THURSDAY 2 DECEMBER 2021 INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR EUROPE

Taking on Omicron Talent war Jurassic Park

Bringing a baseball bat to a knife Hedge funds offer big money to win Why the London stock market is
fight can work — ANJANA AHUJA, PAGE 19 top traders — COMPANIES, PAGE 10 a laggard — PAUL MARSHALL, PAGE 12

Dividing line Briefing

Judges weigh i Exxon sets broader emissions goals

abortions ban
The US energy supermajor has broadened goals to
reduce the carbon dioxide released with the oil it
pumps, applying them across its operations but
avoiding the deeper cuts of Europe rivals.— PAGE 6
Anti-abortion protesters demonstrate
in front of the US Supreme Court in i Abe warns over China attack on Taiwan
Washington yesterday as the court A Chinese attack on Taiwan would be an emergency
began hearing the biggest challenge to for Japan and for its US alliance, former PM Shinzo
abortion rights in a generation. Abe has warned, hinting that it could meet the
The state of Mississippi is seeking to conditions for Tokyo’s use of military force.— PAGE 4
overturn the Roe vs Wade decision that
legalised the procedure across the US i IEA wants quicker shift to renewables
five decades ago, saying the issue should A record amount of renewable electricity was added
be left to individual states to decide. to energy systems globally in 2021 but it is only about
As oral arguments began, conserva- half of what is needed to be on track to reach net zero
tive justices on the court, who outnum- emissions by 2050, the IEA has said.— PAGE 2
ber liberals by six to three, indicated
that they could be open to new curbs. At i Loeb wins crucial vote over UK rebels
issue is a 2018 Mississippi law that bans The US-based activist has scored
abortions after 15 weeks. Lower courts a victory in his battle with rebel
blocked the ban, deeming it unconstitu- investors at his London-listed
tional. A ruling is expected by next June. investment group, winning a key
Full story page 2 shareholder vote amid disquiet
Jose Luis Magana/AP
over fund valuations.— PAGE 6

i Omicron will fuel inflation, OECD warns

US delays deal to lift Trump-era

The new variant threatens to intensify imbalances
that are slowing growth and raising costs, the OECD
said as it significantly raised inflation forecasts from
three months ago.— REPORTS, PAGE 3: FT VIEW, PAGE 18

UK steel tariffs over N Ireland fears

i Seedrs acquired by US investment group
The UK crowdfunding group is being bought by US
start-up Republic just months after it warned that a
block on its merger with a local rival would thwart
Britain’s ability to create tech champions.— PAGE 8

i Turkey intervenes to prop up falling lira

3 Washington warns against post-Brexit changes 3 Johnson threat to alter trade protocol
AIME WILLIAMS — WASHINGTON
ANDY BOUNDS — BRUSSELS
The US is delaying a deal to remove
Trump-era tariffs on UK steel and alu-
minium because of Washington’s fears
over London’s threats to change post-
Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland.
Brussels and Washington have repeat-
edly warned London that unilaterally
changing the EU-UK accord that sealed
Britain’s exit from the bloc in 2020
could threaten peace on the island of
Ireland.
In a communication seen by the
Financial Times, a US commerce
department official stated that talks
with the UK on easing metals tariffs
could not move ahead.
The official cited US concerns at UK
threats to trigger Article 16, a safeguard
clause in the Northern Ireland protocol
that overrides part of the UK’s exit with
the EU and would suspend checks on
goods travelling to Northern Ireland
from the rest of the UK.
Washington had informed the UK of
the reason for the hold-up, the commu-
nication said. Three people familiar
with the matter also said that talks were
stuck after pressure from Congress over
the UK’s threats to trigger the clause.
Boris Johnson’s government has said
it would invoke Article 16 if a deal was
not struck with Brussels to ease what it
says are unworkable curbs on trade
between Great Britain and Northern Ire-
land imposed by the protocol. Despite
recent signs that the UK has softened its
stance, Downing Street insists that the
option remains on the table.
Turkey announced a return to a policy of intervening
in the currency markets to try to steady the tumbling
lira, despite earlier commitments not to do so and
The EU and US agreed to suspend tar- land remained in the EU single market limited forex reserves.— PAGE 11; LETTERS, PAGE 18
iffs on billions of dollars of steel and alu- for goods to prevent a trade border on
minium in October. The deal provides the island of Ireland. Instead, all goods
relief from Trump-era tariffs of 25 per from Great Britain into Northern Ire- Datawatch
cent on steel and 10 per cent on alumin- land must conform to EU rules.
ium to European manufacturers but The EU has suggested easing controls
leaves UK steelmakers at a disadvan- Brussels and but London says that the proposals do Food footprints A study into the
tage because they still face steep duties the US agreed not go far enough and has threatened to Average share of greenhouse gas environmental
on exports to the US. UK retaliatory in October to trigger Article 16. emissions in an individual’s diet impact of what
we eat has found
duties on US bourbon whiskey and suspend tariffs The National Security Council at the Meat that sweet snacks
other products have also remained on billions of White House insisted there was “no Drinks and caffeinated
Martha Dalton, a whiskey importer in dollars of steel link” between the talks and the UK’s Dairy and alcoholic
the UK who co-founded the Bourbon and aluminium position on the Northern Ireland proto- Sweet snacks Mostly tea,
drinks contribute
Alliance, said that her group’s members col. The US commerce department Fish coffee and to nearly a quarter
were “deeply concerned by the lack of declined to comment on the communi- Fruit and veg alcohol of diet-related
movement on the . . . negotiations”. cation seen by the FT. Grains greenhouse
Other
“We were optimistic that the brokering The UK trade department said there gas emissions
0 10 20 30
of a deal between the US and EU would was no connection “with this particular
lead the way for some positive news.” issue and the Northern Ireland protocol”. Source: Rippin et al, 2021
Under the Brexit deal, Northern Ire- Robert Shrimsley page 19

