TUESDAY 6 APRIL 2021 WORLD BUSINESS NEWSPAPER ASIA

Grading workers Mind the gap Price is not right

It’s time to scrap unfair feedback Macron’s growing unpopularity Big pharma groups are beating a
SARAH O’CONNOR, PAGE 15 emboldens Le Pen — BIG READ, PAGE 13 retreat from antibiotics — LEX, PAGE 16

Viral message Briefing

Johnson eases i Google in landmark win over Oracle
The US Supreme Court has ruled that the tech
English curbs group owned by Alphabet did not break the law
when it copied software interfaces owned by Oracle
for use in its Android smartphone system.— PAGE 6
Boris Johnson at a Downing Street press
conference yesterday where he con- i Covid drag on economies highlighted
firmed England’s next step out of lock- Research for the FT has shown “sharply divergent
down, when pub gardens, clothes shops growth prospects” between nations as vaccination
and hairdressers can reopen next week. drives and infection rates vary, diminishing the
The British prime minister also risked likelihood of a co-ordinated global rebound.— PAGE 2
the ire of his own MPs after backing the
use of domestic “Covid passports”, argu- i Jordanian prince spat takes new twist
ing that businesses had the right to Prince Hamzah bin Hussein,
check the status of people entering their who is accused of plotting to
properties. destabilise the country, has
But while Johnson was upbeat about reportedly said he will disobey
progress in containing the virus, govern- military orders not to contact
ment scientists warned that a resur- the outside world.— PAGE 4
gence in hospitalisations and deaths was
“highly likely” after all legal restrictions i London firm on bailing out Eurostar
on mixing had been removed in June, The UK government has reiterated its resistance to
despite a successful vaccine rollout. bailing out the operator of trains between Britain
Report page 2 and mainland Europe. France has a majority 55 per
Stefan Rousseau /AFP via Getty Images
cent stake via state-owned railway SNCF.— PAGE 7

i Inflation tests Turkey’s bank governor

Yellen urges global corporate tax

Price rises have accelerated for the sixth straight
month, making it harder for the country’s new
central bank chief to fulfil President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s wish to ease monetary policy.— PAGE 3

floor in US bid to seize policy lead

i Posco urged to quit Myanmar tie-up
Investors have called on the South Korean industrial
group to sever a link-up with a group controlled by
Myanmar’s military, as multinationals face pressure
to cut financial ties with the country’s junta.— PAGE 7

i Firms ease burnout with luxury gifts

3 Push for level playing field 3 Washington calls for allies 3 Rebuff to Trump unilateralism
JAMES POLITI — WASHINGTON
Janet Yellen, the US Treasury secretary,
has called on other countries to join
Washington in setting a global mini-
mum tax for corporations as she vowed
to reassert America’s leadership in
international economic policy.
“Together we can use a global mini-
mum tax to make sure the global econ-
omy thrives based on a more level play-
ing field in the taxation of multinational
corporations, and spurs innovation,
growth and prosperity,” Yellen said in a
speech to the Chicago Council on Global
Affairs yesterday.
Her appeal on the eve of the IMF and
World Bank spring meetings comes as
the Biden administration puts a crack-
down on tax avoidance and tax shelters
at the heart of its economic agenda.
The White House last week released a
plan to invest more than $2tn to revamp
decaying infrastructure and boost clean
energy. It hopes to pay for the proposal
with a higher corporate tax rate, a rise in
its own global minimum tax and other
measures designed to stop profit-shift-
ing across borders for tax reasons.
Yellen said competitiveness was about
making sure governments had “stable
tax systems that raise sufficient revenue
to invest in essential public goods and
respond to crises”.
The US is already pushing for a multi-
lateral agreement on digital taxation at
the OECD by the summer, but Yellen’s
pitch is for an even broader deal on cor-
porate taxation encompassing the G20
and other countries.
The world’s top law firms and banks have sought to
head off a retention crisis among overworked junior
staff by handing out luxury gifts and generous
As she pushes for a global deal on cor- and engagement makes our institutions bonuses, after a stellar year for earnings.— PAGE 6
porate taxation, however, the Biden and economy vulnerable,” she said.
administration is facing a big fight over However, she warned that US eco-
its proposals for higher US corporate
taxes, including a provision to boost the
nomic ties with China were more com-
plex. “Our economic relationship with
Datawatch
global minimum corporate tax from China, like our broader relationship
10.5 per cent to 21 per cent. Republicans Janet Yellen: with China, will be competitive where it School’s (still) out More than 900m
on Capitol Hill and business groups have ‘America first should be, collaborative where it can be Students* worldwide affected by students globally
closures due to Covid-19 (billions) are still affected
blasted the proposal as hurtful to the must never and adversarial where it must be.”
2 by full or partial
competitiveness of US multinationals. mean America Despite projections by the Fed that US
closures of
In her speech, the former Federal alone. No gross domestic product growth could hit Partially open educational
Reserve chair said the US was interested country alone 6.5 per cent this year, Yellen said it was establishments. At
in restoring its economic leadership in can suitably “too early for advanced economies to 1 the peak last year,
the world in the wake of the unilateral- provide a strong declare victory” in the crisis. more than 90 per
ism of Donald Trump’s presidency. economy for its She dismissed concerns that the stim- Fully closed cent of the world’s
“America first must never mean Amer- people’ ulus would trigger an unhealthy spike in 0 1.75bn students
ica alone. For in today’s world, no coun- inflation, saying the risks to the recov- Feb 2020 Apr were hit by
try alone can suitably provide a strong ery were “asymmetric” and there was * Pre-primary to tertiary levels 2021 closures.
and sustainable economy for its people. more danger in doing too little. Source: Unesco
Over time, a lack of global leadership Mark Lowcock page 15

Commodities groups investigate web

domains with links to Gupta’s empire
CYNTHIA O’MURCHU, ROBERT SMITH “We will be formally reminding Lib- registering a domain allows the use of
AND NEIL HUME — LONDON
erty House that our business name Con- associated email addresses.
Commodities trading houses have cord Resources is trademarked in a Until its collapse in March, Greensill
launched investigations after web number of jurisdictions, including the Capital lent billions of dollars to Gupta’s
domains resembling their own were United Kingdom and Singapore for use group on the basis of invoices.
China’s authorities have registered to an email address of an in regards to resources wholesaling and The FT has since revealed that Green-
the last laugh with comics employee at Sanjeev Gupta’s metals other similar business uses,” said Mark sill Capital’s administrator has been
empire. Hansen, chief executive of Concord unable to verify some of these invoices,
Analysis i PAGE 4 Resources. with companies listed on the documents
The Financial Times discovered that the In April 2017, the szmhgroups.com denying they had ever done business
domains were registered with a Liberty domain was registered, which resem- with Gupta. Gupta later told the FT that
Australia A$7.00(inc GST) House email address. Liberty House is bles the szmh-group.com website of a company named on Friday, RPS Sie-
China RMB30 Gupta’s commodities trading and indus- steel trader Salzgitter Mannesmann. gen GmbH, had only been “identified as
Hong Kong HK$33 trial group and part of his GFG Alliance The steel trading group said that it a potential customer” and financing was
India Rup220 conglomerate. The registrations include regarded the use of the domain by exter- provided on that basis.
Indonesia Rp45,000 gunvorsg.com, a name that resembles nal parties as “misleading” and that it Invoice-based financing propelled the
Japan ¥650(inc JCT) Gunvor, one of the world’s largest oil would investigate the matter to review rise of Gupta’s GFG Alliance, a loose col-
Korea W4,500 traders. Gunvor declined to comment. options to “prevent the misuse” of the lection of family-owned businesses that
Malaysia RM11.50
London-based trading house Concord domain. employ 35,000 people around the world
Pakistan Rupee 350
Philippines Peso 140
Resources said it would send a cease and The purpose of the registrations is and is now in jeopardy.
Singapore S$5.80(inc GST) desist letter to Liberty House over the unknown. It is also unclear if the corre- The Liberty House email address was
Taiwan NT$140 registration of concordresources.net. sponding websites were ever set up, but Continued on page 7
Thailand Bht140
Vietnam US$4.50

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2 ★
Brookings-FT index
Countries set to pay for virus failures
Those with rising infections
and slower jab rollouts face
weaker economic rebound
CHRIS GILES — LONDON
The likelihood of a co-ordinated global
economic rebound from the pandemic
has diminished as slower vaccination
rollouts and a fresh wave of infections
in some countries result in “sharply
divergent growth prospects”, according
to exclusive research for the Financial
Times.
The key driver of success in 2021 is
likely to be the ability to control the
virus, found the Brookings-FT tracking
index, which forecasts that advanced
economies will outperform emerging
markets in growth, financial indicators
and investor confidence this year.
The index comes as finance ministers
and central bankers prepare for the lat-
Threat to ban Twitter follows
development of parallel web
running on domestic servers
MAX SEDDON — MOSCOW
The move by Russia’s internet censor to
start slowing Twitter was a sign of Mos-
cow’s resolve to take on Silicon Valley
and marked a test of its new infrastruc-
ture for a “sovereign internet” less
dependent on western tech companies.
Exerting greater control over foreign
social networks has become more press-
ing for the Kremlin after supporters of
jailed opposition activist Alexei Nav-
alny used them to organise nationwide
protests in January.
Moscow threatened to ban Twitter if it
did not delete 3,168 posts dating back to
2017 that it said encouraged illegal
activities. The censor yesterday back-
tracked after claiming Twitter had
deleted 1,900 of the disputed posts. It
said it would extend the slowdown until
mid-May to force the company to fully
comply with the law. Twitter was not
immediately available for a comment.
But action against Big Tech has risks.
The knock-on effect of last month’s
Twitter slowdown meant websites of the
Kremlin, Russia’s parliament and sev-
eral government agencies went offline —
including that of the censor itself —
within hours, illustrating Moscow’s reli-
ance on foreign internet infrastructure.
The sovereign internet, in effect a par-
allel web run entirely on Russian serv-
ers, is meant to have the technology to
restrict access selectively to banned
content, without the risk of collateral
damage. Russia’s censors say learned
lessons from a disastrous attempt to ban
messaging app Telegram in 2018, which
took out more than 16m unrelated sites
while Telegram, still easily accessible,
increased its users from 10m to 30m.
The restrictions against Twitter are
the first significant use of the sovereign
internet through a technology known as
deep packet inspection, which theoreti-
cally gives censors the ability to filter
individual pages without taking thou-
sands of others with them.
“It’s a step forward for the state to
MAKE A SMART INVESTMENT
Subscribe to the FT today at FT.com/subscription
FRIDAY 31 MARCH 2017
Trump vs the Valley
Tech titans need to minimise
political risk — GILLIAN TETT, PAGE 13
HMRC warns
customs risks
being swamped
by Brexit surge
3 Confidence in IT plans ‘has collapsed’
3 Fivefold rise in declarations expected
JAMES BLITZ — WHITEHALL EDITOR
A computer system acquired to collect
duties and clear imports into the UK
may not be able to handle the huge
surge in workload expectedonce Britain
leaves the EU, customs authorities have
admitted toMPs.
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est virtual meetings of the IMF and
World Bank this week. The diverging
economic outlook will add tension to
the already fraught global battles over
vaccine production and distribution.
“The world economy faces sharply
divergent growth prospects across vari-
ous regions, as prospects of a uniform
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Russia plans ‘sovereign internet’ fight
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a woman takes a
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WORLD BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
UK £2.70 Channel Islands £3.00; Republic of Ireland €3.00
A Five Star plan?
Italy’s populists are trying to woo
the poor — BIG READ, PAGE 11
Dear Don...
May’s first stab at the break-up
letter — ROBERT SHRIMSLEY, PAGE 12
Lloyd’s of Brussels Insurance market
to tap new talent pool with EU base
UK £3.80; Channel Islands £3.80; Republic of Ireland €3.80
Briefing
THE END
i US bargain-hunters fuel Europe M&A
Europe has become the big target for cross-border
dealmaking, as US companies ride a Trump-fuelled
equity market rally to hunt for bargains across the
HOW DRIVERLESS
OF THE
Atlantic.— PAGE 15; CHINA CURBS HIT DEALS, PAGE 17
TECHNOLOGY IS
i Report outlines longer NHS waiting times
A report on how the health service can survive CHANGING AN
ROAD
more austerity has said patients will wait longer for
non-urgent operations and for A&E treatment while AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE
some surgical procedures will be scrapped.— PAGE 4
i Emerging nations in record debt sales
FT WEEKEND MAGAZINE
Developing countries have sold record levels of
government debt in the first quarter of this year,
taking advantage of a surge in optimism toward
emerging markets as trade booms.— PAGE 15
Credit Suisse Art of persuasion Mystery deepens
i London tower plans break records
A survey has revealed that a
record 455 tall buildings are
over disputed painting of Jane Austen
planned or under construction
adjust its negotiation position with the in London. Work began on
engulfed in
EU, a Whitehall official said. “If running almost one tower a week
our own customs system is proving during 2016.— PAGE 4
much harder than we anticipated, that
ought to have an impact on how we i Tillerson fails to ease Turkey tensions
press for certain options in Brussels.” The US secretary of state has failed to reconcile
fresh tax probe
In a letter to Andrew Tyrie, chairman tensions after talks in Ankara with President Recep
of the Commons treasury select com- Tayyip Erdogan on issues including Syria and the
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FINANCIAL TIMES Tuesday 6 April 2021
INTERNATIONAL
GLOBAL INSIGHT
ASIA
Ben
Hall
side the recovery in financial markets. ‘Indecisive power to most American households.
Last week, the IMF and UN warned China’s economy has remained resil-
policies are
that poorer countries hit by the econo-
mic and healthcare effects of the virus
risked facing a debt crisis unless more
affecting
ient with few outbreaks of coronavirus
and the government is keen to boost
consumption and the services sector.
Sanctions dispute
ambitious action was taken by multilat-
eral institutions and the richest econo-
consumer
and
But in Europe and much of Latin
America, growth prospects are weak
forces EU to reassess
mies. Prasad said economic success was
dependent on countries getting health
and economic policies right.
business
and IMF forecasts this week are likely to
show their output has little prospect of
reaching pre-crisis levels until 2022.
its China strategy
“The recipe for a strong and durable
confidence Industrial production and trade has
I
recovery remains the same as it has over in the held up well since early in the pandemic,
the past year; resolute measures to con- weaker but problems persist in consumer-fac- t is too early to say whether the investment agreement
trol the virus [and] balanced monetary ing services industries which are still hit the EU struck with China at the end of December is
and fiscal stimulus, with an emphasis on economies, by restrictions to control the spread. dead, although it is clearly badly wounded.
policies that support demand as well as adding to “Indecisive policies are affecting con- Beijing last week hit European lawmakers from
improve productivity,” he added. sumer and business confidence in the each of the main party groups in retaliation for EU
The US and China are leading the glo- economic weaker economies, adding to economic sanctions against four Chinese officials involved in human
bal recovery, the index shows, but with strains’ strains,” Prasad said. rights abuses in Xinjiang. It made it all but impossible for
different policy mixes. US growth is IMF members will this week discuss the European parliament to ratify the treaty.
poised for a record year with output efforts by the G20 group of leading econ- However, ratification is a lengthy process and a lot could
forecast to top pre-pandemic levels omies to relieve these debt burdens, change in the several months before it comes to a final
after Joe Biden’s fiscal stimulus, which along with efforts to develop a better vote. China could retreat. More likely, MEPs will come
has given substantial financial fire- vaccine supply to bounce back. under huge pressure from national capitals and business
interests to approve the so-called Comprehensive Agree-
ment on Investment (CAI) in the name of improving Euro-
pean access to bountiful Chinese markets.
Big tech. State crackdown Even before last week’s tit-for-tat sanctions, the deal had
run into opposition from MEPs over the lack of promises,
let alone binding commitments, by Beijing to meet inter-
national standards on forced labour. Others were worried
about antagonising the Biden administration.
Reinhard Bütikofer, a German Green MEP and leader of
the parliament’s China delegation who was one of those
sanctioned by Beijing, said support could ebb further
when his colleagues realised it might drain industrial
investment from Europe.
“CAI is in extremely deep trouble. But I would refrain
from saying it is over. There could be attempts to revive it.”
Nonetheless, China’s response to the EU’s stand on
Xinjiang abuses still feels like a turning point in EU-China
ties.
“The events of [last]
week are a game-
changer,” said Janka Oer-
EU sanctions
tel, head of the Asia pro- show the bloc
gramme at the European
Council on Foreign Rela-
will not always
tions. Beijing “does not put its business
regard Europeans as
being detached from the
interests first
broader attack on it”.
China saw the investment deal as an opportunity to
drive a wedge between the US and EU, said Bütikofer. It felt
“that their efforts at neutralising Europe in a hegemonic
battle with the US were making headway”.
The co-ordinated western sanctions were a “big loss of
face for [President] Xi Jinping”, he said, and explained
why China struck the EU first with counter-sanctions and
hit harder than it had been hit. It also followed up with a
consumer boycott, orchestrated by state media, of some
western brands over previous Xinjiang statements.
As China was punishing the EU, the US was wooing it. In
a speech at Nato headquarters last week, US secretary of
state Antony Blinken could barely have been more reas-
suring about Washington’s approach.
“The United States won’t force our allies into an ‘us or
them’ choice with China,” he said. “We know that our allies
have control over all of their internet based investors tried to take control. dominated market. If the sovereign have complex relationships with China that won’t always
infrastructure, even if they still don’t Unable to gain a strong foothold on plat- internet made accessing western sites align perfectly. But we need to navigate these challenges
have it completely,” said Alena Epi- forms such as YouTube, Russian law- sufficiently cumbersome, however, it together.”
fanova, a researcher at the German makers are vowing to ban sites that “dis- might have the desired effect, said Ser- The EU’s human rights sanctions show the bloc will not
Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. criminate” against pro-Kremlin media. gei Sanovich, a postdoctoral researcher always put its business interests first. But although China
Initial results show there may be “Western media and society try to at Princeton University’s Center for has given assurances it will sign up to International Labour
kinks in the system. The slowdown also present it in a very politically biased Information and Technology Policy. Organization conventions on forced labour, it has not said
appeared to hit several websites whose way, that we’re going to block every- “There is one market principle that when, nor agreed to a binding timetable. An enforcement
domains use the “t.co” that Twitter thing. But actually, we’re the victim the Russian government respects, mechanism contained in the deal for failing to abide by
employs for shortened web addresses. here,” Anton Gorelkin, a member of though, and it is that the consumer is labour standards amounts to a slap on the wrist.
“They still can’t control every server parliament who is preparing a compre- always right. This is what differentiates “The partnership dimension has become a lot smaller,”
that Twitter uses because they have dif- hensive bill to regulate foreign tech them from Soviet predecessors and said Oertel. “Competition has become a lot bigger and the
ferent servers for their content delivery companies, said in an interview. “For- makes them similar to the Chinese,” rivalry is now more pronounced.”
network all around the world,” Epi- eign companies work here, make bil- Sanovich said. That will become clearer as the EU pushes ahead this
fanova said. lions but don’t pay taxes or co-operate “They interpret it in the most cynical year with a suite of other unilateral defences that will
The threat to ban social networks out- with our entirely reasonable demands.” way possible: Only the average con- make it easier to push back against Beijing. These include
right has not spurred Silicon Valley’s Russia hopes the threat of a ban sumer matters and they will consume EU rules on foreign state subsidies, measures against eco-
giants to comply with Russia’s laws on backed by its new technology will finally whatever is offered to them as long as it nomic coercion and a carbon border tax on imports from
data localisation and banned content. compel Silicon Valley to comply with its is reasonably entertaining and very easy climate laggards as well as national measures on slave
Nor are they vulnerable to the kind of laws. Though Russia is one of the few to access. They correctly understand labour.
pressure Russia has exerted on local countries to have strong local competi- that with a glut of information, very low “You cannot co-operate as if there is no rivalry,”
technology companies. Russian search tors to Silicon Valley in Yandex’s search barriers to access one platform could Bütikofer said. “That is impossible.”
engine Yandex gave the Kremlin an and Mail.ru’s social media, they are give an alternative platform that they
effective veto over its governance if US- exceptions in what remains a western- control a huge boost.” ben.hall@ft.com
UK restrictions
Johnson backs ‘Covid passports’ and sets up clash with MPs
GEORGE PARKER, CLIVE COOKSON AND Johnson’s statement in a Downing A review, led by Cabinet Office minis- on plans to reopen foreign travel. His
JASMINE CAMERON-CHILESHE — LONDON
Street press conference made it clear the ter Michael Gove, will continue to look review said the government “hopes peo-
SATURDAY 1 APRIL / SUNDAY 2 APRIL 2017
UK prime minister Boris Johnson was reopening of the economy would throw at “equity and ethical concerns”; public ple will be able to travel to and from the
up some stark ethical choices, most services, public transport and essential UK to take a summer holiday this year”.
heading for a showdown with his own
Censors and sensitivity
notably on whether people should have shops are given as examples of where A traffic-light system will be intro-
Warning: this article may be
MPs yesterday after he threw his
FEBRUARY 4 2017
upsetting — LIFE & ARTS
to provide proof in certain circum- Covid-19 certificates will never have to duced for foreign destinations, grading
How To Spend It
weight behind domestic “Covid pass-
stances of their Covid-19 status. be shown to ensure “access for all”. them on their record on vaccines, the
Chic new lodgings
ports”, arguing that businesses had the
right to check the status of people More than 70 MPs last week vowed to But the Gove inquiry has already con- prevalence of new variants and infec-
entering their premises. oppose the introduction of such certifi- cluded Covid-19 certificates are likely to tion rates. Countries on the “green list”
cates for domestic use, including 41 rul- be a fact of life until the pandemic will require no isolation upon return to
The premier, in a major statement on ing Conservatives, arguing they would England, although pre-departure and
how England will return to normal after be “divisive and discriminatory”. The post-arrival tests will still be required.
lockdown, said it was right for the gov- opposition Labour party is considering
A traffic-light system will Countries on amber and red lists will
ernment to provide a means of easily its position. be introduced for foreign require different levels of isolation upon
demonstrating a person’s Covid-status, The government said in an interim return. Non-essential foreign travel is
both for domestic use and international statement on its review of Covid-19 cer-
destinations, grading them banned until May 17.
travel. He confirmed England would tification: “Introducing a ban on this on their virus record Government scientists warned that in
move to step two of the “road map” for would in most cases be an unjustified some “pessimistic but plausible” sce-
lifting the lockdown on April 12, when intrusion on how businesses choose to recedes, regardless of what ministers narios, as many people would be in hos-
outdoor pubs, non-essential shops, hair- make their premises safe.” do, and therefore it was “right” for the pital with the disease in August and Sep-
dressers and indoor gyms will be among In a sign Johnson intends to press government to develop a usable system tember as during the last peak in Janu-
premises that can reopen. ahead with the policy after June 21 — the to enable foreign travel and access to ary. Although they emphasised that
Johnson was upbeat about progress in date for step four of his lockdown easing certain UK venues. “the scale, shape, and timing of any
containing the virus, with more than road map, when most remaining lock- That is expected to be based on the resurgence remain highly uncertain”, all
31.5m people having received their first down restrictions are due to be lifted — national health service app, which will the modelling showed some increase in
dose. But government scientists have he said certificates could have a role to record vaccination records, test results cases, hospitalisations and deaths,
warned a “resurgence in Covid-19 hospi- play in opening up mass spectator and immunity, based on whether a per- because the greatly increased transmis-
talisations and deaths is highly likely” events, theatres and nightclubs. Trial son has had the virus. sion resulting from social mixing would
after all legal restrictions on mixing events, including the football FA Cup Johnson, whose cabinet signed off the outweigh the protective effect of vacci-
have been removed in June. final next month, are planned. plan yesterday, also provided an update nation.
Tuesday 6 April 2021
IMF to boost
balance sheets
of developing
countries
Fund lines up $650bn in special drawing rights
to help nations further indebted by pandemic
JONATHAN WHEATLEY — LONDON
The economic damage from coronavi-
rus has fallen hardest on developing
countries, where healthcare costs and
historic falls in output have worsened
already heavy debt burdens.
Last week, the IMF and UN both
warned that the world should be braced
for an emerging market debt crisis as
the global economy emerges from the
pandemic and interest rates rise, draw-
ing capital from vulnerable countries.
Leading multilateral institutions
including the IMF and the G20 group of
larger economies have already
embarked on debt relief efforts, and this
week a further proposal is set to edge
closer to completion. The G20 and the
IMF international monetary and finan-
cial committee are expected to sign off a
plan to issue $650bn of new IMF special
The IMF says $650bn is
about right and it is the most
the US can agree to without
congressional approval
drawing rights (SDRs), a financial
instrument that would boost emerging
economies’ balance sheets.
What is an SDR?
The SDR is the unit of account of the
IMF. Its value is adjusted daily based on
the exchange rates of five currencies,
the US dollar, the euro, the Chinese ren-
minbi, the pound sterling and the Japa-
nese yen, and is equivalent to about
$1.42. It was created in 1969 to supple-
ment countries’ other reserve assets
such as foreign exchange and gold.
When a country joins the IMF, and on
other occasions, it receives SDRs broad-
ly in proportion to its relative economic
size but skewed in favour of small coun-
tries. This quota determines its contri-
bution to the IMF’s capital base and the
amount of aid it can get. All 190 mem-
bers subscribe to the IMF’s capital base.
Why issue SDRs now?
The last time the IMF issued more SDRs
was in 2009 during the financial crisis,
when it created 161.2bn SDRs, worth
about $250bn then, which was seen as
helping to steady the global economy.
SDRs can be bought and sold for cash
under voluntary agreements between
countries which are overseen by the
IMF. If a country sells SDRs, it pays int-
erest on the difference between its hold-
ing and its allocation. If it buys them, it
earns interest on the same difference.
So if a country receives new SDRs, it
can sell them for cash at a cost, or it can
use them to bolster its reserves at no
cost, freeing other reserve assets, such
as cash, for use elsewhere.
SDRs act as a means of regulating glo-
bal liquidity and enable countries which
Monetary policy
Turkey inflation surge leaves
central bank chief in dilemma
AYLA JEAN YACKLEY — ISTANBUL
Turkish inflation accelerated for the
sixth month in a row in March as the
weak lira drove up the cost of imports,
making it harder for the country’s new
central bank governor to fulfil Presi-
dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s wish to
ease monetary policy.
Consumer prices rose 16.19 per cent
year on year, in line with the expecta-
tions of economists polled by Reuters.
The month-on-month increase was
1.08 per cent, with transportation and
white goods leading the rise, the state
statistics agency said yesterday.
Turkey’s inflation rate has been stuck
in double digits for much of the past
three years, leaving central bank gover-
nor Sahap Kavcioglu with a dilemma.
Kavcioglu was appointed last month
by Erdogan, who has often demanded
lower borrowing costs to spur economic
growth. But cutting rates risks fuelling
inflation and threatens to undermine the
value of the lira, according to analysts.
“The renewed depreciation pressure
★ FINANCIAL TIMES 3
INTERNATIONAL
Advocates
say SDRs
would
quickly get
money
to the
countries
that need it
most,
without
adding to
their debts
need to raise funds to do so from nations
in a better financial position.
Advocates say SDRs would quickly get Check-in: health
money to the countries that need it workers register
most, without adding to their debts. passengers for
Covid-19 tests at
How does the IMF create SDRs? the Yesvantpur
An SDR allocation is akin to central railway station
bank money creation in that the IMF in Bangalore,
can create value at the stroke of a pen, India, yesterday
but it must get 85 per cent approval Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty
from its board of governors, which rep-
resents all 190 members.
The US in particular can block the
proposal as it holds 16.5 per cent of the
votes. It did so last year under then pres-
ident Donald Trump, arguing most of
the benefits of any new SDR issuance
would go to rich countries. Some ana-
lysts claimed the real reason was Wash-
ington did not want to boost the
finances of China and Iran.
President Joe Biden’s administration
has since overturned the Trump veto
and the G7 group of rich nations has
given its backing, making it highly likely
the proposal will go ahead.
Will $650bn be enough?
Not in the view of some economists and
organisations. UN agencies have called
for $2tn or more. The IMF says $650bn
is about right and, perhaps most impor-
tantly, it is the most the US government
can agree to without needing congres-
sional approval.
Can indebted countries benefit
more in another way?
Countries that receive SDRs are not
obliged to use them; rich countries are
unlikely to convert their SDRs into cash
soon, so they could boost the impact of
the issuance by donating or lending
their SDRs to countries in need of liquid-
ity. Six have done so in the past year,
providing $9.6bn out of $16.9bn raised
to support zero-interest lending to poor
countries via a separate IMF initiative.
The IMF is examining other mecha-
nisms to channel extra funding to vul-
nerable middle-income countries, but
progress is expected to be slow.
Is the global finance system at risk?
Sales of SDRs by developing counties
will be in the tens of billions of dollars.
Compared with the multiple trillions
already put into the global system by
advanced economies’ central banks, the
proposed scale is not large enough to be
destabilising, economists say.
When will the allocation happen?
The G20 and the IMF international
monetary and financial committee are
expected to give the nod at World Bank
and IMF spring meetings this week. The
IMF board has already held an informal
meeting and some involved expect final
approval in August, leading to new SDRs
later that month or the next.
See Opinion
on the local currency highlights the
need for the central bank to maintain a
tight monetary policy,” Enver Erkan, an
economist at Tera Securities, wrote in a
research note yesterday. “[High] interest
is the most useful instrument in terms
of price stability, even if it has a slowing
effect for the real economy,” he said.
The figures make it unlikely Kavci-
oglu will cut interest rates at monetary
policy committee meetings on April 15
and in May, and he may even signal that
policy will remain tight, Erkan said.
The lira has fallen 13 per cent against
the dollar since Erdogan sacked Naci
Agbal — his third central bank chief in
under two years — last month, two days
after he increased rates to 19 per cent to
rein in inflation and prop up the lira.
Producer prices jumped 4.13 per cent
last month, and are up 31.2 per cent year
on year, the statistics office said. That
suggests the headline rate of inflation will
continue to rise as higher production
costs are passed on to consumers. Rising
oil prices are also a factor as Turkey
imports almost all of the energy it uses.
4 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Tuesday 6 April 2021

INTERNATIONAL

Middle East

Tape recording deepens Jordan dispute

Prince reportedly says he
will snub demand to avoid
Twitter and speaking out
ANDREW ENGLAND — CAIRO
NERI ZILBER — TEL AVIV
SIMEON KERR — DUBAI
A bitter dispute at the heart of Jordan’s
royal family deepened yesterday after a
defiant recording of the prince accused
of plotting to destabilise the kingdom
emerged, sending shockwaves across
the Middle East.
The recording, which circulated on
social media and which the FT was una-
ble to authenticate, suggests that Prince
Hamzah bin Hussein, a half-brother of
King Abdullah, might not be ready to
abide by orders not to go out, use Twit-
ter or communicate with people.
The Associated Press said the authen-
ticity of the recording was confirmed by
“an individual close to the prince,
speaking on condition of anonymity
because of security concerns”.
Prince Hamzah, who was dismissed as
heir apparent by his older brother in
2004 and has been a vocal critic of cor-
ruption within Jordan’s ruling system,
has been at the centre of intrigue since
Jordan’s military warned him on Satur-
day to stop “activities” threatening the
nation’s security and stability. He said
he had been placed under house arrest,
which the military has denied.
A day later, Ayman Safadi, the foreign
minister, accused Prince Hamzah of
being part of a conspiracy to destabilise
Jordan, a longtime partner of the west,
in a plot that involved Jordanians, “for-
eign parties” and “external opposition”.
In unusually public ructions among
the elite, he said 16 to 18 people had
been arrested, including Bassem
Awadallah, a former finance minister
Hamzah has been one of
the few people to criticise
state corruption and poor
governance publicly
and chief of staff to King Abdullah, and
Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a minor mem-
ber of the royal family. Safadi said there
had been contact between Awadallah
and Sharif Hassan, and between the pair
and Prince Hamzah.
“There was an effort targeting Jordan,
its security and stability. Such [an]
effort was thwarted and dealt with
according to the law,” Safadi said. King
Abdullah wants to deal with the issues
related to Prince Hamzah privately, he
added.
The extraordinary events in a country
regarded as a haven of stability in the
region, point to a rare public power
struggle among the royal family, ana-
lysts based in Jordan said.
Prince Hamzah has been one of the
few people to criticise state corruption
and poor governance publicly at a time
when the authorities have become
increasingly intolerant of dissent, the
analysts said. The crackdown on criti-
cism and protest has intensified during
the coronavirus pandemic.
Safadi said on Sunday that a man
linked to a foreign security service had
contacted Prince Hamzah’s wife to offer
a plane to fly them out of the kingdom.
Roy Shaposhnik, an Israeli defence
consultant residing in Europe, said in a
statement released on Sunday that he
made the offer as a “humanitarian ges-
ture” between friends.
He rejected allegations he was
involved in a plot against King Abdul-
lah. According to a person close to
Shaposhnik, he has lived outside Israel
for more than a decade.
Shaposhnik in a statement posted on
Facebook said that after Prince Hamzah
expressed concern for the safety of his
family he offered to let them stay at his
European home. A Jordanian online
news outlet later released Shaposhnik’s
name and described him as being an
agent of Israel’s Mossad spy agency,
before deleting the report.
Shaposhnik said he had “never served
in any capacity with any intelligence
branch in Israel or any other country”.
Additional reporting by Heba Saleh in
Cairo

Africa. Employment

Nigeria’s graduates live hand to mouth as jobs crisis worsens

Millions of younger people find
it near impossible to get work
amid struggling economy
NEIL MUNSHI — LAGOS
Most days, Clement Akinnouye heads
down to a market near his home in the
northern Nigerian city of Kaduna to sell
shoes or domestic goods for local trad-
ers, a far cry from what he thought he
would be doing when he graduated with
an operations management degree five
years ago.
The 24-year-old makes a few thou-
sand naira ($7-$13) a day, but the work
is irregular. “I’ve applied for over 100
jobs since I graduated — at the federal
civil service, civil defence, Nigerian cus-
toms service, NNPC [the national oil
company], federal road safety, even
Nigerian prisons,” said Akinnouye, who
has lived on his own since he was 12 and
put himself through university in
Kaduna. “To get work here is very, very
hard for normal people, unless you
know someone.”
Akinnouye is one of millions of jobless
young Nigerians, victims of an eco-
nomic crisis that is driving up poverty
and sowing insecurity across Africa’s
most populous country, which has just
barely emerged from its second reces-
sion in five years.
The unemployment rate has more
than quadrupled since President
Muhammadu Buhari took office in
2015, to 33.3 per cent. The more than
60 per cent of the workforce that is
‘You have
to pay
someone,
who pays
someone,
who pays
someone,
before you
get a job’
under 34 years old has it even worse:
more than half (53.4 per cent) of people
aged 15-24 and 37.2 per cent of people
aged 25-34 were unemployed in the
fourth quarter, according to govern-
ment figures.
Nigeria pumps out hundreds of thou-
sands of fresh university graduates each
year, and millions more young people
lacking degrees enter an economy that
cannot produce enough jobs to absorb
them. About 19m Nigerians entered the
labour force in the past five years — or
300,000 every month — according to
World Bank estimates, but just 3.5m
jobs were created during the period,
meaning 80 per cent of new workers
ended up unemployed.
“Going forward, nearly 30 million
new jobs would be needed by 2030 just
to keep the current employment rate
constant,” according to the bank’s
Nigeria economic update.
When Buhari first took office, Nigeria
was entering its first recession in dec-
ades. The country, which relies on crude
for about half of government revenues,
had barely recovered from the 2015 oil
price crash when coronavirus sunk its
main commodity again last year.
Critics have long argued that the
Buhari administration’s policies —
including maintaining multiple
exchange rates, which it is only now tak-
ing steps to unify — prolonged the reces-
sion. The government has gone further
to look into helping create more indus-
tries to accommodate more of these
professional courses that we study in
the university . . . instead of having to
import every single thing we use,” said
Maryam Ado, who graduated with a
degree in glass and silicate technology in
2018 but sells bags and shoes online to
make extra money to get by.
Young people across the country com-
plain that the few jobs that are offered
are usually reserved for the friends and
family of government officials or busi-
nessmen. The rest are often only availa-
ble to those who are willing to pay extor-
tionate bribes.
“In Nigeria you have to know some-
one, who knows someone, who knows
someone — and you have to pay some-
one, who pays someone, who pays
someone, before you get that job,” said
Akinnouye.
“You have people who have graduated
for 10-15 years who have no jobs, who
now resort to menial jobs or even just
living hand to mouth, some are driving
kekes [local three-wheel rickshaws]
because you try and try and try and
Tough market: nothing has happened,” said Aliyu, a 31-
Nigeria’s capital year-old who has not had a full-time job
Abuja. An since graduating with a political science
economic crisis degree in 2014. “You are left with this lit-
is driving up tle hope and it just goes day by day by
poverty and day — it’s horrible, it’s horrible.”
sowing The economic crisis has helped to fuel
insecurity a nationwide banditry epidemic, where
across Africa’s roving gangs of armed young men kill
most populous and kidnap for ransom. “Look at the
country. Top, rate at which they are kidnapping peo-
Clement ple now — don’t be surprised if a lot of
Akinnouye. these youths have been trying to get a
Above, Bisola job, but they don’t have options, and so
Lateef — KC Nwakalor/ they start doing this, they start defraud-
Bloomberg
ing people online,” said Bisola Lateef, a
2018 accounting graduate in Kaduna
than any predecessor in developing sup- who sells bags and shoes online. “There
port programmes for individuals, fami- will be high rates of criminality every-
lies and small businesses, said Zainab where, and it will get worse if this con-
Usman, Africa director at the Washing- tinues.”
ton-based Carnegie Endowment for Sumaaya Tofa, a recent graduate in
International Peace. She added: “After international studies, worried that her
decades of not doing much I think it’s generation’s disillusionment could have
great to see that Nigeria is making dire consequences not just for the secu-
progress . . . but they [the policies] are rity of the country but also the prospects
still not enough.” Government officials of higher education in Nigeria.
were unavailable for comment. “Most of us believe that you go to
Along with rampant joblessness, school and get a certificate so you can
Nigerians must also contend with 20 per Climate capital work and earn something . . . [but] if
cent inflation, with food inflation at a 12- Greta Thunberg: you come into the world and can’t get a
year high, and economic growth that ‘Treat the job, people start thinking, Oh, what’s
climate crisis like
lags far behind one of the highest popu- a real crisis’ the point anyway?” she said. “I think
lation growth rates in the world. most of us feel very hopeless about the
ft.com/video
“I think the government really needs situation right now.”

