Marks & Spencer Rises After Takeover Speculation

Marks & Spencer Group shares gain 3% after weekend news reports suggested U.S. private equity giant Apollo Global Management was considering a buyout of the U.K. retailer. The company's food business and its tie-up with online retailer Ocado Group are likely to have sparked Apollo's interest, particularly given M&S's upbeat 1H results earlier this month, Hargreaves Lansdown says. "However, shares have surged more than 27% since those impressive results and if the price continues to climb, there is a chance Apollo may turn into more of a reluctant suitor," HL analyst Susannah Streeter says. 


 
Companies News:

Jersey Oil & Gas Appoints New Nonexecutive Chairman, CFO

Jersey Oil & Gas PLC said Monday that it has appointed a new nonexecutive chairman, chief financial officer and chief commercial officer, effective immediately.

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Thruvision 1H Pretax Loss Widened on Lower Revenue; Confident for 2H

Thruvision Group PLC said Monday that its pretax loss for the first half of the fiscal 2022 widened as revenue was lower, but added that it expects a strong performance for the second half.

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BHP Advances Plans to Combine Oil, Gas Unit With Woodside

BHP Group Ltd. advanced plans to combine its oil-and-gas business with Woodside Petroleum Ltd., which on Monday approved a multibillion-dollar project in Australia that supports the role of natural gas in the global energy transition.

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Escape Hunt Shares Rise After Raising of GBP17.2 Mln in Share Placing

Shares in Escape Hunt PLC rose Monday after the company said it has raised approximately 17.2 million pounds ($23.1 million) via a share placing announced on Nov. 4.

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Plexus Holdings FY 2021 Pretax Loss Narrowed on Market Stabilization

Plexus Holdings PLC said Monday that its pretax loss for fiscal 2021 narrowed as the energy market began to stabilize following the impact of the pandemic.

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Grafenia 1H Pretax Loss Nearly Halved

Grafenia PLC reported Monday a nearly halved pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2022, and said that its performance in October was above last year's and that November should end better than in the previous year.

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Zephyr Energy to Acquire Interest in North Dakota Wells for $36 Mln; Shares Rise

Shares in Zephyr Energy PLC rose Monday in early trading after the company said that it agreed to acquire non-operated interests in certain wells within the Williston Basin field in North Dakota for $36 million.

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Frontier Developments' Shares Drop on Lowered FY Guidance Linked to Sales -- Update

Frontier Developments PLC shares fell Monday after the company said it is downgrading its full-year revenue expectations as a result of lower PC sales of its Jurassic World Evolution 2 video game, which will be its biggest release and largest revenue contributor in the financial year.

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IQE Appoints Americo Lemos as CEO

IQE PLC said Monday that it has appointed Americo Lemos as Chief Executive Officer with effect from Jan. 10.

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SysGroup 1H Pretax Profit Doubled on Lower Costs

SysGroup PLC said Monday that its pretax profit for the first half of 2022 doubled, driven by lower costs.

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e-Therapeutics's CFO to Stand Down

e-Therapeutics PLC said Monday that Karl Keegan will be stepping down as chief financial officer with effect from Dec. 31 for personal reasons.

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Gresham House Appoints Simon Pyper as Interim Chairman

Gresham House Strategic PLC said Monday that Simon Pyper has become the company's interim chairman with immediate effect following Helen Sinclair's resignation as interim chairwoman earlier this month.

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Altus Strategies to Sell Morocco Projects, Take Stake in Buyer

Altus Strategies PLC said Monday that it has agreed to sell its Morocco-focused subsidiary Aterian Resources Ltd. to Eastinco Mining & Exploration PLC.

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Grit Real Estate Income Targets $215.6 Mln Raising via Premium Placing, Open Offer

Grit Real Estate Income Group Ltd. said Monday that it aims to raise around $215.6 million via the issue of up to 414.6 million new shares through an open offer and share placing at a premium price.

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Aura Energy Reshuffles Board as It Transitions to Uranium Producer; Plans Subsidiary Spinoffs

Aura Energy Ltd. said Monday that it will reshuffle its board as the company shifts to becoming a uranium producer from a uranium explorer, and that it plans to spin off its gold subsidiary in 2022. 


 
Market Talk:

Sterling Positioning Data Could Improve on December Rate-Rise Bets

1002 GMT - Short-seller bets against sterling rose after the Bank of England defied expectations for an interest rate rise earlier this month but those positions could soon start to be corrected, Rabobank says. Short positions rose to the highest level since June 2020 in the week to November 16, according to the latest CFTC report, after the BOE left its key rate at 0.1%. "Following on from firm U.K. economic data, expectations for a December rate hike have been building and should lend support in the next set of positioning data," Rabobank forex strategist Jane Foley says. GBP/USD falls 0.1% to 1.3429 and EUR/GBP rises 0.1% to 0.8403.

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Hochschild Drops on Peruvian PM's Plans to Shut Its Mines

0825 GMT - Shares in Hochschild fall 45% after the Peruvian head of cabinet said that the government will create a commission to negotiate the closure of mining projects, including the company's Pallancata and Inmaculada mines. RBC Capital Markets expected the market to react negatively, given the unexpected and uncertain legal nature of the action. Inmaculada and Pallancata account for 79% of the Hochschild's valuation, RBC estimates. "We are not sure if the magnitude of what this sort of action might mean for Peruvian foreign investment has been fully appreciated by the government, which we think could provide potential for a reversal in due course," RBC says. The bank expects the news to weigh on other Peru-exposed miners and on the country's currency as well.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-22-21 0545ET