Diller’s Match Group pays $441m to

settle lawsuit with founders of Tinder
SUJEET INDAP — NEW YORK equal to a fifth of Tinder, for roughly merged Tinder into the broader Match
$600m, implying an aggregate valua- company, cancelling the future put
Match Group has agreed to pay the
tion of Tinder at $3bn. events and forcing Rad and the founders
founders of Tinder $441m to settle a
Rad and the founders later sued, argu- to accept the $3bn valuation.
lawsuit in which the dating app’s
ing that the app was really worth $13bn Match, which now includes Tinder
founders claimed that the media
Putin hitches Arctic vision empire run by Barry Diller had cheated
at the time. The founders claimed and several other dating sites, has since
to floating nuclear plant them out of the fortune created from
Match and IAC executives had privately seen its enterprise value soar to as much
acknowledged Tinder was worth far as $50bn. Wall Street analysts ascribe
one of the hottest digital media proper-
Analysis i PAGE 2 more than the buyout valuation of $3bn the majority of that figure to Tinder.
ties in recent years.
and had even compared its trajectory Match and IAC had argued that Rad —
The settlement came in the middle of a with the likes of Uber and Twitter. who immediately sold the IAC shares his
Austria €3.90 Malta €3.70 trial in New York state court, where Rad and his team had initially devel- Tinder equity had converted to in 2017
Bahrain
Belgium
Din1.8
€3.90
Morocco
Netherlands
Dh50
€3.90
Sean Rad and several others who built oped Tinder at Hatch Labs, a technology — suffered from “seller’s remorse”, and
Bulgaria Lev7.50 Norway NKr40 Tinder in Los Angeles a decade ago had incubator that IAC had sponsored to that he had been given the chance dur-
Croatia Kn29 Oman OR1.60
Cyprus €3.70 Pakistan Rupee350 asked a jury to award them more than build internet start-ups. In 2014, Rad ing the valuation process to argue that
Czech Rep
Denmark
Kc105
DKr38
Poland
Portugal
Zl 20
€3.70
$2bn from Match and its former corpo- negotiated a deal in which Tinder was Tinder was worth more.
Egypt E£59 Qatar QR15 rate parent, IAC. granted “put” options where they could Match, whose shares are off 14 per
Finland €4.70 Romania Ron17
France €3.90 Russia €5.00 Court proceedings over the past three sell back their interest in the company cent in the past month, said it would pay
Germany
Gibraltar
€3.90
£2.90
Serbia
Slovak Rep
NewD420
€3.70
weeks had featured testimony from to IAC at four specified intervals. the settlement from its cash on hand.
Greece €3.70 Slovenia €3.70 Rad, Diller and others involved in a After the first put process in 2017, Representatives for Rad declined to
Hungary Ft1200 Spain €3.70
India Rup220 Sweden SKr39 transaction in 2017 that bought out the where independent investment bankers comment. Match declined to comment.
Italy
Lithuania
€3.70
€4.30
Switzerland
Tunisia
SFr6.20
Din7.50
founders, who collectively held a stake valued Tinder at $3bn, IAC immediately Lex page 20
Luxembourg €3.90 Turkey TL30
North Macedonia Den220 UAE Dh20.00

