Headlines
• Welsh pubs & restaurants banned from serving alcohol from Friday
• UK job postings fell 42% YoY to November
• Net consumer lending fell by £590m in October, BoE
• China’s Manufacturing PMI rises to 52.1 in November
• Moderna files for US & EU emergency regulatory approval
Company news
Food, Drinks & Household
• Victoria# – “Overall H1 revenue performance broadly in line with the prior year. This is due to record post-lockdown performance, with absolute growth of +22.8% (including returns from prior-year investment in capacity at our Italian ceramic tile operations) and like-for-like growth of +9.2%.
The increased consumer demand for flooring products is a result of people spending more time in their homes and working remotely. This trend is encouraging increased investment in home redecorating, as well as driving new home purchases (a leading indicator of future flooring spend) across all the markets where the Group trades. Savings rates – particularly of consumers that form Victoria's target market – have soared this year and, with limited options for spending, consumers are prioritising redecorating their home – a trend we believe will continue for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, during the second national lockdown in the UK, a far greater number of our retailers are remaining open to service contractor/installer demand.”
Industrials
• discoverIE# – “The second half has started well with orders ahead of sales and up on last year. With the Group’s continued focus on the structural growth markets of renewable energy, medical, electrification of transportation and industrial & connectivity, we expect to continue to perform ahead of wider markets and make further progress on our strategic priorities.”
Other
• Italy’s government has approved a new stimulus package to shore up businesses affected by the latest round of anti-coronavirus restrictions. The aid package, the fourth of the pandemic, is worth €8bn and delays tax deadlines for companies in areas subject to harsh lockdown measures. It also offers a €1,000 lump sum to workers in tourism, the arts, sports and leisure.
• Dr Fauci said on Sunday that the US may see “surge upon a surge” of coronavirus cases in the weeks after Thanksgiving, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas.
• China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than three years in November. The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) rose to 52.1 in November from 51.4 in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Growth in the services sector also hit a multi-year high, as the country’s economic recovery from coronavirus stepped up.
• Lebanon will begin to relax coronavirus restrictions imposed two weeks ago from today.
• New York City’s state schools will start to reopen on 7 December, beginning with primary schools, the mayor, Bill de Blasio, announced on Sunday.
• Job postings in London have fallen by 50%, compared to a 42% decline for the rest of the UK, in a reflection of the city’s density and typical opportunities for work during normal times – such as in retail, hospitality and leisure research by Indeed as shown. Madrid suffered the second-biggest decline, at 46%, while job postings elsewhere across Spain are down by 39%. Berlin sustained the least damage, although it followed the same pattern, with a 25% fall in the German capital versus 17% for the rest of the country. Job postings fell by 40% in Paris, compared with 24% for the rest of France, and 35% in Rome, versus 24% for the rest of Italy.
• Australians wasted more food during the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks largely to panic buying and food delivery services. The annual bill for the country’s wasted food rose to an estimated, $10.3bn an all-time annual high of $1,043 per household according to Rabobank’s 2020 Food Waste Report.
• Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes across Wales will not be able to serve alcohol and must close by 18:00 from Friday. Indoor entertainment venue, including cinemas, bowling alleys, museums and galleries will also need to shut.
• Moderna is filing for US and European emergency regulatory approval of its vaccine.
• New figures from the Bank of England show that households have cut back on consumer credit at the fastest pace since at least 1994. The Bank reports that net consumer lending fell by £590m in October, taking the annual rate to a survey-record low of -5.6%. Since the beginning of March, households have repaid £15.6 billion of consumer credit.
#corporate client of Peel Hunt
