Global Economic Outlook: Consumer Spending, Market Trends, and Growth Indicators

North American Morning Briefing : Investors Await Data, Walmart Earnings for Consumer Spending Insight

Stock futures were rising on Thursday after economic data on inflation cemented expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next month. The big question for markets now is how big an interest-rate cut the Fed will make in September-the usual 0.25 percentage point move or something bigger. Investors could get some indications later, with fresh data and earnings. "Retail sales data for July, and earnings releases from retail giant Walmart today[...]should bring further clarity to the wellbeing of the U.S. consumer," Deutsche Bank said. Other earnings include Deere ahead of the opening bell and Applied Materials after the close. Weekly jobless claims figures are also out today, which have gained in importance since traders latched on to them last week as a sign that the sky isn't falling over the labor market after a previous report showed the unemployment rate rising. Overseas Markets In Asia, the consumer was also a big theme. New data showed retail sales picked up in China , while consumer spending helped lift quarterly growth in Japan . Stock markets rose in both countries. Elsewhere, stocks were muted. Europe's Stoxx 600 inched up. Premarket Movers Cisco Systems ' earnings beat analysts' expectations and executives put forward a restructuring plan. Shares rose 6%. Ulta Beauty stock surged after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it bought a stake position in the cosmetics company last quarter. Nike shares climbed after Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed that it had acquired a new stake. Postmarket Movers Titan Machinery cut its outlook for its fiscal 2025 and dividend expectations. Shares fell 22%. Turnstone Biologics intends to raise capital through equity offerings, debt financings and other capital sources, but warned it might not be able to continue. Shares fell 38%. Watch For: July Advance Monthly Sales for Retail & Food Services; June Manufacturing & Trade: Inventories & Sales Today's Headlines/Must Reads - Why Inflation Might Not Win the Election for Trump - Why Falling Mortgage Rates Aren't a Quick Fix for Frustrated Homebuyers - Lenovo Profit Grows Another Quarter, Helped by AI The dollar was steady after briefly falling in reaction to Wednesday's inflation data. While the data lay the foundations for the Fed to start cutting interest rates in September, a 50 basis points cut is unlikely, Commerzbank said, adding that the Fed won't be in crisis mode just because inflation is moving toward the 2% target. For panic-like rate cuts to happen, the August labor market report on Sept. 6 would need to be much weaker than expected and show a slump in employment, it said. The prospect of the U.S. interest rate cuts and its economy slowing was proving supportive for the euro as the options market showed increased demand for bets on the currency's rise, ING said. One-month risk reversals show a skew in favor of euro call options over put options for the first time since 2022, and EUR/USD could rise to 1.12, it added. "We would like to keep this bias for the time being, even though the prospect of European fiscal consolidation and potentially wider sovereign spreads may reappear in September." Sterling was little moved after data on Thursday showed the U.K. economy expanded by 0.6% in the three months to June compared with the previous quarter. "There were no surprises in the U.K. GDP report, confirming that the economy has enjoyed a strong recovery from its mild technical recession last year," Abrdn said. The BOE might be less active than the Fed in cutting interest rates as the U.S. economy cools, but the U.K. could still cut rates further this year as its services inflation is finally moderating, it added. Energy: Oil prices rose, recovering some lost ground after Wednesday's sell-off following a surprise increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. Geopolitical risks continue to hang over the market, as it's unclear how and if Iran will retaliate against Israel after the assassination of a Hamas leader on Iranian soil, ING said. This uncertainty has prompted increased options trading activity, as investors want to protect themselves from significant upside, it added. Metals: Gold futures rose after Wednesday's selloff, but remaining firmly below the $2,500 mark. The precious metal has gained on a weaker dollar and lower Treasury yields as the market awaits more clues on the prospects of easing monetary policy, market watchers say. There was a bit of good news for Boeing first thing Thursday. The troubled airplane manufacturer has secured a new aircraft deal with Israel's El Al Airlines worth as much as $2.5 billion, it said on Thursday. The order includes up to 