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2 ★
Energy
IEA urges faster switchover to renewables
Agency says capacity
additions must quicken
to achieve net zero targets
CAMILLA HODGSON — LONDON
A record amount of renewable electric-
ity was added to energy systems globally
in 2021 but it remains about half of what
is needed annually to be on track to
reach net zero emissions by 2050,
according to the International Energy
Agency.
New renewable power capacity is
forecast to reach 290 gigawatts this year,
surpassing last year’s record of 280GW,
said the IEA in its annual review of
Floating nuclear plant fuels Putin’s Arctic vision
Moscow plans to open up
major shipping lane and gain
access to vast metal deposits
NASTASSIA ASTRASHEUSKAYA — PEVEK
Moored off the small Arctic town of
Pevek is the Akademik Lomonosov, the
world’s first floating nuclear power
plant and a sign of how President
Vladimir Putin’s ambitions for Russia’s
far east are taking shape.
This port on the northern coast of
Siberia was once notorious as a Soviet
gulag. These days, it is part of Moscow’s
plan to open up a major shipping lane
through the Arctic and bring natural
resources within easier reach.
Pevek’s harbour is ice-free for only
four months a year but is intended to
become a hub for commercial shipping
on the so-called Northern Sea Route as
climate change gradually eases the pas-
sage through the Arctic. And the power
provided by the Akademik Lomonosov
is intended to help Pevek become a gate-
way to Chukotka, a region close to
Alaska and rich in gold, silver, copper,
lithium and other metals.
Few in Pevek seem concerned by the
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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 expected once Britain
leaves the EU, customs authorities have
admitted to MPs.
FINANCIAL TIMES
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renewable energy. This compares with
current fossil fuel and nuclear power
capacity of 4,800GW. However, higher
commodity prices, which were driving
up the cost of producing and transport-
ing solar panels and wind turbines,
threatened to undermine investments
in the short term, the report said.
The global energy supply shortage
“definitely provides a setback, but at the
same time it shows us the way out”,
Fatih Birol, head of the IEA, told the FT.
While commodity prices and energy
bills have soared, oil and gas suppliers
such as Russia’s Gazprom have reported
record profits and forecast further rises.
But renewable energy sources
remained “much more cost-competi-
nuclear reactor in the harbour. “Fear?
We have none. Perhaps Russians are not
afraid of anything any more. We have
seen and lived through everything. We
have to be optimistic,” said Igor Ranav, a
locally born businessman. “We were
told the plant is made with the latest
technology and it is safe, and I hope so.”
Natalia Koveshnikova, a retired
accountant who has lived in Pevek most
of her life, said: “It is excellent that it is
here. It is the first year we have had
heating and hot water year round.”
Development of the NSR is in the
hands of Rosatom, the state nuclear cor-
poration. As well as commissioning the
Akademik Lomonosov, Rosatom is also
in charge of nuclear-powered icebreak-
ers that the company expects will help
to open up year-round Arctic navigation
by the middle of the decade.
Rosatom has not revealed how much
it is investing but insists that its Arctic
ventures will make a return. “For us it is
mainly business. And creating the con-
ditions for the projects now, we base it
on the investment viability,” said
Rosatom’s head, Alexei Likhachev.
When fully operational in 2023, the
nuclear plant is expected to power sev-
eral resources projects including May-
skoye, a gold mine developed by UK-
WORLD BUSINESS NEWSPAPER UK £2.70 Channel Islands £3.00; Republic of Ireland €3.00
A Five Star plan? Dear Don...
Italy’s populists are trying to woo
the poor — BIG READ, PAGE 11
May’s first stab at the break-up
letter — ROBERT SHRIMSLEY, PAGE 12
Lloyd’s of Brussels Insurance market
UK £3.80; Channel Islands £3.80; Republic of Ireland €3.80
Briefing
to tap new talent pool with EU base
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 TECHNOLOGY IS
Atlantic.— PAGE 15; CHINA CURBS HIT DEALS, PAGE 17
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
AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE
non-urgent operations and for A&E treatment while
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
planned or under construction over disputed painting of Jane Austen
engulfed in
adjust its negotiation position with the in London. Work began on
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
fresh tax probe
press for certain options in Brussels.” The US secretary of state has failed to reconcile
In a letter to Andrew Tyrie, chairman
of the Commons treasury select com-
tensions after talks in Ankara with President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan on issues including Syria and the
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FINANCIAL TIMES
INTERNATIONAL
tive” than fossil fuels, and “nuclear is set
to make a comeback in many coun-
tries”, Birol said. “A new global energy
system is emerging.”
The recent COP26 climate conference
sent “an unmistakable signal” to inves-
tors that the fossil fuel era was begin-
ning to draw to a close, despite a last-
minute wording change to the pledge to
“phase down” coal rather than “phase
out” the polluting energy source.
The latest IEA report forecasts that
renewable electricity growth will accel-
erate faster than ever. Within five years,
its total capacity is likely to exceed
4,800GW, or more than 60 per cent
above 2020 levels.
Stronger national climate policies and
Russia. Northern navigation
listed miner Polymetal, and Pyrkakay,
one of the country’s largest tin deposits.
Rosatom plans to install four more
floating nuclear plants by the end of the
decade across the Chaunskaya Bay to
provide power to the Baimskaya copper
mining project.
