BUSINESS LIVE: GDP grows 0.6%; Evoke losses soar; AZN US drug enhance

Amanda Blanc is one tough cookie. Since she got her teeth into Aviva four years ago, she’s cleaned up operations, cut jobs and given the insurer a new sense of purpose.

It worked: Aviva is the country’s biggest pensions and insurance provider, one that looks after 19m customers with more than £300billion of assets.

Victoria’s Secret has poached the boss of Rihanna’s lingerie brand in a bid to turn around its fortunes.

The troubled group said Hillary Super will replace Martin Waters as chief executive next month.

The FTSE 100 is flat in early trading on the back of in-line UK GDP data, offset by losses in companies that trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts.

The pound is higher against the US dollar and money markets still see a 40 per cent chance of BoE cutting rates by 25 basis points in September.

Overall, the investor sentiment remains sanguine partly after the benign US consumer inflation data overnight reinforced bets for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates next month.

Industrial metal miners is down 1.1 per cent, on track for its third session of declines, as Rio Tinto and Anglo American traded ex-dividend.

Admiral Group has jumped 11.6 p er cent after the motor and home insurer posted a forecast-beating 32 percent rise in pre-tax profit for the first half of the year, and said it would pay a special dividend.

HSBC, Barclays, and Entain were among the bottom performers as these companies also traded without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts.

Interest rates look set to fall on both sides on the Atlantic amid growing hopes inflation is back under control.

Official figures in the United States yesterday showed that inflation in the world’s biggest economy dipped from 3 per cent to 2.9 per cent in July.

AstraZeneca’s £450million investment in a vaccine manufacturing site is in doubt after the Treasury threatened to cut state aid.

The pharmaceuticals giant is reportedly considering scrapping a planned facility near Liverpool and could relocate the project to France.

Chocolate giant Mars is to buy the owner of Pringles in a £28billion mega-deal that brings two of the world’s biggest food companies together.

The US conglomerate behind snacks such as Snickers and Skittles will pay £64.96 a share for Kellanova in an all-cash offer.

Aviva boss Amanda Blanc has sounded the alarm over a possible raid by Labour on pension savers – urging the Government to beware of the long-term consequences.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned she faces tough choices in her first Budget in October after identifying a £22billion black hole in public finances that she claims the Tories left behind.

That has prompted speculation of tax raids, including cutting pension tax relief for higher-rate earners.

Admiral has posted a forecast-beating 32 per cent rise in pre-tax profit for the first half of the year, led by strong UK motor performance, and said it would pay a special dividend.

Pre-tax profit came in at £310million, compared with an expected £304million, according to a company-supplied consensus poll.

Motor and home insurance premiums have risen in the past two years, with insurers blaming inflation and supply chain issues for an increase in the cost of claims, following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

However, Admiral said it had become more competitive on price, enabling it to grow its customer base by 12 per cent to 10.5 million in the first half of the year. UK motor insurance customers grew by 15 per cent to 5.5 million.

Boss Milena Mondini de Focatlis said: ‘We continue to evolve our core technical competences leveraging new data and technology,’

William Hill-owner Evoke has posted a £143.2million loss for the first half of the year, up from £32.5million over the same period last year, reflcting the cost of the group’s ambitious turnaround plan.

The group’s core earnings plummeted 67 per cent to £43.8 million over the half, which the group formerly known as 888 said was ‘disappointing and behind our initial plan’ as revenue fell 2 per cent to £862million.

The London-listed firm told investors its turnaround plan had involved more investment in marketing, cost-cutting efforts and changes to the business’s ‘country and product mix’.

Per Widerstrom, chief executive of Evoke, said the ‘underlying health of the business is continually getting stronger’.

‘The corrective actions we have already taken give us even more confidence that our strategic approach is sound and that we will achieve sustainable success.

‘We are completely transforming this business. Whilst the scale of change is significant, it is necessary for us to deliver mid and long-term profitable growth and value creation.’

The pound is stengthening in early trading after data showed Britain’s economy grew 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2024.

Sterling is up 0.18 per cent at $1.285. It has also strengthened versus the euro, which dipped 0.16 per cent to 85.7p.