31 737 MAX aircraft, which would replace the flag carrier's current all-Boeing fleet of 737-800 and 737-900. Eric Schmidt Walks Back Claim Google Is Behind on AI Because of Remote Work Eric Schmidt, ex-CEO and executive chairman at Google, walked back remarks in which he said his former company was losing the artificial intelligence race because of its remote-work policies. "I misspoke about Google and their work hours," Schmidt said Wednesday in an email to The Wall Street Journal. "I regret my error." Will July Retail Sales Confirm a Soft Landing-or Fuel Recession Fears? With retail earnings season getting into full swing, there's no shortage of insights circling around about the health of the U.S. consumer. July's retail sales may be the indicator that matters most, at least where the Federal Reserve is concerned, as the central bank looks for signs of where the economy is headed in the second half of the year. Fed officials wanted the U.S. economy to slow when they started raising rates in March of 2022. The hope was that higher rates would curb spending and lower inflation, which was up close to 9% that month. New Jersey Governor Set to Tap Former Aide for Bob Menendez's Senate Seat New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is set to appoint his former chief of staff to represent the state in the Senate, filling the coming vacancy prompted by the resignation of disgraced Sen. Bob Menendez, according to a person familiar with the decision. George Helmy, 44 years old, was the Democratic governor's chief of staff from 2019 until last year. He is currently the chief external affairs and policy officer for the RWJBarnabas Health hospital system and previously worked as an aide to senators representing the Garden State, including Sen. Cory Booker. Columbia University President Shafik Resigns Minouche Shafik resigned Wednesday as Columbia University's president, ending an embattled 13-month term during which her New York City campus was the scene of a series of chaotic and sometimes violent protests by students, faculty and other activists. Protests over the Israel-Hamas war began in October and continued through much of the winter at Columbia and many other schools. The protests intensified in April after Shafik testified before Congress. Allied Gold Announces Closing of Streaming Transaction With Triple Flag, Receives $53M Upfront Payment GreenPower Motor Rev C$3M; Sees Step Up in Rev Through Remaining Quarters of FY 1Q Karnalyte Resources Names Danielle Favreau as Permanent CEO; Christie Gradin as Permanent Financial Chief; 2Q Loss/Shr C$0.01 Northland Power 2Q EPS C$0.95; 2Q Sales C$529M; 2024 Fincl Outlook Remains Unchanged From Prior Guidance; Projecting Fincl Outlook for 2024 at Higher End of Disclosed Guidance Range; Projected Free Cash Flow Per Shr for 2024 Is Expected in Range of C$1.10 to C$1.30 Patriot Battery Metals Target Price Cut 40% to A$0.90/Share by Macquarie Patriot Battery Metals: Alex Eastwood Joining as Executive Vice President of Commercial; Eastwood Will Be Based Primarily in Australia; Eastwood, an Experienced Lithium Commercial Executive, Was a Founding Senior Executive at Pilbara Minerals Rogers Communications: Bd of Directors Appointed Edward Rogers Executive Chair, Effective Immediately;Tony Staffieri's Responsibilities as CEO Remain the Same, Reporting to Bd, Staffieri Will Continue to Run the Co Triple Flag Completes Acquisition Of 3% Gold Streams On Agbaou And Bonikro 06:00/UK: 2Q Business investment in the UK: provisional results 12:30/US: Jul Advance Monthly Sales for Retail & Food Services 12:30/CAN: Jun Wholesale trade 12:30/US: Aug Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey 12:30/US: 08/10 Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report - Initial Claims 13:15/US: Jul Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

European Midday Briefing : Europe Stocks Steady as Mood Improves

Most major European benchmarks were higher on Friday, at the end of a week when U.S. data has largely calmed fears of an economic slowdown. "The combination of encouraging economic data and robust Walmart earnings gave hope to investors that the U.S. economy won't collapse, revived the hope of seeing the U.S. economy soft-land, and eased the jumbo rate-hike bets for the Federal Reserve's September meeting," Swissquote Bank. Stocks to Watch Inditex seems an attractively valued shelter at uncertain times for consumer discretionary names, Jefferies said. "A stabilizing European consumer backdrop could become an incremental reason to buy," it said, adding that the company seems to have opportunities for market-share expansion. Citi said the business model of Inditex continues to be effective due to its "demand pull" strategy. Consensus is not fully valuing the fashion giant's ability to generate surplus cash via best-in-class working capital management, it