Themes from October
Spain invoked Article 155 taking direct control of Catalonia placing the state under the authority of the Deputy PM. An election will shortly take place. Massive pro-unity demonstrations have calmed nerves.
HSBC reported Q3 adjusted pre-tax profit of $5.44bn with operating expenses down 9%. About 78% of HSBC’s profit was made in HK/ China and other Asian locations.
Ryanair announced interim revenues jumped 7% to €4.42bn and EPS of €1.07 up 16% despite a 5% drop in average air fares.
PM Theresa May keynote speech at the Tory Party Conference promised a cap on energy bills and a £2bn investment in affordable housing.
GSK reported Q3 sales of £7.8bn up 4% with EPS of 24.8p up 49%. Q3 was overshadowed by a conference call during which the CEO highlighted GSK’s appetite for major acquisitions.
M&A featured heavily in October with takeover approaches for Aldermore, Imagination Technologies, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels and Spire Healthcare.
US President Donald Trump is expected to name Jerome Powell as next Federal Reserve Chairman after a very public and unprecedented “beauty parade” of potential candidates.