Shares in Britain’s housebuilders rose as a smaller-than-expected rise in inflation fuelled hopes of further interest rate cuts this year.

In a boost for millions of borrowers with mortgages, consumer price increases of 2.2 per cent in the year to July was less than the 2.3 per cent pencilled in by economists.

Despite rising for the first time this year, inflation is just above the Bank of England 2 per cent target.

Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at Premier Miton Investors:

‘The second quarter seems like a long time ago, but the GDP data confirms that the UK economy is in good health.

‘The Bank of England is in the nice position, unlike other central banks, of having a level of surety in the data it is seeing, when setting policy.

‘With inflation playing ball as well, the path to lower interest rates looks to be set, the timing of the cuts is now the focus.’

Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot:

‘One contributor to growth might have been the Taylor Swift effect, with her Eras tour driving a surge in consumer spending across major cities helping to boost the services sector by 0.8% in the three months to June 2024.

‘However, on the flipside the general election will have played a part in stifling growth as businesses and investors put plans on hold as they waited for the results of the election.

‘In a significant move the Bank of England reduced interest rates by 0.25% in August, bringing the base rate down to 5%. This cut should help stimulate more economic growth by making borrowing more affordable for households and businesses.

‘Lower borrowing costs encourage consumer spending on goods and services, while businesses are more likely to invest in expansion, all of which contribute to boosting GDP. Although the effects of this change may take time to fully manifest, it is expected to prove some economic support in the coming months, but further cuts will be needed to truly make an impact.

‘Looking ahead, Labour’s first budget, now scheduled for 30th October, will provide further clarity on the government’s fiscal strategy. With expected changes in taxation and public spending, businesses may then gain better visibility.

‘However, it is unlikely that we will see a marked acceleration in GDP in the short term. For now, the economy is expected to continue on its relatively moderate growth path, bolstered by wage growth that remains ahead of inflation and the recent easing of monetary policy.’

The UK economy expanded by 0.6 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, fresh data from the Office for National statistics shows.

Growth was in-line with forecasts in the three months to the end of June and followed an expansion of 0.7 per cent in the first quarter.

Amanda Blanc is one tough cookie. Since she got her teeth into Aviva four years ago, she’s cleaned up operations, cut jobs and given the insurer a new sense of purpose.

It worked: Aviva is the country’s biggest pensions and insurance provider, one that looks after 19m customers with more than £300billion of assets.

Victoria’s Secret has poached the boss of Rihanna’s lingerie brand in a bid to turn around its fortunes.

The troubled group said Hillary Super will replace Martin Waters as chief executive next month.

The FTSE 100 is flat in early trading on the back of in-line UK GDP data, offset by losses in companies that trade without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts.

The pound is higher against the US dollar and money markets still see a 40 per cent chance of BoE cutting rates by 25 basis points in September.

Overall, the investor sentiment remains sanguine partly after the benign US consumer inflation data overnight reinforced bets for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates next month.

Industrial metal miners is down 1.1 per cent, on track for its third session of declines, as Rio Tinto and Anglo American traded ex-dividend.

Admiral Group has jumped 11.6 p er cent after the motor and home insurer posted a forecast-beating 32 percent rise in pre-tax profit for the first half of the year, and said it would pay a special dividend.

HSBC, Barclays, and Entain were among the bottom performers as these companies also traded without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts.

Interest rates look set to fall on both sides on the Atlantic amid growing hopes inflation is back under control.

Official figures in the United States yesterday showed that inflation in the world’s biggest economy dipped from 3 per cent to 2.9 per cent in July.

AstraZeneca’s £450million investment in a vaccine manufacturing site is in doubt after the Treasury threatened to cut state aid.

The pharmaceuticals giant is reportedly considering scrapping a planned facility near Liverpool and could relocate the project to France.

Chocolate giant Mars is to buy the owner of Pringles in a £28billion mega-deal that brings two of the world’s biggest food companies together.

The US conglomerate behind snacks such as Snickers and Skittles will pay £64.96 a share for Kellanova in an all-cash offer.