Censorship China’s stand-up comedians find authorities no longer see the funny side
CHRISTIAN SHEPHERD — BEIJING
At a recent open mic night at a bar in
Beijing, a young Chinese comedian went
out on a limb by telling a joke about
intensifying censorship.
Rules requiring clubs to screen per-
formers’ content were about to come
into force. Before long, he said, China
would turn into the Soviet Union, where
comics had to submit punch lines for
approval.
Few in the audience laughed. But the
fact the gag was controversial reflected a
sense of unease in Chinese stand-up
comedy, a form of entertainment that
has gone from a fringe activity in big cit-
ies to a cultural force across the country,
attracting growing scrutiny.
Rock & Roast, a last-person-standing
competition that concluded its third
season last year, has become an estab-
lished presence on Chinese television,
and live stand-up shows are popular
nationwide. But that success has also
put stand-up in the spotlight for author-
ities and socially conservative commen-
tators. The highly charged undercur-
rent of nationalism being stoked by
Beijing as it faces off against Washington
and other western governments has
amplified certain sensitivities.
Many comedians pointed to a 2010
performance by Joe Wong, at the time a
relatively unknown Chinese-American
comic, at the White House correspond-
ents’ dinner as the starting point of the
rise of China’s stand-up scene.
The act explored the immigrant expe-
rience — “What’s Roe vs Wade? Two
ways of coming to the United States” —
but it also packed the occasional punch
for the US politicians. Wong told Joe
Biden, then vice-president, that his
autobiography had been more impres-
sive than seeing him in the flesh.
The idea that a Chinese-born come-
dian could roast one of the world’s most
powerful politicians ignited a fascina-
tion in China with comedy.
“It was a breath of fresh air for young
people,” said Tony Chou, a former Chi-
nese state television journalist who now
works as a comedian and performs in
English and Mandarin.
But Chinese audience members had
become increasingly touchy, Chou said,
especially when he used English terms
or obliquely mentioned topics deemed
sensitive. “I always want to push the
audience,” he said. “It’s easier with a
western audience. You can be more
edgy, a bit rude.”
Knowing how to police what they say
is often second nature to those who
work in China’s cultural industries. But
official efforts to manage public dis-
course have expanded rapidly in the
past year, making it more difficult for
Chinese-American comic Joe Wong
at his comedy club in Beijing
even experienced performers to experi-
ment with risqué content.
The Culture and Tourism Bureau
released a draft of rules last year to com-
bat the “weak links” of censorship in
live performances and make event
organisers and clubs responsible for
checking content. That came after an
industry association released a 94-point
list of rules for online platforms last Feb-
ruary, including a prohibition on
stand-up shows that indulged in “one-
sided, extreme analysis of social issues”.
Both decisions were implemented after
China’s powerful television and radio
regulator tightened rules for chat shows
and comedy in 2018.
Years of intensifying censorship fol-
lowed the cancellation of The Vicious
Liang Huan Show, a Chinese version of
US-style late-night talk shows, midway
through its second season in 2017. The
rationale was never made public but
fans were quick to point to an audience
member’s apparently oblique reference
to Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace-prize
winning dissident who died of liver can-
cer while in Chinese police custody.
For Wong, who returned to China in
2013 to help build the stand-up comedy
scene, the avoidance of certain topics is
the way it is in China. “Because of
China’s national condition, the majority
of stand-ups will avoid sex and politics
[and] there are not many people who
pay attention to racial issues,” he said.
Yet China’s comedians habitually find
themselves at the centre of controversy,
even when they avoid politics. In the lat-
est season of Rock & Roast, the mostly
male critics lambasted female comedi-
ans as too “aggressive” and feminist.
When Yang Li, one of the contestants,
joked about how men were able to “look
so ordinary but be so self-confident”, it
set off a firestorm online, with one well-
known commentator accusing her of
believing she was a “princess”.
The increasingly charged environ-
ment could make it difficult to find
audience-appropriate material, espe-
cially for female comedians, said Ber-
nice Ding, an amateur stand-up who
advises avoiding politics entirely.
“Because you never know if there could
be a ‘little pink’ or ‘wolf warrior’ down
there,” she said, referring to the coun-
try’s most ardent nationalists.
Additional reporting by Emma Zhou in
Beijing and Qianer Liu in Shenzhen
Tuesday 6 April 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 5
6 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Tuesday 6 April 2021

Carbon neutral Central banks are rightly cautious about venturing into the political territory of reducing emissions y FT VIEW

US Supreme Monster weekend ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ box

office boost raises hopes for Hollywood
Firms address
burnout with
Court rules for bonuses and
luxury gifts
Google in $9bn KATE BEIOLEY AND MICHAEL O’DWYER
LONDON

Oracle battle
3 Copying of software judged ‘fair use’
3 Interfaces’ legal status left unresolved
RICHARD WATERS — SAN FRANCISCO
The US Supreme Court has handed vic-
tory to Google in a landmark case for the
software industry, ruling that it did not
break the law when it copied software
interfaces owned by Oracle for use in its
Android smartphone operating system.
The decision ends a legal battle dating
back more than a decade that involved a
damages claim potentially topping
$9bn.
The case also raised fundamental
issues affecting the balance of power
between established platforms and
upstart competitors in the software
industry.
The justices decided for Google by a
majority of six to two, with conserva-
‘The Google platform just
got bigger and market
power greater’
Oracle
tives Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito
dissenting. The case was heard before
Amy Coney Barrett, appointed by
former president Donald Trump, joined
the court.
The decision found that Google was
covered by “fair use” protections in the
early days of the smartphone industry
when the tech group used more than
11,000 lines of Oracle code in order to
make its Android operating system
compatible with the widely used Java
software, which was later acquired by
Oracle.
Using the pieces of Java code, known
as application programming interfaces,
made it easier for Java developers to
adapt their existing programs to run on
Android, a big advantage to Google in its
smartphone rivalry with Apple.
Google sought to put itself on the side
of upstart competitors in the tech indus-
try, claiming that the freedom to copy
interfaces was important for anyone
trying to compete with powerful tech
platforms.
But Oracle and its supporters claimed
that the case showed how powerful
companies such as Google steal code
and have the legal might to crush chal-
lengers.
“The Google platform just got bigger
and market power greater,” Oracle said
after its loss.
It added that the case showed “exactly
why regulatory authorities around the
world and in the United States are
examining Google’s business practices”.
Google’s defence turned on a claim
that interfaces should not have the legal
protection that covers most computer
code since they count as an essential
“method of operation”, like a steering
wheel in a car.
It also argued that it was protected by
fair use, which allows limited use of
copyrighted material.
In reaching a decision only on the
“fair use” point, the justices ruled that
Google has used “only those lines of code
that were needed to allow programmers
to put their accrued talents to work in a
new and transformative program”.
By not ruling on whether interfaces
are covered by copyright in the first
place, the decision left open a key issue
for the software industry.
Some developers have argued that
the case revealed the need for more clar-
ity on the legal status of interfaces,
which are widely copied within the
industry.
They warn that most companies can-
not afford the cost and uncertainty of
mounting a lengthy “fair use” defence
lawsuit.
The court said that it had chosen to
“decide no more than is necessary to
resolve this case”.
‘Godzilla vs Kong’ brought in $48.5m during the extended five-day US Easter holiday period
ANNA NICOLAOU — NEW YORK
Warner Bros has scored the biggest
US box office hit of the pandemic with
Godzilla vs Kong, which sold $48.5m in
tickets in its debut over the Easter
holiday — an encouraging sign for
Hollywood as it looks to jump-start
business after a year in the doldrums.
Hollywood executives had hoped the
franchise film, in which the oversized
sea monster battles the giant ape,
could make $20m-$30m. Godzilla vs
Kong brought in $32m over the week-
end and $48.5m during the extended
five-day Easter holiday period.
The results suggest there is pent up
demand for big-budget action flicks
that movie studios have largely held
back from releasing in the pandemic.
More than 90 per cent of US cine-
mas have reopened, according to
Warner Bros, although they are oper-
ating at reduced capacity to meet
social-distancing guidelines.
Godzilla has easily beaten other
pandemic-era films, such as Christo-
pher Nolan’s Tenet, which made $20m
in its debut weekend in September,
when New York and Los Angeles cine-
mas remained closed and with little
Covid-19 vaccine hope in sight.
But the film’s returns remain a far
cry from the money brought in before
coronavirus halted moviegoing. Dis-
ney’s Pixar film Onward made $90m at
the domestic box office during the
March 6-8 weekend in 2020, just
before the virus took hold of the US.
Over the February 14 President’s day
weekend last year, Paramount’s Sonic
the Hedgehog earned $164m.
Legendary Entertainment is dis-
tributing Godzilla vs Kong in China,
where it took $70m on its debut last
weekend. While cinemas in the US and
Europe have been largely empty until
now, China’s box office has recovered
sharply as movie attendance has
returned to nearly normal levels.
The success of Godzilla vs Kong is a
victory for the cinema chains and Hol-
lywood studios, which have lost bil-
lions of dollars in the past year. It also
brings confidence that crowds will
still go to cinemas to watch films even
if they are available online, as more
Hollywood conglomerates use movies
to attract subscribers to their stream-
ing services. Godzilla vs Kong was avail-
able to watch on Warner’s HBO Max
streaming service from Wednesday.
In a move that infuriated some film-
makers last year, Warner Bros
decided to release all of its 2021 mov-
ies on HBO Max on the same day they
debut in cinemas.
Nolan told the Hollywood Reporter:
“Our industry’s biggest filmmakers
and most important movie stars went
to bed the night before thinking they
were working for the greatest movie
studio and woke up to find out they
were working for the worst streaming
service.”
The world’s top professional service
firms and banks have sought to head
off a retention crisis among over-
worked junior staff by handing out lux-
ury gifts and generous bonuses, follow-
ing a stellar year for earnings.
Elite US law firms including Davis Polk
& Wardwell and Simpson Thacher &
Bartlett have announced one-off pay-
outs of between $12,000 and $64,000
for associates in recognition of hard
work during the pandemic. The rewards
are on top of separate Covid-19 bonuses
doled out towards the end of last year.
The payouts follow a spate of depar-
tures among junior lawyers and other
professional service workers who have
complained of long work hours during
the pandemic. They are also made pos-
sible by a boom in law firm earnings, as
clients sought advice on corporate
restructuring and dealmaking.
“It’s no secret that associates have
been working huge numbers of hours
and are approaching burnout,” said
Nathan Peart, managing director of
associate recruiting at Major, Lindsey &
Africa. “Firms are taking action and
money is a starting point.”
He warned, however, that retention or
“golden handcuff” bonuses would spark
“a bidding war” for talent. A string of US
law firms have matched Davis Polk’s
bonus scale since early March, including
Latham & Watkins and Goodwin
Procter. Associates will be paid accord-
ing to seniority and hours worked.
At Goodwin, for example, associates
will be paid in two tranches, in July and
October, but must have billed at least
1,850 hours to qualify. Junior lawyers in
the UK, US, Hong Kong and Luxem-
bourg will be eligible.
Cash is not the only incentive. Invest-
ment bank Jefferies has offered staff a
choice of perks including a Peloton bike
or Apple products, while Davis Polk
workers can opt for luxury gifts includ-
ing wine or a shopping spree. Credit
Suisse said it would pay junior staff
$20,000 in bonuses, while others vowed
to hire more staff.
In the UK, lawyers said they had also
been offered secret “golden handcuff”
bonuses designed to prevent them from
leaving for rival firms. One associate at a
mid-level law firm told the Financial
Times they had been given a one-off
payment of £5,000 that would have to
be returned if they left within a year.

Nomura’s Archegos setback reveals growth dilemma for Japan Inc

tered again. Nomura is not alone, and it
INSIDE BUSINESS quickly became clear other banks, most
prominently Credit Suisse, which may
ASIA suffer a loss topping $4bn, were caught
in the blast. Two of Japan’s megabanks
Leo are exposed. Mitsubishi UFJ has said it
could lose $270m, while people close to
Lewis Mizuho say it may face a similar hit.
The whole Archegos affair hinges on
the collective mountain of leverage
extended by multiple banks to a dispro-
Its US operations were humming
while the other international operations
were contributing a record 42 per cent
to group profits in the December quar-
ter. And the group was riding high on
advisory work on a spree of huge out-
bound mergers and acquisitions.
It was fighting the right battles, but, as
it turns out, without the requisite fire-
power. In principle, Japanese companies
know they must do this, no matter how

W
ith just a few days left in
the Japanese financial
year, staff across
Nomura’s empire came
into last week finally
confident of a decent bonus after a long
stretch of belt-tightening.
In February, Japan’s largest brokerage
had posted its strongest third-quarter
profits in 15 years, having announced in
October its best first-half numbers in
two decades and a cost-cutting pro-
gramme well ahead of schedule.
Critically, it recorded the third
straight quarter of profits at its notori-
ously volatile international operations,
with the US business the star performer.
The picture of a rapid, courageous,
global turnround was especially rosy for
Kentaro Okuda, Nomura’s chief execu-
tive since April 2020 and the first ever
drawn from the more outwardly
focused investment banking division.
Perhaps this really was the end of
Nomura’s long run of mishaps, both
externally imposed and self-inflicted?
But last Monday, Nomura warned
that it faced potential losses of $2bn in
an incident arising from an unnamed
client, later identified by people within
the bank as the stricken US-based fund
Archegos.
Profits for the second half of Nomura’s
year look set to be wiped out. Bonus
hopes, groan the bankers, seem shat-
portionately lucrative client without the
transparency to correctly gauge risk. It
raises a number of questions. Some of
these, such as the legitimacy of how
huge investment positions can be
cloaked via the use of derivatives, may
raise pressure for regulatory change.
Banks around the world may, for the
umpteenth time, commit to new frame-
works of risk control.
But the incident
has a particular Nomura, with its ageing —
resonance for
Nomura. Its failing and dying — domestic
arises at least in customer base, has a clear
part from having
thinner US trading urgency behind its chase
operations in a for international profits
game where cut-
throats such as Goldman Sachs and
Morgan Stanley are the competitors.
Familiar criticisms of the bank’s acci-
dent-prone nature have resurfaced. Its
past is befouled with crises and misad-
venture, not least its disastrous pur-
chase of the failed Lehman Brothers
operations in 2008.
But few debacles before Archegos so
succinctly define the dilemma facing not
just Nomura and Japan’s finance sector,
but the broad sweep of its corporate
base. Japanese companies need to go glo-
bal, but are often haphazard globalisers.
Consider the main contributors of
what was, until Archegos, on track to be
Nomura’s great revival year.
palpable the dangers and how severely
doing so might stretch the competences
of managements without an especially
globalised view. Hence the big M&A
spree. Japan’s population is shrinking,
and for many companies long-term
growth can only be generated overseas.
But Kirin’s abrupt pullout from Myan-
mar and Tokio Marine’s embroilment in
the Greensill debacle through its Aus-
tralian subsidiary are just the most
recent examples of Japanese companies
where global expansion has gone awry.
Nomura, with its ageing — and dying
— domestic customer base, has a clear
urgency behind its chase for interna-
tional profits that has played to the com-
pany’s historic propensity to embrace
risk. Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho’s over-
seas operations are more hesitant
expressions of this, though the underly-
ing pressures are the same. But needing
the profits and being able to make them
safely are different things.
Nomura’s problem is an acute version
of an issue shared with many Japanese
companies that surged to the top of glo-
bal rankings in the late 1980s, but may
never have used their spell at the top to
develop the management musculature
and scale required of globalisation.
Now Nomura and others have no
choice but to globalise, that oversight is
shifting into a liability.
leo.lewis@ft.com
Tuesday 6 April 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 7

COMPANIES & MARKETS

Transport Industrials

UK takes tough line on Eurostar rescue Investors press

Ministers say French state
and other owners must
save Channel rail operator
PHILIP GEORGIADIS AND GEORGE PARKER
LONDON
DAVID KEOHANE — PARIS
The British government is resisting
requests for a UK bailout of struggling
train operator Eurostar, with ministers
insisting the company should look to its
shareholders to ease its plight.
Eurostar is at risk of bankruptcy fol-
lowing a collapse in revenue when pas-
senger numbers plunged during the
pandemic. UK ministers are said to be
taking a tough line. One official briefed
on the situation said: “The tunnel and
the rolling stock are there. Someone
would take them on even if the com-
pany went to the wall. There’s no appe-
tite for bailing them out at all.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in
May last year a scheme called Project
Birch to help strategically important
companies, but only where “viable com-
panies have exhausted all options”.
Eurostar has £400m loans due by
June, although they can be extended,
say people familiar with the matter. The
company called for rescue funds from
the UK government in January, when it
said there had been a 95 per cent decline
Invoicing. Cash flow
in passenger numbers since March last
year. But the British insist the French
state and private shareholders should
be primarily responsible for any rescue,
with both France and the UK reluctant
to move first and lose negotiating power.
The UK sold its stake in Eurostar in
2015, leaving the French government
with a majority 55 per cent stake via the
state-owned railway SNCF, and Belgium
5 per cent. A senior official in Paris said
the French government expected share-
holders and creditors to make an addi-
tional effort before state aid was offered.
The official added that a solution for
Eurostar would have to be found by this
summer, and that France still expected
the UK to participate if needed but there
had been no high-level political contacts
with the British so far.
Shareholders, including the Canadian
pension fund Caisse de dépôt et place-
ment du Québec (CDPQ) and Hermes
Infrastructure, have already put in
more than €200m during the crisis.
SNCF told the Financial Times last
month that Eurostar needed new
money in “weeks not months” to fend
off a looming cash crunch and that both
the French and UK governments were in
advanced talks about how to help.
Eurostar and the UK government
have held talks over a possible state-
backed commercial loan worth £60m to
help it through the crisis, but they are
yet to yield any results. One person close
to the talks said the discussions had not
concluded, and there had not yet been a
definitive refusal from the government.
Eurostar owns and runs the trains
that travel on high-speed lines between
the UK and France, Belgium and the
Netherlands but does not own any of the
infrastructure it uses, including the
Channel Tunnel itself. Chief executive
Jacques Damas said last month he was
“fed up” with the French and UK gov-
ernments’ refusal to take responsibility
for helping the company.
Eurostar and shareholders Hermes,
SNCF and CDPQ declined to comment.
steelmaker
Posco to cut
ties with junta
in Myanmar
EDWARD WHITE — SEOUL
JOHN REED — BANGKOK
Shareholders are urging South Korean
industrial group Posco to quit a steel
joint venture with a Myanmar military-
controlled conglomerate as pressure
builds on multinationals to cut finan-
cial links with the junta.
APG, the $668bn Dutch pension fund,
said it was among a group of investors
worried that their holdings in Seoul-
listed Posco would undermine responsi-
ble investing commitments after Myan-
mar’s military overthrew Aung San Suu
Kyi’s government in a coup in February.

Supply chain finance pushes risky boundaries
Greensill collapse highlights
perils of striking deals that
disrupt traditional models
OWEN WALKER
EUROPEAN BANKING CORRESPONDENT
The Australian financier behind the
now collapsed finance group Greensill
Capital pitched his business as an agent
of “technological disruption” that
aimed at “democratising capital”. But
what Lex Greensill was actually offering
was a new spin on a form of financing
that dates back at least 4,000 years to
Bronze Age Mesopotamia.
The trading of invoices by intermedi-
aries helped finance medieval European
commerce, the expansion of the British
empire and the 20th century US textile
industry. Now a modern incarnation —
in the form of supply-chain finance — is
attracting a good deal of scrutiny follow-
ing the failure of Greensill in March.
For centuries, financial middlemen —
typically banks — lent money to suppli-
ers of goods who did not expect to be
paid by their customers for several
weeks, until the end products were sold
on the open market.
A merchant, for example, might not
be paid until a tailor who had bought
their cotton had produced and sold the
finished items of clothing. Rather than
waiting to be paid, the merchant would
sell their invoice to a bank or other
lender and receive a little less than the
value of the cotton. The intermediary
would then collect the full payment
from the tailor at a later date.
Supply-chain finance, which has
grown in popularity over the past two
decades, switches the creditor relation-
ship.
In this model, the buyer of goods, for
example a supermarket, offers its sup-
pliers access to supply-chain finance
offered by its bank. Rather than waiting
for payment until the milk supplied to
the supermarket has been bought, a
dairy farmer can submit an approved
invoice to the bank and receive a pay-
ment that is more timely but slightly
less than the full value of the order. The
bank later collects the full amount from
its client, the supermarket.
Because the bank is extending credit
to the supermarket rather than the
dairy farmer, it assesses the loan on the
supermarket’s credit rating, which is
likely to be stronger as a much bigger
business. The risk is therefore perceived
to be lower and the financing cheaper.
According to consultancy Oliver
Wyman, up to 80 per cent of supply-
chain financing is carried out by big
banks, with most of it offered to domes-
tic clients. But a growing number of spe-
cialist non-bank businesses such as
Greensill are moving into the market,
and they have higher returns in their
How supply chain finance works
Supplier sends goods to
company. Company promises
to pay in 30-180 days
1 2
Financier pays the amount
owed immediately, but at a
discount according to the risk
Company pays the financier
directly at the time specified
Source: FT research
Global supply chain finance revenue pools
$bn
2010
Source: CRISIL
A new spin on a
prehistoric idea
FT Montage/Dreamstime
sights. Interest in supply-chain finance ‘If the bank
also increased last year as the pandemic
Supplier sends approved
threatened businesses and made their extends the
suppliers increasingly vulnerable.
invoice to financier
Most large banks offer supply-chain
repayment
finance to their biggest customers, typi- date
cally blue-chip companies with invest- materially,
ment-grade ratings. For the banks
themselves, it is a low-margin business we see it as
that is deemed relatively risk-free getting a
because default rates are typically lower
3
than for other types of lending. credit line
The industry has grown steadily over
the past decade, from $20.6bn of global
from your
4
revenues in 2010 to $26.6bn last year, bank’
according to Coalition. More than half of
that was from Europe, the Middle East
and Africa. While supply-chain finance
gives some protection to supply chains,
another advantage for customers is the
potential to put off when they pay back
30
the bank. Rather than settling after 30
20 or 60 days, as they might normally with
suppliers, they can push back payments
10 by as much as 180 days. In some cases,
repayment terms have been lengthened
0 to 360 days.
15 20 For analysts looking at bank debt lev-
els, this can cause a problem because,
from an accounting perspective, supply-
chain finance is not treated as debt.
“If the bank extends the repayment
date materially, we see it as getting a
credit line from your bank,” said Fred-
eric Gits, group credit officer for corpo-
rates at Fitch Ratings. “Disclosure has
never been very good.”
“A lack of guidance [from accounting
bodies] means that people push the
boundaries,” Gits said. “It’s possible to
detect, but not always easy.”
He pointed to high-profile corporate
collapses at Carillion, NMC Health and
Abengoa where it was only after the
businesses defaulted that it was under-
stood to what extent they had used sup-
ply-chain finance.
But despite the collapse of Greensill
and the increased focus on this particu-
lar financing model, banks are unlikely
to move out of the market. “It fulfils a
need and the banks are all very comfort-
able with what they are doing,” said
Kevin Day, chief executive of HPD Lend-
scape, a financing technology provider.
“It’s all run within quite safe parameters
and there is lots of experience in terms
of the levels of funding to offer and risk
diversification.”
Indeed, when Greensill filed for insol-
vency, several global banks stepped in
to offer financing to its former custom-
ers, which included large healthy busi-
nesses such as Vodafone and Astra-
Zeneca.
But at the same time, a number of spe-
cialist, non-bank groups have grown up
and now account for the 20 per cent of
the market not controlled by big banks,
according to Oliver Wyman.
Like Greensill, they hoped to turn a
staid, low-margin business into a more
profitable enterprise, using AI and other
technology to improve efficiency.
Greensill struck deals with clients that
bore little resemblance to traditional
supply-chain financing, offering much
longer repayment terms and advancing
funds against predicted future receiva-
bles. Unlike banks, which use their bal-
ance sheets to fund supply-chain financ-
ing, Greensill also used money from
investors in products sold by Swiss
groups GAM and Credit Suisse.
Day warned that, as with Greensill,
those attempting to disrupt the industry
have often taken on risk that banks and
other more traditional rivals would be
uncomfortable with.
Plenty of struggling companies are
attracted to supply-chain finance
because the accounting disclosure rules
make it easier to mask this type of debt.
Most of the new entrants offering sup-
ply-chain finance are looking for “quite
high returns,” Day said. “But this is not a
high-return sector.”
“It’s supposed to be low risk. If you are
expecting to get high returns, you will
take high risk . . . People are using
structures that are complex for things
that are actually quite simple.”
They pointed to Japan’s Kirin, which
announced it would pull out of its two
brewery joint ventures with a Myanmar
military-owned company during the
week of the coup, as an example to heap
pressure on Posco.
“The military is killing people every
single day . . . A lot of investors are
engaging [with the campaign at Posco],”
said APG adviser Park Yoo-kyung.
Posco’s majority-owned subsidiary
Posco C&C runs the steel joint venture
with Myanmar Economic Holdings
Limited, one of the military-controlled
conglomerates.
Calls for foreign groups to divest from
Myanmar mounted in the wake of the
military’s 2017 deadly crackdown on
Divesting from the South
Korean group is ‘an easy
option’ but it would mean
abandoning any leverage
Rohingya Muslims in western Rakhine
state. But they have intensified since the
February coup.
General Min Aung Hlaing’s security
forces have killed more than 500 civil-
ians, including children, and arrested
almost 2,700, including former officials
and protesters, according to human
rights groups.
Posco C&C is reviewing its Myanmar
arrangements but gave no deadline for a
decision. Dividends to MEHL have
already been suspended since 2017.
Justice for Myanmar, an influential
campaign group, has pushed for APG as
well as PGGM, a second Dutch pension
fund, to shed $2.3bn in combined equity
stakes linked to businesses in the crisis-
hit country.
Park added that shareholders faced a
“dilemma” in that divesting from Posco
was an “easy option” but it would mean
abandoning their leverage over the
company.
PGGM said it was “extremely con-
cerned” by developments in Myanmar.
But the fund said it “does not directly
finance the Myanmar government”.
The US and the UK have imposed
sanctions against MEHL and Myanmar
Economic Corporation, another mili-
tary conglomerate with extensive hold-
ings in a number of sectors, further
complicating the picture for companies
with links to the groups.
South Korea’s presidential Blue House
and foreign ministry declined to com-
ment.
JFM has also called on the Dutch
funds to divest from foreign companies
that do business with state-owned com-
panies, which the military now con-
trols.
These include energy groups Total,
Chevron and Thailand’s PTT, which
work in partnership with the state-
owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise
on the offshore Yadana gas project.
However, the companies have ques-
tioned the negative impact they would
have on Myanmar’s people during a
time of political crisis and pandemic.