said. On the other hand, Citi remains bearish on the pace of H&M's turnaround. U.S. Markets: Stock futures chased another day of gains following the best week for the market so far this year. Bond yields eased. The S&P 500 has risen for six consecutive sessions and the CBOE Volatility Index closed on Thursday at its lowest level since late July. Stock to Watch Applied Materials posted higher quarterly revenue and profit, driven by artificial intelligence-demand. Its stock initially rose in off-hours trading, then slid. H&R Block's stock rose 10% in off-hours after it notched better-than-expected quarterly earnings and forecast fiscal-year results above Wall Street's estimates. Forex: The euro could rise against the dollar as the Fed is likely to cut interest rates more aggressively than the ECB in response to lower inflation, Commerzbank said, adding that the Fed could deliver six rate cuts while the ECB might cut rates four more times. "We believe that the Fed's policy response function is more elastic to changes in inflation than that of the ECB." Commerzbank also expects less spectacular U.S. growth in the fall and winter, which could erode the view of a structural U.S. growth advantage and weaken the dollar, it added. Commerzbank projects EUR/USD to rise to 1.14 by mid-2025. The dollar edged lower ahead of U.S. consumer confidence data later, after stronger-than-expected retail sales data on Thursday boosted the currency briefly. The retail sales figures prompted investors to shift toward pricing a 25 basis points interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September as opposed to a 50bps move, ING said, adding that Friday's focus will be on consumer confidence survey. "This survey will have been taken during the stock market rout at the start of August and could see consumer expectations sink further," and weaken the dollar. Sterling showed little reaction after U.K. retail sales recovered in July, although by less than expected. It has been a generally good week of U.K. data, MUFG Bank said, adding that the Bank of England is likely to cut interest rates once more this year in November but the market is currently pricing more than that. If it trims these bets given recent strong data it would supporting sterling, it added. Bonds: Gilt yields fell following the U.K. retail sales data. "There are still areas of weakness, and it will be some time before we can talk about consumer strength," Tickmill Group said. Energy: Oil prices slipped after a volatile week. Concerns around a U.S. recession have calmed, aiding crude oil bulls, though the production side of the U.S. economy continues to face headwinds, Pepperstone said. Lingering geopolitical risk is also helping keep a floor under crude prices, with the potential for a response from Iran against Israel likely denting the appetite of investors to take on significant short positions, particularly ahead of the weekend, though geopolitical risk can only underpin crude for so long, with a significant pickup in global demand needed to sustain a rally, it added. Metals: Gold futures were broadly flat, and unless there is a substantial shift in market expectations, gold prices are likely to remain broadly rangebound for now, Pepperstone said. While the bullish case for gold is clear--expected rate cuts, increased geopolitical risks and heightened Middle East tensions--there is no key catalyst, it added, saying the most significant risk to gold will be U.S. nonfarm payroll data due early September, which could raise recession fears if job growth falls and unemployment proves sticky. Gold Chart Comex gold futures are likely attempting to resume upside movement, based on the daily chart, according to RHB Retail Research. As long as the precious metal stays above support at $2,450/oz, the trading bias remains positive, and immediate resistance is at $2,600/oz, it added. Lithium Panmure Liberum forecasts the lithium carbonate price will bounce to $25,000 in early 2025, from an average around $15,000/ton in 2024, making it an undaunted bull in a lithium market run by bears. EMEA HEADLINES Bayer Shares Surge After Appeal Win in Roundup Cancer Suit Bayer shares soared after a Philadelphia appeals court ruled in favor of the company over claims it had failed to place a cancer warning label on the Roundup weedkiller made by its subsidiary Monsanto. Bayer shares climbed 10% to EUR28.92 in early morning trading in Europe. The German agricultural-chemical maker's share price slumped over 74% since its $63 billion Monsanto acquisition in 2018. It has faced a raft of lawsuits over the Roundup herbicide. Mpox vaccine maker's stock continues to surge Bavarian Nordic shares on Friday surged once again as the mpox vaccine maker says it now is seeking approval to immunize adolescents. Bavarian Nordic is the only U.S. and European-approved vaccine available for mpox, which the World Health Organization said is a global health emergency after its spread in Africa and beyond. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported 17,541 cases, including 517 deaths, in 12 countries this year. GLOBAL NEWS Markets Are Way Out of Line With Reality, According to These Measures The pushback I most often receive from readers is that true investors should ignore the day-to-day swings in the markets that obsess traders and just buy and hold stocks. There's a kernel of truth in this: Most fund managers underperform, so what chance do individuals dabbling in the markets have? Better to buy the index. However, even the longest-term thinkers should adjust their portfolios when prices are way out of line with reality (the dot-com bubble or the Covid bust, bonds at close to zero yield, the SPAC/cannabis/clean energy bubble of late 2020-21). The question is how to judge. Party on, Mag Seven. Wall Street Expects 14% Returns. Plenty of investors have been worrying about the highflying Magnificent Seven. Wall Street stock market analysts see things differently. In fact, they are predicting another round of double-digit returns just around the corner. While investors are right to be skeptical, the bullish outlook is good news even for agnostic index investors. It has been a great run for the popular club of megacap tech stocks. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, which tracks the stocks' performance, has returned 37% this year, compared with 17% for the S&P 500. AI chip maker Nvidia has seen its share price more than double, while Facebook parent Meta is up 50%. Only Tesla, facing slower demand and more competition, is in the red, down 14%. Harris and Chicago's Mayor Face Migrant Crisis and Potential Protests at DNC CHICAGO-An issue that Republicans are working hard to make a major political liability for Kamala Harris-chaos at the southern border-is also one of the biggest governing headaches for the mayor of this Democratic stronghold. The worlds of the vice president and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, grappling with the financial challenges of the migrant crisis, will intersect as roughly 50,000 visitors arrive for next week's Democratic National Convention. We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions. This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

Strong Consumer Spending Allays Recent Recession Fears

Strong Consumer Spending Allays Recent Recession Fears By Vicky Ge Huang St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem signaled he could support a rate cut as soon as September, when the Federal Reserve next meets. Meanwhile, retail sales grew by an unexpectedly robust 1% last month, a sign that U.S. consumers are feeling strong. But investors still face uncertainty when it comes to the Fed and the economy, writes The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Back. And Ken Griffin's hedge fund Citadel is helping win a war of styles in its corner of professional investing. Read on for this news and more. Top News St. Louis Fed President Says Rate Cut Could Be Warranted Soon St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem signaled he could support an interest-rate cut as soon as September, when the Fed next meets. "The time may be nearing when an adjustment" to the benchmark interest-rate "may be appropriate," Musalem said in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday. Commentary: Investors Still Face Fog of Uncertainty on Economy, Fed Investors' nerves have been soothed recently by reassuring economic data. But the outlook for the economy and for monetary policy both remain unusually uncertain , meaning more volatility could be in store. The prospects for a soft landing got a boost this week, as data showed consumer-price inflation continuing to slow, in line with expectations, even as retail sales saw a surprising surge in July. U.S. Economy Retail Sales Jumped 1% in July on Higher Vehicle Spending American households boosted their retail spending last month, with strong vehicle sales helping to drive a higher-than-expected reading for last month. Retail sales-a measure of spending at stores, online and in restaurants-rose a seasonally adjusted 1% in July from the month before, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was a strong pickup from June, when sales were revised down to a 0.2% decrease. Financial Regulation Citadel's Ken Griffin Has Remade the Hedge-Fund Industry Ken Griffin wants visitors to the offices of his $63 billion hedge-fund firm, Citadel, to have no doubt about its standing atop Wall Street. Citadel's performance is helping win a war of styles in its corner of professional investing. Griffin took an industry long dominated by singular traders and atomized it, employing scores of teams that semiautonomously manage their own portfolios. Griffin is