London pre-open: Stocks seen steady after borrowing figures
Sharecast
Published Nov 21, 2023 07:35
London pre-open: Stocks seen steady after borrowing figures
Sharecast - Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks - PSNB ex - was £14.9bn in October, above October 2022’s £10.5bn.
Consensus expectations were for £13.4bn and the Office for Budget Responsibility had forecast £13.7bn.
For the first seven months of the financial year, public sector net borrowing excluding banks was £98.3bn, up £21.9bn on the same period a year earlier but £16.9bn below the OBR’s forecast of £115.2bn.
Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "October’s public finances figures won’t deter the Chancellor from embarking on a pre-election fiscal giveaway in his Autumn Statement on Wednesday.
"We think he will unveil a net fiscal giveaway averaging about £12bn (0.5% of GDP) per annum."
In corporate news, business process outsourcing group Capita (LON:CPI) announced that it is shedding another 900 jobs by ramping up its cost-saving programme.
The company announced plans in August to double its operating profit margin over the medium term, with £40m of cost savings planned by the end of 2024.
"We are, today, announcing the accelerated delivery of the efficiency savings announced in our half-year results with a £20m increase in overhead cost reduction to £60m on an annualised basis from Q1 2024," said chief executive Jon Lewis.
Telecom Plus (LON:TEP), trading as Utility Warehouse, reported strong half-year results.
The company saw a 57.1% increase in revenue to £883.6m, with adjusted profit before taxation rising by 36.1% to £43.7m. Additionally, the interim dividend per share was increased to 36p.
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