Barratt Redrow flags top-end earnings, BHP chair stepping down
By Josh White
Date: Wednesday 12 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open flat on Wednesday, having closed up 0.11% on Tuesday at 8,777.39.
Stocks to watch
Housebuilder Barratt Redrow said it expected full-year earnings to be at the upper end of expectations after a jump in interim profits. The company on Wednesday posted pre-tax profit of £117.2m, up 23% and lifted its dividend by a quarter to 5.5p a share. Consensus estimates for 2025 adjusted profit before tax was £542m with a range of £506m to £588m.
BHP's chair of eight years, Ken MacKenzie, is to retire from the board at the end of next month, the mining giant announced on Wednesday. He will be replaced by banking veteran Ross McEwan, who has served as independent non-executive director since April of last year. "Ross is an excellent choice as leader of the board, and I wish him every success in the role," MacKenzie said in a statement.
Indivior announced on Wednesday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has delayed its final review of proposed label changes for Sublocade, which include a rapid initiation protocol and alternative injection sites. The company said the regulator had accepted the proposed label and identified no outstanding issues, but did not provide a new timeline for approval.
Newspaper round-up
The British economy is on course to expand by 1.5% this year after the budget gave a boost to public spending but could be blown off course if Donald Trump goes ahead with threatened tariffs, a leading economic thinktank has warned. In a boost to Rachel Reeves after a bruising month of negative economic figures, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) upped its annual growth prediction from 1.2% to 1.5%. - Guardian
Heathrow will submit third runway proposals to the government this summer, pledging to use UK steel and boost growth, the airport has confirmed. Its chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, will formally spell out plans for a third runway to follow a multibillion-pound upgrade of the London airport's existing terminals and facilities, in a speech at the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe on Wednesday. - Guardian
Britain is at risk of a £24bn blow to the economy should Donald Trump forge ahead with "reciprocal tariffs", analysts have warned. The UK is facing the prospect of 21pc tariffs on goods exports to the US if the president imposes duties on Britain based on VAT charges, Deutsche Bank has warned. Tariffs of this scale would knock 0.4 percentage points off UK GDP growth for the next two years, according to Ahmet Kaya, of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr), accounting for $30bn (£24bn). - Telegraph
The departing chairwoman of the Financial Ombudsman Service was reminded of rules governing contempt of parliament as she was accused of refusing to answer MPs' questions about the sudden departure of the organisation's chief executive last week. Baroness Manzoor was told that it was a "contempt of parliament not to" answer questions as she declined to explain why Abby Thomas, chief ombudsman and chief executive, had unexpectedly left the dispute resolution service with immediate effect. - The Times
Company bosses have become much more confident about the UK economy over the last quarter, with a large majority expecting profits to rise in the coming year. According to researchers at EY-Parthenon, 82 per cent of chief executives felt optimistic about the business landscape over the next 12 months, up sharply from 67 per cent in September. - The Times
US close
Wall Street equity markets closed in a mixed fashion on Tuesday as investors continued to digest the impact of new US tariffs on the global economy as well as comments from the head of the Federal Reserve.
The Dow rose 0.3% to 44,593.65, the S&P 500 finished flat at 6,068.50, while the Nasdaq fell 0.4% to 19,643.86.
The continued news of new tariffs from the White House continues to weigh heavily on risk appetite, after Donald Trump at the weekend raised import duties on steel and aluminium, with both levies set to come into effect on 4 March.
Meanwhile, Powell's Congress testimony was also making headlines after the central bank head left the door open for more interest rate cuts but said the Fed was in no hurry to act.
Powell struck an upbeat tone on the economy, calling it "strong overall" with a "solid" job market and also noted that the labour market condition had cooled and was "not a source of significant inflationary pressures".
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