FTSE 100 Live 17 May: JD Sports sales pass £10bn; shares seen lower

JD Sports cracks the US

JD Sports sales raced past £10 billion for the first time this year, as the trainers and leisure wear giant cemented its position as one of the most successful retailers in the UK.

With the high street flailing and internet competition intense, JD continues to grow, including in America, where many UK retailers including Tesco and M&S have fallen flat in the past.

JD shares, up almost 2000% in the last ten years, could keep rising say analysts.

The business is now valued at £8.8 billion, more than Next, generally regarded as the best run retailer in Britain.

For the year to January sales jumped from £8.5 billion to £10.1 billion. Profits are nearing the £1 billion mark at £991 million, up from £947 million. It is one of the biggest global sellers of Adidas, Puma and New Balance goods.

New chief executive Régis Schultz, the replacement for industry legend Peter Cowgill, said this morning: “The beauty of JD, the magic of JD, is that our buyers are the best in the world. We don’t rely on one brand, we don’t rely on one product…there is always something new coming.”

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Return of the SPAC? Admiral Acquisition Group IPOs in London

A Special Purpose Acquisition Group (SPAC) has listed on the London Stock Exchange after raising $550 million.

Admiral Acquisition Group aims to buy a private company in order to allow them to list on the London Stock Exchange.

SPACs surged in popularity in 2021, mainly on Wall Street, with online car retailer Cazoo and payments giant Paysafe among the companies being taken public.

But the trend sharply fell off as the vast majority of these companies ended up producing negative returns for shareholders.

Admiral Acquisition Corp is led by Sir Martin Franklin, nephew of DNA pioneer Rosalind Franklin.

Savills “materially impacted” by property price drops in Europe

Estate agent Savills says its performance for the first half of the year has been “materially impacted” by the “ongoing recalibration” of investment markets.

Its UK performance has been largely in line with expectations, as property prices corrected more quickly than elsewhere.

However, in continental Europe and the Middle East, volumes have been “significantly reduced”.

“ Leasing momentum remains subdued and across capital markets, yields have moved out considerably, and the correction, although not yet complete, is well underway,” the estate agent said.

CEO Mark Ridley said: “During this period of adjustment, I am delighted with the response of our people both in helping clients facing challenging circumstances and in seeking longer term business development initiatives, which our strong balance sheet enables us to pursue at this opportune time.”

Big-name energy suppliers fined for delayed compensation payments to customers switching accounts

Three major energy suppliers have been fined a total of £8 million by regulators for late or failed compensation payments due to customers relating to people who switched their accounts

E.On Next, Good Energy and Octopus Energy were slapped with the fines by Ofgem after it said they “either missed or unduly delayed” compensation payments due when the suppliers did not provide a final bill within six weeks of a customer switching to another provider.

Ofgem said the fines came after it tightened the rules in May 2020 to cut delays in sending the final bill after customers changed suppliers. It is the first time it has issued fines since the change, and the action came at a time when higher prices for gas and electricity followedRussia’s invasion of Ukraine and led the cost-of-living crisis.

The regulator’s director for strategy, Neil Kenward, pointed out that more customers are likely to switch accounts as the energy market returns to more normal levels.

“This action is a reminder to suppliers that they need to make switching as easy and convenient as possible for their customers, and where they cause undue delay, pay compensation swiftly,” he added.

City watchdog says over 3 million more people struggle with credit

The main City watchdog has said that there are over 3 million more adults struggling with their credit commitments and bills, taking the total to almost 11 million people.

The number of adults who missed repayments or failed to settle bills in at least three of the last six months hit 5.6 million, up by 1.4 million, as the cost-of-living crisis bit.

The Financial Conduct Authority said that it reminded 3,500 lenders of how they should be supporting borrowers in financial difficulty. It told 32 lenders to make changes to the way they treat customers, with £29 million in compensation being secured for over 80,000 customers.    

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US markets struggle amid debt default focus, FTSE 100 seen lower

Wall Street traders continue to sit on the sidelines while they await developments on the US debt ceiling talks between President Joe Biden and congressional leaders.

The negotiations began last night, with Treasury secretary Janet Yellen reiterating that the country is in danger of a debt default by 1 June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% yesterday after DIY retailer Home Depot dampened the mood with a downbeat assessment on the demand outlook.

The S&P 500 index dropped 0.6% but the Nasdaq was more resilient as the recent progress for mega cap tech stocks continued on hopes that US interest rates have peaked.

Trading in US futures points to a flat start to today’s Wall Street session, while CMC Markets expects the FTSE 100 index to open 11 points lower at 7740. This continues the recent performance after the top flight yesterday drifted 0.3% in a light session for trading volumes.

Japan shares boosted by GDP surprise

The Japanese economy’s better-than-expected start to 2023 today contributed to a milestone session for the country’s stock market.

The Nikkei 225 broke through the 30,000 threshold for the first time since September 2021, while the domestic-focused Topix Index reached its highest level in three decades.

The stock market rally came as the latest Japan GDP numbers showed the economy grew by 0.4% in the first quarter, with the weaker yen and a strong rebound in services activity after the pandemic helping to drive the performance.

Economists had been expecting a quarter-on-quarter growth rate closer to 0.1%. The annualised rate came in at 1.6%, compared with forecasts for 0.8%.