Domains with
Gupta links
investigated
Continued from Page 1
also used to register dozens of web
domains for companies that the steel
tycoon has insisted are independent.
This offers further indications that a
network of companies — nominally con-
trolled by Gupta’s friends and business
associates — may be deeply enmeshed
with Gupta’s troubled steel empire. The
registrations included a web domain for
UBG Commodities, owned by Vladimir
Delic. The 74-year-old Cyprus-based
businessman is an associate of Gupta,
who helped Delic set up a Panamanian
container shipping company in 2014.
The weblink is still live, redirecting to
Delic’s main trading company Unibros.
Another of the domains was for the
AarTee group, which is controlled by
Gupta’s longtime associate Ravi Trehan.
One of Trehan’s companies borrowed
tens of millions of pounds from Green-
sill Capital last year, under a govern-
ment-guaranteed loan scheme.
On one of AarTee’s web pages previ-
ously reviewed by the FT, Trehan paid
tribute to Gupta, publicly thanking him
“for sharing with us his vision for the
regeneration of UK manufacturing”.
AarTee did not respond to a request
for comment, but it has previously told
the FT that it is a “separate independent
business” from GFG.
In a podcast, Gupta has addressed FT
investigations that exposed his compa-
nies’ dealings with a web of related com-
panies that some employees referred to
as the “Friends of Sanjeev”. “Friends are
very important, and doing business
with friends actually is the safest form of
business in my experience,” he said.
Most of the domain name registra-
tions were dated between 2015 and 2017,
using the email of Hyder Razvi, a Gupta
employee whose LinkedIn profile
describes his job as finance officer for a
United Arab Emirates subsidiary.
A public domain name registration
database lists the owner of many of the
domains as Jwala Galva Steel, a subsidi-
ary of the now-insolvent Indian steel
manufacturer Uttam Galva. Gupta was a
significant shareholder of Uttam Galva.
Razvi said he had “no knowledge of
setting up the domains”.
Some of the domain names were re-
registered removing Razvi’s email
address after the FT’s inquiries, while
some removed identifying information
entirely. Re-registering the domains
would require access to the original
email inbox, according to cyber security
specialist Nick Furneaux of CSITech.
“You’d have to take over their email
address, in which case the legitimate
person would ordinarily see emails
arriving into their inbox,” he said.
GFG said: “We take these allegations
very seriously and have initiated a third-
party investigation into the matter.”
Additional reporting by Henry Sanderson
Retailers
GameStop drops on news of share sale
JOSEPHINE CUMBO
GameStop shares fell yesterday after
the video game retailer said it was con-
sidering selling up to $1bn of additional
stock as it tries to take advantage of a
Reddit-driven trading frenzy this year.
The Texas-based company said it might
offer and sell up to 3.5m of its shares,
using the proceeds to “accelerate its
transformation” and shore up its bal-
ance sheet. “The timing and amount of
any sales will be determined by a variety
of factors,” said GameStop.
While shares in the retailer declined
more than 19 per cent in pre-market
trading in New York, they were 8 per
cent lower after the open at $176.
In January, the company was at the
centre of a shares craze led by US ama-
teur investors who bet on stocks such as
GameStop and carmaker Tesla. The co-
ordinated effort by users of online
forum Reddit drove GameStop shares to
a record high of $483 and was designed
to squeeze short sellers.
In a separate announcement yester-
day, GameStop revealed a recovery in its
global sales operations, which had been
knocked by the pandemic. For the nine
weeks ending April 3, global sales were
up about 11 per cent compared with the
same period a year ago, it said.
“During the first quarter of fiscal 2020
and due to the spread of Covid-19
around the world, the company’s vari-
ous operations across 14 countries were
negatively impacted due to temporary
store closures and other government-
mandated restrictions that resulted in
limited operations,” GameStop said.
The retailer announced in March that
it had appointed Jenna Owens, a former
Amazon and Google executive, as its
new operating chief, part of a broader
shake-up of its leadership team as it
looks to stem a years-long decline in
sales. GameStop had already tapped
Ryan Cohen, its largest shareholder and
the co-founder of Chewy.com, to lead an
expansion of its ecommerce business.
In the years leading up to the pan-
demic, GameStop’s sales had fallen as it
struggled to adapt to a newly digitised
market in which downloads and free-to-
play online games were dominant.
See Lex
8 ★
Digital banks look beyond pandemic battering
Rival fintechs are back on the offensive with range of business models after crisis that threatened their very existence
NICHOLAS MEGAW
RETAIL BANKING CORRESPONDENT
Shortly before Covid-19 was declared a
pandemic in March 2020, Revolut was
knocking through the floors of its Lon-
don headquarters to improve its rapidly
expanding office. A week later, the UK
digital bank was writing to customers to
reassure them that it would not go bust.
As the crisis quickly sent markets into
turmoil and shut economies, the chief
executive of rival Monzo took to Twitter
in an attempt to calm nerves. Another
digital competitor, Starling, announced
it would furlough dozens of employees,
only to quickly reverse course.
After years riding a wave of investor
enthusiasm that enabled them to focus
on winning customers at the expense of
profits, Britain’s three largest digital
banks were forced by the pandemic to
cut costs and find new income streams.
At their nadir last April, revenues at
both Revolut and Monzo fell about
40 per cent as card transaction fees, par-
ticularly from foreign travel, dried up.
“Quite a lot of people — they didn’t
panic but they started to ask ‘what can
we do?’,” said Nik Storonsky, Revolut
chief executive. “We all focused on cut-
ting costs and improving the product,
and the result was six or seven months
in we started to break even as a business.
We cut costs, risk management was
improved significantly and we contin-
ued growing.”
A year into a crisis that at one point
seemed to threaten their very existence,
all three companies are back on the
offensive, even if their London offices
are still mostly empty.
Since the end of February, Starling
Bank and Monzo have raised fresh cash
to fund expansion, while Revolut has
rolled out its regulated banking service
in 10 new countries and applied for a
further banking licence in the US.
But while they have all reduced losses
or achieved at least temporary profita-
bility, the three are still fighting to prove
to investors, and each other, they have
picked the best long-term approach.
“I think you have a continuum of dif-
ferent business models,” said Anne
Boden, Starling chief executive. “On the
one hand you’ve got Revolut where the
business model is not about being a
bank really . . . and then at the other
end you’ve got Starling, which is really
much more focused on providing a
whole range of things people need to
carry out their daily financial
lives . . . We have been less impacted by
the crisis.”
Boden, a former executive at UBS,
Royal Bank of Scotland and Allied Irish
Banks, has the most traditional banking
background of the three fintechs’
founders and Starling has come closest
to following a traditional banking
model. The company launched with an
app-based current account for consum-
ers in 2017, but in recent years has
FINANCIAL TIMES
COMPANIES & MARKETS
increasingly focused on its service for
small businesses. Starling has now lent
more than £2bn to businesses and has
been profitable since October.
But the majority of the lending was
done through rescue schemes the gov-
ernment set up during the pandemic,
meaning that Starling is exposed to min-
imal risk and in many cases was
not required to carry out regular risk
assessments.
Boden insisted there was still “a lot
that can be learned from going through
the process”, and said customers who
had received the loans would remain
“extremely loyal to us”. Not everyone is
convinced.
“If [the rescue loan scheme] hadn’t
existed, they wouldn’t have a billion
pounds worth of loans,” said the chief
executive of one older bank. “A strategy
is meant to be sustainable — this is just
tactical because CBILS [coronavirus
business interruption loan scheme]
here will stop . . . I wouldn’t be gloating
about it.”
While Boden claims Starling’s focus is
a key strength, and criticised firms that
“haven’t decided what they want to be
when they grow up”, Storonsky argues
that Revolut’s broader range of products
had proved an advantage.
Besides its basic current account,
which is a full bank account in some
European countries but not in the UK,
Revolut offers services such as stock and
cryptocurrency trading and a business
banking operation that Storonsky says
“doesn’t get enough attention”.
The boom in retail investment and
surging cryptocurrency prices has been
welcome; at its peak between December
Cannabis’ edge towards mainstream
reignites corporate interest
Hopes of further liberalisation
in US and beyond spur flurry
of activity in budding industry
PATRICIA NILSSON
When New York last week took its first
step towards legalising cannabis, gover-
nor Andrew Cuomo praised the state as
the “progressive capital of the nation”.
Comments like that are helping mari-
juana move into the mainstream, with
governments and companies contem-
plating the billions of dollars in reve-
nues they can reap from liberalisation
for personal use.
Sensing that the US, where 16 states
have now legalised recreational pot,
might be headed for federal legislation
under the Biden administration, inves-
tors and consumer goods groups are
upping their bets on the nascent legal
marijuana industry.
Cannabis companies raised nearly
$4.3bn in debt and equity in the first
quarter of 2021, compared with $1.6bn
in the same period last year, according
to Viridian, a financial advisory firm
that specialises in the sector.
The number of mergers and acquisi-
tions between January and March, at 58,
was almost three times higher than in
the same period last year, as groups look
to gain scale. The flurry of deals comes
after Toronto-listed Aphria unveiled a
merger with US-listed Canadian rival
Tilray in December to create the world’s
largest cannabis group by sales, with
$685m in combined revenues.
But it is not just producers looking to
cash in on the budding industry. British
American Tobacco last month took a 20
per cent stake in weed cultivator Organ-
igram for £126m, following earlier
investments by sector rivals Altria and
Imperial Brands.
David O’Reilly, BAT’s head of scien-
tific research, said that as the tobacco
industry was “moving away from ciga-
rettes” the sector was a natural one to
explore given the “cannabis space is
very close to tobacco and nicotine”.
The London-listed maker of Lucky
Strike cigarettes is initially focusing on
CBD, a cannabinoid that does not leave
users feeling stoned and which it hopes
consumers will increasingly vape.
Marlboro-producer Altria and Cana-
dian brewers Constellation Brands and
Molson Coors, behind beers such as
‘We all
focused on
cutting
costs and
improving
the
product’
Tried and
tested: Anne
Boden has
applied her
experience of
traditional
banking at
Starling — Harry
Murphy/Sportsfile /Getty
and January, the company opened
300,000 cryptocurrency wallets in a
month. The trading bonanza helped it
to start turning a monthly profit for the
first time in three years.
Revolut says it has been profitable
each month since November, though it
expects to slip back into loss as it invests
in further expansion. The last time Rev-
olut was similarly profitable coincided
with a boom in cryptocurrency trading
in late 2017, but the trend did not last.
Unlike his counterparts at Starling
and Revolut, TS Anil, Monzo chief exec-
utive, does not explicitly address his
rivals, but repeatedly stresses that the
business had focused on “sustainable”
revenue streams. “We’re here to build
this for the long term. We’re not building
a business that only looks good for the
next six or nine months,” he said.
Health. M&A
Corona and Carling respectively, were
among the first big consumer groups to
make forays into cannabis roughly three
years ago, when Canada became the
world’s first large economy to legalise
the drug.
Altria and Constellation have both
been forced to write down their invest-
ments by hundreds of millions of dol-
lars, having entered the market as can-
nabis stocks soared on expectations that
turned out to be overhyped for Canada,
a country with a smaller population
than California.
But Constellation chief executive Bill
Newlands told the Financial Times the
brewer’s early move had given it a “tre-
mendous head start”.
“We felt that cannabis was going to be
big in major markets around the world
going forward,” Newlands said of the
company’s “offensive investment” of
more than $4bn in Canadian cannabis
group Canopy Growth, which the
brewer last year upped to a 39 per cent
stake.
Constellation estimates that the ille-
gal market for cannabis in the US is
worth roughly $50bn, with Newlands
pointing out that “this is not a sector
that does not exist, it just hasn’t existed
in a legalised fashion”.
Scott Cooper, chief executive of Truss
Beverages, the joint venture between
Molson Coors and cannabis group Hexo,
said that Molson Coors’ initial explora-
tion of the sector had been defensive, as
the brewer worried that legalisation of
cannabis would eat into demand for
beer and other types of light alcohol.
“There is an overlap between cannabis
and alcohol occasions, such as relaxa-
Stigma around cannabis use has
rapidly unravelled in just a few years
Tuesday 6 April 2021
Monzo warned in its annual report
last summer that uncertainties created
by the pandemic cast doubt on its ability
to continue operating as a going concern
and it has yet to break even on a
monthly basis.
Despite having a full banking licence
— and the high regulatory costs that
come with it — many Monzo customers
used their accounts for precisely the
sorts of discretionary spending that
were curtailed by the crisis, from after-
work drinks to overseas holidays.
People familiar with the matter say
the bank expects to be profitable in the
next 12 months, presuming that the UK
economy recovers in line with forecasts.
Anil said revenues are 30 per cent
higher than they were before the pan-
demic; the growth was helped by new
products such as premium accounts,
but transaction fees have also
rebounded despite the lack of travel.
The rise in fees reflects more custom-
ers using Monzo as their main account
and highlights a trend from which all
three fintechs expect to benefit — a
broader shift in consumers’ willingness
to rely on entirely digital services.
Executives at mainstream banks have
long argued that, while customers may
enjoy fintechs’ flashy apps for day to day
use, they appreciate the security and
human interaction of high street banks
when they run into complicated issues
or need to make big decisions such as
taking out a mortgage.
Coronavirus, however, has already
forced some branches to close perma-
nently and encouraged many more peo-
ple to get used to digital operations in all
areas of life.
Anil admits that the company still has
some way to go — customers using
Monzo as a primary account are still in
the minority — but believes the long-
term trend will force big banks to com-
pete with fintechs head to head on the
quality of their digital service.
“That’s a huge secular tailwind that
will undoubtedly benefit us,” he said.
“Profitability will come but it’s just one
important milestone along the way.”
tion or at smaller social gatherings,” he
said. “It became clear that cannabis
would emerge as a competitor.”
Legal marijuana sales exceeded $21bn
in 2020, according to cannabis data
tracker BDSA. The state of California in
November said legalisation had brought
in $1.8bn in tax revenues in less than
two years while New York also pointed
to the tax and job benefits, underlining
why pot is on the minds of lawmakers
grappling with depleted finances due to
the pandemic.
Yet profits remain elusive and the
industry faces considerable obstacles.
Sales over the internet, for instance, are
banned in most markets and cannabis
groups in the US struggle to access
financial services, as banks are wary of
handling money made from something
that remains illegal on a federal level.
But Cooper said that stigma around
cannabis use had rapidly unravelled in
just a few years: “It’s almost like a differ-
ent time and world, so much has
changed.”
Truss’s alcohol-free drinks infused
with the cannabinoids CBD and THC are
currently only available in Canada, as
the group has opted against launching in
the US while cannabis remains illegal on
a federal level.
Still, Massachusetts-based Curaleaf,
which until now has been the sector’s
biggest retailer of cannabis by sales, is
betting Europe will soon move towards
liberalisation for recreational use. Last
month, it agreed a $300m-plus deal for
Emmac, one of the region’s largest grow-
ers of marijuana, while Mexico passed
sweeping legalisation of marijuana.
As hopes grow for the cannabis mar-
ket, companies are seeking to shore up
their investments. Constellation, Mol-
son and Altria are members of an indus-
try lobby group launched in March that
is seeking to influence how the legal can-
nabis market will be structured and reg-
ulated.
“When you have large multinational
companies walking into Congress repre-
sented by lobbyists, it does make the
landscape look different,” said Nick
Vita, a former Goldman Sachs banker
and co-founder and chief executive of
Columbia Care, which operates more
than 100 cannabis facilities across the
US, including cultivation sites and dis-
pensaries.
“I think 2021 is the year that cannabis
really moves into normal conversa-
tions,” said Vita.
Tuesday 6 April 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 9

COMPANIES & MARKETS

Fixed income. Strong volumes Cross asset

Underwriters’
Europe breaks records with share sale
income beats
government debt issuance bond fees
AZIZA KASUMOV — NEW YORK

Investment banks earned more from

underwriting equity issuance than from
bonds in the first quarter this year,
reversing a decade-long trend as compa-
nies rushed to tap rallying stock markets.
Fees from equity underwriting globally
rose more than fourfold from last year’s
first quarter, with banks taking an esti-
mated $14.8bn, the highest level since
Refinitiv began tracking the data in 2000.
Fees from underwriting bond issues
rose as well, albeit only 3 per cent year on
year, to $10.2bn. The bond fee haul was
also the highest ever in a first quarter.
The rollicking start to the year for
equity issuance included the busiest
quarter for traditional initial public offer-
ings since records began in 1980 and a
boom in listings of special purpose acqui-
sition companies, which raise money and
then find an operating business to buy.
“Now is such an incredible time to
sell,” said Marc Cooper, chief executive
of investment bank PJ Solomon. “More
people are putting companies on the
marketplace who either couldn’t before,
or who are just choosing to do it early
because the market is so robust.”
Proceeds from traditional IPOs, fol-
low-ons, Spacs and convertible bonds —
a debt-to-equity instrument — topped
$441bn globally in the first quarter, the
highest level since Refinitiv started

‘Our judgment is, the next

State treasuries rush to take
advantage of favourable terms
on top of already busy season
JOSHUA OLIVER
Europe’s markets for new government
debt had a bustling start to the year,
defying fears that hefty borrowing
would make it more expensive to raise
funds to help finance the economic
recovery from Covid-19.
Bond syndication deals run by banks
had their busiest first quarter ever with
the equivalent of $150bn raised by gov-
ernments across Europe and the UK, the
largest volume for that time of year on
Refinitiv records going back to 2000.
Overall bond issuance by major euro-
zone government borrowers, including
auctions, was €373bn, according to fig-
ures compiled by ING — 20 per cent
higher than last year.
Demand proved resilient despite the
flood of supply and volatile price moves
for bonds trading on the open market.
Strong investor interest in the
primary market for new debt, sup-
ported by the European Central Bank’s
purchase programme, allayed concerns
that governments would need to pay
substantially more for their borrowing.
“January and early February were
probably the hottest primary market
we’ve ever had,” said Jamie Stirling,
global head of sovereigns, supranation-
als and agencies debt capital markets at
BNP Paribas. “The volumes have been
incredible.”
The start of the year is the busiest
Green Bund exhibits lower yields than its vanilla ‘twin’
Yield differential (basis points)
Sep
Sources: Climate Bonds Initiative; Bloomberg
funding season for governments,
accelerated this year by state treasuries
rushing to take advantage of favourable
terms before borrowing costs rose.
Governments raised more debt
through bond syndications than in any
three-month span except for last spring,
at the height of the Covid-19 crisis.
Eurozone debt to gross domestic
product has risen from 86 per cent in
March 2020to 97 per cent at the most
recent official reading to the end of
September.
“Last year was the biggest ever year in
the sector,” said Stirling. “There proba-
bly was a little bit of concern going into
this year about whether the market
would digest similar levels of issuance
again at such tight prices.”
Appetite for new debt dispelled any
worries about pricing. The average yield
for eurozone bond syndications since
January came in at 0.75 per cent on a
duration weighted basis, down from
0.94 per cent in the first three months of
-1.5
-2.0
-2.5
-3.0
-3.5
-4.0
-4.5
2020 Dec
2020, according to calculations by BNP
Paribas.
The lower yield on newly issued
bonds shows governments could still
raise funds at cheaper rates despite the
ramp-up in debts.
The ECB’s extensive bond-buying on
the open market and strong interest
from asset managers awash with cash
have helped drive demand in to new
bond offerings.
Order books for bond syndications
toppled records, allowing public debt
agencies to push for better rates. Long-
term issuance was particularly busy as
issuers tried to lock in attractive prices.
The sharp sell-off in global bond
markets since mid-February, led by
US inflation fears, threatened the
buoyant environment for new bonds, as
investors faced the prospect that newly
purchased bonds would fall in value.
“I would have expected there to be
more difficulty,” said Antoine Bouvet,
senior rates strategist at ING. If inves-
The primary tors are worried about falling prices,
market has been they may demand issuers offer a
supported by higher premium on new bonds in
the European compensation.
Central Bank’s Bouvet said low borrowing costs
bond purchase partly reflected investor confidence that
programme the European bonds price will not slide
Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
too far.
The rise in bond yields emanating
from the US prompted “a bit of a
rethink”, according to Ioannis Rallis,
who runs this type of issuance at
JPMorgan.
Investors who loaded up on longer
dated debt faced a sharper fall in prices
because these longer maturities carry
more inflation risk. The repricing in
bond markets came quicker than many
analysts anticipated.
“Some investors were probably a bit
offside at one point,” said Rallis. Recent
weeks have seen issuers and investor
demand shift to medium and shorter
dated bonds. “Demand for the long end
will come back but we need to see some
stability,” he added.
The quarter also saw rapid develop-
‘January ments in Europe’s growing market for
green government bonds.
and early Italy raised €8.5bn in Europe’s biggest
February green bond debut. France also tapped
the market while the UK and Spain took
were steps towards their first green offerings.
probably The market expects a substantial
boost in the second half of the year as
the hottest the EU begins to issue €225bn in green
primary bonds as part of its €750bn coronavirus
recovery fund.
market Green bonds are “both politically very
we’ve ever popular at the moment but there is also
strong demand from the investor side”,
had’ said Rallis.
quarter will be robust and
very active, but probably
won’t match up to Q1’
tracking the data in 1996. High-yield
and investment-grade bond issuances
came close to $1.4tn in the same period.
Investment banks have also been
enjoying a boom in mergers and acquisi-
tions activity, swelling their fees further.
In total, banks globally have earned an
estimated $37.3bn in fees in the first
quarter of 2021, up 37 per cent year on
year, also the highest level on record.
However, Refinitiv counts the full fee
for underwriting a Spac IPO in the quar-
ter of its launch, even though invest-
ment banks do not collect some of their
pay until the shell company merges
with an acquisition target. That means
some of the fees booked in the first quar-
ter will not be earned until later.
The record levels have left some won-
dering how sustainable the trend is.
“Our judgment is, the second quarter
will be robust and very active, but prob-
ably won’t match up to Q1,” said Achin-
tya Mangla, global co-head of equity
capital markets at JPMorgan. He added
that Spac launches could slow down
more sharply than traditional IPOs.
A market downturn was also a risk,
bankers and advisers said, although the
US benchmark S&P 500 began the sec-
ond quarter in fine fettle, passing 4,000
Our global for the first time on Thursday.
team gives you “If the markets get a road bump, I think
market-moving all these deals will freeze in their tracks,”
news and views, said Craig Marcus, capital markets part-
24 hours a day ner at law firm Ropes & Gray’s. “But as
ft.com/markets long as the market stays strong, I think
there’s more than enough of a pipeline.”

Fixed income Fixed income

Airlines’ $16bn fundraising points to Windscreen repairer Belron borrows

investor confidence over longer term
PHILIP GEORGIADIS — LONDON
CLAIRE BUSHEY — CHICAGO
Airlines tapped a wave of investor
enthusiasm to raise more than $16bn
from bond markets in the first quarter,
shoring up their finances as travel dis-
ruption stretches into a second year.
The figures highlight how the world’s
biggest carriers have been able to raise a
wall of money to help them through a
period of unprecedented turmoil, with a
third of the world’s fleet of commercial
aircraft still in storage as passenger
numbers collapse.
They also underline investor confi-
dence in the long-term prospects of the
strongest companies in the sector, as
Covid-19 vaccines offer a way to reopen
travel once curbs on movement are
eased in major economies.
Airlines raised $16.6bn in the first
quarter of this year, according to data
provider Dealogic, just short of the
record $17.5bn set in the second quarter
of 2020 as companies dashed for cash
during the initial, frantic stages of the
pandemic. Overall, airlines raised
$42.6bn in the debt markets in 2020, the
most on record.
The activity has proven a boon for
investment banks, which made more
than $200m in fees from airlines, a first-
quarter record, Dealogic said.
In Europe, British Airways owner IAG
and lower-cost rival easyJet raised
€1.2bn each in separate bond issues that
were oversubscribed. The cash will help
carriers to fortify their balance sheets as
uncertainty persists over whether mass
travel will be possible this summer.
The near-term prospects for the
industry look brightest in the US, where
Record deal: American Airlines
took on $10bn of debt last month
carriers have been bolstered by billions
in taxpayer funds and a larger domestic
market than in Europe. The US Trans-
portation Security Administration
reports that passenger numbers have
exceeded 1m most days in March — half
the roughly 2m travelling daily in 2019,
but an improvement over January and
February, let alone last year’s nadir
below 100,000.
American Airlines launched an
industry-record $10bn debt deal in
March, which was made up of $6.5bn
worth of junk bonds and $3.5bn in loans.
Analysts calculate that the deal will give
American, which estimates it will burn
$30m in cash a day in the first quarter,
about a year and a half of liquidity.
Investors have also moved into airline
stocks. MSCI’s global airlines index has
risen 44 per cent since vaccine break-
throughs in November, although it is
still down by a quarter since the end of
2019.
As well as hopes for the industry’s
long-term recovery, companies have
benefited from the “reopening trade”, as
investors move into parts of the stock
market that suffered during the pan-
demic’s immediate impact.
€2.2bn to fund dividend for owners
JOE RENNISON
A global car windscreen repair com-
pany that sacked workers as it suffered
from a sharp decline in business early
in the pandemic borrowed just over
€2.2bn across US and European loan
markets this week to fund a bumper
dividend to its owners.
Belron, which owns repair companies
around the world, including Autoglass
in the UK, will use slightly more than
€850m of the proceeds from the split-
jurisdiction deal, along with €614m of
cash on its balance sheet, to fund a
€1.5bn payday for its owners: publicly
traded D’Ieteren Group and private
equity company Clayton, Dubilier &
Rice. The rest will go towards refinanc-
ing the company’s existing debts.
The dividend deal is one of the largest
of its kind on record, and the biggest dis-
closed by a flurry of companies using
investor demand in the US loan market
this year to funnel cash back to their pri-
vate equity owners.
It marks a swift turnround for the
company, just one year after Belron
closed branches across Europe as a
result of government restrictions and
laid off almost 1,000 workers at its
American brand Safelite.
Tom Feeney, chief executive of Safe-
lite, said at the time that demand for
windscreen repairs plummeted because
of the effects of Covid-19. The company
slashed workers’ hours and furloughed
2,000 back-office staff, the publication
Fortune reported.
Belron said a rebound in business in
It marks a swift turnround
for the company, just one
year after Belron closed
branches across Europe
the second half of the year resulted in
Safelite rehiring staff. “We now have
more people at Safelite than we did last
year,” it said.
Publicly traded D’Ieteren Group owns
a majority share of Belron, alongside a
small portfolio of companies that
includes a car import business and the
notebook brand Moleskin. Private
equity group CD&R owns 40 per cent of
the business.
D’Ieteren recently announced 11.2 per
cent profit growth for 2020, which it
said was driven by a record year at Bel-
ron and a resilient automotive business.
In its recent earnings presentation,
D’Ieteren said “stringent” cost control
led to significant margin improvement
at Belron, offsetting a 7.8 per cent
decline in sales for the year. It added
that more complex windscreen replace-
ments on more modern cars had also
contributed to improved profit margins.
The company is proposing a €1.35-a-
share dividend to its own shareholders,
according to its recent earnings report.
S&P Global Ratings upgraded Belron
after the dividend, noting its “resilient”
performance last year. Despite early
pressures on the companies’ brands, a
sharp recovery and growth of higher
priced product sales helped it recover.
The dividend is in line with Belron’s
strategy since being acquired by D’Iet-
eren in 2017. It has repeatedly grown the
business, reducing leverage, before
using debt markets to finance dividends
that re-lever the company. Belron
issued a €400m loan in October 2018 to
fully fund a dividend to its owners. It did
the same again in October 2019 with an
€850m loan.
10 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Tuesday 6 April 2021

MARKET DATA

WORLD MARKETS AT A GLANCE FT.COM/MARKETSDATA

Change during previous day’s trading (%)
S&P 500 Nasdaq Composite Dow Jones Ind FTSE 100 FTSE Eurofirst 300 Nikkei Hang Seng FTSE All World $ $ per € $ pe r £ ¥ per $ £ pe r € Oil Brent $ Sep Gold $

-0.420% -0.235% -1.96%

1.41% 1.31% 1.21% 0.35% 0.59% 0.79% 1.97% 0.98% 0.340% 0.507% 2.07%
Stock Market movements over last 30 days, with the FTSE All-World in the same currency as a comparison
AMERICAS EUROPE ASIA
Mar 06 - - Index All World Mar 06 - Apr 05 Index All World Mar 06 - Apr 01 Index All World Mar 06 - Apr 01 Index All World Mar 06 - Apr 05 Index All World Mar 06 - Apr 05 Index All World

S&P 500 New York S&P/TSX COMP Toronto FTSE 100 London Xetra Dax Frankfurt Nikkei 225 Tokyo Kospi Seoul
4,076.49 19,044.16 15,107.17 30,089.25 3,120.83
6,737.30 3,026.26
18,125.72 6,675.47 14,080.03 28,864.32
3,768.47
Day 1.41% Month 6.16% Year 63.88% Day 0.28% Month 3.63% Year 47.22% Day 0.35% Month 2.31% Year 23.58% Day 0.66% Month 3.32% Year NaN% Day 0.79% Month 3.97% Year 68.79% Day 0.26% Month 2.54% Year 80.87%

Nasdaq Composite New York IPC Mexico City FTSE Eurofirst 300 Europe Ibex 35 Madrid Hang Seng Hong Kong FTSE Straits Times Singapore
13,656.76 48,112.87 1,664.02 3,209.74
8,577.60
29,098.29 28,938.74
12,723.47 45,682.19 1,591.56 8,329.30
3,014.78
Day 1.31% Month 5.73% Year 85.28% Day 1.83% Month 3.85% Year 45.50% Day 0.59% Month 4.87% Year 36.04% Day -0.03% Month 2.38% Year 30.37% Day 1.97% Month -0.18% Year 22.56% Day 0.88% Month 6.45% Year 34.32%

Dow Jones Industrial New York Bovespa São Paulo CAC 40 Paris FTSE MIB Milan Shanghai Composite Shanghai BSE Sensex Mumbai
33,554.73 6,102.96 24,710.00
116,812.69 3,503.49 3,484.39 50,296.89
115,202.23 5,830.06 49,159.32
23,046.77
30,924.14
Day 1.21% Month 6.54% Year 59.39% Day 1.35% Month 1.41% Year 68.01% Day 0.59% Month 5.35% Year 45.06% Day 0.25% Month 6.25% Year 49.40% Day 0.52% Month -1.89% Year 27.42% Day -1.74% Month -3.32% Year 78.17%

Country Index Latest Previous Country Index Latest Previous Country Index Latest Previous Country Index Latest Previous Country Index Latest Previous Country Index Latest Previous
Argentina Merval 48341.05 47982.39 Cyprus
CSE M&P Gen 68.46 68.68 Italy FTSE Italia All-Share 26902.66 26814.98 Philippines Manila Comp 6495.15 6443.09 Taiwan Weighted Pr 16571.28 16431.13 Cross-Border DJ Global Titans ($) 467.12 459.76
Australia All Ordinaries 7064.20 7017.00 Czech Republic
PX 1091.97 1090.50 FTSE Italia Mid Cap 43317.90 42866.33 Poland Wig 58512.71 58081.50 Thailand Bangkok SET 1579.66 1596.27 Euro Stoxx 50 (Eur) 3945.96 3919.21
S&P/ASX 200 6828.70 6790.70 Denmark
OMXC Copenahgen 20 1471.77 1455.03 FTSE MIB 24710.00 24648.56 Portugal PSI 20 4977.56 4929.60 Turkey BIST 100 1442.06 1430.19 Euronext 100 ID 1206.44 1195.05
S&P/ASX 200 Res 5176.10 5118.70 Egypt
EGX 30 10417.15 10564.88 Japan 2nd Section 7549.75 7499.87 PSI General 3689.16 3642.74 UAE Abu Dhabi General Index 5953.22 5941.52 FTSE 4Good Global ($) 9894.79 9747.23
Austria ATX 3197.22 3159.77 Estonia
OMX Tallinn 1507.79 1513.13 Nikkei 225 30089.25 29854.00 Romania BET Index 11273.23 11302.27 UK FT 30 2711.90 2683.50 FTSE All World ($) 453.87 449.47
Belgium BEL 20 3938.63 3899.48 Finland
OMX Helsinki General 11536.70 11437.97 S&P Topix 150 1676.06 1666.24 Russia Micex Index 3518.09 3558.22 FTSE 100 6737.30 6713.63 FTSE E300 1664.02 1654.33
BEL Mid 8956.70 8870.89 France
CAC 40 6102.96 6067.23 Topix 1983.54 1971.62 RTX 1453.48 1466.71 FTSE 4Good UK 6349.47 6323.06 FTSE Eurotop 100 3126.14 3111.74
Brazil IBovespa 116812.69 115253.31 SBF 120 4809.26 4775.78 Jordan Amman SE 1779.17 1782.67 Saudi-Arabia TADAWUL All Share Index 9962.77 9895.56 FTSE All Share 3849.24 3831.05 FTSE Global 100 ($) 2630.73 2587.82
Canada S&P/TSX 60 1136.86 1133.01
Germany M-DAX 32289.81 31717.36 Kenya NSE 20 1864.44 1846.41 Singapore FTSE Straits Times 3209.74 3181.68 FTSE techMARK 100 6587.42 6500.50 FTSE Gold Min ($) 2155.84 2155.84
S&P/TSX Comp 19044.16 18990.32 TecDAX 3443.66 3395.04 Kuwait KSX Market Index 6633.44 6603.51 Slovakia SAX 363.36 363.36 USA DJ Composite 11254.49 11108.27 FTSE Latibex Top (Eur) 4440.00 4432.20
S&P/TSX Div Met & Min 727.88 713.94 XETRA Dax 15107.17 15008.34 Latvia OMX Riga 1122.70 1110.75 Slovenia SBI TOP - - DJ Industrial 33554.73 33153.21 FTSE Multinationals ($) 2847.94 2844.76
Chile S&P/CLX IGPA Gen 24630.34 24645.73
Greece Athens Gen 875.22 865.05 Lithuania OMX Vilnius 851.66 848.89 South Africa FTSE/JSE All Share 67236.31 66485.29 DJ Transport 14959.90 14748.38 FTSE World ($) 808.12 799.37
China FTSE A200 13866.43 13709.72 FTSE/ASE 20 2106.65 2077.11 Luxembourg LuxX 1528.41 1523.45 FTSE/JSE Res 20 66914.69 66664.17 DJ Utilities 892.99 879.51 FTSEurofirst 100 (Eur) 4326.73 4305.75
FTSE B35 9000.71 8988.96
Hong Kong Hang Seng 28938.74 28378.35 Malaysia FTSE Bursa KLCI 1584.24 1585.35 FTSE/JSE Top 40 61590.24 60881.15 Nasdaq 100 13553.52 13329.52 FTSEurofirst 80 (Eur) 5384.68 5344.61
Shanghai A 3652.29 3633.33 HS China Enterprise 11217.41 10972.04 Mexico IPC 48112.87 47246.26 South Korea Kospi 3120.83 3112.80 Nasdaq Cmp 13656.76 13480.11 MSCI ACWI Fr ($) 681.03 680.47
Shanghai B 246.11 245.98 HSCC Red Chip 4103.17 4102.08 Morocco MASI 11572.95 11552.78 Kospi 200 424.85 423.74 NYSE Comp 15872.14 15752.24 MSCI All World ($) 2841.89 2840.19
Shanghai Comp 3484.39 3466.33
Hungary Bux 44242.93 44326.18 Netherlands AEX 708.43 699.85 Spain IBEX 35 8577.60 8580.00 S&P 500 4076.51 4019.87 MSCI Europe (Eur) 1735.79 1735.79
Shenzhen A 2366.87 2346.03
India BSE Sensex 49159.32 50029.83 AEX All Share 1018.02 1001.57 Sri Lanka CSE All Share 7217.83 7193.28 Wilshire 5000 42758.40 42280.97 MSCI Pacific ($) 3179.31 3162.09
Shenzhen B 1138.70 1137.61 Nifty 500 12298.60 12479.00 New Zealand NZX 50 12488.31 12560.70 Sweden OMX Stockholm 30 2202.61 2192.86 Venezuela IBC 2837.63 2744.78 S&P Euro (Eur) 1813.18 1799.80
Colombia COLCAP 1316.81 1327.32
Indonesia Jakarta Comp 5970.29 6011.46 Nigeria SE All Share 38916.74 39045.13 OMX Stockholm AS 879.01 873.39 Vietnam VNI 1236.05 1224.45 S&P Europe 350 (Eur) 1720.64 1711.04
Croatia CROBEX 2013.05 2011.29
Ireland ISEQ Overall 8103.32 8083.98 Norway Oslo All Share 1017.37 1006.88 Switzerland SMI Index 11118.03 11047.37 S&P Global 1200 ($) 3188.01 3152.74
Israel Tel Aviv 125 1672.50 1664.07 Pakistan KSE 100 43548.21 44300.95 Stoxx 50 (Eur) 3334.81 3323.18
(c) Closed. (u) Unavaliable. † Correction. ♥ Subject to official recalculation. For more index coverage please see www.ft.com/worldindices. A fuller version of this table is available on the ft.com research data archive.

STOCK MARKET: BIGGEST MOVERS UK MARKET WINNERS AND LOSERS

AMERICA LONDON EURO MARKETS TOKYO Apr 01 %Chg %Chg Apr 01 %Chg %Chg Apr 01 %Chg %Chg Apr 01 %Chg %Chg
ACTIVE STOCKS stock close Day's ACTIVE STOCKS stock close Day's ACTIVE STOCKS stock close Day's ACTIVE STOCKS stock close Day's FTSE 100 price(p) week ytd FTSE 250 price(p) week ytd FTSE SmallCap price(p) week ytd Industry Sectors price(p) week ytd
traded m's price change traded m's price change traded m's price change traded m's price change Winners Winners Winners Winners
Apple 52.8 125.33 2.33 Unilever 223.1 4022.00 -34.00 Asml Holding 707.3 529.30 12.30 Softbank . 1281.7 9993.00 206.00 Renishaw 6470.00 12.0 - Micro Focus Int 558.00 15.1 29.7 Wanton 406.00 15.7 - Automobiles & Parts 4789.79 6.1 3.8
Amazon.com 51.4 3216.43 55.43 Barclays 178.8 184.00 -1.92 Total 298.5 39.10 -0.68 Fast Retailing Co., 655.8 92600.00 2130.00 Int Consolidated Airlines S.a. 209.55 8.3 25.2 Ssp 382.90 12.8 12.6 Trifast 150.00 13.4 -0.7 Industrial Metals 6030.24 4.0 21.8
Microsoft 43.4 248.85 6.50 Bp 141.9 289.80 -4.85 Sap Se O.n. 293.8 106.78 2.36 Mitsubishi Ufj Fin,. 520.4 610.60 18.10 Bt 156.45 7.6 - Oxford Instruments 2005.00 11.9 - Card Factory 75.10 12.1 86.1 Electronic & Electrical Equip. 10371.71 3.8 4.1
Facebook 42.5 309.81 11.15 London Stock Exchange 130.5 7234.00 294.00 Volkswagen Ag Vzo O.n. 257.8 241.15 2.55 Tokyo Electron 474.7 50630.00 180.00 Smiths 1566.50 7.4 - Cmc Markets 511.00 11.8 28.2 Schroder Uk Public Private Trust 38.10 12.1 25.6 Software & Computer Services 2008.45 3.1 4.9
Alphabet 25.3 2206.66 76.88 Astrazeneca 127.4 7172.00 -75.00 Daimler Ag Na O.n. 241.2 75.34 -0.67 Sony 465.1 12330.00 130.00 Anglo American 2898.50 6.3 18.7 Just 104.20 10.6 52.3 Bmo Private Equity Trust 372.00 11.7 23.0 Aerospace & Defense 3662.47 3.0 1.4
Alphabet 23.6 2214.83 77.08 Rio Tinto 119.3 5480.00 -70.00 Siemens Ag Na O.n. 208.9 140.80 0.80 Toyota Motor 345.0 8461.00 -1.00 Glencore 285.65 6.2 20.7 Centrica 56.00 9.0 - Photo-me Int 60.80 10.5 - Food Producers 7634.89 2.8 8.5
Boeing 20.8 259.11 6.15 Int Consolidated Airlines S.a. 113.0 209.55 11.25 Dt.telekom Ag Na 205.9 17.25 0.08 Sumitomo Mitsui Fin,. 278.3 4053.00 126.00 Next 8114.00 6.2 - Pets At Home 420.00 8.8 -3.6 Alfa Fin Software Holdings 139.50 10.2 6.5 General Industrials 6766.72 2.8 2.3
Nvidia 15.9 552.64 0.17 British American Tobacco 97.0 2715.50 -58.50 Bayer Ag Na O.n. 193.9 53.23 -0.73 M3,. 238.9 8014.00 -64.00 Evraz 565.00 5.8 19.0 Rank 194.00 8.5 - Go-ahead 1396.00 9.9 - Industrial Engineering 15502.65 2.6 3.7
Advanced Micro Devices 13.5 80.44 -0.65 Glaxosmithkline 88.4 1277.60 -10.40 Airbus 189.1 100.42 3.88 Nomura Holdings, 238.6 596.80 24.60 Melrose Industries 173.55 5.8 -3.0 Avon Rubber 3316.00 8.2 - Lamprell 61.50 9.0 22.5 Industrial Transportation 3667.19 2.5 28.1
Viacomcbs 11.5 42.39 -2.26 Royal Dutch Shell 82.7 1335.40 0.40 Lvmh 182.2 571.70 3.60 Advantest 237.5 10700.00 200.00 Associated British Foods 2451.00 5.1 - Kainos 1526.00 8.1 22.5 Pharos Energy 23.00 9.0 27.8 Equity Investment Instruments 12813.35 2.5 0.2
Aveva 3504.00 5.0 8.7 Victrex 2248.00 7.4 - Norcros 269.00 8.9 35.9 Gas Water & Multiutilities 4805.15 2.4 0.7
BIGGEST MOVERS Close Day's Day's BIGGEST MOVERS Close Day's Day's BIGGEST MOVERS Close Day's Day's BIGGEST MOVERS Close Day's Day's
Hikma Pharmaceuticals 2319.00 4.4 - Greggs 2299.00 7.3 25.1 Foxtons 63.70 8.7 22.5 Support Services 10527.66 2.1 6.2
price change chng% price change chng% price change chng% price change chng%
Ups Ups Ups Ups Losers Losers Losers Losers
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd 29.45 1.73 6.22 Cmc Markets 511.00 28.00 5.80 Airbus 100.42 3.88 4.02 Mitsui O.s.k.lines, 4075.00 220.00 5.71 Flutter Entertainment 15480.00 -4.7 1.2 Coats 56.00 -6.4 -17.9 Allied Minds 22.10 -18.1 - Health Care Equip.& Services 6041.09 -2.0 -7.5
Freeport-mcmoran 35.47 1.71 5.05 Int Consolidated Airlines S.a. 209.55 11.25 5.67 Porsche Autom.hldg Vzo 93.74 3.32 3.67 Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha 3920.00 210.00 5.66 Barratt Developments 764.00 -2.0 - Drax 417.60 -5.1 - The Gym 241.50 -8.2 12.3 Tobacco 28679.17 -1.1 -0.3
Mgm Resorts Int 41.69 1.99 5.00 Network Int Holdings 436.40 22.80 5.51 Safran 119.66 3.61 3.11 Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, 2609.00 121.00 4.86 Phoenix Holdings 712.80 -2.0 0.0 Syncona 246.50 -4.6 -6.5 Porvair 526.00 -6.7 -1.3 Oil & Gas Producers 4950.21 -1.0 9.4
Carnival 28.04 1.18 4.37 Oxford Instruments 2005.00 99.00 5.19 Thales 87.28 2.56 3.02 Mitsui & Co., 2328.00 103.50 4.65 Dcc 6282.00 -1.9 - Chrysalis Investments 195.00 -4.4 3.5 Enquest 17.50 -6.6 54.0 Pharmaceuticals & Biotech. 15329.58 -0.1 -2.6
United Airlines Holdings 60.31 2.49 4.31 Provident Fin 227.80 10.80 4.98 Vi 89.92 2.56 2.93 Nomura Holdings, 596.80 24.60 4.30 Sainsbury (j) 238.60 -1.7 - Bytes Technology 399.60 -3.9 18.6 Treatt 920.00 -5.9 12.7 Food & Drug Retailers 4289.44 -0.1 -0.6
British American Tobacco 2715.50 -1.4 - Royal Mail 485.30 -3.8 42.6 Macfarlane 98.00 -5.5 13.2 Mining 22160.94 0.1 2.2
Downs Downs Downs Downs
Bp 289.80 -1.3 - Itv 121.80 -3.1 - Pphe Hotel 1490.00 -5.4 8.8 Electricity 8707.82 0.3 -1.5
Occidental Petroleum 25.53 -1.85 -6.76 Ferrexpo 355.60 -19.00 -5.07 Volvo, Ab Ser. B 20.50 -1.03 -4.78 Suzuki Motor 5041.00 -149.00 -2.87
Auto Trader 560.00 -1.3 -6.9 Mediclinic Int 282.60 -2.9 -0.4 Spire Healthcare 162.60 -5.2 3.8 Household Goods 18257.11 0.3 3.7
Pioneer Natural Resource Co 155.04 -9.56 -5.81 Royal Mail 485.30 -19.30 -3.82 Lufthansa Ag Vna O.n. 10.97 -0.34 -2.98 Recruit Hldgs Co Ltd 5334.00 -86.00 -1.59
Royal Dutch Shell 1335.40 -1.2 - Tbc Bank 1020.00 -2.9 - Pendragon 16.55 -4.7 - General Retailers 2692.83 0.3 6.0
Discovery 40.94 -2.37 -5.47 Hammerson 33.82 -1.17 -3.34 Total 39.10 -0.68 -1.70 Kikkoman 6670.00 -100.00 -1.48
National Grid 863.50 -1.1 -1.0 Jtc 621.00 -2.7 8.9 Riverstone Energy 262.00 -4.2 - Media 8405.89 0.5 5.4
Diamondback Energy 76.78 -4.44 -5.47 Syncona 246.50 -7.50 -2.95 Caixabank 2.60 -0.04 -1.48 Comsys Holdings 3395.00 -50.00 -1.45
Unilever 4022.00 -0.9 - Xp Power 4750.00 -2.7 2.8 Value And Indexed Property ome Trust 212.50 -4.1 12.0 Life Insurance 8263.85 0.7 14.9
Apa 17.86 -0.99 -5.25 Phoenix Holdings 712.80 -21.40 -2.91 Bayer Ag Na O.n. 53.23 -0.73 -1.35 Taiyo Yuden Co., 5510.00 -60.00 -1.08
Prudential 1551.50 -0.9 - C&c 278.00 -2.6 20.6 Amigo Holdings 13.65 -3.9 67.1 Beverages 23641.08 0.9 4.1
Based on the constituents of the S&P500 Based on the constituents of the FTSE 350 index Based on the constituents of the FTSEurofirst 300 Eurozone index Based on the constituents of the Nikkei 225 index
Based on last week's performance. †Price at suspension.

