Closing summary
Time for a quick recap
Bank of England policy-maker Swati Dhingra has warned the BoE may be “underplaying the downside risks” for the UK economy by failing to cut interest rates, as she has been pushing for.
Dhingra told the FT:
“I’m not fully convinced there’s some kind of really sharp excess demand in the economy coming from the consumption side.
I’m more concerned that we might be underplaying the downside risks.”
Confidence among UK construction firms has hit a two-year high, on hopes that interest rates will be cut….
.. but activity dropped in the sector again last month, led by another fall in housebuilding.
Despite ongoing dec in output levels & the 6th consec mth decline in new work - expectations are high for a more productive year ahead in the construction ind. The promise of “favourable underlying economic prospects” boosting moral but causing many to stall till then @SPGlobal pic.twitter.com/K5uyqPhg5R
— Emma Fildes (@emmafildes) February 6, 2024
WeWork founder Adam Neumann is trying to buy back the company after it filed for bankruptcy protection.
Neumann’s new real estate company, Flow Global, has sought to buy WeWork or its assets, as well as provide bankruptcy financing to keep it afloat, the New York Times’s Dealbook reports today.
The government’s sale of its stake in NatWest to the public could begin as soon as June, MPs have heard.
Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, says:
‘’The government is gearing up to launch the highest-profile public share offer since the Royal Mail IPO more than a decade ago. With confirmation from UK Government Investments (UKGI) that the sale of NatWest shares could happen as early as June, it’s clear it’s all systems go to get the process off the ground.
Between 2008 and 2009, it cost the government £45.5 billion to bail out the then Royal Bank of Scotland. This was at an average of 520p per share, much higher than the current price. Back in November, the Chancellor said any sale would be subject to market conditions and achieving value for money. It’s hard to see how that will be achieved, particularly given the current share price of 219p
The Treasury Committee also examined how much money has been lost through the UK’s investment in satellite operator OneWeb (quite a lot, by the sound of it).
BP has beaten profit expectations, and pledged to hand another $14bn to shareholders in buybacks over the next two years. Shares are up 5.5% this afternoon.
UK retail sales growth slowed to its lowest level in 17 months in January, as consumers cut back on non-food items.
Updated
Currently, WeWork’s bankruptcy plan proposes handing ownership to the company’s most senior debt holders, including those holding its credit line, first-lien notes and second-lien notes, according to court papers.
Third-lien noteholders and unsecured creditors are likely to be wiped out, Bloomberg reports.
Adam Neumann is back?...$WEWKQ pic.twitter.com/BQIreVsmIf
— Tony Montana (@ScarfaceInvest) February 6, 2024