The deposit of a metal in high demand
for its use in renewable energy technolo-
gies was discovered in Soviet days but
lack of technology, equipment and
‘Fear? We have none. We
were told the plant is made
with the latest technology
and it is safe, and I hope so’
infrastructure delayed its development.
“[It] is in the middle of nowhere. There
is no electricity, no roads, no access,”
said Oleg Novachuk, chief executive of
Kaz Minerals, the miner in charge of the
$12bn project, which is expected to start
production by 2028.
Developing Chukotka along with the
rest of the Arctic has long been a goal for
Putin and Russia, which this week is
hosting a plenary meeting of the Arctic
Council, where the eight countries of the
region are represented. “Russia should
Supreme Court
Conservative justices indicate support for US abortion curbs
STEFANIA PALMA — WASHINGTON
Conservative justices on the US
Supreme Court signalled they could be
SATURDAY 1 APRIL / SUNDAY 2 APRIL 2017
willing to let states place new curbs on
Censors and sensitivity
Warning: this article may be
FEBRUARY 4 2017
upsetting — LIFE & ARTS
abortion, in a landmark case that could
How To Spend It
alter longstanding legal precedent
Chic new lodgings
allowing women to terminate their
pregnancies.
The highest court in the US heard oral
arguments yesterday in the biggest
challenge to abortion rights in genera-
tions, as the state of Mississippi seeks to
overturn Roe vs Wade, the 1973 decision
that legalised abortion across the
country.
At the centre of the case is a 2018 Mis-
sissippi law that bans abortions after 15
weeks. The Jackson Women’s Health
Organization, the only remaining abor-
tion clinic in the Republican-led state, is
seeking to stop the statute.
Lower courts blocked the ban, deem-
ing it unconstitutional. But in May, the
Supreme Court agreed to hear Missis-
sippi’s case. A ruling is expected by June,
just months before midterm elections.
Anti-abortion activists have cam-
paigned for years to undo Roe. The Mis-
sissippi case is their first opportunity to
clean energy goals meant that renewa-
bles would account for almost 95 per
cent of the increase in global power
capacity in the years to 2026, said the
report.
The IEA also forecasts that China, the
world’s biggest emitter, will reach its
1,200GW clean energy target four years
ahead of its 2030 goal, and could also
reach peak carbon emissions before the
2030 target date.
India, meanwhile, was set to double
its new renewable electricity installa-
tions in the years to 2026, compared
with the 2015-2020 period, the report
said. Despite these leaps forward,
renewable capacity would still “fall well
short” of what would be needed to set
Northern Sea Route could cut journeys
significantly
Rotterdam
Suez Canal
Southern Route
40 days
Source: FT research
Sea power: the Akademik Lomonosov, the world’s first
floating nuclear plant, in the port of Pevek in Russia’s far
east. Rosatom, the state nuclear corporation, plans four
more such platforms in the region — Alexander Ryumin/TASS/Getty
expand through the Arctic, as this is
where it has its main mineral resources,”
Putin said in 2017, when Russia first pro-
duced liquefied natural gas in the Arctic
and exported it via the NSR.
NSR shipments have increased from
1.5m tonnes in 2000 to 33m tonnes last
year, mainly of gas and oil.
Putin has said volumes should reach
80m tonnes in 2024. Rosatom expects
the volume of all Russian exports going
via the route to reach 110m tonnes in the
next decade.
Rosatom believes the standstill in the
Suez Canal this year, when trade was
disrupted by a stranded container ves-
sel, boosts its case for the NSR. It says
the route is often shorter and so can be
competitive despite the need to hire ice-
breakers to escort ships in winter.
For example, a trip from Busan in
South Korea to Rotterdam in the Neth-
erlands would take 27 to 28 days via the
NSR compared with 40 days via the
Suez Canal, according to Rosatom.
“Twelve days of difference, when
you’re shipping cargo worth $1bn, is a
sizeable figure,” said Kirill Komarov,
first deputy head of Rosatom.
DP World, the United Arab Emirates
logistics company and port operator,
became the first international company
challenge the precedent since Amy
Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh
were selected for the Supreme Court by
former president Donald Trump, which
gave conservative justices a 6-3 advan-
tage over liberals on the court.
Scott Stewart, Mississippi solicitor-
general, said that “when the constitu-
tion does not take sides on [an issue], it
belongs to the people”.
Kavanaugh seemed sympathetic to
Mississippi’s arguments that since the
constitution is neutral on the question
of abortion, the Supreme Court could
“return to a position of neutrality”, leav-
ing the matter “to the people, to the
states”.
Barrett appeared to challenge the law-
yer representing the clinic when ques-
tioning why “safe haven laws” — which
allow women to relinquish their new-
born children at specific locations — did
not “take care” of the burden the clinic
argues is caused by forced parenthood.
John Roberts, the chief justice
appointed by former president George
W Bush who has become a pivotal swing
voter on the court, focused his question-
ing on the concept of “viability”, signal-
ling he could be open to tweaking that
the world en route for net zero green-
house gas emissions by mid-century,
the agency concluded.
Globally, annual renewable power
capacity additions in the years to 2026
would need to nearly double to be on
track, against what was expected to be
installed, the IEA said. Moreover, if
commodity prices were to remain high
in 2022, new wind energy costs could
rise to levels last seen in 2015 while the
falls in the cost of installing solar energy
over the past three years could be
reversed, said the report.
To accelerate the shift to clean power,
governments had to increase support
for renewables and provide incentives
for investment, said Birol.
Northern Sea Route
27-28 days
Arctic
Ocean Bering
Strait
Busan
