London View

S&P Warning over Euro zone Outlook

Credit rating agency S&P has warned of the growing possibility of a triple-dip recession facing the Euro zone, saying that the only thing that might stave it off is the launch of the €1 trillion quantitative easing programme previously alluded to by Mario Draghi. Earlier this week Japan entered into a triple-dip recession after GDP figures showed a further drop in Q3.

What’s Down

Royal Mail – The UK postal carrier has released its earnings for the first half of the year; and they make for unfortunate reading. Though operating profits beat expectations, which led to an early rise in share price this morning, the scale of the decline (21%) has since weighed on the stock, which is currently down by around 7.65%. Royal Mail also warned that Amazon’s roll-out of its own delivery service is likely to have a significant effect on Royal Mail’s parcel service – Amazon has been one of Royal Mail’s main clients.

Intertek Group – The quality and safety services provider is one of the biggest losers on the FTSE so far today, with its stock currently down by around 7.35%. The firm released figures showing a revenue decline of 5.1% over a 10 month period due to a strengthening Sterling.

Pub Chains – Some of the largest pub chains in the country have experienced significant drops in share price in the wake of a House of Commons vote which is set to allow individual landlords to buy their beer on the open market, rather than the current ‘tied’ system, which as the name suggests, ties landlords in to purchasing from the brewing companies who actually own the pubs rather than being able to look for more favourable prices elsewhere. Punch Taverns is currently down by around 10.89%, while Enterprise Inns’ stock has fallen by over 15%.