Legal & General launches £200m buyback, Molten Ventures net assets rise
By Josh White
Date: Wednesday 12 Jun 2024
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 47 points higher on Wednesday, having closed down 0.98% on Tuesday at 8,147.81.
Stocks to watch
Insurance, retirement and investment services group Legal & General has announced a £200m share buyback as it set out plans to restructure the business into three core units and promised to increase shareholder returns. "The strategy and targets set out today signal L&G's ambition and commitment to invest to grow our business, and reward our shareholders for their support," said chief executive António Simões. The company said it intends to return more to shareholders over 2024 to 2027, with 5% dividend growth in 2024 followed by 2% growth per annum, in addition to further share repurchases.
Molten Ventures reported a gross portfolio value of £1.379bn for the year ended 31 March on Wednesday, with net assets rising to £1.251bn. The FTSE 250 venture capital firm said key highlights of the 12 months ended 31 March included £65m invested from its balance sheet, the acquisition of Forward Partners, and a 50% forecasted revenue growth for its 'Core' portfolio. It also launched its inaugural Sustainability Report, committed to climate initiatives, and formally established the Esprit Foundation, awarding its first grants to social mobility and inclusion projects.
Newspaper round-up
The owner of South West Water has warned that global heating will increase the risk of outbreaks of the parasite that caused diarrhoea and vomiting in south Devon. Pennon Group said that "gradual and significant increasing average and high temperatures" could pose "risks to water quality and water treatment" - including the cryptosporidium parasite - in its annual report, published this week. - Guardian
Investors could seek more than £100m in compensation from the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral for failure to update them on issues with bribery and corruption at the group's former Turkish operation. The planned action, led by the legal firm Fox Williams, follows Entain's agreement to pay almost £600m - one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed in the UK - in a deal with HM Revenue and Customs finalised in December 2023 after an investigation into alleged bribery. - Guardian
An investment team formerly run by Neil Woodford is being disbanded amid flagging interest in London-listed shares. Invesco is to close its dedicated UK stock-picking unit and merge it with its European division from January. The teams are being merged as investor interest in British stocks wanes. Money in the Invesco UK Equity Income and High Income funds has shrunk to £6.86bn, compared to £33bn when Mr Woodfood oversaw them. - Telegraph
An oil and gas company run by a Labour campaigner has blamed "negative political rhetoric" for its decision to abandon work on one of the most significant discoveries in the North Sea. Deltic Energy on Tuesday blamed "deteriorating sentiment towards the oil and gas industry as a result of ongoing fiscal volatility and negative political rhetoric in the run-up to the July election" for its decision to walk away from the Pensacola field. - Telegraph
Banana firm Chiquita Brands has been ordered to pay $38.3m (£30m) to 16 family members of people killed by a right-wing paramilitary group it funded during Colombia's long civil war. The decision by a federal jury in Florida marks the first time the company has been found liable in any of a number of similar lawsuits pending elsewhere in the US. - Sky News
US close
US stocks finished in a mixed fashion on Tuesday with the Dow falling but the Nasdaq putting in decent gains, helped by a strong performance from tech heavyweight Apple.
The Dow finished 0.3% lower while the S&P 500 rose just 0.3% with investors scaling back their appetite for risk ahead of the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and crucial consumer price index (CPI) inflation data due out on Wednesday.
However, the Nasdaq jumped 0.9% after a 7% surge in the price of Apple as the market welcomed the company's new AI system, Apple Intelligence.
As for the FOMC meeting, with no change in policy expected, all eyes will be on the Fed's Summary of Economic Projections and the so-called 'Dot Plot' graph, which should give some visibility over the interest-rate outlook in the near term.
In economic news on Tuesday, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 90.5 last month, up marginally from the 89.7 reading in April and ahead of the 89.8 consensus estimate.
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