increasingly vocal in challenging financial regulations that he views as harmful. Forward Guidance Friday (all times ET) 8:30 a.m.: New Residential Construction - Housing Starts and Building Permits (US) 10:00 a.m.: University of Michigan Survey of Consumers - preliminary (US) 10:00 a.m.: State Employment and Unemployment (US) 1:30 p.m.: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee speaks at the Angeles Investors' Q3 Summit and Awards Event (US) Here is our weekly roundup of stories from across WSJ Pro that we think you'll find useful. In this special report , we look at how the secondary-market outlook has started to turn rosy after months of high interest rates, slower exits and economic worries that drove a wedge between buyer and seller price expectations. Listen to CFO Journal's Jennifer Williams discuss the escalating fight for shelf space at U.S. grocery stores. After an animal-welfare law took effect in California, feared pork shortages haven't materialized . But the state is paying higher prices. Makeup brands and fertility clinics haven't been associated with sports. Now they're taking over game nights as women's leagues attract new sponsors. Research Fed's Jackson Hole Symposium Is Unlikely to Impact Dollar, BofA Says The Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium on Aug. 22-24 is unlikely to have much impact on the dollar, Bank of America says. Hedge funds are still betting on a stronger dollar with long positions, suggesting some vulnerabilities if Fed Chair Jerome Powell adopts a "dovish" tone that signals rate cuts, BofA analysts say in a note. However, there is a high hurdle for Powell to sound more dovish than market expectations given four rate cuts are already priced in for the year, they say. "We do not think Powell will push against market pricing, keeping the option for aggressive easing depending on the data before the September meeting." - Renae Dyer Basis Points When the world's central bankers gather later this month for their annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., the topic of discussion will be "Reassessing the Effectiveness and Transmission of Monetary Policy." In light of recent developments, they might consider changing the theme to "Reassessing and Defending the Independence of Central Banking." Fed freedom isn't constitutionally guaranteed. It's more a matter of convention, depending on a president who respects the central bank's independence and a chairman willing to stand up for it. - Barron's Industrial production in the U.S. fell 0.6% in July, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday. It was the first decline in four months . The drop was steeper than the expected 0.1% fall, according to a survey of economists by The Wall Street Journal. Manufacturing fell 0.3% in July after remaining flat the prior month. The Fed said that July shutdowns in petrochemical and related industries due to Hurricane Beryl held down growth by 0.3 percentage points. - MarketWatch Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area unexpectedly contracted this month, with more firms reporting weakening rather than improving activity for the first time since January, according to a monthly survey. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday that its index for business activity fell to minus 7.0 in August, from a positive reading of 13.9 in July. Expectations were that the index would dip to a still-positive 7.9, from a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. - Ed Frankl Consumer spending on retail and food services increased 1% month over month to $709.7 billion in July, quashing fears that the U.S. economy could be headed into a recession. Despite the slowdown in hiring that caused a brief but dramatic market panic last week, the strong retail numbers show that the effects of any contraction have not reached consumers. "The slowdown is happening, but definitely [it's] measured, and it's really nothing to be nervous about," LPL Financial Chief Economist Jeffrey Roach says. - Victor Swezey Rents continued to fall in July, Realtor.com says, and renting in all 50 largest U.S. metros is favored over buying a starter home. Elevated mortgage rates, high home prices and falling rents contribute to the more than $1,000 savings in renting over buying. At the same time last year, only 47 metros favored renting. This trend-rents declining and home prices growing-continues a trend seen in February. But the advantage of renting over buying is decreasing across several metros, especially as more affordable inventory hits the market. - Chris Wack Builder confidence in the U.S. fell for the fourth month in a row in August, as elevated mortgage rates continue to spook home buyers. Sentiment among home builders is at the lowest level since December 2023. Lack of sales stemming from buyers sitting on the sidelines due to high home