BUSINESS CLOSE: Shell under hedge-fund pressure to split; Lloyds profits nearly double; MPs ramp up pressure on LV takeover
The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.05 per cent or 3.80 points to 7,249.47 this afternoon.
Royal Dutch Shell has opted to distribute $7billion to shareholders from capital raised in the sale of its Permian assets, as the oil major vowed to halve its emissions by 2030.
It comes amid pressure from activist hedge fund Third Point Capital, which yesterday called for the break-up of Shell.
Local MPs have urged members of Bournemouth-based LV to reject its £530m takeover by American private equity barons Bain Capital.
The area’s three Conservative MPs told the Daily Mail that LV is an important local employer and part of the community, raising concerns about the ongoing sale of British companies to foreign firms and the prospects of LV’s focus being shifted abroad.
British banks could be the most vulnerable to an economic meltdown in China, according to Bank for International Settlements data.
UK lenders are the largest creditors to China, the Basle-based group found, with around £187billion of loans tied up in the country at the end of June – up by more than 20 per cent since the end of 2019.
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Shell is under pressure from investor Third Point Capital which has called for the break-up of the oil major
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