THE DAILY BRIEFING
■ INSURER UPBEAT Shares in insurer Beazley rallied after it said 2017 profits will be better than market expectations despite a year of natural disasters. the stock rose 3.8pc, or 19.5p, to 527p yesterday.
■ TOP ROLE the chief operating officer at Walmart, Judith McKenna, has been promoted to chief executive of the uS supermarket giant’s international business.
■ BANKS SNUBBED State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco has snubbed uBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as it searches for firms to handle its £1.5trillion stock market float. the two have not made the shortlist as Aramco prepares to list on a major market this year.
■ AGENCY DIP Estate agent Winkworth is preparing to announce a 5pc drop in 2017 revenues as it deals with a sluggish housing market. It says full-year profits are likely to be ahead of market expectations of £1.3m and said activity in central London was improving.
■ PIZZA SWOOP the owner of Birds Eye has cooked up a £199m deal to buy frozen food brand
Goodfella’s Pizza from the parent company behind Fox’s Biscuits and Bernard Matthews. Nomad Foods has snapped up Goodfella’s from Green Isle Foods, a subsidiary of Boparan Holdings.
■ EXTRA CASH Analysis by law firm Baker McKenzie shows Chinese
investment in the uK doubled to a record £15bn last year. It is thought the fall in the pound has encouraged China to plough in extra cash because assets are cheaper.
■ PRECIOUS TECH Diamond giant De Beers is planning to harness the technology which is behind bitcoin to stamp out illegal trading of the precious stones. It will use blockchain to record when gems change hands so that their authenticity can be guaranteed. ■ CONFIDENCE MOUNTS Investors expect worldwide stock markets to peak in 2019 as fears of an immediate sell-off fade. traders had expected falls to start in the second quarter of this year, says a survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
■ DIRECTOR OFF the men’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton, Kim Jones, is leaving after seven years. ■ SWEDISH FIRST Fashion firm Uniqlo is opening its first store in Sweden, home of rival H&M. the shop in Stockholm will be its first foray into the Nordic region.