prices and mortgage rates pushed the National Association of Home Builders' monthly confidence index down to 39 points in August, the industry group said on Thursday. The August figure fell short of economists' expectations. - MarketWatch It was once a price threshold associated only with luxury properties, conjuring images of pools, tennis courts and other high-end amenities. Now, 8.5% of U.S. homes have an estimated value of $1 million or more, a record high, according to a new analysis by brokerage Redfin provided exclusively to The Wall Street Journal. That is up from 7.6% a year ago and more than double the 4% recorded before the pandemic. - Katherine Clarke New rules governing real-estate commissions are rolling out across the country, upending how deals get done and putting downward pressure on costs. The National Association of Realtors' landmark settlement ushered in the biggest changes in a generation to the way real-estate agents get paid. - Nicole Friedman and Laura Kusisto Vice President Kamala Harris will call for the construction of 3 million new housing units in her first four years in office, as well as a new tax incentive for companies that build homes for first-time buyers, according to campaign officials. The initiatives are part of Harris's emerging economic plan , which she is expected to outline in a speech Friday in Raleigh, N.C. In addition to housing, the address Friday will focus on alleged corporate price gouging and lowering costs for families, aides said. - Tarini Parti and Andrew Restuccia After 15 years of relatively flat power demand, projections of electricity use are surging . Companies are extending aging fossil-fuel plants to accommodate the expected hike in demand, which is undermining U.S. goals to cut carbon emissions. Most power companies raised their demand forecast in 2023, and some have indicated higher revisions are expected. AI data centers, manufacturing, and broader electrification are the primary drivers behind this projected increase, with data centers accounting for 30% of the expected growth, according to a Goldman Sachs report in April. - Ashley Cai Canada's housing market remained in a holding pattern in July, as sales of existing homes edged down despite what have now been back-to-back rate cuts by the central bank. Oxford Economics' Tony Stillo and Michael Davenport note listings rose faster than demand, leaving overall resale market conditions slightly looser and helping keep house prices relatively stable from June. The economists expect the Bank of Canada to cut rates a further quarter point in September and October, which should underpin a moderate pick-up in resale activity in 2H but is unlikely to spur a rebound in home prices in the near term. - Robb

UK economy flat in June partially due to UK election

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open higher, even after local data showed no growth for the UK economy in June, while industrial output edged down. In early corporate news, Admiral Group upped its interim dividend following a strong start to the year. Here is what you need to know at the London market open: 08:30 EDT US New York empire state manufacturing index The UK economy showed no growth in June while industrial output edged down, data published by the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday. UK GDP did not move monthly in June compared to unrevised growth of 0.4% in May. The ONS said: "Comments provided for June 2024 suggested some industries may have been affected by the general election held on 4 July 2024. In a range of industries across the economy, businesses stated that customers were delaying placing orders until the outcome of the election was known. These comments covered all of manufacturing, construction, and services." The GDP was however 0.7% higher than a year ago. In the second quarter, UK GDP growth slowed to 0.6% on-quarter from an increase of 0.7% in the first quarter. Year-on-year, second quarter UK GDP growth was 0.9%. ---------- In a separate release, the ONS said the UK's trade deficit for goods and services stood at GBP13.3 billion in the second quarter, widened by GBP7.1 billion from the first quarter. Exports increased by 2.1% to GBP214.7 billion, while imports increased by 5.4% to GBP228.0 billion. On top of that, the ONS announced that industrial production declined by 0.8% monthly in June, swung from a rise of 0.3% in May. In the second quarter, industrial output edged down 0.1% compared to the first quarter. ---------- Chinese retail sales rebounded in July while industrial production growth slowed, official data showed Thursday, highlighting an uneven recovery in the world's second-largest economy. In July, retail sales - a key indicator of consumer spending - grew 2.7% year-on-year, rebounding from June's 2.0% increase, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The performance narrowly exceeded the expectations of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, who had predicted a 2.6% increase. However, industrial production growth slowed, with July's 5.1% expansion inching down from 5.3% in June and short of the 5.2% forecast in the Bloomberg survey. This marks its weakest growth since March. