Hints and tips:
...Results: ABB Q2, American Express Q2, Close Brothers trading update, Comerica Q2, Danske Bank Q2, FirstGroup trading statement and AGM, Glencore H1 production report, Interpublic Q2, Nokia H1, Norsk Hydro...
...David Martin, FirstGroup executive chair, said the agreement “completes the group’s portfolio rationalisation strategy which has refocused FirstGroup on its leading UK public transport businesses”....
...Trains were a target for those seeking easy money in America’s Wild West. Coast Capital’s accusations that there is a risk of daylight robbery focus on buses this time....
...“They were working to sell the most important public transport company in North America during a pandemic when there was no vaccine and no visibility on school reopenings.”...
...FirstGroup shares held steady at 86p by Thursday’s close....
...First Student is North America’s largest provider of student transport with a fleet of 42,000 buses, while First Transit has 12,500 vehicles....
...and sugary treats were among the code names used by Glencore employees as they used cash payments, sham consulting agreements and inflated invoices to bribe government officials in west Africa and Latin America...
...The decision allows FirstGroup to release an £80m provision held in reserve....
...UK rail and bus operator FirstGroup predicted it would swing back into profit on Tuesday, just two months after warning of uncertainty over its ability to continue as a going concern....
...A week ago, UK rail and bus operator FirstGroup announced its covenants had been amended up to next September as “a matter of prudence”....
...ExxonMobil, a titan of corporate America, faces a pivotal moment this week as restive shareholders have their say on what critics call an inadequate response to seismic shifts brought on by climate change...
...FirstGroup managed to win several large school bus contracts from competitors in the US, while Stagecoach is pursuing a strategy to diversify into new markets such as Sweden and Dubai....
...It agreed a £3.3bn deal last month to buy FirstGroup’s US bus operations using its infrastructure fund. The units, First Student and First Transit, include tens of thousands of yellow school buses....
...Balance sheets offer some support against revenue seepage: decent in the case of Go-Ahead, less so at Stagecoach and FirstGroup....
...FirstGroup said that staff members from all five of its divisions in North America and the UK had died as a result of the coronavirus outbreak....
...He joins the Chicago office after serving as head of speciality finance in the Americas within FIG banking at Credit Suisse....
...FirstGroup remains unable to give guidance, given recovery related uncertainties....
...And RBC Capital Markets turns cautious on FirstGroup: We downgrade FirstGroup to Sector Perform and move our Price Target to 65p....
...The First Transit division is one of the biggest providers of public transport across North America, used by 324m passengers each year, according to the company’s website....
...FirstGroup said in a statement that releasing value was a “priority” best achieved through rationalisation....
...FirstGroup has slashed the value of the troubled US Greyhound bus business it is trying to sell, sending shares in the UK transport group down more than 20 per cent....
...The week begins with Covid-19 cases again on the rise in the US as well as in Brazil and Mexico, two of Latin America’s biggest economies....
...He refused to comment on whether the company would consider shifting its headquarters or listing to America in the longer term....
...Kate.burgess@ft.com FirstGroup: Jonathan.ford@ft.com...
...FirstGroup, the UK owner of Greyhound buses, last week alarmed shareholders by revealing a £59m charge to cover the rising cost of motor insurance....
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