Guten morgen from Richard in Davos: The Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau wooed the World Economic Forum yesterday. Today Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is due to give a special address this afternoon. She is followed by President Macron of France. No doubt he will prove a hit with the Davos crowd.
The US treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, is in town ahead of The Donald’s arrival tomorrow. Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google, also speaks today. Away from the main hall Mark Tucker, the chairman of HSBC, is on a panel discussing China, while Standard Chartered’s Bill Winter and the US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross are talking trade.
For the very latest from Davos follow the Times business team on Twitter: @fletcherr, @PhilAldrick and @KGriffithsTimes.
Markets snap
The Nikkei closed down 0.76 per cent at 23,940.78. The FTSE 100, which closed at 7,731.83, is forecast to open down seven points when trading begins shortly. At 6.44am Brent crude was trading at $69.84 a barrel.
Good morning from Callum in London: Alison Platt has resigned as chief executive of Countrywide only days after Britain’s biggest listed estate agency issued a profit warning. Peter Long becomes executive chairman for now. Ms Platt said: “I have worked hard, within a difficult market, to structure a fragmented business into one set for success. I believe those actions will serve Countrywide well in the future. However, the time is now right for me to step aside.”
Crest Nicholson has announced that Stephen Stone, its chief executive, will become executive chairman in March. Patrick Bergin will replace him as chief executive. The housebuilder’s annual profits rose 6 per cent to £207 million.
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The software company Sage Group reports that group organic revenue rose by 6.3 per cent in the first quarter. Comparable sales at WH Smith were down 1 per cent in the 20 weeks to January 20.
On the junior market, Fevertree Drinks says that its annual performance will be “comfortably ahead of market expectations”. Tim Warrillow, its chief executive, said: “The same trends of premiumisation and mixability that we’ve previously highlighted are accelerating and we are increasingly excited by the global opportunity this presents.”
J D Wetherspoon reports that comparable sales rose by 6 per cent in the 25 weeks to January 21. Like-for-like sales will be “more difficult” in the second half of the year, Tim Martin, chairman of the FTSE 250 pub operator, says.
We also have quarterly production reports from the miners Fresnillo and Antofagasta.
The Competition and Markets Authority is looking at whether Bain Capital’s acquisition of Zenith Hygiene would lead to “a substantial lessening of competition”.
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The pound continued to climb in the early hours, reaching $1.405 — another high since the Brexit vote. A short time ago it was trading at $1.403 against the dollar and at €1.140 against the euro.
One wonders how sterling might respond to the latest jobs figures from the Office for National Statistics at 9.30am. The unemployment rate is expected to have remained at 4.3 per cent in November (the fifth month in a row). Average weekly wage growth is expected to have stayed at 2.5 per cent.
That’s all from us. Please do keep sending your thoughts and observations to callum.jones@thetimes.co.uk. We’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow.
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