Just Eat Takeaway.com swings to profit, Barclays boss Epstein links probed
By Digital Look
Date: Thursday 13 Feb 2020
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 was called to open 21 points lower at 7,513.
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The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England are investigating past links between Barclays' chief executive Jes Staley and the American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In a statement about effectiveness tests for directors Barclays said it had taken into account press reports linking Staley and Epstein, a convicted paedophile who was arrested for sex trafficking in 2019. Barclays said Staley had no conduct with Epstein since becoming CEO in 2015 and that after an internal review he has the full confidence of the board.
The bank said the FCA enquired about Staley's relationship with Epstein. The FCA and the Bank of England's Prudential Regulatory Authority then started an investigation into Staley's account of his relationship with Epstein and Barclays' description of the relationship to the FCA.
Food delivery service Just Eat Takeaway.com swung to a full year profit as increased scale offset higher investment in its Scoober business.
The company, which is merging with UK peer Just Eat, reported adjusted core earnings of €12.3m compared with a loss of €11.3m in 2018. Gross revenue grew by 78% to €426.8m.
Germany-based food delivery group Delivery Hero said it would buy 8.4m additional shares of Just Eat Takeaway.com through a forward share purchase agreement restoring its exposure to 10.6% after the dilution caused by the merger.
Shares in Just Eat Takeaway.com started trading in February. The firm is waiting for a final approval from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) before it can merge operations and brands. The CMA's first probe is due to end on March 5.
Newspaper round-up
The world's largest mobile phone trade fair, Mobile World Congress, has been cancelled after scores of the world's biggest technology and telecommunications companies pulled out over fears of the spread of the coronavirus. The MWC, which was due to be held in Barcelona on 24 February, was expecting more than 100,000 delegates from about 200 countries across the four days of the conference. - Guardian
House prices rose across the UK for the first time in one and a half years last month as optimism returned among buyers and sellers, according to surveyors and estate agents. In further evidence that the housing market is picking up, inquiries from would-be buyers, agreed sales and the number of properties coming on to the market all rose in January, according to the latest monthly snapshot from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). - Guardian
A Treasury raid on pension tax relief could deepen the savings crisis among Britain's five million self-employed workers, industry leaders have warned. Sajid Javid will put thousands of sole traders and small business owners off building up a retirement pot if he presses ahead with the scheme, experts said. The Chancellor is considering a 20pc charge on pension contributions made by those earning over ?50,000 a year in next month's Budget. - Telegraph
Bombardier has been accused of exploiting its suppliers by the payment watchdog. The small business commissioner said that the British division of the manufacturer had mistreated companies for at least the past two years by failing to settle invoices on time. Bombardier's conduct was described as shocking by the Federation of Small Businesses which said that the company had a "damning rap sheet of persistent and harmful late" paynments and non payments. - The Times
US close
US markets finished in the green on Wednesday, as concerns around the ongoing coronavirus outbreak took a back seat.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.94% at 29,551.42, the S&P 500 added 0.65% to 3,379.45, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.9% firmer at 9,725.96.
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