CURRENCIES
DOLLAR EURO POUND DOLLAR EURO POUND DOLLAR EURO POUND DOLLAR EURO POUND
Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's Closing Day's
Apr 5 Currency Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Apr 5 Currency Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Apr 5 Currency Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Apr 5 Currency Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change
Argentina Argentine Peso 92.2350 0.4399 108.8229 0.8667 128.1469 1.2775 Indonesia Indonesian Rupiah 14515.0000 -10.0000 17125.4577 43.2375 20166.4539 91.5343 Poland Polish Zloty 3.8923 -0.0140 4.5923 -0.0017 5.4078 0.0089 ..Three Month 0.7198 -0.0038 0.8491 -0.0017 - -
Australia Australian Dollar 1.3078 -0.0075 1.5430 -0.0038 1.8170 -0.0008 Israel Israeli Shekel 3.3097 -0.0238 3.9049 -0.0155 4.5983 -0.0089 Romania Romanian Leu 4.1679 -0.0086 4.9174 0.0056 5.7906 0.0183 ..One Year 0.7200 -0.0038 0.8486 -0.0017 - -
Bahrain Bahrainin Dinar 0.3771 0.0000 0.4449 0.0015 0.5239 0.0028 Japan Japanese Yen 110.1350 -0.4650 129.9421 -0.1297 153.0163 0.1567 Russia Russian Ruble 76.2450 -0.1138 89.9572 0.1550 105.9311 0.3962 United States United States Dollar - - 1.1798 0.0038 1.3894 0.0073
Bolivia Bolivian Boliviano 6.9100 - 8.1527 0.0262 9.6004 0.0502 ..One Month 110.1350 -0.4651 129.9421 -0.1296 153.0163 0.1567 Saudi Arabia Saudi Riyal 3.7504 0.0001 4.4249 0.0143 5.2106 0.0274 ..One Month - - 1.1798 -0.2023 1.3894 0.0073
Brazil Brazilian Real 5.6531 -0.0294 6.6698 -0.0132 7.8541 0.0004 ..Three Month 110.1349 -0.4652 129.9422 -0.1294 153.0162 0.1565 Singapore Singapore Dollar 1.3419 -0.0028 1.5832 0.0018 1.8644 0.0059 ..Three Month - - 1.1796 -0.2023 1.3894 0.0073
Canada Canadian Dollar 1.2519 -0.0054 1.4770 -0.0015 1.7393 0.0017 ..One Year 110.1344 -0.4661 129.9425 -0.1287 153.0163 0.1561 South Africa South African Rand 14.5525 -0.0900 17.1697 -0.0507 20.2185 -0.0188 ..One Year - - 1.1788 -0.2023 1.3895 0.0073
Chile Chilean Peso 716.3850 -0.1150 845.2222 2.5785 995.3110 5.0409 Kenya Kenyan Shilling 108.9000 - 128.4850 0.4125 151.3004 0.7904 South Korea South Korean Won 1127.6000 -4.2500 1330.3917 -0.7268 1566.6335 2.3108 Venezuela Venezuelan Bolivar Fuerte - - - - - -
China Chinese Yuan 6.5729 - 7.7550 0.0249 9.1321 0.0477 Kuwait Kuwaiti Dinar 0.3020 -0.0002 0.3563 0.0009 0.4196 0.0019 Sweden Swedish Krona 8.7115 -0.0129 10.2781 0.0178 12.1033 0.0453 Vietnam Vietnamese Dong 23080.0000 6.5000 27230.8166 95.0264 32066.2874 176.4985
Colombia Colombian Peso 3639.9000 -21.8000 4294.5144 -11.8489 5057.1048 -3.7084 Malaysia Malaysian Ringgit 4.1425 -0.0030 4.8875 0.0122 5.7554 0.0259 Switzerland Swiss Franc 0.9370 -0.0063 1.1055 -0.0039 1.3018 -0.0019 European Union Euro 0.8476 -0.0027 - - 1.1776 0.0024
Costa Rica Costa Rican Colon 611.6450 - 721.6454 2.3169 849.7902 4.4395 Mexico Mexican Peso 20.2740 -0.0480 23.9201 0.0203 28.1677 0.0808 Taiwan New Taiwan Dollar 28.5050 - 33.6314 0.1080 39.6035 0.2069 ..One Month 0.8475 -0.0027 - - 1.1775 0.0024
Czech Republic Czech Koruna 22.0554 -0.1325 26.0219 -0.0723 30.6426 -0.0230 New Zealand New Zealand Dollar 1.4163 -0.0099 1.6710 -0.0063 1.9678 -0.0034 Thailand Thai Baht 31.4050 0.0925 37.0530 0.2277 43.6326 0.3558 ..Three Month 0.8473 -0.0027 - - 1.1774 0.0024
Denmark Danish Krone 6.3043 -0.0200 7.4381 0.0004 8.7589 0.0182 Nigeria Nigerian Naira 409.7900 - 483.4881 1.5523 569.3426 2.9744 Tunisia Tunisian Dinar 2.7861 0.0004 3.2872 0.0110 3.8709 0.0207 ..One Year 0.8465 -0.0027 - - 1.1770 0.0024
Egypt Egyptian Pound 15.6796 -0.0123 18.4995 0.0449 21.7845 0.0968 Norway Norwegian Krone 8.5071 -0.0241 10.0370 0.0039 11.8193 0.0285 Turkey Turkish Lira 8.1202 -0.0067 9.5806 0.0229 11.2819 0.0497
Hong Kong Hong Kong Dollar 7.7758 -0.0004 9.1742 0.0289 10.8033 0.0558 Pakistan Pakistani Rupee 153.2500 0.2000 180.8110 0.8157 212.9182 1.3888 United Arab Emirates UAE Dirham 3.6732 0.0000 4.3337 0.0140 5.1033 0.0267
Hungary Hungarian Forint 305.3905 -1.9222 360.3130 -1.1037 424.2949 -0.4400 Peru Peruvian Nuevo Sol 3.7412 -0.0023 4.4140 0.0115 5.1978 0.0240 United Kingdom Pound Sterling 0.7198 -0.0038 0.8492 -0.0017 - -
India Indian Rupee 73.3075 0.1938 86.4914 0.5056 101.8499 0.7999 Philippines Philippine Peso 48.6300 0.0925 57.3758 0.2930 67.5642 0.4808 ..One Month 0.7198 -0.0038 0.8492 -0.0017 - -
Rates are derived from WM Reuters Spot Rates and MorningStar (latest rates at time of production). Some values are rounded. Currency redenominated by 1000. The exchange rates printed in this table are also available at www.FT.com/marketsdata
UK SERIES
FTSE ACTUARIES SHARE INDICES www.ft.com/equities FT 30 INDEX FTSE SECTORS: LEADERS & LAGGARDS FTSE 100 SUMMARY
Produced in conjunction with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Apr 01 Mar 31 Mar 30 Mar 29 Mar 26 Yr Ago High Low Year to date percentage changes Closing Day's Closing Day's
£ Strlg Day's Euro £ Strlg £ Strlg Year Div P/E X/D Total FT 30 2711.90 2683.50 2715.90 2683.00 2689.30 0.00 3314.70 1337.80 Industrial Metals & 23.43 Technology 7.24 Aerospace & Defense 1.65 FTSE 100 Price Change FTSE 100 Price Change
Apr 05 chge% Index Mar 31 Mar 30 ago yield% Cover ratio adj Return FT 30 Div Yield - - - - - 0.00 3.93 2.74 Industrial Transport 23.20 General Retailers 7.14 Utilities 0.91 3I Group PLC 1173.5 20.00 Kingfisher PLC 325.70 7.40
FTSE 100 (101) 6625.94 0.21 5990.66 6612.24 6624.02 7403.92 3.31 1.48 20.46 14.60 6346.67 P/E Ratio net - - - - - 0.00 19.44 14.26 Fixed Line Telecomms 15.98 Support Services 6.79 Equity Invest Instr 0.66 Admiral Group PLC 3057 -44.00 Land Securities Group PLC 701.60 11.50
FTSE 250 (250) 21057.72 0.37 19038.76 20981.09 21035.96 21780.20 1.98 1.34 37.47 33.04 16741.55 FT 30 since compilation: 4198.4 high: 19/07/1999; low49.4 18/02/1900Base Date: 1/7/35 Banks 14.90 Chemicals 6.30 Consumer Goods -0.32 Anglo American PLC 2898.5 56.00 Legal & General Group PLC 283.50 4.40
FTSE 250 ex Inv Co (183) 21759.77 0.74 19673.50 21600.49 21556.06 23115.63 1.87 1.11 48.29 24.78 17638.09 FT 30 hourly changes Life Insurance 14.65 FTSE 250 Index 6.07 Tobacco -0.36 Antofagasta PLC 1692.5 2.50 Lloyds Banking Group PLC 42.77 0.24
FTSE 350 (351) 3793.86 0.24 3430.12 3784.94 3792.25 4181.51 3.07 1.46 22.30 7.92 7241.30 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 High Low Travel & Leisure 14.13 Financials 5.95 Real Est Invest & Se -0.51 Ashtead Group PLC 4473 146.00 London Stock Exchange Group PLC 7234 294.00
FTSE 350 ex Investment Trusts (282) 3696.64 0.34 3342.22 3684.15 3686.52 4122.18 3.13 1.31 24.29 7.64 3641.07 2683.5 2712.5 2713.3 2681.9 2399.1 2395.8 2394.3 2414 2426.7 2439.2 2366.1 Telecommunications 11.86 Industrials 5.78 Food & Drug Retailer -1.25 Associated British Foods PLC 2451 36.00 M&G PLC 209.40 2.00
FTSE 350 Higher Yield (146) 3067.50 0.48 2773.40 3052.84 3037.00 3508.27 4.23 1.34 17.61 11.05 6448.92 FT30 constituents and recent additions/deletions can be found at www.ft.com/ft30 Mobile Telecomms 10.47 Media 5.58 Financial Services -1.62 Astrazeneca PLC 7172 -75.00 Melrose Industries PLC 173.55 6.65
FTSE 350 Lower Yield (205) 4263.62 -0.01 3854.84 4264.07 4302.91 4547.84 1.90 1.72 30.54 2.35 5047.81 FTSE SmallCap Index 9.72 Electronic & Elec Eq 5.55 Electricity -1.71 Auto Trader Group PLC 560.00 5.60 Mondi PLC 1884.5 34.50
FTSE SmallCap (255) 6486.94 -0.15 5864.99 6496.71 6495.18 5995.80 2.43 -0.70 -59.18 20.58 10348.56
FTSE SmallCap ex Inv Co (137) 5264.69 0.74 4759.92 5226.11 5186.83 4950.75 1.94 -0.75 -68.46 9.21 8767.93 FX: EFFECTIVE INDICES Oil & Gas Producers
Oil & Gas
9.60
9.21
FTSE All{HY-}Share Index
Household Goods & Ho
4.78
4.52
Nonlife Insurance
Pharmace & Biotech
-1.83
-2.82
Avast PLC 459.00 3.00 National Grid PLC 863.50 -0.50
Aveva Group PLC 3504 82.00 Natwest Group PLC 196.70 0.45
FTSE All-Share (606) 3771.34 0.22 3409.75 3762.96 3769.95 4132.71 3.05 1.40 23.39 8.01 7271.90
Mar 31 Mar 30 Mnth Ago Apr 01 Mar 31 Mnth Ago Construct & Material 9.15 NON FINANCIALS Index 4.42 Health Care -3.20 Aviva PLC 409.10 0.90 Next PLC 8114 248.00
FTSE All-Share ex Inv Co (419) 3637.47 0.35 3288.71 3624.90 3626.68 4043.99 3.11 1.29 24.92 7.49 3638.82 Food Producers 8.90 FTSE 100 Index 4.28 Tech Hardware & Eq -4.71 B&M European Value Retail S.A. 533.60 5.80 Ocado Group PLC 2092 57.00
FTSE All-Share ex Multinationals (536) 1226.54 0.14 920.04 1224.79 1231.08 1284.85 2.31 1.54 28.04 1.85 2461.93 Australia - - - Sweden - - - Basic Materials 8.71 Beverages 4.14 Health Care Eq & Srv -6.55 Bae Systems PLC 510.40 5.40 Pearson PLC 771.00 -0.60
FTSE Fledgling (89) 11281.34 -0.47 10199.71 11334.47 11360.62 9747.69 2.09 1.45 33.05 21.34 23273.85 Canada - - - Switzerland - - - Software & Comp Serv 8.62 Automobiles & Parts 3.89 Personal Goods -7.17 Barclays PLC 184.00 -1.92 Pershing Square Holdings LTD 2595 30.00
FTSE Fledgling ex Inv Co (42) 14148.64 -0.52 12792.10 14223.15 14218.52 11655.09 1.69 6.19 9.58 20.44 28489.41 Denmark - - - UK 82.11 81.76 81.30 Mining 8.43 Real Est Invest & Tr 3.64 Leisure Goods -9.07 Barratt Developments PLC 764.00 17.20 Persimmon PLC 3024 84.00
FTSE All-Small (344) 4506.76 -0.17 4074.66 4514.36 4513.94 4150.41 2.41 -0.59 -70.21 13.97 9223.29 Japan - - - USA - - - Consumer Services 8.19 Industrial Eng 3.29 Oil Equipment & Serv -12.84 Berkeley Group Holdings (The) PLC 4527 88.00 Phoenix Group Holdings PLC 712.80 -21.40
FTSE All-Small ex Inv Co (179) 3943.09 0.68 3565.04 3916.32 3888.11 3688.26 1.93 -0.49 -105.05 6.85 8318.27 New Zealand - - - Euro - - - Gas Water & Multi 1.84 Oil & Gas Producers -40.36 Bhp Group PLC 2068 -26.50 Polymetal International PLC 1426 6.50
FTSE AIM All-Share (721) 1183.85 -1.40 1070.34 1200.60 1214.14 972.62 0.73 0.28 485.01 1.28 1361.03 Norway - - -
BP PLC 289.80 -4.85 Prudential PLC 1551.5 11.00
FTSE Sector Indices Source: Bank of England. New Sterling ERI base Jan 2005 = 100. Other indices base average 1990 = 100. British American Tobacco PLC 2715.5 -58.50 Relx PLC 1835 16.00
Non Financials (298) 4472.98 0.31 4044.12 4459.22 4468.90 4902.74 3.09 1.26 25.69 10.80 7584.08 Index rebased 1/2/95. for further information about ERIs see www.bankofengland.co.uk British Land Company PLC 509.60 4.80 Renishaw PLC 6470 60.00
Technology (19) 981.73 -1.25 1010.22 994.16 1017.45 1048.47 1.22 1.01 81.09 3.64 1039.44 Bt Group PLC 156.45 1.65 Rentokil Initial PLC 500.00 15.60
Software and Computer Services (17) 977.36 -1.21 1005.72 989.35 1012.41 1045.29 1.25 0.98 81.94 3.71 1036.02 FTSE GLOBAL EQUITY INDEX SERIES Bunzl PLC 2360 37.00 Rightmove PLC 595.60 13.40
Technology Hardware and Equipment (2) 1077.50 -2.87 1108.76 1109.35 1141.00 1072.24 0.31 5.75 56.06 0.00 1117.74 Burberry Group PLC 1927.5 29.00 Rio Tinto PLC 5480 -70.00
Apr 5 No of US $ Day Mth YTD Total
YTD Gr Div Apr 5 No of US $ Day Mth YTD Total YTD Gr Div Coca-Cola Hbc AG 2314 4.00 Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC 108.92 3.62
Telecommunications (8) 653.41 -0.26 672.37 655.12 658.20 769.47 4.45 0.94 23.86 0.00 770.36
Regions & countries stocks indices % % % retn
% Yield Sectors stocks indices % % % retn % Yield Compass Group PLC 1495 33.50 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 1335.4 0.40
Telecommunications Equipment (2) 2389.28 -2.93 2458.60 2461.45 2530.00 2283.83 1.52 3.38 19.41 0.00 2541.57
Telecommunications Service Providers (6) 638.07 -0.16 656.58 639.11 641.59 756.45 4.55 0.91 24.05 0.00 753.95 FTSE Global All Cap 9227 770.76 0.1 2.1 5.9
6.4 1.7 Oil Equipment & Services
1193.49 26 221.15 0.0 0.0 16.8 379.93 18.3 5.1 Crh PLC 3345 -46.00 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 1412.2 -1.60
Health Care (15) 1130.04 -0.18 1162.83 1132.03 1142.81 1322.54 3.90 0.75 34.22 7.02 1262.63 FTSE Global All Cap 9227 770.76 0.1 2.1 5.9
6.4 1.7 Basic Materials
1193.49 365 651.87 0.1 0.1 6.8 1119.35 8.0 2.7 Croda International PLC 6418 70.00 Rsa Insurance Group PLC 681.80 0.80
Health Care Providers (4) 409.33 -0.40 421.21 410.96 420.55 569.98 0.93 0.73 148.56 2.65 425.84 FTSE Global Large Cap 1730 683.70 0.1 2.2 5.0
5.5 1.8 Chemicals
1090.63 171 919.24 0.2 0.2 5.6 1553.61 6.1 2.2 Dcc PLC 6282 -8.00 Sage Group PLC 625.00 12.20
Medical Equipment and Services (2) 1039.79 -0.37 1069.96 1043.60 1083.87 1379.20 2.16 1.04 44.53 0.00 1105.03 FTSE Global Mid Cap 2308 990.49 0.0 2.4 8.0
8.5 1.7 Forestry & Paper
1442.65 21 332.21 0.1 0.1 5.1 640.43 6.4 2.4 Diageo PLC 3007 17.50 Sainsbury (J) PLC 238.60 -3.90
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology (9) 1175.04 -0.15 1209.13 1176.85 1184.58 1352.82 4.12 0.74 32.98 7.95 1322.20 FTSE Global Small Cap 5189 1095.12 0.0 1.4 8.8
9.2 1.5 Industrial Metals & Mining
1532.03 95 531.41 0.1 0.1 13.4 925.75 15.0 3.0 Entain PLC 1528.5 10.50 Schroders PLC 3547 47.00
FTSE All-World 4038 449.47 0.1 2.2 5.5
6.0 1.8 Mining
736.69 78 928.79 0.0 0.0 5.5 1641.34 7.4 3.5 Evraz PLC 565.00 -13.00 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC 1164 27.00
Financials (251) 867.42 -0.24 892.59 869.52 870.38 939.39 3.00 2.16 15.39 1.05 959.29
FTSE World 2617 799.37 0.1 2.6 5.7
6.2 1.8 Industrials
1759.03 761 563.38 0.2 0.2 7.5 871.86 8.0 1.4 Experian PLC 2546 49.00 Segro PLC 948.60 11.00
Banks (11) 599.45 0.65 616.84 595.60 587.98 763.78 3.43 2.08 14.03 0.00 654.74
FTSE Global All Cap ex UNITED KINGDOM In 8936 815.12 0.1 2.2 5.9
6.4 1239.22
1.7 Construction & Materials 148 664.17 0.1 0.1 7.8 1078.31 8.2 1.6 Ferguson PLC 8946 278.00 Severn Trent PLC 2307 1.00
Finance and Credit Services (9) 1145.79 -1.07 1179.04 1158.20 1167.77 1238.13 1.14 2.36 37.19 9.70 1235.13
FTSE Global All Cap ex USA 7453 588.45 0.2 0.7 4.4
5.0 995.90
2.1 Aerospace & Defense 38 793.47 0.0 0.0 8.2 1207.26 8.5 1.3 Flutter Entertainment PLC 15480 -25.00 Smith & Nephew PLC 1359.5 -18.50
Investment Banking and Brokerage Services (31) 1109.31 0.11 1141.50 1108.06 1107.04 1197.15 4.12 0.96 25.14 1.74 1233.63
FTSE Global All Cap ex JAPAN 7836 797.83 0.0 2.2 6.2
6.6 1246.57
1.7 General Industrials 72 277.22 0.0 0.0 9.5 472.21 10.4 1.9 Fresnillo PLC 894.80 30.60 Smith (Ds) PLC 413.60 5.90
Closed End Investments (187) 1275.83 -1.44 1312.85 1294.49 1320.68 1126.07 2.22 3.54 12.73 3.86 1383.26
FTSE Global All Cap ex Eurozone 8573 811.69 0.1 2.1 5.9
6.4 1231.21
1.7 Electronic & Electrical Equipment 145 708.14 0.7 0.7 5.8 992.27 6.1 1.1 Glaxosmithkline PLC 1277.6 -10.40 Smiths Group PLC 1566.5 29.00
Life Insurance (6) 862.01 0.03 887.02 861.74 852.72 925.99 3.46 1.98 14.62 0.00 985.12
FTSE Developed 2174 731.55 0.1 2.7 5.7
6.2 1142.57
1.7 Industrial Engineering 147 1145.21 0.3 0.3 11.7 1766.78 12.4 1.4 Glencore PLC 285.65 1.40 Smurfit Kappa Group PLC 3463 57.00
Nonlife Insurance (7) 988.61 0.50 1017.30 983.73 988.32 1014.25 2.98 1.73 19.40 0.00 1095.59
FTSE Developed All Cap 5714 770.11 0.1 2.6 6.1
6.6 1185.67
1.7 Industrial Transportation 124 985.02 0.0 0.0 7.4 1534.05 7.9 1.5 Halma PLC 2438 64.00 Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLC 11590 190.00
Real Estate (57) 870.48 1.80 895.74 855.12 856.00 1049.28 2.33 -1.59 -26.99 1.95 967.94
FTSE Developed Large Cap 861 681.30 0.1 2.8 5.1
5.6 1083.07
1.7 Support Services 87 669.76 0.0 0.0 4.2 976.68 4.5 1.0 Hargreaves Lansdown PLC 1581 39.50 Sse PLC 1457 2.00
Real Estate Investment and Services (17) 861.08 0.00 886.07 861.05 868.56 1065.35 1.02 3.06 32.01 0.30 918.16
FTSE Developed Europe Large Cap 232 408.21 0.0 2.0 3.9
4.7 768.90
2.3 Consumer Goods 534 618.89 0.2 0.2 1.3 1004.50 1.7 2.0 Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC 2319 43.00 St. James's Place PLC 1289.5 15.50
Real Estate Investment Trusts (40) 874.55 2.24 899.93 855.38 854.64 1045.35 2.65 -2.03 -18.66 2.36 979.65
FTSE Developed Europe Mid Cap 343 733.88 0.0 1.4 5.1
5.4 1204.11
1.9 Automobiles & Parts 129 641.35 0.3 0.3 4.7 1012.92 5.1 1.2 HSBC Holdings PLC 423.20 - Standard Chartered PLC 490.20 -9.30
Consumer Discretionary (89) 940.04 0.48 967.31 935.56 921.31 1054.42 1.45 1.19 58.01 0.05 1021.79
FTSE Dev Europe Small Cap 717 1028.55 0.0 1.9 6.7
7.0 1625.25
1.5 Beverages 68 718.26 0.3 0.3 -2.8 1177.13 -2.3 2.3 Imperial Brands PLC 1488.5 -3.50 Standard Life Aberdeen PLC 293.90 4.00
Automobiles and Parts (3) 491.61 -3.07 505.88 507.19 499.53 500.58 0.66 2.43 62.85 3.22 521.22
FTSE North America Large Cap 238 880.13 0.0 3.6 6.0
6.4 1289.80
1.5 Food Producers 133 716.37 0.0 0.0 -0.2 1183.63 0.1 2.2 Informa PLC 572.00 12.20 Taylor Wimpey PLC 182.75 2.30
Consumer Services (4) 953.54 1.37 981.21 940.66 908.01 1261.82 2.59 0.46 83.90 0.00 1012.84
FTSE North America Mid Cap 421 1164.20 0.0 2.8 9.8
10.2 1573.94
1.5 Household Goods & Home Construction 60 598.60 0.0 0.0 3.9 965.98 4.5 2.4 Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC 5044 69.00 Tesco PLC 227.95 -0.90
Household Goods and Home Construction (11) 937.51 -0.04 964.72 937.85 940.88 1243.82 2.32 2.66 16.20 0.00 1081.02
FTSE North America Small Cap 1296 1266.75 0.0 1.6 10.7
11.0 1650.14
1.3 Leisure Goods 44 338.34 1.3 1.3 2.5 468.81 2.9 0.9 Intermediate Capital Group PLC 1896.5 54.50 Unilever PLC 4022 -34.00
Leisure Goods (2) 1116.59 -0.59 1148.99 1123.22 1135.05 898.53 1.83 1.62 33.66 0.00 1241.47
FTSE North America 659 577.87 0.0 3.5 6.7
7.2 865.39
1.5 Personal Goods 86 1029.39 0.1 0.1 -2.3 1539.76 -2.1 1.4 International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. 209.55 11.25 United Utilities Group PLC 928.40 2.60
Personal Goods (4) 914.12 1.54 940.64 900.21 897.35 882.64 0.00 0.00 24.20 0.00 957.77
FTSE Developed ex North America 1515 303.76 0.2 1.2 3.7
4.4 554.42
2.2 Tobacco 14 970.15 -0.1 -0.1 6.8 2504.04 8.4 6.3 Intertek Group PLC 5720 118.00 Vodafone Group PLC 133.66 1.78
Media (10) 904.19 0.66 930.43 898.27 894.71 1036.44 1.81 2.72 20.33 0.02 985.42
FTSE Japan Large Cap 174 459.57 0.9 0.0 1.4
2.3 651.23
1.9 Health Care 326 683.37 0.0 0.0 -0.4 1060.12 0.2 1.8 Jd Sports Fashion PLC 850.00 25.40 Weir Group PLC 1812.5 35.50
Retailers (21) 1077.74 0.55 1109.01 1071.88 1078.43 994.19 0.50 5.09 39.15 0.00 1161.03
FTSE Japan Mid Cap 333 679.53 0.3 1.7 5.4
6.4 913.15
1.9 Health Care Equipment & Services 124 1399.05 0.0 0.0 0.6 1690.48 0.8 0.8 Johnson Matthey PLC 3014 1.00 Whitbread PLC 3490 64.00
Travel and Leisure (34) 873.65 0.24 898.99 871.59 837.64 957.91 1.07 -3.02 -30.91 0.00 937.15
FTSE Global wi JAPAN Small Cap 884 725.08 0.6 1.9 1.6
2.7 1010.11
2.0 Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 202 439.75 0.0 0.0 -1.1 727.15 -0.2 2.4 Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. 6893 205.00 Wpp PLC 934.00 13.40
Consumer Staples (27) 796.89 1.17 820.01 787.66 799.88 910.94 4.18 1.34 17.89 1.09 896.38
FTSE Japan 507 191.03 0.7 0.3 2.1
3.0 303.02
1.9 Consumer Services 442 709.73 0.0 0.0 2.9 996.46 3.1 0.8
Beverages (6) 1066.95 0.12 1097.91 1065.68 1082.05 1138.09 2.43 0.75 55.01 0.16 1145.64
FTSE Asia Pacific Large Cap ex Japan 906 912.31 0.2 -2.1 4.3
4.7 1585.48
1.9 Food & Drug Retailers 71 314.39 0.0 0.0 5.2 479.99 5.9 2.4
Food Producers (10) 906.09 1.15 932.39 895.81 890.03 970.13 1.42 3.03 23.19 0.00 965.66
Tobacco (2) 503.20 1.11 517.80 497.66 495.85 642.70 8.39 1.36 8.77 3.13 628.63
FTSE Asia Pacific Mid Cap ex Japan
FTSE Asia Pacific Small Cap ex Japan
949
2007
1089.42
683.53
0.0
0.1
1.4
-0.1
6.1
6.4
5.2
5.5
1818.43
2.4 General Retailers
1114.88
2.1 Media
146 1281.62
84 484.00
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.2 1728.74
3.1 683.41
1.4
3.3
0.6
0.7
UK STOCK MARKET TRADING DATA
Industrials (92) 1068.72 -0.06 1099.73 1069.33 1077.92 1077.43 1.57 0.90 70.85 0.85 1142.55 Apr 01 Mar 31 Mar 30 Mar 29 Mar 26 Yr Ago
FTSE Asia Pacific Ex Japan 1855 713.74 0.2 -1.8 4.5
4.8 1317.76
2.0 Travel & Leisure 141 534.95 0.1 0.1 7.4 768.24 7.7 1.0
Construction and Materials (17) 1023.66 0.14 1053.36 1022.21 1016.32 1025.37 1.84 0.14 389.88 0.00 1110.45 - - - - - -
FTSE Emerging All Cap 3513 930.09 0.1 -1.4 4.5
4.9 1534.96
2.0 Telecommunication 89 161.03 0.4 0.4 4.6 354.05 5.5 4.0
Aerospace and Defense (9) 728.38 2.07 749.51 713.64 693.54 1072.49 2.68 -2.35 -15.89 0.38 785.69 Order Book Turnover (m) 125.41 125.71 125.71 108.85 161.58 278.76
FTSE Emerging Large Cap 869 893.07 0.1 -2.0 4.1
4.4 1483.31
1.9 Fixed Line Telecommuniations 37 120.50 0.0 0.0 3.6 298.26 4.8 5.3
Electronic and Electrical Equipment (10) 1258.63 -1.41 1295.15 1276.67 1288.56 1149.01 1.41 1.93 36.90 0.00 1332.18 Order Book Bargains 913455.00 913455.00 913455.00 915969.00 988649.00 816382.00
FTSE Emerging Mid Cap 995 1104.30 0.0 1.5 5.5
5.8 1822.42
2.6 Mobile Telecommunications 52 194.81 0.6 0.6 5.8 373.20 6.2 3.2
General Industrials (9) 1131.16 -0.16 1163.98 1132.93 1149.08 984.13 2.02 1.32 37.62 0.00 1218.41 Order Book Shares Traded (m) 1544.00 1544.00 1544.00 1395.00 1787.00 1300.00
FTSE Emerging Small Cap 1649 915.09 0.1 0.2 7.4
7.6 1447.22
2.2 Utilities 198 320.27 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 708.81 0.7 3.2
Industrial Engineering (4) 1390.22 -0.87 1430.56 1402.41 1430.79 1108.40 0.61 4.28 38.62 0.00 1457.80 Total Equity Turnover (£m) 7800.26 7827.02 7827.02 6770.90 5994.83 5558.51
FTSE Emerging Europe 84 382.26 0.6 -0.3 3.2
3.6 727.55
4.7 Electricity 137 360.97 -0.1 -0.1 0.0 788.51 0.9 3.2
Industrial Support Services (32) 1075.86 -0.29 1107.08 1079.02 1099.41 1122.63 1.30 2.09 36.74 1.82 1142.78 Total Mkt Bargains 1200367.00 1200367.00 1200367.00 1191646.00 1235853.00 1036247.00
FTSE Latin America All Cap 246 768.06 0.0 3.1 -6.6
-5.8 1327.48
2.6 Gas Water & Multiutilities 61 319.42 -0.1 -0.1 -0.4 727.79 0.2 3.2
Industrial Transportation (11) 1433.48 -0.15 1475.08 1435.60 1450.63 1032.73 0.84 4.20 28.21 1.79 1547.27 Total Shares Traded (m) 9416.00 9416.00 9416.00 19781.00 12977.00 9018.00
FTSE Middle East and Africa All Cap 326 726.97 0.0 4.3 11.3
12.4 2.6 Financials
1268.93 863 277.32 0.0 0.0 9.9 506.85 10.5 2.5
Basic Materials (25) 1519.47 -0.33 1563.56 1524.57 1526.33 1076.65 3.04 2.60 12.65 0.34 1759.41 FTSE Global wi UNITED KINGDOM All Cap In 291 336.36 0.0 1.2 6.1
7.1 2.9 Banks
648.79 267 212.39 -0.1 -0.1 15.2 426.81 16.1 2.7 † Excluding intra-market and overseas turnover. *UK only total at 6pm. ‡ UK plus intra-market turnover. (u) Unavaliable.
Industrial Materials (1) 968.08 -1.16 996.17 979.47 968.08 871.49 0.48 6.38 32.83 0.00 1067.85 (c) Market closed.
FTSE Global wi USA All Cap 1774 1005.88 0.0 3.2 7.1
7.5 1.4 Nonlife Insurance
1422.33 71 320.40 0.0 0.0 7.1 505.90 7.6 3.7
Industrial Metals and Mining (12) 1682.15 -0.15 1730.96 1684.61 1687.44 1142.34 3.15 2.73 11.61 0.10 1989.87
FTSE Europe All Cap 1447 491.63 0.0 1.8 4.3
5.0 2.2 Life Insurance
889.19 53 254.01 0.0 0.0 9.3 458.59 9.9 3.0
Precious Metals and Mining (5) 1139.72 -1.50 1172.79 1157.06 1154.28 1056.62 3.69 1.05 25.69 0.00 1252.95
FTSE Eurozone All Cap 654 488.97 0.0 2.7 5.5
5.8 1.8 Financial Services
877.92 211 447.87 0.0 0.0 6.6 661.90 7.0 1.3
Chemicals (7) 1067.32 -1.60 1098.28 1084.70 1082.40 895.29 1.59 1.84 34.06 2.13 1138.42 All data provided by Morningstar unless otherwise noted. All elements listed are indicative and believed
FTSE EDHEC-Risk Efficient All-World 4038 505.08 0.0 3.1 7.0
7.5 1.9 Technology
765.08 330 555.02 0.1 0.1 6.7 713.40 6.9 0.8
Energy (13) 526.72 0.60 542.00 523.57 510.60 759.33 4.47 0.77 28.95 4.93 626.22 accurate at the time of publication. No offer is made by Morningstar or the FT. The FT does not warrant nor
FTSE EDHEC-Risk Efficient Developed Europe 575 389.31 0.0 2.0 4.3
4.7 1.9 Software & Computer Services
652.17 176 904.49 0.0 0.0 7.6 1084.13 7.7 0.5
Oil. Gas and Coal (13) 527.46 0.60 542.76 524.31 511.31 760.39 4.47 0.77 28.95 4.94 627.10 guarantee that the information is reliable or complete. The FT does not accept responsibility and will not be
Oil & Gas 130 300.26 0.0 1.5 16.4
17.6 567.43
4.1 Technology Hardware & Equipment 154 450.07 0.2 0.2 5.5 618.12 5.8 1.2
Utilities (10) 933.62 1.01 960.71 924.27 943.43 1161.70 5.15 1.16 16.78 4.07 1116.19 Oil & Gas Producers 89 285.00 0.0 1.0 18.0
19.2 550.34
4.1 Alternative Energy 15 234.68 0.0 0.0 -12.6 333.55 -12.6 0.4 liable for any loss arising from the reliance on or use of the listed information.
Real Estate Investment & Services 162 371.79 -0.1 -0.1 3.6 688.92 4.1 2.5 For all queries e-mail ft.reader.enquiries@morningstar.com
Hourly movements 8.00 9.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 High/day Low/day Real Estate Investment Trusts 99 485.54 0.0 0.0 6.8 1078.05 7.5 3.4
FTSE 100 6762.87 6748.01 6751.43 6746.14 6754.94 6767.50 6756.14 6748.02 6720.47 6775.54 6713.63 FTSE Global Large Cap 1730 683.70 0.1 0.1 5.0 1090.63 5.5 1.8
FTSE 250 21565.25 21583.56 21572.02 21567.44 21581.50 21576.72 21558.95 21559.59 21534.69 21603.48 21518.71 The FTSE Global Equity Series, launched in 2003, contains the FTSE Global Small Cap Indices and broader FTSE Global All Cap Indices (large/mid/small cap) as well as the enhanced FTSE All-World index Series (large/
Data provided by Morningstar | www.morningstar.co.uk
FTSE SmallCap 6791.11 6791.97 6790.64 6790.55 6786.23 6787.43 6785.82 6788.19 6791.35 6803.07 6779.80 mid cap) - please see https://research.ftserussell.com/Products/indices/Home/indexfiltergeis?indexName=GEISAC&currency=USD&rtn=CAP&segment=global-developed–emerging. The trade names Fundamental Index®
FTSE All-Share 3854.87 3848.79 3849.93 3847.41 3851.73 3857.24 3851.54 3847.96 3834.85 3861.78 3831.05 and RAFI® are registered trademarks and the patented and patent-pending proprietary intellectual property of Research Affiliates, LLC (US Patent Nos. 7,620,577; 7,747,502; 7,778,905; 7,792,719; Patent Pending Publ.
Time of FTSE 100 Day's high:07:20:00 Day's Low15:35:29 FTSE 100 2010/11 High: 6873.26(08/01/2021) Low: 6407.46(29/01/2021) Nos. US-2006-0149645-A1, US-2007-0055598-A1, US-2008-0288416-A1, US-2010- 0063942-A1, WO 2005/076812, WO 2007/078399 A2, WO 2008/118372, EPN 1733352, and HK1099110). ”EDHEC™” is a trade mark
Time of FTSE All-Share Day's high:07:20:00 Day's Low15:45:40 FTSE 100 2010/11 High: 3880.43(08/01/2021) Low: 3641.93(29/01/2021) of EDHEC Business School As of January 2nd 2006, FTSE is basing its sector indices on the Industrial Classification Benchmark - please see www.ftse.com/icb. For constituent changes and other information about FTSE,
Further information is available on http://www.ftse.com © FTSE International Limited. 2013. All Rights reserved. ”FTSE®” is a trade mark of the please see www.ftse.com. © FTSE International Limited. 2013. All Rights reserved. ”FTSE®” is a trade mark of the London Stock Exchange Group companies and is used by FTSE International Limited under licence.
London Stock Exchange Group companies and is used by FTSE International Limited under licence. † Sector P/E ratios greater than 80 are not shown.
For changes to FTSE Fledgling Index constituents please refer to www.ftse.com/indexchanges. ‡ Values are negative.

