S&P Global showing the UK construction data: the slump in recent months is fairly pronounced, although not as dramatic as some of the moves since the coronavirus pandemic.
S&P Global said that companies had been using up stocks of materials rather than buying new ones, and that lead times are shortening. That is good news for anyone still with cash to spend on construction, but indicates that demand is fizzling out.
The suppliers are all chasing fewer buyers. That usually leads to one thing: price drops. And sure enough, input costs fell at the fastest rate since July 2009, in the depths of the global financial crisis. Prices for steel and timber were under particular pressure.
House building slump weighs on UK construction output
Newsflash: output from the UK’s construction sector fell sharply for the third month in a row as housebuilding slumped, according to a closely followed measure.
The construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell slightly to 45.5 points in November, far below the 50 mark that indicates overall growth in the sector, according to S&P Global, which runs the influential indices.
The housebuilding index was particularly weak, at 39.2, but civil engineering at 43.5 was hardly strong. Even output from the commercial building segment shrank, at 48.1.
Survey respondents cited cutbacks to residential development projects and a general slowdown in activity due to unfavourable market conditions.
Construction firms noted that lacklustre domestic economic conditions and delayed decision-making by clients on major investment spending had been factors limiting demand [for commercial buildings].
Nor was there much positive when looking ahead. S&P Global said:
November data suggested a continued lack of new work to replace completed projects. Total new orders decreased for the fourth month running, albeit at the slowest pace since August.
Strike! Bowling alley company Ten Entertainment has been skittled in a £287m takeover by US private equity firm Trive Capital.
The company’s share price has soared by 32% this morning to a record high above £4 per share, reflecting the hefty 33% premium to its £212m market value on Tuesday evening.
Ten’s directors have unanimously recommended the offer, which will need to be accepted by shareholders.
Here is Ten’s share price chart since listing on the London Stock Exchange. You can barely see it, but that dot in the top-right-hand corner shows how dramatic the move has been:
In the stock market statement on Wednesday, Trive said Ten was “a high-quality and leading company in the leisure and hospitality sector with an experienced management team that has a clear vision and growth strategy for the future direction of TEG.”
It’s not all good news though. Ten said it recommended the offer in part because of concerns about the UK economy:
Notwithstanding the opportunities to accelerate this growth, the TEG directors are conscious of the need to be balanced against the uncertainties and risks that exist in the short and medium term. TEG is not immune to the highly unstable national and international political outlook together with a volatile economic backdrop, all of which have impacted UK economic conditions and UK consumer confidence as well as having led to significant inflation in certain input costs.
British American Tobacco writes off £25bn related in switch from cigarette to vapes
British American Tobacco has written off £25bn because of weak sales of cigarettes in the US and spending on its vape products.
The London-listed company, a member of the FTSE 100, said the change was an “accounting adjustment” mainly relating to US cigarette brands, which will be less valuable than previously thought over the next 30 years as smoking declines.
The company, which makes Kent, Dunhill and Lucky Strike cigarette brands, among others, is seeking to switch from burning tobacco to “non-combustibles”, which deliver nicotine via vapour or heating tobacco. The company and its rivals hope the switch to vaping will save it from regulatory pressure from countries such as the UK which are seeking to ban smoking.
BAT wants to make 50% of its revenue from non-combustibles by 2035. It thinks the growth opportunity is there, considering only 10% of the world’s billion smokers use newer products, which are thought to be less harmful to health – even if still addictive.
Tadeu Marroco, BAT’s chief executive, said:
Building on our broad-based performance in 2023, I am clear that now is the right time to further invest to accelerate our transformation. We are making active investment choices to strengthen our US business, accelerate innovation momentum in heated products globally, and enhance capabilities that support our strategic delivery.
I am confident that the choices we are making today will drive our long-term success and deliver sustainable value for all of our stakeholders.
In London the FTSE 100 benchmark index has gained 0.3% in the first few minutes of trading, in line with other indices across Europe.
Here are the opening snaps from Reuters:
EUROPE’S STOXX 600 UP 0.2%
FRANCE’S CAC 40 UP 0.2%, SPAIN’S IBEX UP 0.3%
EURO STOXX INDEX UP 0.2%; EURO ZONE BLUE CHIPS UP 0.2%
GERMANY’S DAX UP 0.2%
Updated
xAI files to raise $1bn; Tui considering leaving London
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, wants to raise $1bn from investors as it tries to match other companies in the booming sector, according to a filing with regulators.
The company has raised $135m in equity financing from four investors already, according to the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
AI companies are racing to raise capital to spend on training their large language models, which ingest enormous amounts of data in a way that allows them to create content such as words, pictures and video approximating human intelligence.
Musk was previously involved in the foundation of OpenAI, a company that started as a not-for-profit to advance the field, but which now has a commercial focus. The unusual governance model was thought to be at the heart of the recent turmoil at the startup, after the not-for-profit board sacked chief executive Sam Altman, only for him to be reinstated after major investor Microsoft objected.
Musk has criticised models used by Microsoft and Google for what he describes as censorship, and has said xAI’s model will be “maximally curious”. The company launched a chatbot called Grok last month.
Tui considers delisting from London Stock Exchange
Travel company Tui is considering ditching its London listing after pressure from shareholders, making it the latest large company to consider leaving the FTSE behind.
Tui has a joint listing in the UK and Germany’s Frankfurt, reflecting its German heritage and the fact that British tourists are its top customers. However, it said its investors had raised the possibility of it leaving the London listing, in a stock market announcement on Wednesday morning.
It said that a single Frankfurt listing would be simpler, would make it easier to meet rules on European Union ownership of airlines that have affected it since Brexit, and would give it a bigger profile with investors (in part because there are fewer big companies.
The company said:
While no decision has been taken, the executive board is therefore currently considering including the UK-delisting resolution on the agenda for the AGM on 13 February 2024. Under the UK listing rules, the UK-delisting will require shareholder approval of a delisting resolution with at least a 75% majority of the votes cast.
The agenda
9:30am GMT: UK S&P Global/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) (November; previous: 45.6 points; consensus: 46.3)
10am GMT: Eurozone retail sales (October; prev.: -0.3% month-on-month; cons.: 0.2%)
10:30am GMT: Bank of England to publish financial stability report
11am GMT: Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey speech
Updated