Aviva boss Amanda Blanc has sounded the alarm over a possible raid by Labour on pension savers – urging the Government to beware of the long-term consequences.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned she faces tough choices in her first Budget in October after identifying a £22billion black hole in public finances that she claims the Tories left behind.

That has prompted speculation of tax raids, including cutting pension tax relief for higher-rate earners.

Admiral has posted a forecast-beating 32 per cent rise in pre-tax profit for the first half of the year, led by strong UK motor performance, and said it would pay a special dividend.

Pre-tax profit came in at £310million, compared with an expected £304million, according to a company-supplied consensus poll.

Motor and home insurance premiums have risen in the past two years, with insurers blaming inflation and supply chain issues for an increase in the cost of claims, following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

However, Admiral said it had become more competitive on price, enabling it to grow its customer base by 12 per cent to 10.5 million in the first half of the year. UK motor insurance customers grew by 15 per cent to 5.5 million.

Boss Milena Mondini de Focatlis said: ‘We continue to evolve our core technical competences leveraging new data and technology,’

William Hill-owner Evoke has posted a £143.2million loss for the first half of the year, up from £32.5million over the same period last year, reflcting the cost of the group’s ambitious turnaround plan.

The group’s core earnings plummeted 67 per cent to £43.8 million over the half, which the group formerly known as 888 said was ‘disappointing and behind our initial plan’ as revenue fell 2 per cent to £862million.

The London-listed firm told investors its turnaround plan had involved more investment in marketing, cost-cutting efforts and changes to the business’s ‘country and product mix’.

Per Widerstrom, chief executive of Evoke, said the ‘underlying health of the business is continually getting stronger’.

‘The corrective actions we have already taken give us even more confidence that our strategic approach is sound and that we will achieve sustainable success.

‘We are completely transforming this business. Whilst the scale of change is significant, it is necessary for us to deliver mid and long-term profitable growth and value creation.’

The pound is stengthening in early trading after data showed Britain’s economy grew 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2024.

Sterling is up 0.18 per cent at $1.285. It has also strengthened versus the euro, which dipped 0.16 per cent to 85.7p.

Shares in Britain’s housebuilders rose as a smaller-than-expected rise in inflation fuelled hopes of further interest rate cuts this year.

In a boost for millions of borrowers with mortgages, consumer price increases of 2.2 per cent in the year to July was less than the 2.3 per cent pencilled in by economists.

Despite rising for the first time this year, inflation is just above the Bank of England 2 per cent target.

Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at Premier Miton Investors:

‘The second quarter seems like a long time ago, but the GDP data confirms that the UK economy is in good health.

‘The Bank of England is in the nice position, unlike other central banks, of having a level of surety in the data it is seeing, when setting policy.

‘With inflation playing ball as well, the path to lower interest rates looks to be set, the timing of the cuts is now the focus.’

Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot:

‘One contributor to growth might have been the Taylor Swift effect, with her Eras tour driving a surge in consumer spending across major cities helping to boost the services sector by 0.8% in the three months to June 2024.

‘However, on the flipside the general election will have played a part in stifling growth as businesses and investors put plans on hold as they waited for the results of the election.

‘In a significant move the Bank of England reduced interest rates by 0.25% in August, bringing the base rate down to 5%. This cut should help stimulate more economic growth by making borrowing more affordable for households and businesses.

‘Lower borrowing costs encourage consumer spending on goods and services, while businesses are more likely to invest in expansion, all of which contribute to boosting GDP. Although the effects of this change may take time to fully manifest, it is expected to prove some economic support in the coming months, but further cuts will be needed to truly make an impact.

‘Looking ahead, Labour’s first budget, now scheduled for 30th October, will provide further clarity on the government’s fiscal strategy. With expected changes in taxation and public spending, businesses may then gain better visibility.

‘However, it is unlikely that we will see a marked acceleration in GDP in the short term. For now, the economy is expected to continue on its relatively moderate growth path, bolstered by wage growth that remains ahead of inflation and the recent easing of monetary policy.’

The UK economy expanded by 0.6 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, fresh data from the Office for National statistics shows.

Growth was in-line with forecasts in the three months to the end of June and followed an expansion of 0.7 per cent in the first quarter.