to sign an NSR transit partnership
agreement with Rosatom in July, pledg-
ing a $2bn investment in its infrastruc-
ture and additional fleet.
Managing efficient shipping all year
round remains a challenge for Rosatom,
although climate change is playing a
part. In the past 40 years, the Arctic ice
cap has halved in the warmest month of
September and by 10 per cent in the
coldest month of March, according to
the Arctic and Antarctic Research Insti-
tute. By mid-century, it expects ice lev-
els to lose another two-thirds in the
summer, and to halve in winter.
The warming ocean is expected to
help cut shipment cost. Less ice means
fewer icebreakers and faster journeys.
Meanwhile, the residents of Pevek are
getting the rare sense of being part of a
growing economy.
“We came to a dark city. For the first
couple of years life was fading out here,
people were leaving and there were
rumours the town would get closed,”
said Pavel Rozhkov, an IT specialist who
arrived from Moscow nine years ago as a
Baptist missionary.
“Then came the news that they will
build a floating nuclear plant . . . large
investment has started flowing into the
town, the town has started developing.”
rule rather than overturning Roe
entirely.
Roe said states could not ban abor-
tions before a foetus is “viable”, or able
to survive outside the womb. This via-
bility line is typically deemed to be
between 24 and 28 weeks. Mississippi
has asked the Supreme Court to reject
that rule, describing it as “baseless”.
Julie Rikelman of the Center for
Reproductive Rights, who argued on
behalf of the Jackson clinic, said there
was no line “more principled than via-
bility” since it was “objectively verifia-
ble”. She said Mississippi’s 15-week ban
was “flatly unconstitutional” and
Hand signals: a protester outside
the Supreme Court yesterday
Thursday 2 December 2021
FT/McKinsey award
Sobering
probe of cyber
weapons wins
business book
of the year
ANDREW HILL — LONDON
Nicole Perlroth’s sobering investigation
into the cyber weapons arms race, This
Is How They Tell Me the World Ends,
has been named Financial Times and
McKinsey Business Book of the Year for
2021.
The judges lauded Perlroth’s unprece-
dented in-depth analysis, which they
said had opened their eyes to the poten-
tial for a cyber catastrophe.
Roula Khalaf, FT editor and chair of
judges, said: “Cyber security isn’t featur-
ing highly enough on CEOs’ agenda. I
hope this award will prompt them to
read this book and pay attention.”
In her prologue to the book, published
by Bloomsbury, Perlroth hopes it will
shine “a glimmer of light on the highly
secretive and largely invisible cyber
weapons industry so that we . . . may
have some of the necessary conversa-
tions now, before it is too late”.
The £30,000 award, first presented in
2005, goes to the book that presents
“the most compelling and enjoyable
insight” into business issues.
Magnus Tyreman, McKinsey’s man-
aging partner in Europe, who presented
Perlroth with the award at a ceremony
in London, said it was “an alarming
book” that “makes a compelling, granu-
lar and matter-of-fact case for how vul-
nerable global computer systems have
become, even as it also comes with an
urgent plea for specific and systematic
action”.
At the ceremony, academics Ines Lee
and Eileen Tipoe received the £15,000
Bracken Bower Prize for the best busi-
ness book proposal by authors aged
under 35 for Failing the Class, about the
future of higher education. Tony
Danker, director-general of the CBI
employers’ body, was guest speaker.
The authors of five other shortlisted
books received £10,000. The other
finalists were: The World for Sale, by
Javier Blas and Jack Farchy, about the
commodities boom; Empire of Pain, by
Patrick Radden Keefe, about Purdue
Pharma, the Sackler family and the opi-
oid epidemic; The Conversation, by Rob-
ert Livingston, about race and racism at
work and in society; The New Climate
War, by Michael Mann, about how to
tackle climate change; and The
Aristocracy of Talent, by Adrian
Wooldridge, on the backlash against
meritocracy.
Last year’s winner was Sarah Frier
for No Filter, her analysis of the growth
of social media company Instagram and
its takeover by Facebook.
The other judges of the 2021 award
were: Mimi Alemayehou, senior vice-
president for public-private partner-
ships at Mastercard’s humanitarian and
development group; Mitchell Baker,
chief executive, Mozilla Corporation;
Mohamed El-Erian, president, Queens’
College, Cambridge, and adviser to Alli-
anz and Gramercy; Herminia Ibarra,
professor of organisational behaviour,
London Business School; James Kondo,
chair, International House of Japan;
Randall Kroszner, professor of econom-
ics and deputy dean for executive pro-
grammes, University of Chicago’s Booth
School of Business; Raju Narisetti, pub-
lisher, global publishing, McKinsey; and
Shriti Vadera, chair, Prudential.
See FT View
warned that eroding abortion rights
would “propel women backwards”.
Liberal justices voiced concerns about
the court’s public image should it over-
turn or alter the precedent set in Roe.
“Will this institution survive the
stench that this creates in the public
perception that the constitution and its
reading are just political acts?” asked
Sonia Sotomayor, who was appointed by
former president Barack Obama.
The conservative tilt on the high court
has emboldened Republican-led states
such as Texas, which has passed a law
banning abortions after six weeks, with
no exception for rape or incest. The
Supreme Court is considering whether
to temporarily block that law while legal
challenges proceed.
If the court sides with Mississippi,
nearly half of US states would be poised
to outlaw abortion under statutes that
include “trigger” provisions that auto-
matically come into force if Roe is over-
turned, according to the CRR.
US public opinion favours the current
law, with 70 per cent of adults, and two-
thirds of Catholics surveyed by Pew in
2019 saying they did not want Roe over-
turned.
Thursday 2 December 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 3