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 5.2% in July, from 5% in June. ---------- Japan's economy has rebounded, government data showed Thursday, in welcome news for its next prime minister following Fumio Kishida's decision to quit. The 0.8% expansion in the second quarter came after the world number four economy slumped by 0.6% in the first three months of the year. The rise, supported by increased activity and increased capital and public investment, beat market expectations that output would grow 0.6%. ---------- More than a third of landlords raising rents in England have been motivated to match local properties on the market, as renters continue to be squeezed by a shortage of available homes, according to research. About 60% of landlords increased the rent on at least one of their properties over the past year, a survey by the TDS Charitable Foundation found. The primary reason for doing so was because of rising costs and fees, particularly maintenance and repairs, which 45% cited as their reasoning. This was followed by 38% who said they increased costs to align with local market rents, as demand for properties in the area continued to keep prices elevated. The report comes after new official data showed that average private rents across the UK increased by 8.6% in the year to July, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. RBC raises DCC to 'outperform' (sector perform) - price target 5,800 (5,700) pence ---------- Deutsche Bank raises IG Group price target to 1,225 (1,065) pence - 'buy' ---------- Berenberg raises FRP Advisory price target to 220 (200) pence - 'buy' Admiral Group emphasised "a strong set of results" in the first half, after posting pretax profit for the six months ended June 30 of GBP309.8 million, up 32% from GBP233.9 million a year prior. Group turnover of the financial services company was up 43% to GBP3.21 billion from GBP2.24 billion, while insurance revenue rose 38% to GBP2.21 billion from GBP1.61 billion. Return on equity came to 45% from 39% the previous year. Of note was Admiral's interim dividend, which enjoyed a 39% bump to 71.0 pence from 51.0p. Chief Executive Officer Milena Mondini de Focatiis said: "We continue to evolve our core technical competences leveraging new data and technology. Our focus now is on unlocking the benefit for our customers of scaled agile for faster delivery and enhancing our capabilities in AI application." ---------- AstraZeneca said its cancer drug Imfinzi has been granted priority review and breakthrough designation for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer in the US. The pharmaceutical firm said the decisions by the US Food & Drug Administration are based on phase 3 trial data which showed a statistically significant and clinical meaningful overall survival and progression free-survival benefit. The news came a day after AstraZeneca announced that the EU approved Imfinzi in combination with Lynparza for a form of cancer. Imfinzi plus chemotherapy as a first-line treatment, followed by Lynparza and Imfinzi, had been approved for patients with mismatch repair proficient disease, while Imfinzi plus chemotherapy followed by Imfinzi alone has been approved for patients with mismatch repair deficient disease. 3i Infrastructure announced that Future Biogas, a plant developer and biogas producer, has agreed to acquire 51% of a portfolio of six gas-to-grid anaerobic digestion facilities, with a combined gas output of 333 gigawatt hours, from JLEN Environmental Assets for GBP68.1 million. Of this, GBP30 million will be funded by 3i Infrastructure, with the balance funded by Future Biogas from committed debt facilities. Future Biogas CEO Philipp Lukas said: "We are very pleased to be acquiring a stake in this portfolio of anaerobic digestion plants from JLEN, who we will continue to work with constructively. We know the assets well having developed them and managed them for an average of eight years." Adriatic Metals said that an employee working at the Rupice Mine has died, following an accident at the site on Wednesday. A vehicle overturned near the rescue station at Rupice and the driver, an employee of a local Bosnian subcontractor, sustained fatal injuries. No other individuals were seriously injured in the accident. The incident did not occur in the area of mining operations; however, Adriatic Metals has elected to secure the area for a period of 24 hours. ---------- By Holly Beveridge, Alliance News senior reporter Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.