1 day Ago By Evening Standard
, Martin Sorrell’s digital advertising agency S4 Capital pointed today to a bigger drop in annual revenue as it reported a half-year operating loss. Net revenue in the first half fell 13.5% on a like-for-like basis to £376.
1 million. Its operating loss was £3.7 million.
The firm said: “We target like-for-like net revenue to be down on the prior year, but to a greater extent than that assumed in May 2024 in our last trading update.” Sorrell added: “Trading in the first half reflects the continuing impact of both challenging global macroeconomic conditions and high interest rates. “This particularly impacted marketing spend by some technology clients and our Technology Services practice was affected by a reduction in one of our larger relationships”, and: “We maintain our profit target for the full year and, as in prior years, financial performance will be significantly second half weighted.
” , Futures markets are pointing to strong gains on Wall Street later as traders digest the Federal Reserve’s supersized half point cut in interest rates. Two more rate cuts are expected this year but Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell insists the central bank is in no rush as projections for the US economy remain healthy. The boost to risk appetite means S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite futures are up by 1.
1% and 1.7% respectively. The Nikkei and Hang Seng index both rose by more than 2% this morning.
Gold briefly touched a record $2600 following the Federal Reserve decision before settling at $2575 this morning. , The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee is set to leave interest rates at 5% today, having voted 5-4 for a first cut in the cycle at its meeting on 1 August. With this month’s decision seen as 7-2 in favour of no change, the main focus is likely to be the pace of quantitative tightening for the next 12 months.
The next cut in base rate is seen in November, with this week’s services inflation reading of 5.6% putting paid to hopes of an earlier move. Deutsche Bank expects the Bank to retain its language around the need for sufficiently restrictive policy.
“However, we see dovish risks too, with the MPC signalling more confidence in the wage and price outlook, setting the stage for a November rate cut.” The City firm expects quarterly rate cuts over the next couple of years, before interest rates settle at 3% around summer 2026. , Close Brothers, the historic City bank, is selling its wealth management arm to Oaktree Capital in a deal worth £200 million, it said today.
The announcement came alongside the 150-year-old’s firm’s annual results. Profit before tax rose 27% to £142 million and its loan book was up 6% to £10.1 billion.
But the company is braced for the potential impact of a wave of claims over the way car loans were sold. The main City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, announced this year that it was investigating the way dealerships were incentivised to sell more expensive loans to customers who could have qualified for cheaper rates. Close Brothers has been preparing its own finances for a potential wave of compensation, in what could be the biggest series of payouts since the payment protection insurance scandal.
The firm announced this week that its CEO, Adrian Sainsbury, was taking a leave of absence for medical reasons. He said today: “Our top priority has been to further strengthen our capital position and protect our valuable franchise, whilst continuing to support our nearly three million customers. “The FCA's review of historical motor finance commission arrangements announced in January introduced significant uncertainty for the group Sainsbury also said: “This year's performance demonstrates the group's resilience” and that it was “making significant progress against the capital actions previously outlined”.
Close Brothers said this week that its finance director, Mike Morgan, will assume Sainsbury’s “principal responsibilities”, supported by its chairman, Mike Biggs. , Ocado Retail, the grocery technology company’s joint venture with Marks & Spencer, today lifted its full year revenue guidance. The new forecast for low double-digit growth comes after retail revenues rose by 15.
5% to £658 million in the 13 weeks to 1 September. Volumes improved 15.4% year-on-year and average orders per week by 14.
7% to 437,000. All other guidance is unchanged, including for an adjusted margin of about 2.5%.
Ocado Retail chief executive Hannah Gibson said: “We're pleased with the progress we're making and excited about how much more there is to deliver." , Next continues to trade ahead of City expectations after the retailer lifted its full-year pre-tax profit guidance by another £15 million to £995 million. The forecast for annual profits growth of 8.
4% comes after sales lifted 6.9% in the first six weeks of the second half-year, materially ahead of expectations. Full-price sales are set to be 4% higher across the year, having risen by 4.
4% in today’s half-year results. Pre-tax profits for the six months to July lifted 7.1% to £452 million.
, The Federal Reserve’s 0.5% cut to interest rates has given a lift to global markets, with the FTSE 100 index forecast to open 68 points higher at 8322. Pressure on the dollar means Asia markets are also in positive territory after the Nikkei 225 improved 2.
3% and the Hang Seng index by 1.8%. Wall Street finished slightly lower last night, having initially risen after the Federal Reserve announcement.
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