Closing summary
Time to wrap up.
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) announced it is adding Glencore and retailer TJX to its divestment list.
The move will affect LGIM Future World fund range, LGIM’s ESG fund ranges, and all defined contribution auto-enrolment default funds in L&G Workplace Pensions and the L&G Mastertrust.
Michelle Scrimgeour, CEO of LGIM, said:
“With the world recently experiencing its first annual average temperature overshoot of 1.5˚C, the message is clear: there is much more to do to mitigate climate change, and we need to act now.
“I have been encouraged by progress over the last 12 months, with many of the companies with which we have engaged making significant strides in important areas. However, it is clear that the pace of the transition is neither smooth enough nor fast enough. It is not the role of the asset management industry alone to tackle climate change: this is a whole of system transition, the pace of which is influenced by global public policy, regulatory standards and the nature of energy demand. Radical collaboration is therefore key – to drive aligned action and decarbonisation on a global scale.”
Optimism is growing that the global economy will pull off a soft landing, as central banks move towards cutting interest rates.
But UK retailers suffered a bump this month, with sales weaker than in June 2023.
In the currency markets, the Japanese yen has hit a 38-year low against the US dollar, prompting concerns in Toyko.
German engineering group Robert Bosch is reportedly weighing a bid for U.S. appliances manufacturer Whirlpool.
Back in the UK, the Czech billionaire hoping to buy Royal Mail has confirmed he is considering offering employees a stake in the business, as his company asked shareholders to back its £3.6 billion takeover bid.
As flagged this morning, Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group set out its plans for the future of Royal Mail’s owner, International Distribution Services (IDS), in a letter sent to shareholders.
In the offer letter, EP Group said it is “exploring, following completion of the acquisition, potentially offering a form of employee participation model in the business” which could include “profit-sharing” among all members of staff.
Unions representing postal workers have previously called for staff to be given a stake in the company via a shake-up of its structure.