UK RIGHTS OFFERS UK COMPANY RESULTS UK RECENT EQUITY ISSUES

Amount Latest Company Turnover Pre-tax EPS(p) Div(p) Pay day Total Issue Issue Stock Close Mkt
Issue paid renun. closing Contango Holdings Int 0.000 0.000 1.130L 0.029L 0.920L 0.070L 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000 date price(p) Sector code Stock price(p) +/- High Low Cap (£m)
price up date High Low Stock Price p +or- Crimson Tide Pre 3.542 2.921 0.532 0.352 0.160 0.080 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000 03/31 390.00 ROO Deliveroo Holdings PLC 282.00 -5.45 390.39 271.00 0.0
There are currently no rights offers by any companies listed on the LSE. 03/31 200.00 AIM MEAL Parsley Box Group PLC 187.50 2.50 211.80 180.00 7858.9
03/29 168.00 AIM AOM ActiveOps PLC 190.50 0.50 194.00 183.00 13586.6
03/22 5.00 ROQ Roquefort Investments PLC 8.25 0.00 9.00 7.00 267.3
03/12 175.00 AIM AMTE Amte Power PLC 255.00 9.00 337.03 175.00 8839.8
03/08 88.00 AIM TEAM Team PLC 87.00 0.00 91.90 84.00 1440.7
03/02 197.00 AIM VINO Virgin Wines UK PLC 225.00 0.00 236.65 200.00 12563.5
02/23 600.00 ATG Auction Technology Group PLC 847.40 27.40 889.90 734.63 84740.0

Figures in £m. Earnings shown basic. Figures in light text are for corresponding period year earlier. §Placing price. *Intoduction. ‡When issued. Annual report/prospectus available at www.ft.com/ir
For more information on dividend payments visit www.ft.com/marketsdata For a full explanation of all the other symbols please refer to London Share Service notes.
Tuesday 6 April 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 11

MARKET DATA

FT500: THE WORLD'S LARGEST COMPANIES

52 Week 52 Week 52 Week 52 Week 52 Week 52 Week
Stock Price Day Chg High Low Yld P/E MCap m Stock Price Day Chg High Low Yld P/E MCap m Stock Price Day Chg High Low Yld P/E MCap m Stock Price Day Chg High Low Yld P/E MCap m Stock Price Day Chg High Low Yld P/E MCap m Stock Price Day Chg High Low Yld P/E MCap m
Australia (A$) Finland (€) Japan (¥) Sweden (SKr) AT&T 30.71 0.24 33.24 26.35 6.88 -40.29 219016.46 Lowes 194.11 2.79 194.67 81.15 1.25 25.44 139226.73
ANZ 28.24 0.06 29.55 15.07 3.75 23.11 61096.29 Nokia 3.46 0.06 4.95 2.70 - 24.53 23121.03 AstellasPh 1719 5.50 1982 0.00 2.59 21.22 29059 AtlasCpcoB 460.40 5.90 463.30 267.80 1.51 36.06 20592.46 AutomData 192.90 3.50 193.44 126.69 1.93 32.89 82549.67 Lyondell 105.38 -0.18 112.73 44.33 4.05 24.39 35209.22
BHPBilltn 45.65 0.35 50.93 28.76 3.50 24.97 102243.73 SampoA 38.63 0.16 40.37 24.58 4.14 16.70 25175.68 Bridgestne 4410 3.00 4631 3045 3.31 35.27 28577.74 Ericsson 116.30 0.75 118.05 77.98 1.34 25.71 40956.36 Avago Tech 485.56 9.61 495.14 230.55 2.88 71.39 198253.24 Marathon Ptl 54.26 -1.54 59.93 18.27 4.35 -3.14 35338.17
CmwBkAu 86.21 0.11 89.20 57.00 3.55 23.47 116284 France (€) Canon 2548.5 19.00 2569.5 0.00 5.28 38.49 30862.99 H&M 195.42 -1.33 229.50 112.70 2.59 104.56 32717.96 BakerHu 22.08 0.09 31.26 20.09 3.06 -1.60 11412.93 Marsh&M 124.85 1.70 124.92 78.95 1.50 31.18 63447.09
CSL 263.00 -1.65 332.68 242.00 1.15 32.16 91005.26 Airbus Grpe 100.42 3.88 103.98 48.21 - -11.79 92828.66 CntJpRwy 16620 320.00 19165 0.00 0.91 -29.59 31086.58 Investor 703.60 7.20 704.30 429.10 1.93 6.56 36733.61 BankAm 39.98 0.49 40.28 19.68 1.83 21.03 344874.42 MasterCard 369.31 6.01 389.50 230.31 0.56 57.04 363824.61
NatAusBk 26.10 0.10 27.10 15.00 4.36 23.46 65456.9 AirLiquide 139.58 0.28 144.45 109.15 2.07 27.39 77759.18 Denso 7373 132.00 7765 0.00 2.06-211.25 52749.06 Nordea Bk 86.60 0.60 87.27 52.42 - 14.14 40200.55 Baxter 85.46 1.14 95.19 74.79 1.14 39.47 43166.18 McDonald's 229.15 3.94 231.91 156.15 2.24 35.73 170847.86
Telstra 3.40 - 3.54 2.66 3.02 22.24 30744.41 AXA 23.01 0.12 23.25 13.34 3.39 18.59 65434.16 EastJpRwy 7814 79.00 8881 0.00 1.84 -7.83 26814.04 SEB♦ 107.00 0.55 111.60 63.34 - 13.78 26614.09 BectonDick 246.65 5.07 284.97 219.50 1.32 46.76 71665.46 McKesson 194.94 1.37 198.43 123.24 0.87 -7.19 31028.1
Wesfarmers 53.02 0.35 56.40 34.00 2.94 31.03 45706.36 BNP Parib 52.15 0.27 53.66 24.51 - 9.34 76651.76 Fanuc 27880 -165.00 29700 0.00 0.75 68.33 51115.34 SvnskaHn 95.70 0.84 101.20 71.70 - 11.32 21332.73 BerkshHat 395017 4657 407750250926.02 - 14.57 252710.94 Medtronic 119.63 1.44 120.53 84.78 2.01 42.66 161269.95
Westpc 24.54 0.13 25.30 14.53 3.29 38.23 68447.74 ChristianDior 520.50 3.50 524.00 298.40 0.99 48.24 110495.31 FastRetail 92600 2130 110500 0.00 0.57 95.93 89185.28 Swedbank 153.10 -0.80 165.90 99.14 - 12.38 19864.98 Biogen 278.23 -0.48 363.92 223.25 - 11.04 42384.37 Merck♦ 77.53 0.44 87.80 71.72 3.25 27.44 196175.37
Woolworths♦ 40.92 0.05 42.05 33.82 2.36 35.57 39367.37 Cred Agr 12.44 0.09 12.65 6.00 - 8.55 42664.68 Fuji Hvy Ind 2202.5 46.50 2683.5 1671.5 2.76 13.53 15382.12 Telia Co 37.99 0.16 39.16 30.75 5.71 48.61 17808.1 BkNYMeln 48.39 0.92 48.45 31.24 2.75 9.92 42435.68 Metlife 61.69 0.09 62.67 26.82 3.00 10.69 54558.59
Belgium (€) Danone 58.22 -0.28 65.68 46.03 - 18.73 47013.49 Hitachi 4901 -46.00 5515 0.00 2.21 12.80 43070.83 Volvo♦■ 210.35 -10.55 240.80 111.80 - 20.61 38298.73 BlackRock 786.55 19.72 788.00 411.03 1.88 24.30 120054.77 Microsoft 248.85 6.50 249.75 152.19 0.85 36.491876880.39
AnBshInBv 53.77 0.02 59.51 35.11 2.44 -38.08 107074.71 EDF 11.44 - 13.58 6.55 1.40 20.21 41706.62 HondaMtr 3319 46.00 3475 0.00 2.74 12.69 54588.74 Boeing 259.11 6.15 278.57 113.89 0.81 -12.21 151060.32 Mnstr Bvrg 93.68 2.32 95.11 53.67 - 34.91 49475.88
Switzerland (SFr)
KBC Grp 62.80 0.80 65.66 39.46 1.70 15.77 30775.51 Engie SA 12.12 0.02 13.87 8.63 - -25.22 34717.76 JapanTob 2091 15.00 2234 0.00 8.26 11.41 37971.58 Booking Holdings 2402.58 20.12 2469.58 1203.08 - 1641.54 98413.99 MondelezInt♦ 59.15 0.71 60.23 48.77 2.06 23.56 83526.58
ABB 28.79 0.23 29.49 16.15 2.76 215.62 66176.5
EssilorLuxottica 138.44 -0.41 142.80 94.40 - -4319.83 71478.53 KDDI 3521 60.00 3673 2604 3.70 11.34 73664.3 BrisMySq♦ 63.30 0.37 67.16 54.07 2.95 -15.61 141396.47 Monsanto 9.75 - 9.85 9.51 - - 243.75
Brazil (R$) CredSuisse 10.16 0.26 13.50 7.15 1.50 6.05 26365.35
Hermes Intl 956.60 12.60 1018 592.20 0.51 84.80 118767.14 Keyence 52390-1010.00 59310 34440 0.41 64.15 115691.2 CapOne 132.99 3.21 134.70 39.90 0.76 25.21 60727.23 MorganStly 78.41 0.19 86.64 32.86 1.92 12.32 146668.92
Ambev 15.35 0.35 16.91 10.68 3.45 26.02 42725.88 Nestle 105.52 0.18 112.62 95.00 2.76 22.80 322293.26
LOreal 323.85 -2.95 329.10 231.20 1.25 48.56 213235.95 MitsbCp 3130 92.00 3298 0.00 4.68 13.04 42223.77 CardinalHlth♦ 60.70 -0.18 62.96 44.65 3.25 12.84 17825.62 MylanNV 15.86 0.31 23.11 12.75 - -14.73 8586.21
Bradesco 22.84 0.14 25.15 15.02 1.18 6.85 17918.98 Novartis 81.15 0.38 89.34 70.42 3.58 24.17 212247.02
LVMH 571.70 3.60 573.80 316.10 0.85 58.31 339374.07 MitsubEst 1940.5 12.50 2047.5 0.00 1.68 16.00 24514.22 Carnival 28.04 1.18 30.12 8.02 1.86 -2.04 26142.23 Netflix 537.70 -1.73 593.29 357.51 - 87.01 238142.57
Cielo 3.67 0.05 5.93 3.15 1.96 18.40 1763.76 Richemont 92.10 1.36 93.10 49.50 1.19 197.68 50968.67
Orange 10.47 -0.04 11.68 8.63 5.10 10.00 32747.82 MitsubishiEle 1695 -5.00 1785.5 0.00 2.30 19.74 33045.86 Caterpillar 234.99 2.25 237.78 100.22 1.78 42.34 128141.88 NextEraE 77.27 1.50 87.69 54.39 1.84 51.37 151560.86
ItauHldFin 24.51 0.04 29.38 19.50 3.67 12.03 21497.51 Roche 305.40 -0.05 357.85 290.55 3.18 17.13 227471.66
PernodRic 161.40 1.35 166.45 125.15 1.73 145.78 49708.19 MitsuiFud 2493.5 13.50 2675 1645.5 1.91 12.36 21854.37 Celgene 108.24 0.11 110.70 58.59 - 12.71 77035.98 Nike 135.06 2.53 147.95 77.91 0.78 73.32 171719.56
Petrobras 23.65 0.03 32.34 14.81 2.41 -6.08 31135.88 Swiss Re 93.50 0.54 94.96 58.52 6.83 -19.06 31472.03
Renault 37.96 1.03 41.42 15.77 - -1.15 13201.95 MitUFJFin 610.60 18.10 660.30 383.40 4.59 15.03 75299.94 CharlesSch 68.29 1.85 68.86 31.63 1.07 31.69 123130.28 NorfolkS 275.24 4.06 275.34 140.68 1.39 34.54 74929.25
Vale 102.45 5.06 104.00 39.76 4.62 33.73 95769.48 Swisscom 510.80 3.80 548.00 456.30 4.65 16.03 28052.41
Safran 119.66 3.61 127.45 63.00 - 71.80 60123.55 Mizuho Fin 1626.5 44.50 1732.5 1163 2.75 37.78 37500.25 Charter Comms 602.33 -6.25 681.71 425.99 - 38.48 129665.45 Northrop 330.34 8.10 357.12 282.88 1.74 17.08 55073.75
Canada (C$) Syngent 453.40 0.90 471.20 402.50 - 28.99 43035.76
Sanofi 84.20 -0.05 95.82 74.92 4.00 8.90 124668.25 Murata Mfg 9316 -72.00 10835 0.00 1.22 35.82 57163.18 Chevron Corp 105.51 -0.24 112.70 65.16 4.97 -35.07 203252.01 NXP 213.66 5.58 214.99 72.86 0.711167.86 58916.07
BCE♦ 57.63 0.45 60.14 52.52 5.75 22.71 41642.17 UBS 14.88 0.25 15.24 8.58 2.45 9.71 60877.56
Sant Gbn 50.59 0.27 51.42 21.26 2.62 19.69 31692.92 NipponTT 2873.5 21.50 3018 2127 3.68 10.99 101774.35 Chubb♦ 160.19 1.20 179.01 93.10 1.96 20.23 72119.28 Occid Pet♦ 25.53 -1.85 32.52 8.52 3.26 -1.60 23831.25
BkMontrl 113.79 0.79 113.93 61.05 3.69 13.98 58816.1 Zurich Fin 406.70 3.30 411.30 271.10 4.89 16.68 64873.73
Schneider 131.40 1.15 131.42 71.40 2.07 31.14 87631.2 Nissan Mt 591.30 11.70 664.50 311.20 - -1.98 22660.47 Cigna 244.06 2.23 248.84 158.84 0.02 10.46 84782.03 Oracle 74.53 2.72 74.65 48.95 1.34 21.77 214909.86
BkNvaS♦ 78.51 -0.49 80.16 49.11 4.55 14.88 76054.41 Nomura 596.80 24.60 721.00 402.50 4.54 6.20 17522.03 Taiwan (NT$) Cisco♦ 52.75 0.77 52.94 35.28 2.76 21.81 222699.19 Pepsico 143.84 2.56 148.77 122.44 2.84 27.64 198504.8
SFR Group 34.50 - 34.56 21.87 - -23.02 17905.81
Brookfield 57.15 0.98 57.72 38.77 1.10-1158.63 71965.88 Nppn Stl 1870.5 43.50 1954 0.00 - -8.03 16139.97 Chunghwa Telecom 111.50 - 117.00 106.50 3.99 24.87 30343.95 Citigroup 73.12 -0.02 76.13 36.67 2.84 15.21 152578.52 Perrigo 40.61 -0.07 58.83 38.20 2.25 -33.58 5424.16
SocGen 22.68 0.37 23.01 10.77 - -25.95 22761.93
CanadPcR♦ 486.39 3.22 489.37 297.26 0.73 27.10 51791.56 NTTDCMo 3880 - 3928 2678 3.25 19.99 120882.79 Formosa PetChem 96.70 -0.10 104.00 77.80 3.16 204.71 32315.77 CME Grp 207.82 1.73 216.75 146.89 1.66 34.83 74616.61 Pfizer 36.44 0.14 43.08 29.95 4.24 28.91 203248.82
Total 39.10 -0.68 42.19 24.51 7.04 -19.12 120929.94
CanImp♦ 124.46 0.64 127.13 76.32 4.65 13.73 44554.12 Panasonic 1424 -11.50 1520 733.50 1.90 17.25 31723.57 HonHaiPrc 121.50 -3.00 134.50 69.40 3.64 15.58 59089.75 Coca-Cola 53.06 0.55 54.93 43.20 3.14 29.16 228652.08 Phillips66 82.65 -0.51 90.59 43.27 4.43 -8.98 36189.58
UnibailR 190.00 0.35 236.45 177.35 2.94 -7.05 22215.04
CanNatRs 38.64 -0.98 41.05 16.55 4.30 -78.30 36594.17 Seven & I 4553 21.00 4606 2937.5 2.38 20.41 36645.66 MediaTek 961.00 -17.00 1010 336.50 1.15 44.51 53612.74 Cognizant 80.19 1.31 82.73 43.01 1.12 30.70 42549.96 PhilMorris 89.06 1.00 91.25 66.85 5.41 16.98 138802.26
Vinci 89.92 2.56 92.38 63.40 1.46 38.86 62553.8
CanNatRy 148.70 0.91 149.18 105.68 1.54 29.78 84440.25 ShnEtsuCh 19190 30.00 19710 9792 1.24 26.24 72599.62 TaiwanSem 602.00 4.00 679.00 270.00 1.75 29.67 547626.31 ColgtPlm 79.83 1.28 86.41 65.54 2.23 25.01 67657.8 PNCFin 178.29 0.88 184.33 84.02 2.62 27.58 75596.49
Vivendi 28.00 - 32.35 18.81 2.29 17.26 39074.45
Enbridge 46.17 -0.06 46.96 35.80 7.01 31.24 74704.96 Softbank 9993 206.00 10695 3676 0.48 22.82 189617.42 Thailand (THB) Comcast 54.84 0.09 58.59 33.41 1.71 23.66 250662.4 PPG Inds 153.28 1.32 156.57 80.17 1.39 33.97 36319.14
GtWesLif 33.76 0.19 33.85 19.13 5.18 10.66 25034.99 Germany (€)
Sony 12330 130.00 12545 0.00 0.44 13.17 141179.96 PTT Explor♦ 40.00 -0.50 45.00 30.50 3.41 28.44 36380.12 ConocPhil 52.85 -1.18 61.14 27.53 3.25 -20.71 71454.41 Praxair 164.50 -0.99 169.75 140.00 2.22 36.91 47306.22
ImpOil 31.00 -0.58 32.67 14.86 2.84 -12.27 18178.2 Allianz 217.20 0.15 219.65 139.78 4.72 12.69 105315.85
SumitomoF 4053 126.00 4354 2544.5 5.22 149.64 50565.07 United Arab Emirates (Dhs) Corning 45.59 1.60 45.64 17.82 1.96 83.06 35066.19 ProctGmbl 136.69 2.41 146.92 111.25 2.32 25.42 336595.85
Manulife 27.47 0.19 27.68 15.36 4.07 9.39 42598.03 BASF 71.05 0.21 72.84 40.42 4.89 -42.75 76746.92
Takeda Ph 4024 -17.00 4365 3210 4.85 32.34 57649.88 Emirtestele♦ 22.10 0.04 22.10 13.90 3.87 20.07 52325.93 Costco 360.96 6.02 393.15 285.80 0.79 35.61 159737 Prudntl 93.14 0.43 95.49 45.04 4.80 -91.63 36827.07
Nutrien♦ 69.34 0.92 74.34 41.50 3.30 67.28 31569.41 Bayer 53.23 -0.73 73.63 39.91 5.61 -3.07 61501.15
TokioMarine 5322 57.00 5746 4368 3.97 23.48 33704.95 United Kingdom (p) CrownCstl 176.45 1.99 180.00 142.61 2.84 73.87 76259.43 PublStor 253.12 1.18 253.54 172.11 3.21 39.59 44242.78
RylBkC 116.93 0.93 117.97 80.72 3.66 14.60 133054.13 BMW 88.67 0.20 90.04 43.61 3.01 15.70 62776.56
Toyota 8461 -1.00 8712 0.00 2.82 12.05 250676.19 CSX 98.70 1.44 98.78 55.90 1.07 26.97 74962.24 Qualcomm 139.77 1.98 167.94 64.55 1.87 23.55 158778.72
Suncor En 26.25 -0.77 29.55 14.28 4.17 -9.29 31917.91 Continental 114.06 1.36 130.85 58.50 2.80 -14.58 26828.98 AscBrFd 2451 36.00 2796.19 1613.5 1.40 42.55 26818.05
Mexico (Mex$) CVS 74.98 0.68 77.23 54.35 2.71 13.49 98325.39 Raytheon 116.96 -5.47 233.48 103.00 2.98 10.60 32566.46
ThmReut 112.97 0.52 115.66 89.89 1.79 22.39 44653.91 Daimler♦ 75.34 -0.67 76.28 24.30 1.26 21.13 94791.9 AstraZen 7172 -75.00 10120 6736 2.86 40.18 125535.16
AmerMvl 14.25 0.29 15.93 12.33 2.49 13.52 31956.42 Danaher♦ 226.77 1.69 248.86 134.00 0.32 45.63 161702.31 Regen Pharm 480.71 5.78 664.64 441.00 - 15.50 50610.56
TntoDom 83.55 1.09 83.65 53.19 3.75 12.79 121375.3 Deut Bank 10.27 0.08 11.25 5.39 - -13.02 24957.81 Aviva 409.10 0.90 413.30 220.80 2.32 7.45 22691.42
FEMSA UBD 159.00 4.91 162.97 112.72 1.86 313.25 16949.17 Deere♦ 376.91 4.79 392.42 117.85 0.82 34.08 118136.7 S&P Global 366.03 3.38 379.87 236.02 0.74 37.28 88171.66
TrnCan♦ 58.60 -0.11 67.89 50.61 5.52 12.38 45790.11 Deut Tlkm 17.25 0.08 17.36 11.30 3.66 18.63 96595.52 Barclays 184.00 -1.92 210.45 80.00 - 13.64 43394
WalMrtMex 65.97 1.50 70.40 49.81 0.82 36.53 56818.01 Delphi 17.02 0.31 18.51 5.39 - -7.42 1469.67 Salesforce 220.09 1.37 284.50 131.66 - 53.76 202702.89
ValeantPh 30.80 -1.06 36.02 14.01 - -15.33 8158.48 DeutsPost 46.52 -0.20 46.85 23.59 2.64 21.71 67789.06 BP 289.80 -4.85 376.54 188.52 9.70 -3.50 79828.46
Delta 50.57 1.74 52.28 17.51 0.81 -2.55 32271.08 Schlmbrg♦ 27.79 -0.32 30.41 13.70 3.20 -3.61 38850.78
E.ON 9.95 0.03 10.81 8.27 4.93 20.29 30911.17 Netherlands (€) BrAmTob 2715.5 -58.50 3308.5 2422.5 5.67 9.81 69974.22
China (HK$) Devon Energy 22.88 -0.62 26.13 7.56 1.87 -3.32 15400.53 Sempra Energy♦ 134.84 3.04 137.47 103.30 3.15 20.16 40816.86
Fresenius Med 62.78 0.06 79.96 55.18 2.01 15.07 21623.89 Altice 5.34 0.00 6.86 2.26 - -4.03 9137.97 BSkyB 1727.5 1.50 1740 893.50 0.76 36.60 38843.72
AgricBkCh 3.12 0.01 3.30 2.38 7.13 4.82 12333.03 DiscFinServ 98.14 0.94 104.49 27.51 1.82 26.82 30064.7 Shrwin-Will 254.77 5.02 256.00 138.75 2.14 11.35 22827.87
Fresenius SE 37.80 -0.18 46.51 31.03 2.37 10.91 20104.82 ASML Hld 529.30 12.30 536.30 222.40 0.51 59.34 261131.39 BT 156.45 1.65 157.73 94.68 2.95 10.29 21454.03
Bk China 2.95 -0.01 3.19 2.33 7.92 4.39 31722.95 Disney 188.58 -0.39 203.02 92.71 - -68.21 342315.75 SimonProp 114.91 -0.29 121.92 44.19 5.31 31.49 37711.3
HenkelKgaA 84.35 -0.10 86.15 63.80 2.32 19.40 25771.82 Heineken 88.36 0.74 94.48 70.58 2.03 51.38 59856.04 Compass 1495 33.50 1721.63 1023.55 1.80 186.88 33981.01
BkofComm 4.95 - 5.09 3.66 7.78 4.61 22286.8 DominRes 76.63 0.91 87.34 67.85 4.58 41.42 61759.98 SouthCpr 72.10 2.69 83.15 26.58 2.11 34.94 55734.72
Linde 237.45 -1.45 239.50 146.35 1.39 58.76 146004.36 ING 10.43 -0.01 10.71 4.51 - 21.73 47828.24 Diageo♦ 3007 17.50 3125.1 2253 2.32 62.00 104623.9
BOE Tech 0.75 - 1.10 0.48 - -4.84 19.19 DowDupont 30.52 -0.65 48.38 30.06 3.63 -8.38 68559.76 Starbucks 110.96 1.58 112.34 60.90 1.54 191.52 130627.32
MuenchRkv 264.30 1.70 267.10 170.30 3.95 28.43 43547.16 Unilever 47.32 -0.27 53.66 43.00 - 23.13 171936.14 GlaxoSmh♦ 1277.6 -10.40 1772.51 1190.8 6.26 10.11 86837.68
Ch Coms Cons 3.83 0.01 5.49 3.21 7.43 3.30 2176.23 DukeEner 97.46 1.18 98.88 75.58 3.98 56.07 74964 StateSt♦ 85.60 0.65 87.89 50.86 2.47 13.33 30112.91
SAP 106.78 2.36 143.32 89.93 1.58 24.49 154274.59 Norway (Kr) Glencore 285.65 1.40 329.26 2.44 2.80 -14.12 56948.16
Ch Evrbrght 3.39 - 3.97 2.40 7.68 4.79 5527.17 Eaton 142.71 3.22 142.99 70.34 2.08 40.23 56850.45 Stryker♦ 247.78 4.83 250.02 146.55 0.97 58.04 93245.69
Siemens 140.80 0.80 141.92 66.49 2.91 25.89 140750.33 DNB 182.00 -0.50 188.20 105.05 - 15.12 33075.04 HSBC 423.20 - 466.54 281.50 - 30.45 117273.63
Ch Rail Cons 5.15 0.12 8.95 4.07 4.93 3.22 1375.07 eBay 63.81 0.70 64.85 28.80 1.02 17.73 43419.24 Sychrony Fin 42.20 0.54 43.61 12.98 2.12 18.29 24639.81
Volkswgn 306.60 -2.60 357.40 113.20 1.67 35.60 106403.08 Equinor 167.30 -1.30 176.80 116.30 4.81 -18.16 63667.43 Imperial Brands 1488.5 -3.50 1758 1142 12.48 9.41 19620.72
Ch Rail Gp 4.20 0.09 4.85 3.33 4.87 3.35 2272.45 Ecolab♦ 219.63 2.78 231.36 146.58 0.92 49.85 62829.91 T-MobileUS 130.03 2.38 135.54 81.04 - 53.98 161601.82
Hong Kong (HK$) Telenor 150.50 -0.10 163.80 138.25 5.44 19.82 24688.31 LlydsBkg 42.77 0.24 59.94 23.59 - 35.64 42602.14
ChConstBk 6.52 -0.02 6.74 4.93 5.99 5.51 201577.9 Emerson 92.43 2.02 93.38 45.37 2.20 26.36 55460.74 Target 205.06 4.34 205.27 90.17 1.39 25.31 102243.74
AIA 94.90 0.60 109.30 61.25 1.49 24.21 147604.64 Natl Grid 863.50 -0.50 998.80 805.40 5.62 20.37 40058.56
China Vanke 29.15 -1.30 35.00 22.95 4.23 6.67 7098.09 Qatar (QR) EOG Res 72.75 -2.59 77.15 31.22 1.97 -68.82 42460.29 TE Connect 133.50 2.71 136.01 57.53 1.45 469.09 44173.65
BOC Hold 26.95 -0.20 29.00 20.05 6.40 8.42 36641.87 Natwest Group♦ 196.70 0.45 199.35 90.54 - -31.73 32530.5
ChinaCitic 3.97 0.02 4.05 2.93 7.40 4.02 7597.79 QatarNtBk 17.84 -0.11 19.18 16.35 3.40 14.82 45246.86 EquityResTP 72.15 -0.36 76.13 45.43 3.40 28.97 26887.65 Tesla Mtrs 694.67 32.92 900.40 93.68 - 1067.91 666782.39
Ch OSLnd&Inv 20.20 - 28.50 14.92 5.66 4.42 28430.8 Prudential 1551.5 11.00 1586 861.00 2.39 38.19 55479.59
ChinaLife 16.14 0.08 21.90 13.74 5.57 7.29 15444.53 Russia (RUB) Exelon 44.60 0.69 46.02 32.39 3.49 21.83 43558.61 TexasInstr 195.85 3.79 196.51 98.85 1.93 32.28 180228.85
ChngKng 47.10 -0.10 50.55 35.65 5.00 7.62 22370.56 ReckittB 6498 6.00 8020 5782 2.69 -16.80 63133.6
ChinaMBank 60.35 1.00 69.45 33.20 2.43 13.77 35629.11 Gzprm neft 185.71 -3.02 272.68 158.17 - -71.33 58976.64 ExpScripts 92.33 -3.47 101.73 66.93 - 11.10 52061.19 TheTrvelers 151.06 0.44 161.19 85.10 2.27 14.13 38099.6
Citic Ltd 7.37 0.01 8.43 5.20 7.08 4.03 27570.59 RELX 1835 16.00 2000 1484.9 2.49 29.03 49010.79
ChinaMob 51.05 0.10 63.75 39.00 7.18 8.05 134418.68 Lukoil 4745.5 -157.00 6810 3663 10.47 32.79 44107.51 ExxonMb 56.76 -0.63 62.55 31.11 6.23 -10.64 240294.75 ThrmoFshr♦ 466.61 10.31 532.57 278.79 0.19 28.76 183747.92
Citic Secs 18.70 0.80 21.45 13.06 3.27 13.56 5478.83 RioTinto♦■ 5480 -70.00 6561 3519 5.13 12.49 101582.09
ChinaPcIns 31.85 1.20 42.75 20.10 4.64 9.85 11367.07 MmcNrlskNckl 20150 -66.00 23656 13352 5.44 13.99 42774.79 Facebook 309.81 11.15 309.95 150.83 - 30.21 745231.97 TimeWrnr 98.77 0.82 103.89 85.88 1.54 15.09 77269.69
CK Hutchison 62.45 0.50 64.05 45.80 5.70 6.22 30968.93 RollsRoyce 108.92 3.62 159.43 0.90 1.45 -1.05 2799.77
ChMinsheng 4.43 -0.08 6.06 3.85 10.21 3.74 4739.91 Novatek 973.20 -3.20 1382.2 682.80 3.05 46.54 39639.58 Fedex 285.29 1.75 305.66 103.40 0.71 29.83 75699.44 TJX Cos 67.32 1.34 71.06 40.72 0.73 102.71 81185.92
CNOOC 8.11 -0.02 10.60 6.50 10.84 7.17 46563.72 RylDShlA 1412.2 -1.60 1718.36 878.10 6.82 -8.49 89726.58
ChMrchSecs 19.76 0.01 28.18 13.77 - 17.34 22312.63 Rosneft 324.00 -11.00 489.90 229.80 9.45-126.68 46063.6 FordMtr 12.47 0.30 13.62 4.17 1.22 -38.34 48886.72 Truist Financial Corp 59.18 0.13 61.26 26.41 3.09 18.90 79564.73
HangSeng 150.70 0.20 156.30 110.00 4.51 17.78 37050.59 Shire# 4690 111.00 4780 2944 0.58 11.63 56567.13
Chna Utd Coms 4.28 - 5.72 4.01 1.46 23.57 19884.65 Sberbank 188.91 -2.03 270.80 172.15 9.07 5.92 54705 Franklin♦ 30.61 0.45 30.66 14.91 3.62 19.31 15470.41 UnionPac 224.21 4.00 224.62 136.59 1.76 27.99 149481.73
HK Exc&Clr 468.60 11.20 587.00 229.20 1.61 55.97 76400.38 StandCh 490.20 -9.30 519.80 334.25 - 65.06 22335.76
ChShenEgy 16.02 - 16.32 11.94 9.68 6.58 6958.02 Surgutneftegas 35.13 -0.76 54.89 24.06 1.70 1.55 16833.73 GenDyn 184.24 3.41 184.37 121.67 2.38 16.48 52240.42 UPS B 172.45 1.17 178.01 88.82 2.38 110.17 124254.24
MTR 44.00 -0.05 49.00 36.20 3.14 39.60 34978.75 Tesco 227.95 -0.90 329.33 217.10 5.08 17.01 25795.24
ChShpbldng 4.07 -0.01 5.44 3.94 - -103.71 11321.58 GenElectric♦ 13.42 0.14 14.42 5.48 0.30 22.37 117846.1 USBancorp 56.51 0.68 57.02 28.36 3.02 18.17 84902.94
SandsCh 39.15 0.30 40.55 26.50 2.83 145.65 40735.51 Saudi Arabia (SR) Vodafone 133.66 1.78 157.52 100.00 6.11 17.24 49274.79
ChStConEng 5.20 -0.02 5.70 4.68 3.67 4.99 32155.15 GenMills 61.82 0.90 66.14 53.96 3.33 15.23 37708.42 UtdHlthcre 371.01 3.94 380.50 227.27 1.32 22.77 350718.23
SHK Props 117.80 - 126.00 87.60 4.72 12.93 43897.57 AlRajhiBnk 97.80 -0.80 99.90 51.10 1.55 22.82 65194.78 WPP 934.00 13.40 950.29 481.30 2.43 -5.02 16343.91
ChUncHK 4.41 0.02 6.70 3.95 4.13 8.97 17352.5 GenMotors 59.90 2.10 62.24 17.85 0.64 13.61 86310.82 UtdTech 86.01 -5.36 158.44 69.02 2.27 -41.47 74498.84
Tencent 654.00 44.00 775.50 369.60 0.21 49.61 806920.86 Natnlcombnk 57.00 2.00 59.50 33.00 2.13 15.37 45596.34 United States of America ($)
CNNC Intl 5.32 -0.13 5.77 4.02 2.37 15.35 12598.38 GileadSci 66.25 -0.19 85.79 56.56 4.17 651.78 83412.46 ValeroEngy 74.69 -0.61 84.39 35.44 5.33 -21.00 30530.24
SaudiBasic 117.60 2.60 117.80 67.00 3.36-120.90 94072.47 21stC Fox A 35.48 -0.84 44.80 21.81 1.32 13.69 11861.11
CSR 3.41 -0.04 4.22 2.53 5.37 8.22 1916.76 India (Rs) GoldmSchs 325.15 -2.49 356.85 145.23 1.56 12.93 112435.04 Verizon 58.91 0.61 61.95 52.85 4.29 13.48 243887.4
SaudiTelec 127.20 2.60 127.60 86.30 3.36 22.20 67834.58 3M 195.31 2.61 196.72 131.12 3.06 20.77 113165.97
Daqin 6.89 -0.06 7.30 6.32 7.19 9.41 15583.97 Bhartiartl 528.25 7.45 623.00 394.00 0.39 -9.53 39575.27 Halliburton 21.41 -0.52 24.74 6.53 1.50 -6.31 19021.18 VertexPharm 213.90 0.86 306.08 202.57 - 20.45 55605.46
Gree Elec Apl 0.13 -0.01 0.21 0.08 - -0.04 6.57 HDFC Bk 1449.6 -37.15 1641 826.10 - 26.68 109010.97 Singapore (S$) AbbottLb 119.94 1.00 128.54 78.18 1.22 47.39 212477.23 HCA Hold 187.74 1.59 194.01 79.74 0.23 16.90 63256.53 VF Cp 81.71 2.22 89.68 48.12 2.40-174.76 32012.32
GuosenSec 11.89 -0.22 16.14 10.39 1.74 15.57 15967.73 Hind Unilevr 2373.2 -25.90 2614.3 1902 1.61 73.28 76063.08 DBS 29.31 0.31 29.34 17.95 4.11 13.81 55508.03 Abbvie 107.91 -0.61 113.41 72.55 4.45 39.03 190442.35 Hew-Pack♦ 32.42 0.37 32.46 13.39 2.34 15.09 40414.72 ViacomCBS 42.39 -2.26 101.97 11.92 2.30 11.18 24055.18
HaitongSecs 7.20 0.01 9.42 5.79 - 6.41 3156.92 HsngDevFin 2445.85 -85.60 2896 1486 0.88 24.18 60187.34 JardnMt US$ 66.56 0.86 68.88 37.37 2.91-113.83 47916.38 Accenture 282.24 3.90 282.50 148.28 1.21 33.40 187718.66 HiltonWwde 124.79 3.14 128.92 53.70 0.12 -47.59 34642.68 Visa Inc 220.09 3.23 228.23 150.60 0.56 44.65 373297.64
Hngzh HikVDT 56.50 0.19 70.48 27.31 1.28 39.34 70161.35 ICICI Bk 571.25 -23.15 679.40 285.55 - 25.70 53890.61 JardnStr US$ 33.01 -0.02 37.47 18.89 1.21 -37.16 36588.56 Adobe 491.20 7.86 536.88 289.71 - 43.58 234793.6 HomeDep 314.62 6.87 314.64 174.94 2.00 25.31 338720.14 Walgreen 56.47 1.72 56.78 33.36 3.41 -68.68 48808.03
Hunng Pwr 2.74 -0.02 4.12 2.44 6.19 20.27 1656.18 Infosys 1409.9 24.70 1425 603.50 1.51 32.07 81943.93 OCBC 11.82 0.05 11.95 8.36 3.83 14.32 39402.13 AEP 86.55 1.01 94.21 71.20 3.34 19.27 42986.09 Honywell 219.46 2.66 220.11 117.11 1.68 32.13 152631.21 WalMartSto 139.77 4.15 153.66 117.01 1.65 18.77 393737.6
IM Baotou Stl 1.54 -0.05 2.24 1.04 - -143.66 7421.97 ITC 212.55 -7.50 239.20 157.10 4.87 19.32 35688.63 SingTel 2.48 0.04 2.86 2.00 5.22 23.04 30178.41 Aetna - - - - - - - HumanaInc♦ 415.22 2.40 474.70 285.49 0.61 16.14 53567.89 WellsFargo 39.60 -0.03 41.54 20.76 3.13 95.03 163711.29
In&CmBkCh 5.56 -0.02 5.75 3.96 5.77 5.77 62057.74 L&T 1403.8 -40.80 1593 791.00 1.31 64.66 26894.57 UOB 25.92 0.12 26.18 18.85 3.74 14.41 32311.92 Aflac 51.66 0.24 52.78 30.32 2.20 7.62 35517.99 IBM 135.85 2.62 137.07 104.92 4.87 21.80 121390.29 Williams Cos 23.73 -0.17 24.69 13.18 6.85 137.33 28803.25
IndstrlBk 23.38 -0.69 28.07 15.50 3.36 7.81 69772.04 OilNatGas 103.45 -0.90 122.35 60.80 4.93 140.88 17753.04 South Africa (R) AirProd♦ 289.04 4.14 327.89 185.25 1.88 33.34 63957.87 IllinoisTool♦ 223.23 1.85 228.77 137.64 2.01 33.13 70646.31 Yum!Brnds 111.16 1.36 111.68 62.16 1.72 37.20 33354.15
Kweichow 2162 117.50 2627.88 1131.98 0.81 59.04 413196.62 RelianceIn 1992.6 -29.25 2369.35 1089.63 0.33 30.31 183802.43 Firstrand 51.10 -0.52 59.82 33.83 5.50 17.86 19576.22 Alexion 153.77 0.56 162.60 88.92 - 55.62 33804.92 Illumina 383.45 -1.59 555.77 259.45 - 84.78 55945.36 Venezuela (VEF)
Midea 0.58 - 0.85 0.52 - -1.62 22.46 SBI NewA 353.55 -17.10 427.70 149.45 - 13.34 43041.97 MTN Grp 85.48 -1.37 92.56 42.00 6.07 9.94 10999.99 Allergan 193.02 0.03 202.22 114.27 1.54 -25.19 63659.11 Intcntl Exch 114.93 0.73 119.02 80.71 1.06 29.99 64669.68 Bco de Vnzla 125000 5000 125990 2800 358.14 - 229.70
New Ch Life Ins 30.40 0.30 37.30 23.50 5.61 6.13 4042.68 SunPhrmInds 608.80 -1.95 654.40 388.30 0.67 59.41 19925.85 Naspers N 3719 187.29 3888 2486.11 - 34.94 110614.01 Allstate 117.28 1.25 118.05 83.75 1.87 6.67 35521 Intel 66.09 1.54 67.44 43.61 2.03 13.16 269133.18 Bco Provncl 3448000 198000 3450000 186001 - -16.94 187.33
PetroChina 2.80 -0.01 3.19 2.16 5.61 22.71 7597.08 Tata Cons 3238.9 73.90 3339.8 1675.05 1.26 38.16 163432.89 Alphabet 2206.66 76.88 2213 1075.08 - 37.04 663625.69 Intuit 400.06 4.83 423.74 216.80 0.57 59.91 109552.38
South Korea (KRW) Mrcntl Srvcs 3900000 300000 4000000 179000 0.02 -3.48 119.63
PingAnIns 93.70 1.15 103.60 73.50 2.70 9.69 89739.65 Altria♦ 51.57 0.57 52.59 35.02 6.70 21.14 95852.63 John&John 163.93 1.10 173.65 131.58 2.47 29.27 431579.59
Indonesia (Rp) HyundMobis♦ 304000-2000.00 405000 164500 1.02 17.61 25556.14
PngAnBnk 21.50 -0.28 25.31 12.47 - 15.11 63476.42 Amazon 3216.43 55.43 3552.25 1889.15 - 75.651619680.75 JohnsonCn 60.85 0.95 62.40 25.00 1.74 55.43 43786.13
Bk Cent Asia 22300 200.00 24700 16800 - - 38879.26 KoreaElePwr 24000 550.00 30050 18700 - 160.85 13663.65 Closing prices and highs & lows are in traded currency (with variations for that
Pwr Cons Corp 4.07 -0.05 4.88 3.40 1.01 8.55 6900.73 AmerAir 24.58 0.72 26.09 8.25 0.41 -1.32 15764.98 JPMrgnCh 153.34 0.53 161.69 82.40 2.39 16.99 467918
Israel (ILS) SK Hynix 143000 2000 150500 71300 0.72 32.90 92323.82 country indicated by stock), market capitalisation is in USD. Highs & lows are
SaicMtr 19.90 0.10 28.80 16.90 4.56 10.50 35372.61 AmerExpr 145.98 1.41 151.46 72.61 1.20 38.10 117283.37 Kimb-Clark 139.01 2.03 160.16 127.21 3.13 19.91 46986.31
TevaPha 38.46 0.47 46.23 28.79 - -3.13 12650.92 SmsungEl 85400 600.00 96800 47200 3.70 21.07 452127.93 based on intraday trading over a rolling 52 week period.
ShenwanHong 0.07 0.00 0.10 0.03 - -0.22 75.50 AmerIntGrp 46.70 0.32 49.00 19.90 2.79 -6.68 40381.4 KinderM 16.67 -0.17 17.97 11.45 6.33 328.00 37750.09
Italy (€) Spain (€) AmerTower 243.74 3.68 272.20 197.50 1.89 63.27 108314.26 ♦ ex-dividend
ShgPdgBk 10.76 -0.13 12.69 9.22 5.75 6.40 48050.04 Kraft Heinz 40.33 0.30 41.21 24.39 4.03 136.83 49330.68 ■ ex-capital redistribution
Enel 8.44 -0.06 9.05 5.71 4.15 18.84 100853.77 BBVA 4.45 0.02 4.90 2.13 3.79 10.57 34860.71 Amgen 251.31 2.14 276.69 203.03 2.59 20.09 145148.21
Sinopec Corp 4.17 0.03 4.69 2.95 5.61 10.78 13681.58 Kroger 36.79 0.84 42.99 30.01 1.93 9.13 27665.85 # price at time of suspension
ENI 10.57 0.08 10.66 5.73 5.55 -3.65 44820.83 BcoSantdr 2.88 -0.01 3.07 1.44 - -5.09 56344.88 Anadarko 72.77 0.56 76.23 40.40 1.50 -63.37 36563.54
Sinopec Oil 2.02 -0.01 2.37 1.67 - 88.94 4170.14 L Brands 62.12 0.32 64.12 8.80 1.04 -76.07 17320.82
Generali 17.03 -0.03 17.27 11.18 3.14 13.74 31565.53 CaixaBnk 2.60 -0.04 2.70 1.50 2.87 14.37 18289.68 Anthem 357.78 4.02 379.13 199.17 1.08 19.58 87622.36
Denmark (kr) Iberdrola 11.04 0.05 12.57 8.40 3.81 27.81 83293.35 LasVegasSd 62.64 0.79 66.77 36.80 1.28 -27.89 47848.48
IntSPaolo 2.32 0.01 2.35 1.32 - 6.32 52969.39 Aon Cp 233.36 1.56 235.88 151.04 0.78 27.17 52735.71 LibertyGbl 25.62 -0.17 27.04 15.31 - -9.34 4646.32
DanskeBk 118.70 -1.80 124.95 69.42 - 21.03 16172.9 Inditex 28.30 0.20 30.79 20.86 1.31 52.51 103729.57
Unicred 9.02 0.00 9.69 6.01 - -7.48 23719.76 Apple 125.33 2.33 145.09 59.74 0.65 33.242103968.13 Lilly (E) 183.60 -1.64 218.00 129.21 1.64 26.60 176070.96
MollerMrsk 14735 60.00 15400 5662 0.96 15.91 21964.23 Repsol 10.44 -0.12 11.14 5.04 7.86 -4.66 19246.91 ArcherDan 57.71 0.06 59.12 33.01 2.54 18.03 32231.07 Lockheed 379.26 8.24 417.62 319.81 2.63 15.23 106232.03
NovoB 429.75 -0.95 467.90 396.00 2.10 22.73 123096.64 Telefonica 3.78 -0.04 5.01 2.71 10.76 14.98 24580.68