INTERNATIONAL

Scientists strive to keep step

Global economy

OECD warns variant will

increase inflation pressures
ahead in Omicron ‘arms race’ CHRIS GILES — LONDON

The Omicron coronavirus variant

Drugmakers prepare fresh vaccines after alert over threat from new strain
SARAH NEVILLE AND OLIVER BARNES
LONDON
The warning from the head of Moderna,
the pharmaceuticals group, that corona-
virus vaccines were likely to be less
effective against the Omicron variant
has provoked anxiety over the best
weapon the world has to fight
the pandemic.
While the boss of vaccine developer
BioNTech offered reassurance that the
fully inoculated would have a “high
level of protection against severe dis-
ease” from the new strain, there is as yet
no conclusive evidence on how immune
protection holds up against the heavily
mutated variant. Scientists who had not
even heard of Omicron a week ago are
racing to stress test the existing jabs,
while preparing a new vaccine formula
tailored to the emerging threat.
Why do scientists fear vaccines will
become less effective?
All the Covid-19 vaccines available are
made to defend against the original
strain of the Sars-Cov-2 virus, first dis-
covered in Wuhan. Omicron marks such
a step-change from its ancestor that sci-
entists fear the immune response pro-
grammed by the original vaccines may
no longer work as effectively.
The new strain, first detected in
southern Africa, possesses an unprece-
dented 50 mutations, more than half of
which are on the spike protein that
allows the virus to bind to human cells.
“There has been an arms race between
the evolution of our antibodies as they
are exposed to vaccines and/or infec-
tion, and the virus as it tries to evade
those antibodies,” said Paul Bieniasz,
professor of retrovirology at Rockefeller
University. “Omicron is the virus’s latest
salvo in that genetic conflict.”
Bieniasz’s team this year created a
synthesised spike protein with 20 muta-
tions, many of which overlapped with
Omicron’s changes, and discovered that
the artificial variant “was nearly com-
pletely resistant” to the neutralising
antibodies from prior infection or two
shots of an mRNA vaccine, he said.
“I’m fairly confident in my prediction
that it will be the most antibody-resist-
ant variant that has yet arisen. What the
magnitude of that resistance will be, we
don’t know,” Bieniasz added.
But Ugur Sahin, head of BioNTech,
which developed the vaccine now pro-
duced by Pfizer, was more positive, say-
ing: “We believe fully vaccinated indi-
viduals will still have a high level of pro-
tection against severe disease caused by
Omicron.”
How likely is it that vaccines will
have to be reformulated?
After Stéphane Bancel, the head of Mod-
erna, predicted that there would be a
“material drop” in the effectiveness of
existing vaccines, he said his company
was pushing ahead with new drugs that
targeted the Omicron variant.
Eleanor Riley, professor of immunol-
ogy and infectious disease at the Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, said the Moderna
chief “may well be right in terms of
whether the existing vaccines are suffi-
cient to prevent infection”.
But the impact on hospital admissions
and death was likely to be much less
severe, she said, since “immunity to
severe disease is mediated by T-cells”
that were “less susceptible” to muta-
tions. T-cells form part of the immune
system’s memory banks, providing sus-
Virus checks: tained protection against severe illness.
a passenger Roberto Burioni, professor of micro-
heads towards biology and virology at the Vita-Salute
a testing centre San Raffaele University, said it was
at London “impossible to judge” the nature of the
Heathrow virus based on the number of muta-
airport tions. “With mutations, it’s not all a
Hollie Adams/Getty
numbers game,” he said, adding that
tests of vaccines against the new vari-
ants would take at least a week.
Penny Heaton, global head of vac-
cines for J&J, said her team had begun
preparing for the variant as soon as they
had secured data, adding that they were
seeking to establish whether the current
shot still held up at the same time as
starting to create a tweaked version.
How long will it take and what are
the constraints?
BioNTech, together with Pfizer, said last
week that it moved “months ago” to
adapt its vaccine in case of an “escape
variant”, and that it would be able to
deliver initial batches within 100 days.
Oksana Pyzik, a teaching fellow at
University College London’s School of
Pharmacy, said vaccine makers had
been on a “war footing” against any new
variants for some time. “The longest
part of all of this process is not just
tweaking the vaccine platform, it’s the
safety testing, data interpretation and
ramping up supply,” he said.
The model for updating coronavirus
vaccine is similar to that used in influ-
‘I’m fairly enza vaccines, which are reformulated
each year without human clinical trials.
confident Leading manufacturers “can rapidly
that it will turn around new Omicron vaccines and
generate reagents for immunogenicity
be the most in a couple of months”, said John Bell,
antibody- regius professor of medicine at Oxford
university, who helped to engineer the
resistant deal that led to the Oxford/AstraZeneca
variant vaccine. “Much will depend on the agil-
ity of regulators,” he added.
that has Demand is likely to be high. Airfinity,
yet arisen’ a life sciences analytics company, said
that in the best-case scenario 6bn doses
could be made by October next year.
Where does that leave the booster
programme?
The threat from Omicron has added
urgency to western booster jab pro-
grammes, as countries stepped up effort
to maximise immunity ahead of winter.
“There’s nothing to lose with boost-
ers,” said Burioni at the Vita-Salute San
Raffaele University. “If Omicron does
reduce the effectiveness of vaccines,
you’d prefer for it to fall from the protec-
tion of three doses rather than just two.”
One ominous piece of real-world evi-
dence did emerge on Tuesday, with a
report that two Israeli doctors had
become infected with the Omicron
strain despite receiving three doses of
