Reuters Insider - Reuters Today: Brexit; French Connection; Lloyds and Schroders wealth management alliance talks
08/10/2018 11:27
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.insider.thomsonreuters.com/link?entryId=1_oqgcuxo3&referenceId=1_oqgcuxo3&pageId=ReutersNews Source: Reuters Insider Description: Two new surveys showed that Brexit uncertainty is 'starting to bite' as Britain's businesses saw exports slow. Schroders and Lloyds Banking Group said they are in talks over a wealth management alliance. Plus, French Connection shares had a volatile session after the fashion retailer said it was looking at strategic options including selling itself. Short Link: https://reut.rs/2yjtaRW Video Transcript: Good morning and welcome to Reuters Today. I'm Angeline Ong. More signs of a Brexit storm in the horizon. Two new surveys showed that Brexit uncertainty is "starting to bite" as Britain's businesses saw exports slow. The British Chambers of Commerce said its survey of 5,600 companies showed services firms were having the toughest time finding staff since the survey began in 1989; 72% of firms reported recruitment difficulties, the highest on record. Separately, accountancy firm Deloitte said its survey of CFOs pointed to slower investment and hiring after Britain leaves the bloc. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has given Eurozone banks until 2022 to limit their reliance on London, says the Financial Times. The newspaper quoting a banker, saying the ECB expected a lot of back-to-back booking of trades and loans to be phased out even sooner, after the UK's expected divorce from the EU. Japan, though, would welcome Britain into a Trans Pacific trade pact with "open arms." This is what Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the FT. However, Abe, who's one of Prime Minister Theresa May's closest international allies, said that he did hope that both the UK and the EU can contribute their wisdom and at least avoid a so-called disorderly Brexit. Now all this comes as May is trying to find a way of getting a Brexit plan agreed with Brussels and even then, it's not straight forward, as she still has to convince her skeptical parliament to back the outcome. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the PM's current vision of a Brexit deal just won't work. br/ Our bottom line is membership of the single market and the customs union, I cannot envisage the SMP MPs voting for something that doesn't contain that. Don't forget, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. br/ br/ Now in banking, we're keeping an eye on Schroders and Lloyds Banking Group after they both said they were in talks over a wealth management alliance. The announcement came on Sunday. Now if it went ahead, it would be one of the biggest wealth management tie-ups in recent years. French Connection shares having a volatile session as you can see there. Now the fashion retailer said it was looking at its options, including selling itself. Sky News at the weekend reported that French Connection boss Stephen Marks had approached bidders to sell his nearly 42% stake in the company. But all this doesn't come as a surprise though. High street retailers like FCUK have faced a difficult market in recent years with rising competition, changing consumer shopping habits and a weak outlook in Britain. Well, let's take a look at the movers and shakers for you. And Airbus is making gains. After the close on Friday, the planemaker said it had scored 311 gross orders between January and September and delivered more than 500. Norsk Hydro shares topping the STOXX, after the aluminum firm got a key permit helping it towards restarting a key refinery at half capacity. And Acacia mining rose as much as 6% after it raised its full-year gold production target and Q3 production exceeded its expectations. Hearing aid maker William Demant is near the bottom of the index, with traders pointing to a possible competitive threat from Bose after the FDA approved its over-the-counter hearing aid. Norway's TGS an oil firm, also taking a tumble. Sales for Q3 came in lower than expected while the Austria-based aviation parts maker FACC warned that its second-quarter earnings will fall short of market expectations due to higher-than-expected development costs. To the broader markets now and UK and European stocks kicking off the week in negative territory. Fears that the trade war could have a bigger impact on China than expected and of course concerns over rising US interest rates are weighing on risk appetite. The FTSE is down around 0.25%, the DAX is down around 0.7%, and the FTSEurofirst 300 is down around 0.6%. And that's it for now. I'm Angeline Ong, and this is Reuters