FT 500: TOP 20 FT 500: BOTTOM 20 BONDS: HIGH YIELD & EMERGING MARKET BONDS: GLOBAL INVESTMENT GRADE
Close Prev Day Week Month Close Prev Day Week Month Day's Mth's Spread Day's Mth's Spread
price price change change % change change % change % price price change change % change change % change % Red Ratings Bid Bid chge chge vs Red Ratings Bid Bid chge chge vs
Citic Secs 18.70 17.90 0.80 4.47 2.44 15.0 11.60 Shrwin-Will 254.77 249.75 5.02 2.01 -501.54 -66.3 13.08 Apr 01 date Coupon S* M* F* price yield yield yield US Apr 01 date Coupon S* M* F* price yield yield yield US
Tesla Mtrs 694.67 661.75 32.92 4.97 83.38 13.6 16.19 CredSuisse 10.16 9.90 0.26 2.61 -2.16 -17.5 -24.07 High Yield US$ US$
Citic Ltd 7.37 7.36 0.01 0.14 0.76 11.5 12.18 Nomura 596.80 572.20 24.60 4.30 -123.90 -17.2 -6.83 HCA Inc. 04/24 8.36 BB- Ba2 BB 113.75 4.24 0.00 0.12 - FleetBoston Financial Corp. 01/28 6.88 BBB+ Baa1 A- 129.00 2.54 -0.01 -0.05 -
ChShenEgy 16.02 16.02 0.00 0.00 1.62 11.3 8.55 ChMinsheng 4.43 4.51 -0.08 -1.77 -0.47 -9.6 -4.32 High Yield Euro The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 02/28 5.00 BBB+ A3 A 117.21 2.47 0.00 0.32 -
NXP 213.66 208.08 5.58 2.68 19.52 10.1 18.29 Hitachi 4901.00 4947.00 -46.00 -0.93 -496.00 -9.2 -4.91 Aldesa Financial Services S.A. 04/21 7.25 - - B 71.10 28.23 0.00 0.64 25.98 NationsBank Corp. 03/28 6.80 BBB+ Baa1 A- 127.69 2.72 -0.01 0.06 -
Carnival 28.04 26.86 1.18 4.37 2.41 9.4 7.55 Volvo 210.35 220.90 -10.55 -4.78 -14.55 -6.5 -4.56 GTE LLC 04/28 6.94 BBB+ Baa2 A- 128.27 2.80 0.00 -0.11 -
Volkswgn 306.60 309.20 -2.60 -0.84 26.20 9.3 9.34 ViacomCBS 42.39 44.64 -2.26 -5.05 -2.63 -5.8 -42.96 Emerging US$ United Utilities PLC 08/28 6.88 BBB Baa1 A- 130.43 2.62 -0.07 -0.22 -
Softbank 9993.00 9787.00 206.00 2.10 755.00 8.2 -0.69 Occid Pet 25.53 27.38 -1.85 -6.76 -1.47 -5.4 -18.15 Peru 03/19 7.13 BBB+ A3 BBB+ 104.40 2.60 - - 0.34 Barclays Bank plc 01/29 4.50 A A1 A+ 96.46 5.02 0.00 0.02 -
FastRetail 92600.00 90470.00 2130.00 2.35 6950.00 8.1 -6.65 Charter Comms 602.33 608.58 -6.25 -1.03 -34.35 -5.4 -3.46 Colombia 01/26 4.50 - Baa2 BBB- 109.50 2.33 0.16 0.52 1.28
Brazil 04/26 6.00 - Ba2 BB- 115.15 2.78 -0.01 0.65 1.73 Euro
Naspers N 3719.00 3531.71 187.29 5.30 275.11 8.0 1.92 China Vanke 29.15 30.45 -1.30 -4.27 -1.60 -5.2 -12.31 Electricite de France (EDF) 04/30 4.63 A- A3 A- 137.45 0.82 -0.01 0.10 -
Tencent 654.00 610.00 44.00 7.21 48.00 7.9 -1.28 Telefonica 3.78 3.82 -0.04 -0.92 -0.21 -5.2 2.97 Poland 04/26 3.25 - A2 A- 111.22 0.98 0.03 0.16 -0.07
Mexico 05/26 11.50 - Baa1 BBB- 149.00 1.61 0.00 -0.12 0.56 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 02/31 3.00 BBB+ A3 A 121.70 0.93 0.00 0.02 -
Alphabet 2206.66 2129.78 76.88 3.61 160.87 7.9 5.16 Midea 0.58 0.58 0.00 0.00 -0.03 -4.9 -10.77 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 02/31 3.00 BBB+ A3 A 124.42 0.68 0.00 -0.11 -
Sony 12330.00 12200.00 130.00 1.07 895.00 7.8 11.50 BOC Hold 26.95 27.15 -0.20 -0.74 -1.35 -4.8 4.26 Turkey 03/27 6.00 - Ba2 BB+ 101.26 5.82 0.00 0.17 3.07
Turkey 03/27 6.00 - B2 BB- 102.88 5.43 0.14 0.83 4.38 Finland 04/31 0.75 AA+ Aa1 AA+ 111.08 -0.27 0.00 -0.05 -0.87
ASML Hld 529.30 517.00 12.30 2.38 37.95 7.7 10.05 21stC Fox A 35.48 36.31 -0.84 -2.30 -1.76 -4.7 -14.14
Peru 08/27 4.13 BBB+ A3 BBB+ 103.50 3.66 0.01 -0.02 0.80 Yen
BT 156.45 154.80 1.65 1.07 11.10 7.6 -98.76 EastJpRwy 7814.00 7735.00 79.00 1.02 -358.00 -4.4 -1.58
Russia 06/28 12.75 - Baa3 BBB 168.12 2.48 0.07 0.05 - Mexico 06/26 1.09 - Baa1 BBB- 98.73 1.34 -0.02 -0.14 0.27
Kweichow 2162.00 2044.50 117.50 5.75 149.00 7.4 0.19 IM Baotou Stl 1.54 1.59 -0.05 -3.14 -0.07 -4.3 -8.88
BkofComm 4.95 4.95 0.00 0.00 0.34 7.4 12.33 Takeda Ph 4024.00 4041.00 -17.00 -0.42 -180.00 -4.3 6.32 Brazil 02/47 5.63 - Ba2 BB- 101.48 5.52 0.08 0.80 - £ Sterling
AmerAir 24.58 23.86 0.72 3.02 1.67 7.3 20.20 NipponTT 2873.50 2852.00 21.50 0.75 -119.00 -4.0 5.51 Emerging Euro innogy Fin B.V. 06/30 6.25 BBB Baa2 A- 128.68 3.20 0.00 -0.01 0.40
HyundMobis 304000.00 306000.00 -2000.00 -0.65 20500.00 7.2 -2.09 HonHaiPrc 121.50 124.50 -3.00 -2.41 -5.00 -4.0 8.48 Brazil 04/21 2.88 BB- Ba2 BB- 103.09 0.05 0.01 -0.09 -1.19 innogy Fin B.V. 06/30 6.25 BBB Baa2 A- 137.45 2.19 -0.03 0.02 -
GenMotors 59.90 57.80 2.10 3.63 3.96 7.1 11.46 SumitomoF 4053.00 3927.00 126.00 3.21 -162.00 -3.8 6.16 Mexico 04/23 2.75 BBB+ A3 BBB+ 107.76 0.76 0.00 -0.07 -1.56 Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data LLC, an ICE Data Services company. US $ denominated bonds NY close; all other London
Mexico 04/23 2.75 - Baa1 BBB- 106.48 -0.26 - - -0.36 close. *S - Standard & Poor’s, M - Moody’s, F - Fitch.
Based on the FT Global 500 companies in local currency Based on the FT Global 500 companies in local currency
Bulgaria 03/28 3.00 BBB- Baa2 BBB 117.04 1.00 0.02 -0.15 -1.42
Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data LLC, an ICE Data Services company. US $ denominated bonds NY close; all
other London close. *S - Standard & Poor’s, M - Moody’s, F - Fitch.