the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine. So far,
they have shown mild symptoms.
See FT Big Read and Opinion
threatens to intensify imbalances that
are slowing growth and raising costs,
the OECD said yesterday as it signifi-
cantly increased its inflation forecasts
from three months ago.
The new variant, which was identified
last week, could delay the world econ-
omy’s return to normality, the Paris-
based international organisation of
largely rich country members warned.
Monetary policymakers should be
“cautious”, it added, saying the most
urgent policy requirement was to accel-
erate deployment of vaccines globally.
The recommendations came along-
side its twice yearly economic outlook,
which left global growth forecasts simi-
lar to those three months ago but signifi-
cantly raised expected inflation.
Across the G20, the OECD raised its
inflation forecast for next year from
3.9 per cent in its September predictions
to 4.4 per cent. The largest rises were in
the US and UK, where inflation forecasts
for next year rose in both countries from
3.1 per cent to 4.4 per cent.
Laurence Boone, chief economist of
the OECD, said the Omicron variant was
“adding to the already high level of
uncertainty and that could be a threat to
the recovery, delaying a return to nor-
mality or something even worse”.
She did not contradict the hawkish
stance voiced on Tuesday by Jay Powell,
chair of the US Federal Reserve, or
recent comments by the Bank of Eng-
land, saying inflationary pressures in
the US and the UK required a slightly
tighter monetary stance. “There is no
Vaccine alliance
Covax urges rich countries to
prioritise jabs for less well-off
DONATO PAOLO MANCINI — LONDON
One of the main figures behind the
Covax vaccine initiative has questioned
why rich countries are ramping up
their booster programmes in response
to the Omicron coronavirus variant,
and insisted that priority should be
inoculating the large number of people
worldwide still waiting for a first jab.
Seth Berkley, chief executive of the Gavi
vaccine alliance that helped create the
UN-backed Covax scheme, said “high-
risk people everywhere” must be
jabbed: “That priority needs to be a glo-
bal priority, not just a country priority.”
In South Africa, where a surge in coro-
navirus cases has been linked to the
Omicron strain, less than a third of peo-
ple have had at least one shot. According
to the World Health Organization, only
5 per cent of people in African Union
member states were double-vaccinated
by mid-November.
The US and the UK this week moved
to offer booster shots to all adults as glo-
bal health officials appeared increas-
ingly anxious about the heavily mutated
coronavirus strain first detected in
southern Africa. Unusually, the UK is
offering top-ups just three months after
a second shot, while most countries
require at least a six-month gap.
“Where is the science that suggests
three-month boosters make sense?”
Berkley said in an interview with the
Financial Times.
Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s
chief scientist, said the health body had
been warning “for many months now”
one-size-fits-all [monetary] policy
because you have a very different situa-
tion in some emerging market econo-
mies with high inflation rates. The US is
also different from Europe and also dif-
ferent from Asia where there’s much
less of an inflation issue,” Boone said.
She stressed the need for policymak-
ers to communicate clearly that they
would not raise interest rates as a result
of supply shortages, but would be ready
to act if price pressures broadened and
become self-reinforcing.
The OECD said the global recovery
had been much stronger than it initially
expected this year, but this had created
a series of imbalances that could persist
longer than expected. “Supply short-
ages risk slowing growth and prolonging
elevated inflation,” Boone said.
In the automotive sector alone, the
OECD calculated that supply disrup-
tions knocked more than 1.5 per cent off
the size of the German economy this
year and more than 0.5 per cent in Mex-
ico, the Czech Republic and Japan.
Alongside such mismatches between
supply and demand, the OECD’s main
message was that there were many
other large imbalances emerging, rang-
ing from the supply of vaccines to a
growing gap in economic performance
between advanced economies and
emerging markets.
The OECD projected world economic
growth to slow from 5.5 per cent this
year to 4.5 per cent next year, followed
by a 3.2 per cent expansion in 2023.
Inflation in G20 countries was likely
to fall to 3.8 per cent in 2023 after hitting
4.4 per cent next year.
See FT View
that inequitable distribution of vaccines
would increase the chances of muta-
tions and new variants.
“If we had used the vaccines produced
so far in a rational and fair manner, we
wouldn’t be seeing the high death rates,
two years into the pandemic,” she said.
“Even now, it’s not too late to act.”
Covax was set up last year with the
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness
and Innovation, Gavi and the WHO to
secure vaccines for the developing
world and has delivered 582m doses.
But it has suffered from a lack of trans-
parency by drugmakers, manufacturing
issues, export bans and what Berkley
said was “hoarding” by richer countries.
In Europe, momentum is growing for
holdouts to be pressed to accept jabs.
European Commission president Ursula
von der Leyen yesterday called for a
debate about mandatory vaccinations
in Europe, saying she believed it was
appropriate to have a “discussion” on
the matter given how many people
remained unvaccinated in the EU.
With Moderna and Pfizer working on
new vaccines to target a variant the
WHO has said poses a “very high risk”,
Berkley said developing nations risked
being put to the back of the queue again.
“We must do everything to avoid a vac-
cine nationalism 2.0 scenario develop-
ing, where rich countries tie up supplies
of new, variant-adapted vaccines if spe-
cific vaccines are required,” he added.
“It’s only with Delta that they [rich
countries] realised if they didn’t protect
the developing world, they were at risk
of having these new variants.”