INTEREST RATES: OFFICIAL BOND INDICES VOLATILITY INDICES GILTS: UK CASH MARKET
Apr 01 Rate Current Since Last Mnth Ago Year Ago Day's Month's Year Return Return Apr 05 Day Chng Prev 52 wk high 52 wk low Red Change in Yield 52 Week Amnt
US Fed Funds 0.00-0.25 15-03-2020 1.00-1.25 1.50-1.75 1.25-1.50 Index change change change 1 month 1 year VIX 18.04 -1.36 19.40 60.59 17.29 Apr 01 Price £ Yield Day Week Month Year High Low £m
US Prime 4.75 30-10-2019 5.25 5.25 4.25 Markit IBoxx VXD 17.39 -0.43 17.82 58.80 7.84 - - - - - - - - -
US Discount 2.65 30-09-2019 2.75 2.75 1.75 ABF Pan-Asia unhedged 216.89 0.06 0.13 -4.61 -1.94 8.03 VXN 24.35 -0.54 24.89 55.69 23.16 - - - - - - - - -
Euro Repo 0.00 16-03-2016 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corporates( £) 392.33 0.01 0.34 -4.03 -0.73 9.44 VDAX 18.24 -0.83 19.07 93.30 - - - - - - - - - -
UK Repo 0.10 19-03-2020 0.25 0.75 0.25 Corporates($) 329.44 0.50 0.50 -3.54 0.50 -3.54 † CBOE. VIX: S&P 500 index Options Volatility, VXD: DJIA Index Options Volatility, VXN: NASDAQ Index Options Volatility. - - - - - - - - -
Japan O'night Call 0.00-0.10 01-02-2016 0.00 0.00--0.10 0.00--0.10 Corporates(€) 242.90 0.00 0.24 -0.52 0.03 9.07 ‡ Deutsche Borse. VDAX: DAX Index Options Volatility. Tr 8pc '21 101.37 -0.01 -66.67 -80.00 -85.71 -111.11 102.75 100.21 24.59
Switzerland Libor Target -1.25-0.25 15-01-2015 -0.75--0.25 -1.25--0.25 -1.25--0.25 Eurozone Sov(€) 257.97 0.00 0.23 -2.10 -0.15 2.58 Tr 4pc '22 103.67 0.01 -50.00 -200.00 -150.00 -88.89 107.52 103.67 38.77
Gilts( £) 353.06 0.01 0.48 -6.90 -0.92 -5.69 BONDS: BENCHMARK GOVERNMENT Tr 5pc '25 118.64 0.22 -8.33 10.00 10.00 37.50 124.02 118.61 35.84
INTEREST RATES: MARKET Global Inflation-Lkd 306.11 0.93 0.93 -2.67 0.48 11.39 Red Bid Bid Day chg Wk chg Month Year Tr 1.25pc '27 104.64 0.50 -5.66 2.04 8.70 233.33 109.23 104.30 39.34
Over Change One Three Six One Markit iBoxx £ Non-Gilts 379.92 0.01 0.32 -3.80 -0.64 6.59 Date Coupon Price Yield yield yield chg yld chg yld Tr 4.25pc '32 135.20 0.93 -4.12 1.09 8.14 102.17 147.41 134.33 38.71
Apr 01 (Libor: Mar 31) night Day Week Month month month month year Overall ($) 273.83 0.39 0.39 -3.80 0.39 -3.80 Australia 11/22 2.25 103.52 0.07 0.00 0.01 -0.03 -0.15 Tr 4.25pc '36 142.97 1.12 -3.45 1.82 6.67 80.65 158.29 141.77 30.41
US$ Libor 0.07475 -0.006 -0.851 -0.001 0.11038 0.19975 0.20125 0.28050 Overall( £) 356.55 0.01 0.44 -6.06 -0.84 -2.37 05/32 1.25 93.60 1.89 0.00 0.13 0.07 1.03 Tr 4.5pc '42 160.45 1.29 -3.73 1.57 5.74 69.74 184.05 158.98 27.21
Euro Libor -0.58714 -0.003 -0.162 0.002 -0.57757 -0.55000 -0.52486 -0.49886 Overall(€) 249.69 0.00 0.23 -1.68 -0.15 3.57 Austria - - - - - - - Tr 3.75pc '52 162.37 1.31 -2.96 1.55 4.80 79.45 196.84 160.38 24.10
£ Libor 0.04113 0.004 -0.183 -0.003 0.04688 0.08963 0.11238 0.16363 Treasuries ($) 251.39 0.35 0.35 -4.18 0.35 -4.18 02/47 1.50 126.11 0.43 0.00 0.02 0.07 -0.04 Tr 4pc '60 184.48 1.25 -3.10 2.46 4.17 92.31 230.92 180.90 24.12
Swiss Fr Libor 0.006 -0.78900 -0.74980 -0.70740 -0.59500 FTSE Belgium 10/23 0.20 102.23 -0.67 0.00 0.02 -0.01 -0.34 Gilts benchmarks & non-rump undated stocks. Closing mid-price in pounds per £100 nominal of stock.
Yen Libor 0.004 -0.07950 -0.07167 -0.04483 0.05200 Sterling Corporate (£) - - - - - - Canada 11/22 2.00 102.91 0.19 0.03 0.03 0.02 -0.44
Euro Euribor
Sterling CDs
0.005
-
-0.55100
-
-0.53800
-
-0.51200
-
-0.48800 Euro Corporate (€) 104.47 -0.05 - - 0.54 -1.73 06/30 1.25 98.60 1.41 - - - - GILTS: UK FTSE ACTUARIES INDICES
Euro Emerging Mkts (€) 661.58 7.32 - - -4.03 41.36 Denmark 11/22 0.25 101.18 -0.48 0.00 0.02 0.03 -0.06
US$ CDs - - - - Eurozone Govt Bond 110.04 -0.19 - - -0.34 -0.64 11/30 0.10 117.67 -1.59 0.00 0.01 -0.15 -0.80 Price Indices Day's Total Return Return
Euro CDs - - - - Fixed Coupon Apr 02 chg % Return 1 month 1 year Yield
CREDIT INDICES Day's Week's Month's Series Series Finland 04/23 1.50 104.43 -0.67 0.00 0.00 0.01 -0.26
04/31 0.75 109.08 -0.15 0.00 0.01 0.00 -0.21 1 Up to 5 Years 88.17 0.05 2474.16 0.02 -0.17 0.18
Short 7 Days One Three Six One Index change change change high low 2 5 - 10 Years 180.23 0.26 3692.17 -0.17 -2.49 0.65
Apr 01 term notice month month month year Markit iTraxx France 05/23 1.75 105.22 -0.68 0.00 0.00 -0.02 -0.24
3 10 - 15 Years 211.18 0.53 4638.12 -0.31 -4.67 1.04
Euro -0.74 -0.44 -0.71 -0.41 -0.69 -0.39 -0.64 -0.34 -0.67 -0.37 -0.67 -0.37 Crossover 5Y 245.44 0.00 -18.20 - 273.86 244.93 11/26 0.25 104.04 -0.46 0.00 0.03 0.00 -0.31
4 5 - 15 Years 186.93 0.35 3923.63 -0.22 -3.11 0.83
Sterling 0.45 0.55 0.70 0.80 0.78 0.88 0.82 0.97 0.89 1.04 Europe 5Y 50.39 0.00 -3.74 - 55.28 50.31 Germany - - - - - - -
5 Over 15 Years 355.27 0.93 5873.55 -0.07 -10.75 1.28
Swiss Franc - - - - - - - - - - - - Japan 5Y 45.52 -1.27 -3.54 - 49.50 45.52 08/23 2.00 106.54 -0.74 0.00 0.00 -0.03 -0.09
7 All stocks 180.68 0.50 3894.78 -0.07 -5.80 1.12
Canadian Dollar - - - - - - - - - - - - Senior Financials 5Y 57.91 0.00 -4.08 - 64.29 57.36 02/27 0.25 105.22 -0.62 0.00 0.02 -0.02 -0.05
US Dollar 0.11 0.31 0.05 0.25 0.09 0.29 0.15 0.35 0.19 0.39 0.27 0.47 08/50 0.00 93.62 0.22 0.00 0.02 0.07 0.25 Day's Month Year's Total Return Return
Markit CDX Greece 02/27 4.30 120.81 0.68 0.00 -0.03 -0.23 -1.51
Japanese Yen -0.15 0.05 -0.40 -0.20 -0.15 0.05 -0.15 0.05 -0.15 0.15 -0.15 0.15 Index Linked Apr 02 chg % chg % chg % Return 1 month 1 year
Emerging Markets 5Y 179.89 0.00 -1.26 - 191.34 166.14
Libor rates come from ICE (see www.theice.com) and are fixed at 11am UK time. Other data sources: US $, Euro & CDs: Ireland 10/22 0.00 100.93 -0.60 0.00 0.02 -0.02 -0.31 1 Up to 5 Years 303.27 0.18 0.24 -0.59 2514.96 0.26 1.09
Nth Amer High Yld 5Y 299.00 0.00 - - 316.77 299.00
Tullett Prebon; SDR, US Discount: IMF; EONIA: ECB; Swiss Libor: SNB; EURONIA, RONIA & SONIA: WMBA. 05/30 2.40 123.17 -0.13 0.00 0.03 0.01 -0.38 2 Over 5 years 799.39 1.62 3.18 2.25 6050.06 3.22 2.62
Nth Amer Inv Grade 5Y 51.23 0.00 -4.94 - 58.09 51.23
05/30 2.40 123.17 -0.13 0.00 0.03 0.01 -0.38 3 5-15 years 504.86 0.70 1.07 -0.54 4031.01 1.12 0.20
Websites: markit.com, ftse.com. All indices shown are unhedged. Currencies are shown in brackets after the index names.
Italy 08/22 0.90 101.73 -0.41 0.00 0.01 -0.06 -0.88 4 Over 15 years 1046.71 1.96 4.02 3.29 7709.14 4.06 3.51
11/25 2.50 111.85 -0.07 0.00 0.02 -0.09 -1.07 5 All stocks 712.74 1.46 2.88 1.84 5495.11 2.92 2.34
05/30 0.40 109.73 -0.64 0.00 -0.02 -0.27 -1.90
COMMODITIES www.ft.com/commodities BONDS: INDEX-LINKED 03/48 3.45 141.85 1.54 0.00 0.01 0.00 -0.85 Yield Indices Apr 02 Mar 31 Yr ago Apr 02 Mar 31 Yr ago
Japan 04/23 0.05 99.94 0.08 -0.01 0.01 0.00 - 5 Yrs 0.35 0.38 0.04 20 Yrs 1.32 1.37 0.77
Energy Price* Change Agricultural & Cattle Futures Price* Change Price Yield Month Value No of
04/25 0.05 99.88 0.08 0.01 0.02 -0.01 - 10 Yrs 0.87 0.92 0.34 45 Yrs 1.21 1.25 0.60
Crude Oil† Apr 60.04 -1.20 Corn♦ May 560.00 1.00 Apr 01 Apr 01 Prev return stock Market stocks
03/34 1.50 115.97 0.25 0.00 0.03 -0.02 0.06 15 Yrs 1.19 1.23 0.64
Brent Crude Oil‡ 61.89 -2.76 Wheat♦ May 614.75 6.50 Can 4.25%' 26 130.28 -0.945 -0.921 0.14 5.00 75501.76 7
12/49 0.40 92.72 0.68 0.00 0.04 -0.02 0.28
RBOB Gasoline† Apr 1.98 -0.03 Soybeans♦ May 1413.00 11.25 Fr 1.10%' 22 104.73 -2.403 -2.374 0.04 19.85 259988.17 16
Netherlands 07/23 1.75 105.66 -0.72 -0.01 0.00 -0.02 -0.16 inflation 0% inflation 5%
Heating Oil† - - Soybeans Meal♦ May 414.60 5.40 Swe 0.25%' 22 110.40 -1.138 -1.134 0.01 22.50 214081.44 7
07/26 0.50 105.82 -0.58 0.00 0.02 -0.01 -0.21 Real yield Apr 02 Dur yrs Previous Yr ago Apr 02 Dur yrs Previous Yr ago
Natural Gas† Apr 2.56 -0.07 Cocoa (ICE Liffe)X May 1715.00 0.00 UK 1.875%' 22 109.24 -3.554 -3.544 0.02 15.74 778084.57 30
Ethanol♦ - - Cocoa (ICE US)♥ May 2379.00 -10.00 New Zealand 04/25 2.75 108.06 0.71 0.00 0.10 -0.12 0.01 Up to 5 yrs -2.95 3.04 -2.87 -2.15 -3.26 3.05 -3.21 -2.72
UK 2.50%' 24 356.53 -3.093 -3.055 0.12 6.82 778084.57 30
Uranium† - - Coffee(Robusta)X May 1325.00 0.00 05/31 1.50 96.98 1.83 0.00 0.18 0.07 0.47 Over 5 yrs -2.11 23.95 -2.04 -1.98 -2.13 24.00 -2.06 -2.00
UK 2.00%' 35 291.41 -2.454 -2.383 0.91 9.08 778084.57 30
Carbon Emissions‡ - - Coffee (Arabica)♥ May 121.90 1.15 05/31 1.50 96.98 1.83 0.00 0.18 0.07 0.47 5-15 yrs -2.58 9.60 -2.50 -2.45 -2.67 9.61 -2.60 -2.55
US 0.625%' 23 106.35 -2.402 -2.434 -0.05 47.03 1645542.74 44
White SugarX 421.10 0.00 Norway 08/30 1.38 99.15 1.47 0.00 0.05 0.05 0.80 Over 15 yrs -2.05 28.73 -1.99 -1.91 -2.07 28.74 -2.00 -1.93
Diesel† - - US 3.625%' 28 134.83 -1.119 -1.088 0.21 16.78 1645542.74 44
Sugar 11♥ 14.77 0.07 08/30 1.38 99.15 1.47 0.00 0.05 0.05 0.80 All stocks -2.12 21.67 -2.05 -1.98 -2.15 21.74 -2.08 -2.01
Base Metals (♠ LME 3 Months) Representative stocks from each major market Source: Merill Lynch Global Bond Indices † Local currencies. ‡ Total market
Aluminium 2230.00 17.50 Cotton♥ May 79.17 1.33 Portugal 10/22 2.20 104.35 -0.62 0.00 0.03 0.02 -0.64 See FTSE website for more details www.ftse.com/products/indices/gilts
value. In line with market convention, for UK Gilts inflation factor is applied to price, for other markets it is applied to par
Aluminium Alloy 2209.50 -13.00 Orange Juice♥ May 109.15 -1.05 04/27 4.13 126.38 -0.23 0.00 0.02 -0.08 -0.83 ©2018 Tradeweb Markets LLC. All rights reserved. The Tradeweb FTSE
amount.
Copper 8805.00 -4.50 Palm Oil♣ - - Spain 10/22 0.45 101.57 -0.55 0.00 0.02 -0.05 -0.55 Gilt Closing Prices information contained herein is proprietary to
Lead 1964.00 -13.00 Live Cattle♣ Apr 120.08 0.00 BONDS: TEN YEAR GOVT SPREADS 11/30 1.00 122.09 -1.15 0.00 -0.03 -0.26 -1.27 Tradeweb; may not be copied or re-distributed; is not warranted to be
Nickel 16225.00 105.00 Feeder Cattle♣ Apr 134.88 - Sweden 06/22 0.25 110.40 -1.11 0.00 0.01 0.22 -0.04 accurate, complete or timely; and does not constitute investment advice.
Tin 25200.00 -25.00 Lean Hogs♣ Apr 101.93 0.00 Spread Spread Spread Spread 06/26 0.13 117.92 -1.61 0.00 0.02 0.08 -0.41 Tradeweb is not responsible for any loss or damage that might result from the use of this information.
Zinc 2769.00 -39.50 Bid vs vs Bid vs vs 06/30 0.13 115.81 -1.41 0.00 0.08 0.15 -0.14
% Chg % Chg Yield Bund T-Bonds Yield Bund T-Bonds Switzerland 05/22 2.00 103.20 -0.81 -0.01 -0.02 -0.02 -0.22 All data provided by Morningstar unless otherwise noted. All elements listed are indicative and believed accurate
Precious Metals (PM London Fix)
Gold 1726.05 35.00 Mar 31 Month Year 05/30 0.50 108.08 -0.37 0.00 0.03 -0.02 -0.06 at the time of publication. No offer is made by Morningstar, its suppliers, or the FT. Neither the FT, nor
Australia 1.89 - - Netherlands -0.58 - -
Silver (US cents) 2431.50 31.50 S&P GSCI Spt 465.95 -5.22 69.10 United Kingdom - - - - - - - Morningstar’s suppliers, warrant or guarantee that the information is reliable or complete. Neither the FT nor
Austria - - - New Zealand 1.83 - -
Platinum 1199.00 17.00 DJ UBS Spot 83.16 -3.15 33.69 Canada 1.41 - - Norway 1.47 - - 07/23 0.75 101.53 0.08 0.00 0.02 0.02 -0.05 Morningstar’s suppliers accept responsibility and will not be liable for any loss arising from the reliance on the
Palladium 2640.00 15.00 TR/CC CRB TR 196.07 -4.64 44.31 Denmark -1.59 - - Portugal -0.23 - - 07/26 1.50 105.83 0.39 0.00 0.04 0.06 0.23 use of the listed information. For all queries e-mail ft.reader.enquiries@morningstar.com
Bulk Commodities M Lynch MLCX Ex. Rtn 231.14 -9.84 -33.05 Finland -0.15 - - Spain -1.15 - - 07/47 1.50 103.44 1.34 0.00 0.07 0.10 0.55
Iron Ore 167.70 0.70 UBS Bberg CMCI TR 13.20 4.85 -4.74 Germany - - - Sweden -1.41 - - United States 03/23 0.50 100.59 0.19 0.02 0.04 0.05 -0.09 Data provided by Morningstar | www.morningstar.co.uk
GlobalCOAL RB Index 98.30 0.05 LEBA EUA Carbon 42.21 10.96 47.54 Ireland -0.13 - - Switzerland -0.37 - - 03/27 0.63 96.55 1.23 0.06 0.11 0.31 0.70
Baltic Dry Index 2072.00 26.00 LEBA CER Carbon 0.29 0.00 52.63 Italy -0.64 - - United Kingdom - - - 04/32 3.38 145.77 - - - - -
LEBA UK Power 494.00 -6.62 -60.48 Japan 0.25 - - United States - - - 02/50 0.25 104.98 0.08 0.01 0.04 0.01 0.00
Sources: † NYMEX, ‡ ECX/ICE, ♦ CBOT, X ICE Liffe, ♥ ICE Futures, ♣ CME, ♠ LME/London Metal Exchange.* Latest prices, $ Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data LLC, an ICE Data Services company. Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data LLC, an ICE Data Services company.
unless otherwise stated.
12
Record label that
kept on turning
British house music label Defected has connected with bigger
audiences during a dire year for dance, writes Sean Griffiths
T
he past 12 months haven’t
been kind to dance music.
On the weekend of March
14 2020 the final club
nights before lockdown
took place across the UK, and for a long
time there was no indication as to when
they might return.
“We saw what was happening in early
March and cancelled all our events
up until the end of May,” says Simon
Dunmore, CEO and founder of Defected
Records, the British house music label
that has released records by artists such
as Calvin Harris and Masters at Work.
“By April, we’d cancelled everything to
the end of the year.”
Having to abandon a calendar of
events that included two weekly 5,000-
capacity Ibiza residencies, festivals in
Croatia and London, plus parties all
over the UK and Europe is the stuff of
nightmares for any events promoter.
But for Dunmore and Defected, the
decision was less painful than it might
have been.
“Straight away we noticed a big rise in
the consumption of music on streaming
platforms,” he says. “And straight away
we noticed the deficit we encountered
from not doing events. The slack was
almost totally taken up by the increased
consumption of our records.”
Confident that the company could
weather the storms ahead, Dunmore
and the Defected team set about figur-
ing out how to stay connected to their
audience during lockdown and hatched
a plan for hosting a virtual festival.
“Initially it was an emotional
response,” says James Kirkham, the
label’s chief business officer. “We
wanted to stay connected to our audi-
ence and knew time on screens was
going to be the one thing that didn’t
decline. But since then it’s become
apparent what a massive opportunity it
is too.”
When Covid-19 struck, Defected had
just over 5m fans across various digital
platforms. Since hosting its virtual festi-
val from Ministry of Sound in March
2020, it has added another 2.6m follow-
ers on social media with an engagement
of 58.3m across the year.
The concept is simple. DJs such as
Calvin Harris and Carl Cox perform a
filmed set from wherever they are in the
world, and the footage is stitched
together in a continuous 12-hour live
stream available to view online. It has
been a way for Defected to stay con-
nected to its audience and roster of art-
ists as well as the wider dance music
community, with many DJs with no pre-
vious links to the label also taking part.
There have been almost 35m views
across 10 events, and they have become
a tool for promoting records released on
the label, arguably contributing to rising
streaming numbers.
The events themselves are free to
access, but each one has a designated
charity for donations, and Defected has
raised more than $1.2m for a Covid-19
response fund. The attention led to a
partnership with Heineken to host a
one-off set by Idris Elba (to coincide
with last year’s Champions League
final). The concept has been used as a
case study by Facebook and Cannes
Lions International Festival of Creativ-
ity. In February this year, it was
announced that Defected had signed a
six-month partnership with gaming
streaming platform Twitch to provide
live music for the platform.
Beginning in 1999, Defected Records
was launched in the wake of Dunmore’s
career as one of the most respected A&R
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
ARTS
men in dance music, working for labels
such as AM:PM. Success came quickly to
the label, with the release of “Can’t Get
Enough” by Soulsearcher reaching
number eight in the UK singles charts
and 2001’s “Another Chance” by Roger
Sanchez hitting the top spot. But the
label quickly found itself fighting cash
flow problems, as the rise of file sharing
and plummeting record sales in the mid-
2000s sent shockwaves through the
music industry.
“I’ve got no qualifications in business,
but I look at our numbers diligently and
I could see the way it was going,”
Dunmore says. “People running retail-
ers like Our Price or Virgin got caught
with their pants down and are all out of
business now.”
The label decided to shift its focus
from traditional methods of marketing
Top: a Defected music (radio ads, fly posters, music vid-
live event, eos) to building a strong community,
pre-pandemic. both online and in real-life events.
Above: Simon “I’d read the book Tribes by Seth
Dunmore, CEO Godin,” says Dunmore. “And I knew that
and founder of if we could build a community that was
Defected invested in us and did our shouting for
Records us, we were in with half a chance of
longevity and survival.”
This approach is paying dividends and
the label now describes itself as a “new
era music company”. “I coined that
phrase when I first walked in because it
just seemed incomparable to what I
would understand to be a record label as
NFTs: who decides the value of art?
In Beijing, the first large-scale
crypto-art exhibition reveals
the contradictions in China’s
eager market for digital
works, writes Yuan Yang
I
t is a remarkable twist that the first
major gallery in the world to host a
crypto-art exhibition is in a country
where the artists are forbidden
from supporting themselves
through the proceeds.
Virtual Niche: Have You Ever Seen
Memes in the Mirror? opened in late
March at Beijing’s UCCA Lab. An exhibi-
tion of NFT art, it is curated by Block-
CreateArt (BCA), China’s first platform
for exchanging art through NFTs, or
non-fungible tokens. These are works in
digital form that are entered into a dig-
ital ledger with additional details such as
ownership. The medium gives digital
artists, whose work can be infinitely cop-
ied, another way to monetise their art.
BCA and most other NFT art
exchanges accept cryptocurrencies
such as ether or bitcoin in exchange for
digital pieces sold by artists. Many of
these artists will eventually exchange
their cryptocurrencies for government-
issued currencies, such as dollars. But in
China, a combination of capital controls
and internet blocks means that nobody
is allowed to exchange cryptocurrencies
for renminbi.
However, underneath the blocks,
China has a surprisingly active commu-
nity of blockchain enthusiasts, as well as
the world’s biggest blockchain mining
hardware company, Bitmain, which
sponsored the Virtual Niche exhibition.
More broadly, digital art, not only cryp-
to-art, is enjoying an upsurge in Beijing,
where at least seven digital art exhibi-
tions were held concurrently last Octo-
ber — partly thanks to the government’s
control of Covid.
As the first major gallery to host an
exhibition of NFT art, Beijing’s UCCA
has gone some way to legitimise the
crypto community in the art establish-
ment. The other notable inroad was
Christie’s $69.3m sale of an NFT by
Beeple, the third most valuable work
sold by a living artist. Justin Sun, the
Hong Kong-based founder of Tron
Foundation who also bid for the piece,
says he hopes the global nature of NFT
platforms will bring Chinese art to the
interest of foreign investors.
a punter,” says Kirkham. “The heritage
and amazing back catalogue is there for
all to see, but there’s this community
that you can get things flying through
too, on top of a massive events business.”
With a back catalogue that features
underground house anthems such as
“Finally” by Kings of Tomorrow and
more mainstream hits such as Endor’s
“Pump it Up” (currently on more than
146m plays on Spotify) and CamelPhat’s
Grammy Award-winning “Cola”,
Defected has been one of streaming’s big
winners, with a 40 per cent increase in
revenues for recorded music across
streaming and downloads in 2020, as
well as a 20 per cent increase in reve-
nues for physical sales.
It has invested some of that money
DJ and producer Calvin Harris at a Defected virtual festival
3D-printed encrypted self-portrait
by Ellwood at ‘Virtual Niche’
For Qinwen Wang, the exhibition’s
producer, the recent surge of capital
into NFT art represents the new influ-
ence of the “tech capitalist class”: bit-
coin millionaires, tech entrepreneurs,
and their taste for styles such as crypto-
punk, which will stimulate more artists
to create work in that vein. Sun Bohan,
founder of BCA, puts it more bluntly,
asking: “Is it old money or new money
who gets to decide the value [of art]?”
If Beeple’s work is anything to go by,
the new tech capitalist class has a strong
liking for phallic cartoons. A much more
beautiful example of that new taste,
exhibited in Virtual Niche, is a block
from Robert Alice’s Portraits of a Mind: a
part-painting, part-sculpture of a thick
metallic disc. Alice created 40 such
discs, inscribing bitcoin’s source code
across all of them — a series of blocks
that creates a whole, mirroring the
architecture of blockchain.
Close-up, patches of electric blue and
gold glimmer, bringing to mind the pre-
cious metals found in actual mining — as
Tuesday 6 April 2021
into creating a media suite and record-
ing studio in the basement of its offices
in London’s Shoreditch, which allows it
to produce media and get it out quickly.
This month it released its first feature-
length documentary, Where Love Lives,
telling the stories of people who have
found solace on the dancefloor at its
Glitterbox events (aimed at a slightly
different demographic, harking back to
the golden age of disco and featuring
drag performers and giant disco balls).
“We’re lucky that we’ve created
our own ecosystem,” says Dunmore.
“And that we have multiple strands
to our business, be that events, or
subsidiary brands like Glitterbox
which appeal to different parts of the
marketplace. It means we can pivot
very quickly depending on the way
things are turning.”
While Defected’s events business
was hit hard in 2020, leading the
‘Straight away we
noticed a big rise in the
consumption of music on
streaming platforms’
company to furlough some staff and
make several redundancies, it has also
been able to fast-track much of its long-
term strategy. Through initiatives such
as its “We Talk As One” series of online
panel discussions and the virtual festi-
vals, it has also been able to band
together with other brands and labels in
dance music, in what has been
described as the worst year for the
music industry since it began.
“It’s been devastating for so many
people,” says Dunmore. “And young
people especially have been robbed of so
many formative experiences this year.
I just hope that as things go back to
normal, people will regain their confi-
dence in socialising and going out and
having fun very quickly.”
opposed to blockchain mining. Block 8
was chosen for the exhibition because of
the association between that number
and the Chinese phrase for “making
a fortune”.
Despite the crypto-world’s fascina-
tion with the ability to monetise every-
thing, many of the artists in the exhibi-
tion see the relationship between crea-
tivity and finance as fraught. Innovation
in fundraising is a way freeing them
from thinking about fundraising.
For Ellwood, a young artist recently
returned to China from New York, NFTs
present an opportunity to gain in-
dependence from the demands of art
galleries. “Creativity is creativity, and
fundraising is fundraising,” he says. He
is exhibiting his 3D-printed encrypted
self-portrait. Originally a photo of his
reflection in his own iris, now ran-
domised through encryption, the result-
ing sculpture resembles a relief of
unknown terrain.
China is steeped in political and social
fascination with online technologies,
and entrepreneurs and artists are used
to pushing at the outer bounds of what
the government explicitly approves of.
Some of the artworks in Virtual Niche
were not fully displayed at times,
because they required special software
(VPNs) to bypass censorship controls to
access the global platforms that the art
works reside on.
In trying to reach beyond what is
easy, Virtual Niche is ambitious and idea-
listic — as is every interesting art collec-
tive. At the centre of the exhibition
space is a wall of Chinese and English
words that describe not only the
mechanisms of blockchain but also the
values of its advocates: anti-censorship,
privacy, decentralisation.
ucca.org.cn
Encrypted
‘TV Tree’
and wall of
words at
‘Virtual
Niche’
Tuesday 6 April 2021
A far-right victory in next year’s presidential election would have huge consequences for the EU’s
second-biggest economy. So can Marine Le Pen — currently doing well in the polls — win power?
Macron faces
a test of
character
as Le Pen
rises again
I ‘Macron is
t would be a political earthquake as
disruptive as the UK referendum
vote for Brexit in 2016 and the elec-
tion of Donald Trump as US presi-
dent later that year.
Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s
extreme right Rassemblement National
party, is doing so well in the polls that
she threatens to foil Emmanuel
Macron’s re-election bid and could win
next year’s presidential vote to become
the country’s first far-right leader since
the second world war.
Only last week, she likened herself to
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the
UK’s Brexiters — and by implication
former US president Trump — as a poli-
tician who could triumph with the sup-
port of all kinds of voters. “There’s no
more split between left and right, there’s
a split between the globalists and the
nationalists,” she said.
But is a Le Pen victory really likely
next spring? The arguments among
French politicians, so fevered that they
have sometimes even displaced the
deadly Covid-19 pandemic as a topic of
debate, suggest there is at least the pos-
sibility of a political shock in France
akin to Brexit and Trump.
“There are lots of ingredients that are
the same,” says Chloé Morin, an analyst
at the Fondation Jean-Jaurès think-tank.
“A rejection of elites. Feelings of injus-
tice. The desire to ‘take control’ of one’s
country’s destiny.”
The consequences of a far-right vic-
tory in the EU’s second-biggest econ-
omy would be momentous at home and
abroad.
Le Pen has successfully “detoxified”
her party and moved it towards the cen-
tre since she succeeded her anti-Semitic
father Jean-Marie Le Pen as leader a dec-
ade ago. But she and her nationalistic
supporters remain hostile to immi-
grants and free trade. They are short of
economic experience, friendly towards
populist autocrats such as Russia’s
Vladimir Putin and highly critical of the
EU, even if she has withdrawn her
threats to leave the bloc and abandon
the euro. Most of these positions are the
direct opposite of those adopted by the
liberal, internationalist Macron since he
took office in 2017.
There are other factors that might
help to put Le Pen, who has called
Macron “the last gasp of the old system”,
within reach of victory. One is his han-
dling of the pandemic, which has been
marred — in the eyes of doctors at least
— by his own recent reluctance to follow
the advice of scientific advisers and
impose a more stringent lockdown to
curb a third wave of infections.
He finally extended restrictions on
movement to the whole country from
Saturday. But more than 96,000 people
have already been killed by the virus in
France, and the latest surge accelerated
by the spread of new variants is over-
whelming hospital intensive care units
in Paris and in the north of the country.
Another problem for Macron is his
reputation among many of the French
as an arrogant know-it-all. With
between 34 and 41 per cent approval for
his performance as president in recent
weeks, Macron is more popular than his
Socialist and centre-right predecessors
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
FT BIG READ. FRANCE
By Victor Mallet
Opinion polls François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy
suggest that at the same point in their terms, but
next year’s anecdotal evidence suggests he is a divi-
presidential race sive figure who has alienated many of
will see a repeat those who voted for him and his “nei-
of the 2017 run- ther right nor left” message in 2017.
off between the “She [Marine Le Pen] will win,” says
incumbent Arnaud Montebourg, a Socialist who
Emmanuel was Macron’s predecessor as economy
Macron and minister under Hollande. “It’s like the
Marine Le Pen. Trump phenomenon or the Brexit phe-
But they also nomenon.”
indicate that the Montebourg says it is Macron’s char-
contest could be acter and his “oligarchic” policies that
much closer this have boosted Le Pen’s popularity, and
time. Below, Le that the president is fooling himself and
Pen supporters France by trying to persuade people to
in 2017 vote for him as a “rampart” against Le
FT montage/Pascal
Rossignol/Reuters
Pen and the far right in a putative sec-
ond round Macron-Le Pen runoff in the
presidential race.
“Macron is hated because he’s arro-
gant,” says Montebourg. “So he’s not the
‘rampart’. He’s the one who will put
Madame Le Pen in power.”
Pandemic stalls reforms
Morin agrees that Macron is seen as
“arrogant, scornful, haughty” and says
support for his administration at a time
of national crisis has masked his under-
lying unpopularity. Even though Le Pen
is just as divisive, “there’s a whole bunch
of people who detest Macron as much as
they hated Sarkozy”, she says.
Yet it is not just Macron’s character
that has thrown up obstacles to his re-
election. The deep economic recession
triggered by the pandemic is also likely
to reverse his administration’s achieve-
ments in reducing France’s perennially
high unemployment rate, although jobs
have so far been sustained by a massive,
deficit-financed economic rescue plan
designed to stop businesses such as res-
taurants and hotels from failing by pay-
ing both owners and employees.
Macron’s signature economic
reforms, for example to the costly state
pension and unemployment benefits
systems, have also been stopped in their
tracks by the pandemic. Those reforms
had already been challenged by the
sometimes violent anti-government
gilets jaunes protests that erupted in
2018 and persisted for more than a year,
but they had appealed to many of the
country’s centre-right voters.
By keeping the reforms on his to-do
list, Macron alienates many working-
class voters, and by failing to follow
through with them he alienates entre-
preneurs and much of the middle class.
Significantly, many gilets jaunes protest-
ers at the start of the movement were Le
Pen supporters from outside Paris, even
if some of the later demonstrations were
taken over by anarchists and supporters
of the far left.
Nor has Macron much to show for his
intense efforts in foreign policy, includ-
ing his repeated attempts to court Putin
and persuade Russia to make peace with
Ukraine, and his abortive drive to rec-
oncile Iran and the US under Trump to
help resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis.
Macron was the victorious insurgent
candidate in the 2017 election partly
because he championed what seemed
like non-partisan economic reform and
a vigorous sort of internationalism, but
neither has produced the results he
would have liked.
“Right now he has no foreign policy
triumphs that he can point to in an elec-
tion campaign and claim that France
has more grandeur as a result,” says
Nicholas Dungan, senior fellow at the
Atlantic Council’s Europe Center. “In
the domestic sphere Macron does have
political accomplishments such as pen-
sion reform, but what he is missing is
something where individual French
people are likely to say: ‘Here’s how he’s
changed my life for the better.’
“In some ways Macron comes across
as a French version of Obama, polished,
cerebral, self-assured, highly intelligent
and thoroughly professional,” adds
Dungan. But the former US president
“found it more natural than Macron
does to convince people he feels their
pain”.
The latest opinion polls suggest Le
Pen has a real chance of winning, repre-
senting a significant threat to the French
establishment and the unity of the EU.
When her father shocked France by
eliminating the Socialist prime minister
Lionel Jospin in 2002 to challenge
Jacques Chirac in the run-off for presi-
dent, he lost by 82 per cent of the votes
to 18 per cent.
The front républicain, the defensive
system under which voters choose a
candidate they dislike to keep out the
one they hate, showed its value: the left
voted en masse for the centre-right
Chirac.
Fast forward to 2017, and the gap had
narrowed. In the second-round battle,
Macron beat Le Pen by 66 per cent to 34
per cent. Next year, according to the lat-
est opinion polls, Le Pen could lead in
the first round and therefore be assured
of a place in the final, and if it is Macron
that makes it through as well then he is
currently forecast to win by as little as 53
per cent to 47 per cent, according to a
Harris Interactive-L’Opinion poll in
March.
The front républicain system is crum-
bling because many leftwing voters say
they will abstain. Some may even vote
for Le Pen, whose strongholds are in the
industrial towns of the north once domi-
nated by communists.
“Is it too early to start talking about
this?” asks Dungan. “No it’s not. The
polls right now show Le Pen and
Macron pretty well neck-and-neck.
It’s not that people are hostile to
Macron. It’s that they’re not certain
he understands them.”
The way the voting system works in
France’s Fifth Republic — “in the first
round you choose the candidate you
like, and in the second round you elimi-
nate the one you don’t” goes the political
axiom — explains the unpredictable
nature of its elections and the impor-
tance of the front républicain. While Le
Pen can rely on a solid far-right support
base, votes for her rivals risk being
wasted if there are multiple competing
candidates from the centre-left and cen-
tre-right in the first round.
It is this system which in 2017 almost
delivered a run-off between Le Pen on
the extreme right and Jean-Luc Mélen-
chon of the extreme left La France
Insoumise (France Unbowed) party. No
less than four candidates achieved first-
round scores of around 20 to 24 per cent
of the vote — although in the end the two
finalists were Macron and Le Pen.
Identity crisis
Macron himself has benefited from the
weakness of the traditional parties. The
once powerful Socialist party is particu-
larly enfeebled and increasingly
eclipsed by the greens. The centre-right
movement has repeatedly changed its
name in recent years — it is currently
called Les Républicains — which suggests
it has an identity problem, and several
politicians are presenting themselves as
possible candidates, including Xavier
Bertrand, now president of the Hauts-
de-France region, and Michel Barnier,
the former EU chief Brexit negotiator.
The question now is whether Macron
can rely on voters from the centre to get
him through the first round and then
attract enough additional supporters to
back him against Le Pen in a run-off.
The president has yet to declare his
candidacy for re-election, but his strat-
egy is clear: to present himself to voters
as the person most likely to beat Le Pen.
This infuriates politicians such as Mon-
tebourg on the left, who say the French
are weary of Macron and do not want
another Macron-Le Pen showdown.
Macron retorts that he is simply deal-
ing with the political reality of France
today. “I’m not the one who put Marine
Le Pen there,” he told MPs of his govern-
ing La République en Marche party
recently. “It’s the voters. She and her
father before her have been there for 25
years. She was there before us.”
Gérald Darmanin, Macron’s hardline
interior minister, is leading the charge
to appeal to far-right and centre-right
France’s crowded presidential field in 2022
First-round voting intentions (%, leading candidates)
Jean-Luc Mélenchon
(La France Insoumise) 11
Anne Hidalgo
(Parti Socialiste)
Yannick Jadot
(Europe Écologie Les Verts)
Emmanuel Macron
(La République En Marche!)
Valérie Pécresse
(Soyons Libres)
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan
(Debout la France)
Marine Le Pen
(Rassemblement National)
Source: Harris Interactive Not all politicians have declared their willingness to run
13
voters — as well as old-fashioned secular
republicans of the left — by trying to
hated crack down on crime and restrict immi-
because he’s gration, and by highlighting the presi-
dent’s campaign against Islamist terror-
arrogant. So ism and “separatism” in Muslim-domi-
he’s not the nated suburbs.
In an FT interview last month, Dar-
“rampart”. manin said the danger for France was
He’s the one “to let Le Pen become president of the
who will put republic because we’ve shown ourselves
to be too naive, too soft”.
Madame
Battle for hearts and minds
Le Pen in
For Macron, some tricky months lie
power’ ahead as he seeks to navigate France
Arnaud through the pandemic, prepare for the
Montebourg, French presidency of the EU in the first
former half of next year and consider his politi-
economy cal future.
minister A Macron-Le Pen confrontation in the
second round, let alone a Le Pen victory,
is far from certain, even if each has cho-
‘There are sen the other as their preferred oppo-
nent. There are other uncertainties too.
lots of It is possible that either Le Pen or
ingredients Macron or both will fail to get through
the first round of the election.
that are the Nor is the eventual winner of the pres-
same. A idency guaranteed to secure a parlia-
mentary majority in the National
rejection of Assembly elections that follow, a sce-
elites. nario that could condemn him or her to
Feelings of ineffectual “cohabitation” with a hostile
government.
injustice. The Business leaders who were once
desire to largely supportive of Macron and his
economic reforms have started to won-
“take control” der whether they should hunt for an
of one’s alternative candidate — perhaps
Edouard Philippe, the once loyal prime
country’s minister replaced by Macron last year
destiny.’ and now mayor of Le Havre, who is
believed to be biding his time for the fol-
Chloé Morin, lowing election cycle.
Fondation “The thought I hear from some fellow
Jean-Jaurès bosses is that ‘too many people hate him
[Macron]; the handling of the pan-
demic, especially in the past two
months, has been poor; Macron has lost
it’,” says a senior French executive.
Macron’s electoral challenge, says
Dungan, is that he needs to win the
hearts and minds of the people. “He’s
not a career politician: schmoozing is
not his strong suit. His risk is not that
Marine Le Pen wins; it’s that he loses.”
As for Le Pen, her weaknesses are evi-
dent, not least her poor performances in
TV debates, which sealed her fate when
she confronted Macron before the final
round of voting in 2017. And although
she promises a “return to common
sense”, “lower taxes” and “economic
patriotism” as well as curbs on immigra-
Far-left tion, she has yet to convince voters that
she or her government would manage
the economy competently.
7 “When you see the opinion poll num-
bers, nothing is inevitable,” says Morin.
8 “For the first round Macron and Marine
Le Pen are ahead . . . but the others are
26 not far behind.”
And surely Le Pen’s scepticism
12 towards the EU and her recipe for eco-
nomic sovereignty is too incoherent for
6
pro-European voters to choose her as
president? Dungan is not so sure:
25 Far-right
“Trump and Brexit have shown that’s a
great way to get elected — not on the
facts, but on the feelings.”
14
TUESDAY 6 APRIL 2021
Central banks should
embrace turning green
Climate change has risks; more radical plans need democratic approval
A revolution is under way in central
banks: a green one. Everywhere, mone-
tary policymakers are pondering how
to address the reality of global climate
change. And it is “how”, not “if” —
hardly any central bankers think they
can do their job if they ignore the issue.
They are right. Only six years ago,
Mark Carney, then Bank of England
governor, caused controversy by warn-
ing of the financial stability risk from
“stranded assets” — values in corporate
balance sheets, such as oil reserves,
that may be impossible to realise. By
now it is obvious, and fortunately rec-
ognised as such, that climate change
affects economies in profound ways
that central banks cannot ignore. Even
the core goal of price stability is threat-
ened by large-scale disruption from
runaway climate change, as it has his-
torically been jeopardised by natural
disasters in the past.
In a sign of how far things have come,
this week the Network for Greening the
Financial System, which includes the
world’s major central banks, published
a “toolkit” of ways monetary policy
institutions can address climate
change in their operations.
Some should be uncontroversial.
Central banks must understand what
economic and financial risks climate
change brings. In their roles as guardi-
ans of financial stability, they should
act to protect against these like they
would any other risk. They should do
the same with their own balance sheet
through regulations and by pricing cli-
mate risk into the terms on which they
take collateral from banks. This basic
risk management requires no particu-
lar “green” political sympathies; even
the most conservative central banker
should endorse this.
More radical, and more contentious,
is whether central banks should go
beyond this defensive approach and
contribute to decarbonisation directly.
Generals’ gift to Brazil
is a cause for cheer
Top brass gave democracy a boost by staying loyal to the constitution
There has been very little to celebrate
in Brazil of late. The Latin American
giant has become the global epicentre
of the coronavirus pandemic, suffering
record death tolls last month and more
new infections than any other country.
Yet last week, just before the anni-
versary of the 1964 military coup that
ushered in a long dictatorship, the
defence minister and the three armed
forces commanders unexpectedly gave
cause for cheer. They suddenly parted
ways with far-right president Jair Bol-
sonaro in a textbook display of loyalty
to the democratic constitution.
Bolsonaro has already triggered a
severe health crisis by spending the
past year playing down the importance
of the pandemic, resisting mask-wear-
ing, mocking vaccination and refusing
to implement lockdowns.
To this unenviable record, the mer-
curial former army captain has added a
crisis with Brazil’s powerful military.
Supposedly his allies, the armed forces
were wooed by Bolsonaro with hun-
dreds of government posts — including
the vice-presidency and almost half of
the cabinet — as well as generous
increases in military spending.
Yet when the president called on “my
armed forces” to help him resist
attempts by governors and mayors to
impose lockdowns, the generals
balked. Given a choice between show-
ing fealty to an erratic and unpredicta-
ble president who has openly scorned
Congress and the courts or pledging
allegiance to Brazil’s constitution, they
wisely chose the latter.
The departing defence minister,
Fernando Azevedo e Silva, was a Bol-
sonaro appointee and the two men
were close. Yet in his farewell letter, the
general made a point of saying that he
had “preserved the armed forces as
institutions of the state”.
The armed forces chiefs’ commit-
ment to institutionality follows the
They could, for example, tilt the econ-
omy’s allocation of capital towards
energy transition through policies such
as “green quantitative easing” or
“green targeted lending operations”.
This would involve giving more advan-
tageous terms to “greener” beneficiar-
ies of bond-buying or bank liquidity
programmes, respectively.
Central bankers are rightly cautious
about venturing into political territory.
Stabilising the overall economy is one
thing; directing capital flows within it,
with sectoral and distributive conse-
quences, quite another. Central banks
aim for “market neutrality” for good
reason. For climate change, however,
the market is not neutral but distorted
by the failure to fully price environmen-
tal harms and all central banking affects
distribution and capital allocation.
Ultimately it is for democratic gov-
ernments to decide central banks’
mandates. The BoE has just had cli-
mate change concerns added to its
mandate; the European Central Bank is
legally obliged to support EU economic
policy so long as price stability is safe.
The question is whether it is wise for
governments to ask their central banks
to actively promote decarbonisation.
Two things are clear. It makes little
sense for central banks to act at cross-
purposes with governments’ broader
economic goals. But broader mandates
need broad political backing to be sus-
tainable: it is easier for the BoE and
ECB to tackle climate change than the
US Federal Reserve thanks to a consen-
sus in favour of reducing emissions.
As Klaas Knot, president of the Dutch
central bank president, told an FT
climate conference last week, “We
shouldn’t be tempted to think that we
are the primary actors here. The pri-
mary actors are really the govern-
ments.” Central banks should follow,
but first it is the job of democratically
elected governments to lead.
supreme court’s commendable firm-
ness in resisting Bolsonaro’s attempts
to take emergency powers or to veto
lockdowns imposed by local authori-
ties. Congress, too, has asserted itself
with a “yellow warning” to Bolsonaro’s
government to change course or face
possible impeachment.
Much could still go wrong. Bolsonaro
has named replacement military chiefs
whom he hopes will prove more pliant.
An open fan of Brazil’s 1964-85 dicta-
torship, he appeared last year at dem-
onstrations calling for the closure of
Congress and the supreme court. This
sparked fears he might be flirting with
the idea of suspending democracy and
ruling by decree with the backing of the
armed forces, as Alberto Fujimori did
in Peru in his “autogolpe” of 1992.
Brazil holds a presidential election
next year and Bolsonaro’s failures on
the pandemic are hurting the economy
and his own popularity. Ex-president
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, still an icon
for Brazil’s left despite a chequered
record in government, is likely to run
against him after the supreme court
annulled his corruption convictions.
The prospect of a highly polarised
vote between the far-right and the tra-
ditional left raises another concern: if
defeated, Bolsonaro might attempt a
Trumpian claim of a stolen election
and rally his supporters, including
rank-and-file troops and police, for a
Capitol Hill-style assault on Brasília.
Such fears may be overdone. Yet Bol-
sonaro has repeatedly shown scant
regard for democracy or for the lives of
his fellow citizens. As his popularity
declines and his re-election prospects
fade, the risk of him gambling on an
open challenge to democracy rises.
In such a febrile atmosphere, the
firm commitment of the military com-
manders, the Congress and the judici-
ary to uphold the world’s fourth biggest
democracy is a vital and positive sign.
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
Letters
UK can learn from France’s condominium property structure
I beg to differ with the conclusion of
your editorial “Leasehold contracts
have had their day” (FT View, March
30).
When several people own a share in a
building it is like a partnership where
one side contributes capital and the
other(s) income. The former wants to
see his capital grow in value, the latter
to contribute only that which is needed
to retain that capital value.
There is an obvious conflict of
interest, but both sides do not want to
see the enterprise fail. The fabric of the
exterior walls and roof and the interior
The root cause of high
house prices is low tax
Regarding Martin Wolf’s column (“The
UK’s housing is expensive and its
supply must increase”, Opinion, March
22) I think the main reason that
property prices have risen faster in the
UK than elsewhere is because property
taxes are so low in the UK.
Numerous chancellors have ducked
the issue with George Osborne
probably being the worst offender.
Instead of raising property taxes he
raised transaction costs instead with
his hikes to stamp duty. This led to
older, asset rich, cash poor middle class
house owners staying put in their large
family homes despite the families
having fled the nest, rather than
downsizing to a smaller flat.
If the UK had property taxes in line
with the US where rates vary between
2.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent a year
then the property shortage might well
vanish quickly.
If one uses an average US tax rate of
1 per cent per year then a £4m
Georgian townhouse in Islington would
attract tax of £40,000 per year
compared with current levels of less
than £4,000.
Two things would happen overnight.
Firstly half the houses in my road
would be up for sale and secondly
prices would tumble. All political
parties know that this is the case but
none have so far dared to press the
button.
Alan Davison
London N5, UK
Environmental projects
can have a debt crisis role
Lee Buchheit’s recent suggestion to
allow countries to discharge their
liabilities by backing environmental
projects is surely innovative (Opinion,
March 25), and one that we all ought to
support. We entirely agree that the
solution of pushing debt repayments to
another day without reducing
outstanding liabilities is just a
temporary fix, and so it has become
some kind of broken record. However,
the suggestion of a green solution
leaves two questions unaddressed.
Firstly, what would be the impact on
the rating of the country seeking a
restructuring with a green component?
Evidence shows that there are long-
term effects, such as the loss of
credibility that a country suffers as a
consequence of debt restructuring. For
instance, Argentina’s debt issuances
between 2016 and 2018 offered interest
rates in the range 6-8 per cent
compared with 3-4 per cent offered by
other countries in the region. It is
unlikely that the green component
Illinois town
starts spending
to address the
racial divide
Midwest
Notebook
by Patti Waldmeir
common parts must be maintained.
Here in the UK we deal with that by
way of a lease which can be very short,
such as a short hold, or long as with
2,000-year terms.
These contracts contain covenants,
principally to pay a “ground” rent and
to observe certain rules, for example
for the maintenance of the exterior and
common parts for which the lessee has
to pay. The system has worked
relatively well in the past, but as with
so much these days it is being abused.
Property developers are exploiting the
ground rent as a source of income.
would reduce the default premium. It
could even push it up if lenders
perceive that the green projects are
poorly managed and are just a way to
discharge a portion of the country’s
external liabilities.
Governance is also critical to ensure
that the green projects are sound, well-
managed and based on good practices.
Buchheit recommends having
multilateral and non-governmental
organisations structure and monitor
these projects. But would this be
enough in countries that are often
burdened with corruption, or are
accustomed to issue a domestic law or
executive order and override any other
previous arrangement?
While we recognise that debt
restructuring is a necessary step to
improve a country’s debt dynamics, we
also note that it is a solution that
addresses an ongoing crisis rather than
preventing the build-up of critical
situations. To prevent debt crises, it is
necessary to focus on good practices
around due process, transparency, and
the rule of law.
Professor Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal
Professor Paola Subacchi
Queen Mary University of London
London E1, UK
Carney backs trickle down
theory, not Trotskyism
Tom Carver (Letters, March 27) can
rest assured that Mark Carney hasn’t
bought into Trotskyism. The former
governor of the Bank of England talks
of “solidarity through regeneration, not
by redistribution”, which when
analysed implies: make trickle down
work again.
John Ure
Director, TRPC, Singapore, Fellow of the
Centre of Urban Studies and Urban
Planning, University of Hong Kong
I live on one side of the railway tracks
in a small town outside Chicago, and
most of the city’s black residents live
on the other side. In US census tract
8092, on the mostly African-American
side of Evanston, Illinois, the average
life expectancy at birth is 75.5 years.
In census tract 8094, on the mostly
white side of this town of 73,000 (16
per cent of whom are black), life
expectancy at birth is 86 years. That is
today’s America in a snapshot: a land
where the colour of one’s skin can still
mean the difference between life and
death. That truism was made vivid
last week as US television broadcast
live the trial of a white policeman
accused of murdering George Floyd, a
black man whose death last May set
off the biggest US anti-racism protests
in more than 50 years.
But it’s not just traumatic police
body-camera footage that brings this
fact of life home to those of us who
live in the racially divided cities of the
American Midwest. My morning walk
traverses the big divide, from the land
of the 86-year life expectancy to the
land of the 75-year life expectancy,
and it doesn’t take a genius to tell
which is which. The houses on one
side are many times bigger, nicer and
newer than those on the other.
Evanston is hardly alone in this:
according to the Federal Reserve Bank
of St Louis black families owned 3 per
cent of total US household wealth in
2019, despite making up 15 per cent of
households, while white families
owned 85 per cent of wealth but
made up two-thirds of households.
If you are not satisfied with the FT’s response to your complaint, you can appeal
to the FT Editorial Complaints Commissioner: complaints.commissioner@ft.com
Landlords have no interest in
keeping service charges low, hence
sections 18-30 of the Landlord and
Tenant Act 1985 which act as a sort of
control via the property tribunals.
In France, each “lessee” owns
outright his apartment. A sort of
company or condominium (la
copropriété) owns the walls, roof,
exterior and common parts. It meets,
usually once a year. Any work
proposed is discussed and voted upon.
A type of estate agent specialises in
their management (la gérance) and is
independent of both sides. Each lessee
Stop finance flowing for
fossil fuel extraction
Your article (“Banks’ $750bn for fossil
fuels conflicts with green pledges”,
Report, March 24) shows what we have
all suspected; the banks’ pledges are
just greenwashing. We are living in a
world where the impact of climate
change is clear for all to see; where
pollution due to fossil fuel extraction
and use is causing untold long term
environmental damage; and where
hundreds of species have already
become extinct, with thousands more
on the brink.
Finance to those industries and
companies who are responsible for this
catastrophe needs to be stopped
without delay. Unfortunately, your
report demonstrates that the banks
only care about their bottom line, and
governments are too weak to put
policies in place to ensure that it is no
longer profitable to destroy the planet.
Nobody expects fossil fuel use to stop
overnight. That is clearly not feasible.
But to actually be investing even more
in fossil fuel extraction at a time when
there is finally a global consensus that
anthropogenic climate change is real is
truly shocking.
Matthew Goodwin
Director, Waste Knot Energy
London W1, UK
The reason boards are still
too white, and too male
Tessa Bamford and Will Dawkins from
Spencer Stuart (Letters, March 24)
argue that the government’s intended
tightening of corporate governance will
force companies to reconcile two
opposing requirements; to improve
board diversity and to appoint
directors who are qualified.
Their implication that improving
diversity means sacrificing board
competence is unfounded and tellingly
symptomatic of the biases and excuses
which have kept company boards too
white and too male for far too long.
In reality, what holds back
progression on board diversity is not
the intricacies of changing governance
legislation, but rather the outdated
cultures and weighted appointment
processes which continue to make
many qualified diverse candidates feel
unwelcome to consider joining a
process for UK boardrooms.
We have proven time and time again
you can find diversity for very
technical seats. It requires a proactive
and purposeful approach led by the
chair and facilitated by the search firm.
It really is that simple.
Suki Sandhu
Founder and Chief Executive, Audeliss
London EC1, UK
So when Evanston decided in 2019
to become the first city to establish a
$10m reparations fund for African-
American residents, it is scarcely
surprising that they focused on
housing.
Last month, Evanston city council
voted eight to one to spend the first
$400,000 of the fund, which is
financed by the town’s share of Illinois
recreational marijuana tax revenues,
on a “restorative housing
programme”. The fund will provide
up to $25,000 as a downpayment on a
house, for home renovations or for
mortgage relief, enough to help just 16
families. Those eligible must have
lived in Evanston between 1919 and
1969 or be a direct descendant of an
individual harmed by discriminatory
housing policies known as “redlining”.
Neighbourhoods that were seen as
deteriorating or “hazardous” were
marked in red on realtors’ maps, and
those were often majority black or
mixed areas.
Evanston mayor-elect Daniel Biss
says he thinks the decision to stick to
a housing-focused programme (rather
than the direct cash payments
favoured by Alderwoman Cicely
Fleming, the sole dissenting vote) was
probably influenced by a letter the
city received challenging the legality
of reparations.
Focusing on housing, an area where
the city can point to a clear history of
racial discrimination, will make the
programme more likely to survive the
inevitable constitutional challenges,
says Alvin Tillery, director of the
Tuesday 6 April 2021
Email: letters.editor@ft.com
Include daytime telephone number and full address
Corrections: corrections@ft.com
has one vote. Minor matters require a
simple majority, more important ones
two-thirds or more. The whole is
governed by a document known as le
règlement de copropriété.
The French system seems to work
quite well, at least better than ours. As
the agent is independent and just
works for his fee this would seem to
remove the tension between the two
sides. Should we at least have a look at
it so as to see if there are lessons we can
learn from it?
David Crawford
Llandudno, Conwy, Wales, UK
Blaming slavery on the
west is not the whole story
I take issue with Lord Desai’s assertion
that western liberal democracies’
moral superiority was acquired only in
1945 (Letters, March 30). France
abolished slavery in 1794, England
outlawed the international slave trade
in 1807 and abolished slavery in 1833,
and the US fought a civil war in the
1860s to abolish slavery, killing
600,000 Americans.
As for the assertion that the US Black
Lives Matter movement demonstrates
that Africa remembers slavery, he and
they overlook the fact that societies in
Africa engaged in the slave trade for
hundreds of years, including the
wholesale kidnapping of coastal
villages by Muslim pirates, one reason
why Thomas Jefferson deployed US
Marines to the shores of Tripoli in
1805. The woke “white man bad” chant
is based on a false premise.
Michael J Bond
Mercer Island, WA, US
Is Dvorak on the metro
music to China’s ear too?
As I stepped off Hong Kong’s mass
transit railway this morning, it was to
the stirring strains of Dvorak’s New
World Symphony. Is it “foreign
interference” to remind MTR
management that jazzing up Hong
Kong’s new electoral world with a
symphony written in joyful response to
America and its “wide open spaces”
might not be seen as patriotic in
Beijing? Especially in a week in which
our just opened M+ museum (“Hong
Kong wary of dissident’s art appearing
at new museum”, Report, March 18)
has been told government is on “full
alert” to ensure art does not
undermine national security.
Paul Serfaty
Mid Levels, Hong Kong
EU vaccine spat plays to
Britons’ queue obsession
The FT Big Read (“Europe’s vaccine
disarray”, March 20) accused Ursula
von der Leyen of “sabre-rattling”. I can
report that within my WhatsApp group
this rattling has brought together
Brexit leave and remain voters. She has
provoked the British obsession with
observing the etiquette of queueing.
Anybody who has visited a European
ski resort will recognise that the Brits
and the Europeans simply have a
different approach. Joining your friend
at the front of a queue might be
acceptable in Chamonix, but it
certainly isn’t in Chelmsford.
Gary Smith
Tandridge, Surrey, UK
Center for the Study of Diversity and
Democracy at Northwestern
University, also in Evanston.
“Given the conservative
jurisprudence around racial equity in
America, governments are really
constrained in terms of what they can
do. Programmes have to be ‘narrowly
tailored’ to meet the specific harm
and in this case that harm is
redlining,” he told the Financial Times
in an interview.
A report by city historians outlines
Evanston’s history of housing
discrimination: in 1940 most of the
city's black residents were confined to
today’s census tract 8092, the place
where life still lasts a decade less.
Tina Paden, 50, lives in the house
her African-American ancestors built
in Evanston in the late 1880s. She told
the FT that cash payments should go
to seniors who were at least alive
during the redlining period. But most
of them won’t qualify under the plan
says Paden, a realtor, because older
black Evanstonians who are now
renting will not be likely to buy a
home so late in life, and those who
own homes cannot benefit.
Biss says: “If it works, in terms of
measurably reducing the gap, that will
be the most compelling argument of
all”. Perhaps this tale of two tracts will
be told differently the next time a
census is taken, in 2030. But if history
is any guide, that may be too much to
hope for.
The writer is an FT contributing
columnist
Tuesday 6 April 2021
Why ranking workers by performance backfires
EMPLOYMENT
MENT
Sarah
O’Connor
nor
W
hen Bill Michael, the
former chair of KPMG,
told staff to “stop moan-
ing” in a virtual meeting
in February, one of the
issues they were complaining about was
the “forced distribution” model used to
assess their performance. This way of
appraising people is a zombie idea. No
matter how many times it proves disas-
trous for a company’s culture or morale,
it refuses to die.
Generally speaking, “forced distribu-
tion”, or “stack ranking”, methods
divide employees each year into a cer-
tain percentage of top performers, aver-
age performers and underperformers.
In the UK’s senior civil service, for
example, the proportions were fixed at
25, 65 and 10 per cent respectively,
Race is also a
geopolitical
matter
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Gideon
Rachman
W
hite privilege, institu-
tional racism, uncon-
scious bias, identity pol-
itics — these terms have
become the currency of
political debate in the US and the UK.
But race is not just a domestic issue. At a
time when global power is shifting,
arguments about racial equity are also
becoming part of the geopolitical
struggle.
Ranked by purchasing power, the
world’s largest economies are now, in
order, China, the US, India, Japan and
Germany. But the world’s most impor-
tant political institutions still reflect the
political and economic power balance of
1945. The five permanent, veto-wield-
ing members of the UN Security Council
are the US, Russia, China, the UK and
France.
The fact that four of the “perm five”
are predominantly white countries
arguably represents an international
form of “white privilege”, inherited
from the age of empire. It looks unsus-
tainable when roughly 5.8bn of a global
population of about 7.6bn live in Asia
and Africa.
China is one of the privileged five,
however — and that limits Beijing’s
Latin America’s selective pursuit of justice weaponises the law
POLITICS
Michael
Stott
F
or our friends: justice and
grace. For our enemies: just
the law.” This pithy descrip-
tion of how to weaponise jus-
tice for political ends is attrib-
uted to Benito Juárez, Mexico’s 19th-
century president. But, from Mexico all
the way south to Argentina, it still well
describes much of Latin America today.
The region’s biggest-ever corruption
investigation, the “Car Wash” scandal
that uncovered billions of dollars in
bribes paid by a ring of Brazilian compa-
nies, has been all but destroyed by accu-
sations of political bias. Intercepted
messages between Sergio Moro, the
judge trying the cases, and a lead prose-
cutor suggested collusion aimed at
bringing down former president Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva.
until the system was reformed in 2019.
The idea is to avoid “grade inflation”
and force managers to have honest con-
versations with people who are sub-par.
Jack Welch, former chief executive of
General Electric, said in 2013 he
couldn’t understand why people
thought this cruel. “We grade children
in school, often as young as 9 or 10, and
no one calls that cruel. But somehow
adults can’t take it? Explain that one to
me.” There are circumstances where it
works. One former accountancy trainee
said he had only been willing to tolerate
the long hours and grinding work if he
was likely to be promoted. “In that con-
text you really need to know if you’re in
the 25th percentile or 75th percentile,”
he told me.
But there are many more examples
where the method fails, even on its own
terms. The big problem is that it mixes
up someone’s absolute performance
with their relative performance against
their peers. You might be meeting all
your objectives, for example, yet still be
ranked bottom and labelled “underper-
forming” in a strong team. Sarah Nick-
son, a researcher at the Institute of
appetite to push for reform. The idea of
India and Japan gaining a permanent
seat at the world’s top table would not be
particularly welcome in Beijing.
Regional rivalries — between Nigeria
and South Africa, or between Mexico
and Brazil — have also helped to slow the
impetus for reform at the UN.
Nonetheless, arguments about race
are becoming part of the contest
between the US and China. Enraged by
the growing western criticism of its
treatment of the Uyghurs and other
minorities in Xinjiang, the Chinese gov-
ernment has tried to turn the tables —
pointing to America and Australia’s his-
toric mistreatment of indigenous peo-
ples and to the colonial histories of
European powers.
Current racial tensions in America
also provide Beijing with talking points.
Lijian Zhao, China’s foreign ministry
spokesperson, tweeted recently that the
US and its allies “do not have qualifica-
tions to lecture on China, when so many
lives are lost from Covid-19 and people
like George Floyd cannot even breathe”.
The Global Times, a nationalist newspa-
per in China, published an article charg-
ing that the “Five Eyes” intelligence-
sharing arrangement between the US,
UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand
is an “axis of white supremacy”. On a
more positive note, the Chinese govern-
ment has sought to build alliances in
Africa by arguing that China and Afri-
can nations are linked by a shared strug-
gle against colonialism.
Anti-colonial arguments are also part
of India’s foreign policy discourse.
No matter that much of the proven
Car Wash corruption revolved around
state-controlled oil company Petrobras,
then chaired by a close Lula ally, nor
that the racket operated while he was
president. When a supreme court judge
last month annulled his own corruption
convictions on a technicality, Lula
hailed this as proof the entire investiga-
tion was a witch-hunt.
To be sure, the evidence on which
Lula was convicted was thin. Moro
made himself a target by accepting a
cabinet post under President Jair Bol-
sonaro, a leader with scant regard for
the law. A subsequent court decision
also found that Moro had shown bias in
Lula’s trial. The net result is the entire
Car Wash probe has been disbanded, to
the delight of the venal political estab-
lishment and the despair of many.
Meanwhile, in Mexico, president
Andrés Manuel López Obrador has
stepped up pressure on judges. Supreme
court justice Eduardo Medina Mora, a
former attorney-general, was accused of
money-laundering and had his bank
accounts frozen. Once he resigned, the
accounts were unblocked, and no
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
Opinion
Government think-tank, said the UK
government’s “deep dive” into the
forced distribution system for civil serv-
ants found that “a lot of the people in the
bottom 10 per cent were not underper-
forming”.
This not only feels unfair for the
employee, it is deeply uncomfortable
for the line manager. “What was diffi-
cult was when you had people meeting
These systems are often
corrosive for morale
and damage what
they aim to improve
expectations, graded 3, but because
there were so many 1s, 2s and 3s, there
was pressure to give them a 4 and put
them on an improvement plan,” one
former manager in a big accountancy
firm told me.
In many organisations, line managers
assign provisional grades then thrash
out the overall distribution in “modera-
tion” meetings with other managers.
When a group of British MPs recently
debated farm protests in India, the
Indian government summoned the UK
ambassador to protest. A newspaper
article by Kanwal Sibal, a former head of
the Indian foreign ministry, accused
Britain of “being stuck in its colonial
mindset”.
But the anti-racism argument flows in
both directions. The Bharatiya Janata
party government in Delhi is often
accused of favouring India’s Hindus at
the expense of the country’s Muslim
minority. Critics of the Chinese govern-
ment charge its approach to Xinjiang is
rooted in a form of ethnic-nationalism
that seeks to impose majority Han cul-
ture on the whole of China. China some-
times seems to treat ethnic Chinese out-
side the country as part of a greater Han
The most important
international institutions
still reflect the power
balance of 1945
charges have been filed. Human Rights
Watch’s Americas director José Miguel
Vivanco has described the move as “a
mafioso operation — more ‘The Godfa-
ther’ than modern republic”.
Then, when another judge ruled
against López Obrador’s prized electric-
ity reforms, the president asked the
supreme court to investigate him. Now
López Obrador plans a referendum on
whether to put former presidents on
Democracy may have
returned the military to the
barracks. But it has yet to
deliver independent courts
trial for corruption and “neoliberal
crimes”. Compliant courts have gone
along with the idea.
Argentina is faring little better. Presi-
dent Alberto Fernández plans to reform
the judiciary, but critics see a thinly-
veiled attempt to stymie 11 corruption
investigations into Cristina Fernández
de Kirchner, the country’s powerful
But it is hard to objectively rank people
in white-collar jobs doing different
things. “You’d have people sat in a room
who barely knew each other, comparing
apples with pears,” said a second man-
ager at a different firm.
A number of line managers told me
they gamed the system. They would put
people who had just joined the team in
the bottom bracket, because they were
easier to sacrifice. Or, perversely, they
tried to hang on to poor performers so
they could put them at the bottom and
protect everyone else.
The system can also disincentivise
teamwork. Microsoft’s forced distribu-
tion ranking system (since scrapped)
was blamed for creating a toxic culture
in the early 2000s that stifled innova-
tion. Good performers reportedly
avoided working together for fear of suf-
fering in the rankings. People would qui-
etly sabotage their colleagues.
Finally, these systems are often corro-
sive for morale, which damages the very
performance levels they aim to
improve. Research shows that feedback
has a moderately positive effect on per-
formance on average, but in a third of
community that owes some loyalty
to Beijing regardless of their actual
nationality.
Despite the apparent turmoil over
race relations in the US, some foreign-
policy thinkers argue that the west will
ultimately find that its racial diversity is
a source of strength in international
affairs. Anne-Marie Slaughter, head of
New America, a think-tank, argues that
anti-racism should be incorporated
more systematically into the making of
US foreign policy. She thinks that a for-
eign policy establishment that was not
dominated by white men might focus
less on great-power competition and
more on issues of global equity — such as
the equal distribution of Covid-19
vaccines.
If America were ever truly perceived
to be a global champion for racial equal-
ity, it might even reap a benefit in the
international battle for hearts-and-
minds with China. The long-term goal
would be to contrast a multicultural US
with an ethnocentric China.
But the debate is unlikely to be that
straightforward. The global promotion
vice-president and former leader. De
Kirchner has been heading a campaign
against what she terms “lawfare”. By
this, she means “the articulation of
media and the judiciary to persecute
political leaders of governments which
were in power”. But her definition is
selective: the persecuted includes only
leftist leaders and friends, such as Ecua-
dor’s Rafael Correa, now living in Bel-
gium after being convicted of corrup-
tion. When it comes to rightwing politi-
cians, such as Argentina’s former presi-
dent Mauricio Macri, de Kirchner and
her “lawfare” allies are clear: they
should be prosecuted.
Bolivia is perhaps the worst recent
example. After Jeanine Añez became
interim president in 2019, following a
constitutionally-established line of suc-
cession, she was rightly criticised by
human rights groups for pursuing what
looked like politically motivated prose-
cutions of Evo Morales, her predecessor,
and his associates.
But when Movement Towards Social-
ism, the party of Morales, returned to
power last October after free elections,
those prosecutions were dropped and
cases it decreases performance. What is
key is whether people feel the feedback
is fair.
Employees who express positive emo-
tions after feedback tend to perform
better in the future, while those who
express negative feelings go on to per-
form worse. In a forced distribution,
only those ranked better than average
are likely to feel particularly pleased. As
Nickson points out, that is by definition
only a minority. “It’s nice for your ego
when you’re told you’re a high per-
former, [but] I think the question is,
does that benefit outweigh the down-
sides for potentially everyone else?”
Microsoft scrapped forced distribu-
tion in 2013. The UK’s senior civil serv-
ice followed suit in 2019. KPMG told me
it plans to “move away” from the system
to “allow much greater flexibility” too.
Human resources departments have
had to rethink plenty of old notions
since the pandemic hit. The counterpro-
ductive pseudoscience of forced distri-
bution ought to be one idea that finally
stays dead.
sarah.oconnor@ft.com
of American ideas on racial equality is
not always the best way of winning
friends overseas. Even some US allies
regard it as a new form of American cul-
tural imperialism. Emmanuel Macron,
president of France, has complained
that an alien ideology of group identity
is being imported into France from US
universities — trampling over France’s
own republican tradition which down-
plays racial identities and stresses com-
mon citizenship.
The current emphasis on racial poli-
tics both in the US and the wider world is
unlikely to pass. While the surge in
interest grew out of unanticipated
events, such as the killing of Floyd and
the outpouring of support for the Black
Lives Matter movement, there are
deeper structural forces at work. Shift-
ing demographics and new concentra-
tions of wealth are challenging power
structures that once seemed firmly
embedded. As that happens, the global
argument about racial justice is only
likely to intensify.
gideon.rachman@ft.com
the legal weathervane turned in her
direction instead. Last month, she and
other members of the interim govern-
ment were thrown in jail pending trial
on charges of “sedition and terrorism”, a
move that sparked concern from the
UN. Bolivia is a “clear case of a judiciary
that lacks fundamental independence
from the government . . . judges and
prosecutors just follow the politics of
whoever is in charge,” says Vivanco.
Such habits are endemic in the region.
The restoration of democracy to Latin
America in the 1980s may have
returned the military to the barracks.
But it has not yet delivered fully inde-
pendent judges or prosecutors. Would
Júarez, López Obrador’s political hero,
have approved?
No, says historian Enrique Krauze.
His famous phrase about applying jus-
tice was misquoted. In fact, Júarez was a
strong proponent of independent
courts. Better than many subsequent
presidents, he understood that for Latin
America to prosper, justice and grace
must be served to foes and friends alike.
michael.stott@ft.com
15
IMF’s spring
meetings lack
ambition for a
world in crisis
Mark
Lowcock
A
t the spring meetings of the
IMF and World Bank this
week, we can expect meas-
ures to support low- and
middle-income countries’
pandemic recovery that are laudable
but fall well short of what is required.
One likely outcome will be an alloc-
ation of up to $650bn in IMF special
drawing rights, the fund’s reserve cur-
rency that is used to supplement mem-
bers’ official reserves. An extended
pause on debt service payments for the
poorest countries and a commitment
from wealthy nations to help finance
the global distribution of Covid vaccines
will probably also be agreed.
All these measures will be wel-
come. But they will be only marginally
helpful for countries where the end of
the pandemic remains far off. They cer-
tainly will not prevent IMF managing
director Kristalina Georgieva’s warning
of a “dangerous divergence” between
economies from becoming a reality.
The IMF’s projections show a pro-
longed and stumbling recovery for
developing countries. Most are unlikely
to vaccinate enough people to achieve
herd immunity until 2023. Their finan-
cial buffers are near depleted, threaten-
ing the first rise in global poverty since
1990. Already 270m people face starva-
tion.
It is not too late to raise the ambition
for the spring meetings. They could be
used to trigger immediate action and set
the agenda in a way that recognises the
long-term impact of this crisis and
matches it in scale, scope and duration.
The IMF and the World Bank
Countries risk a ‘dangerous
divergence’ in economic
fortune unless more
is done to help
increased their lending last year. They
now need to publicly commit to at least
sustain their flows at this elevated level
for the next five years. This will require
an agreement between the institutions
and their shareholders on more creative
use of their balance sheets combined
with commitments for new shareholder
financing as needed.
Second, a fundamental restructuring
or writedown of debt is required for a
significant number of developing coun-
tries. The common framework for
debt treatments agreed by the G20
last November has potential but has
achieved little so far. Shareholders
should ask the IMF and World Bank to
apply the framework and more actively
address the debt issue, for instance by
bringing recalcitrant private creditors
to the table.
Third, neither future pandemics nor
climate change can be managed unless
developing countries are engaged in the
process. International financial institu-
tions need to adapt their historical
country-focused business model. Now is
the time for shareholders to ask the
leadership of the IFIs to produce ambi-
tious proposals to address these global
challenges.
Finally, international support for
countries trapped in economic fragility
and conflict remains fragmented and
has yielded mixed results. The meetings
should set out how IFIs and the UN can
better co-ordinate on fragile states
socially, politically and economically.
During the pandemic there have been
examples of solidarity and smart collab-
oration; the development of vaccines is
perhaps the finest. As rich countries
move from crisis management to shap-
ing the recovery, it would be a mistake to
think of the continuing crisis in the
world’s poorest countries as someone
else’s problem.
Some will say these proposals extend
the mandate of the IFIs. But maintain-
ing the weak response we’ve seen so far
would be a moral failure, and one lack-
ing foresight. Aside from the obvious
risk of leaving the virus free to circulate,
it opens up the possibility of secondary
crises — hunger, conflict and displace-
ment — spilling over into the lives of
everyone, everywhere. The spring
meetings have the potential to deter-
mine whether this autumn is the begin-
ning of the end of the pandemic, or the
start of a more complex and dangerous
phase for the world.
The writer is UN under-secretary-general for
humanitarian affairs. Masood Ahmed, head of
Center for Global Development, co-authored
16 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Tuesday 6 April 2021

Antibiotics: subscription prescription

Over the past 80 years antibiotics have transformed medicine. But bacteria have become increasingly
resistant. The threat is accentuated by the barriers to developing new drugs. Low prices and volumes mean
companies struggle to recoup costs. No new classes of antibiotics have been discovered since the 1980s.

Twitter: @FTLex
B2G:
tricky customers
Governments, already backstopping
private sector salaries in this
pandemic, are increasingly stepping up
to the plate as customers, too.
Take Microsoft, which has managed
to flog 20,000 augmented-reality
headsets to the US army. The contract,
worth as much as $21.9bn over 10
years, would add about 1.5 per cent to
its current annual sales.
For certain industries, the state has
long been the biggest game in town.
Defence is one. Some 90 per cent of
BAE Systems’ sales, for example, count
government entities as the end buyers.
Peter Thiel’s Palantir, for all the pre-
IPO talk of commercial clients, still
relied on governments for more than
half of revenues in the fourth quarter.
That is not all military contracts: the
US data analytics group also snatched a
controversial £23m contract from
Britain’s NHS.
More sectors are joining in. The
pandemic means that even the US
government has ponied up funding for
vaccines, striking deals to purchase
jabs that are free of charge to everyone
living in the country. China, where
lines between the public and private
sector frequently blur, took an early
lead: think smart cities and online
courts — Justice as a Service, if you will.
Government research funds backed
the development of computing. Tech
companies that already ply B2B and
B2C models are targeting the B2G
(business to government) one, too. Top
areas include cloud, cyber security,
digitisation and automation.
Governments preside over large
procurement budgets. But gross
margins frequently lag behind those on
commercial contracts. Risks are
higher: government projects have been
scuppered by employees, taxpayers,
civil society and rivals.
Google was forced to scrap its Project
Maven contract to provide surveillance
technology to the US defence
department. A deal expected to lead to
more military contract wins ended
after a backlash from employees.
Two other US projects have been
beset by delays. The Department of
Defense’s Joint Enterprise Defense
Infrastructure $10bn cloud computing
contract has been fraught with legal
battles, both before and after being
awarded to Microsoft in 2019. Lawsuits
have dogged award of the Navy’s Next
Generation Enterprise Network, one of
the government’s biggest IT contracts.
Snappy as it sounds, B2G carries a
risky load.
Air taxis:
on a wing and a prayer
Ignoring Lex’s advice that whipped
cream is a better store of energy than
lithium-ion packs, Lilium has pressed
ahead with plans for its electric planes.
The German air taxi service wants
more cash to get off the ground. A deal
with Qell, the Spac announced by
former GM executive Barry Engle,
should do the trick. A New York listing
plans to raise $450m from external
investors.
For Lilium, the deal could provide
total proceeds of $850m, including
existing Spac cash, at a $3.3bn equity
valuation. It plans to use these funds to
develop its air taxis. The plan is to
launch a service in 2024. Rivals Archer
and Joby believe they will launch in the
same year. All three claim they will be
reporting positive ebitda by 2025. Bold
forecasts for companies that do not yet
have a product for sale.
Success will rest on the ability to
transport passengers safely at a
reasonable price. Unlike Archer and
Joby, which are also listing through
Spac deals, the Lilium Jet uses an
electric thrust engine similar in design
to conventional planes.
A fixed wing is supposed to provide
greater capacity and the design is
quieter than propeller-driven models.
Lilium thinks it can get 130 miles of
service range out of batteries with an
energy density of 350 Wh/kg — which
it says should be available at launch. It
also thinks each jet could generate up
to $15,000 a day in revenues, assuming
three-quarters of capacity is used.
Bigger vehicles flying longer
distances would mean more sales.
Lilium thinks revenues will be $3.3bn
by 2026, against projections of slightly
more than $2bn of sales for Archer and
Joby. If those estimates are correct,
then Lilium is modestly valued at the
same as its 2026 sales estimate — about
half of what rivals have priced at.
But these estimates are all based on a
technologically complicated design
that has not yet been manufactured or
Discovery has been in decline Antibiotics are not an
for decades economically viable investment... global deaths
Number of novel antibiotic classes
discovered
9 Cancer
7 treatments
5 5
2 Haematology
1 1 1
0 0 0 0 0
1900 20 40 60 80 2000 20
10 30 50 70 90 10
FT graphic Sources: Wellcome; Pew
Price is not always a reliable guide to
value. The financial rewards that
come from developing new
antibiotics are pitiful but their
importance can hardly be overstated.
The rise of antimicrobial resistance
could claim up to 10m lives a year by
2050, resulting in a cumulative loss of
up to $100tn of economic output, one
study concludes.
New business models to prevent
this — including Netflix-style
subscriptions — are being explored to
overcome market failure.
Developers of new antibiotics have
to contend with both low prices and
low volumes. Innovative treatments
are deployed slowly to reduce the
risk of resistance developing. That
makes it hard to recoup development
secured customers. Investors with big
imaginations and bigger pockets are
needed to keep air taxi ambitions aloft.
LG Electronics:
life could be better
In the era of flip phones, LG Electronics
was king. “Life’s Good”, was how the
South Korean group’s marketing slogan
put it. But the stronghold made LG too
comfortable. Its decision to enter the
smartphone business later than peers
was a costly mistake.
After 23 consecutive lossmaking
quarters, LG is now quitting the mobile
industry. It is the right decision. Years
of catch-up spending pushed LG to
become the third-biggest smartphone
... but have helped to reduce
Profitablility of different disease
treatments, 2014-16 ($bn)
Development cost Profit
treatment
Respiratory
Dermatology
Musculoskeletal
diseases
Cardiology
Antibiotics
0 2 4 6
Sources: Wellcome; Pew
costs, typically around $1.5bn, about
33 times average annual sales.
Small companies have done a lot of
the running, initially sustained by
research grants. But they have
struggled to make a return. The
handful of quoted innovators, such as
the US’s Summit Therapeutics and
India’s Wockhardt, have together lost
more than half their value since 2015.
Some big pharma companies have
sounded the retreat. AstraZeneca
pulled out of this line of research in
2016, followed by Sanofi and Novartis
in 2018. That has left just a handful of
big players in the market, led by GSK —
although 20 pharma companies have
contributed to a $1bn fund that aims to
develop several new antibiotics by
2030.
maker in 2013. But success was
shortlived. The company fell behind on
new releases and dropped out of the
top seven last year, with about 2 per
cent of the global market.
LG’s mobile unit accounts for just
8 per cent of sales, but most of the
group’s losses. There is little hope of
improvement. The gap has widened
between the high-end segment, in
which Samsung and Apple hold 37 per
cent of the market, and the five
Chinese makers at the low end. Other
smartphone sellers account for just
16 per cent of total sales, down from
31 per cent three years ago, according
to Counterpoint.
The mobile unit has long been LG’s
worst-performing business, too.
Negative operating margins, which fell
to minus 17 per cent in 2019, continue
Deaths from infectious disease in the
US, England and Wales (per 100,000
people)
Influenza
pandemic
First use of
penicillin
8 1900 20 40 60 80 98
Sources: OECD; CDC; ONS
New incentives are required. The
UK and Sweden are both piloting an
approach that pays pharma groups
upfront for access to antibiotics,
rather than for usage. The UK
recently selected two antimicrobials
— made by Japan’s Shionogi and the
US’s Pfizer — to be purchased via this
Netflix-style subscription payment
model. US legislators have considered
a similar scheme.
There are political obstacles. The
pharmaceutical sector is not a
popular recipient of government
help. But the current pandemic has
shown the value of planning ahead of
crises. New antibiotics are akin to fire
extinguishers. They are worth paying
for, in preparation for future
emergencies.
to weigh on the double-digit margins
of its lucrative home appliances
business, which accounts for 43 per
cent of group sales.
That drag is reflected in the market
valuation. Even after a 200 per cent
gain in shares in the past year, shares
trade at a 1.8 price to book value — half
that of global peers such as Electrolux
and Whirlpool.
In the longer term, dividends of
0.5 per cent, a fraction of Whirlpool’s,
should see a boost.
Growth in the smartphone industry
is slowing everywhere. Global sales
fell 13 per cent last year. Even if it
does recover, LG’s 40 per cent stake
in LG Innotek and LG Display, key
suppliers to Apple, will provide
exposure to any upside. It has made
the right move.
GameStop:
600
meme tune
500 Two months after Reddit day traders
took GameStop shares to unexpected
400 heights, the video game retailer is
finally trying to cash in. Yesterday, it
300 announced plans to issue up to 3.5m
new shares worth no more than $1bn in
200 an “at-the-market” offering, or ATM.
The structure allows the issuer to
raise cash bit by bit over months or
100 years. This is reasonable opportunism.
Despite a pullback, GameStop shares
0 are still up 900 per cent this year.
If successful, the share sale will
equate to 5 per cent of outstanding
stock. For the army of faithfuls, the
dilution is a small price to pay in
exchange for turnround plans.
Ryan Cohen, co-founder and former
chief executive of online pet supply
retailer Chewy, is leading the push to
transform the bricks-and-mortar
retailer into an online-first operation.
Americans spent a record $56.9bn on
video games last year. Much of that was
online, either downloading digital
games from developer websites or
ordering games and consoles from the
likes of Amazon, Target or Walmart.
Trips to the mall, where many of
GameStop’s stores in the US are
located, are in decline.
The migration online has pressed
GameStop’s used-game business, where
customers can trade in old games and
consoles for cash or store credit. The
rise of online gaming platforms such as
Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite has left
GameStop with dwindling supply and
demand for used hardware.
Cohen’s challenge is to shift from
physical stores to create an ecosystem
of digital sales. This will be easier said
than done. Giants such as Nintendo,
Xbox and PlayStation have their own
subscription services, offering access to
hundreds of games for anything from
$4 to $10 a month. Cohen needs funds
to turn GameStop into an online hub.
Users on Reddit board
WallStreetBets with “diamond hands”
say they are ready to buy more
GameStop shares regardless of
fundamentals. Most investors need
more incentive than that.
Lex on the web
For notes on today’s stories
go to www.ft.com/lex

CROSSWORD
No 16,752 Set by FLIMSY
ACROSS
1 Flower tax for business (8)
5 Some wannabe longing to fit in (6)
9 Hospital department I trust
completely (8)
10 A bit each (6)
12 Game not beginning – that’s fortunate
(5)
13 Adult blasting to Saturn? (9)
14 Work out individual price (6)
16 Navy cutting fares for royal members
(7)
19 Exemption from holding river back (7)
21 Story that’s made up on purpose (6)
23 Print three forms – not hard to
understand (9)
25 Black horse – perhaps one in need of
a groom (5)
26 Broadcast is about god (6)
27 Outer pane smashed, cutting tail of
Great Dane? (8)
28 Actors removing soft coats (6)
29 Fine champ in fact beaten (8)
DOWN
1 Is about to deliver standards of
perfection (6)
2 Jack not working, having time for
female (9)
3 Keep protecting Republican? Get lost!
(5)
4 Free religious education – pray
JOTTER PAD without a penny (7)
6 Shooting up and hitting the wall (9)
7 Work on stage? (5)
8 Best girls primarily are revising before
exam (8)
11 Check large sum of money that’s
turned up (4)
15 Boxers perhaps endure raw exchanges
Solution 16,751 (9)
17 Capacity to keep in Europe? (9)
18 Approved of CIA file endlessly getting
doctored (8)
20 I’m worried regular characters are
withdrawing a larger amount (4)
21 Large ship almost capsized touching
eastern iceberg, perhaps (7)
22 Drink for each knight on demand (6)
24 The empty pen is scratchy (5)
25 What alcoholic wants cries of
displeasure heard? (5)