Employment EU recovery funds

Services sector dominates US jobs growth
MAMTA BADKAR — NEW YORK
The pace of hiring by the non-farm pri-
vate sector in the US cooled slightly in
November, but the latest data show
businesses continue to make strides in
filling near record-level job openings.
Private employers in the US added
534,000 jobs last month, according to
payroll processor ADP. That topped
economists’ estimates of 525,000, but
was slower than the 571,000 of October.
“The labour market recovery contin-
ued to power through its challenges last
month,” said Nela Richardson, chief
economist at ADP.
“Service providers, which are more
vulnerable to the pandemic, have domi-
nated job gains this year,” she added.
Large businesses that employ more
than 500 people accounted for the bulk
of the gains. Job gains in the services sec-
tor, which added 424,000 positions,
again outpaced those in manufacturing,
which added 110,000.
But labour shortages continued to
weigh on the recovery, with Americans
quitting the workforce in record num-
bers and job openings at near record
high levels. Childcare responsibilities,
fears of coronavirus in the workplace
and a skills mismatch have all impeded
US employers’ ability to attract staff.
The private payrolls data came ahead
Job gains in the
services sector,
which added
424,000 positions,
outpaced those in
manufacturing
of tomorrow’s official employment
report. Economists have forecast the US
created 550,000 jobs last month, while
the unemployment rate slid to 4.5 per
cent, from 4.6 per cent the month
before.
Labour improvements along with
new orders helped to push up growth in
the manufacturing sector despite sup-
ply chain disruptions. The Institute for
Supply Management’s index tracking
factory activity rose in November to 61.1
from 60.8 in October. That was broadly
in line with economists’ forecast of 61.
New orders grew at a faster rate, the
report showed, while the employment
component of the survey grew for the
third consecutive month. Deliveries
from suppliers to manufacturers were
slower in November, though.
“The US manufacturing sector
remains in a demand-driven, supply
chain-constrained environment, with
some indications of slight labour and
supplier delivery improvement,” Timo-
thy Fiore, chair of the ISM manufactur-
ing business survey committee, said.
The sector, Fiore added, continued to
face “record-long raw materials and
capital equipment lead times, contin-
ued shortages of critical lowest-tier
materials, high commodity prices and
difficulties in transporting products”.
The Federal Trade Commission has
asked big retailers and consumer goods
groups in the US to provide information
about their supply chains as it begins an
investigation into bottlenecks and high
prices afflicting the economy.
Spain’s employers seek delay to labour reform
DANIEL DOMBEY — MADRID
The head of Spain’s employers’ federa-
tion has pleaded with Madrid to scale
down or delay labour rule changes that
the government has promised Brussels
it will deliver this year in return for bil-
lions of euros of EU funds.
In an interview with the Financial
Times, Antonio Garamendi, head of the
Spanish Confederation of Business
Organisations, or CEOE, said botched
reforms could hurt competitiveness.
The changes being negotiated
between Garamendi, the unions and the
government are Spain’s highest-profile
EU commitment this year. They affect
areas such as the rules for collective bar-
gaining, temporary contracts, subcon-
tracting and retraining schemes.
“A minimalist agreement could well
be much more efficient in the time
[available] than a maximalist disagree-
ment,” said Garamendi, whose organi-
sation represents more than 2m compa-
nies. “It is not easy to sit down and talk
for 20 days and change everything
under an approach [that applies to] the
whole workforce.” He said the promise
to deliver the reforms by December 31
was of the government’s choosing, sug-
gesting the talks could be extended
beyond that date, an idea the adminis-
tration has shot down.
The dispute shows the potential pit-
falls of the work programme that the
minority government has hammered
out with Brussels, containing deadlines
for around 100 reforms. The EU says the
reforms have to be carried out on time if
Spain is to access the €70bn of grants
under the bloc’s coronavirus recovery
plan. The next instalment of €14bn is
due in the first quarter of next year.
The government’s labour rules plans
are particularly contentious. They build
on a key provision in the agreement that
set up Spain’s leftwing coalition govern-
ment — to scrap 2012 reforms that
reduced businesses’ costs by cutting
severance pay and privileging business-
specific over sector-wide negotiations.
The government says those changes
hit workers unjustly, pointing out that
Spain remains a high unemployment
country — the jobless rate is over 14 per
cent — and that a quarter of employees
are on temporary contracts. Critics say
the 2012 reforms helped Spain export
its way out of the deep recession that fol-
lowed the financial crisis.
“The European Commission, the ECB,
the OECD, the Bank of Spain all say that
the labour reform secured the recov-
ery,” said Garamendi. “There are things
we can improve, for example, regarding
the use of temporary contracts, but be
careful of changing things that
work . . . We must have competitive
businesses.”
The government’s plans would,
among other changes, limit the use of
temporary contracts.
The CEOE’s call for a slimmed down
accord and a possible extension of the
deadline is particularly significant
because the EU recovery programme
workplan signed by Madrid and Brus-
sels requires the government to negoti-
ate the changes with business and
unions “respecting social dialogue”.
4 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Thursday 2 December 2021

INTERNATIONAL
GLOBAL INSIGHT
Rising tension

Abe warns Beijing on Taiwan invasion

SOUTH PACIFIC

Ex-Japan PM says military
intervention would be
‘road to economic suicide’
KATHRIN HILLE — TAIPEI
ROBIN HARDING AND ERI SUGIURA — TOKYO
DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO — SEOUL
A Chinese attack on Taiwan would be an
emergency for Japan and for its alliance
with the US, former Japanese prime
China is huge. But since it has close ties
with the global economy, a military
adventure in Taiwan must have a grave
impact on the global economy. In other
words, China would be severely hurt.”
Although Abe stepped down as prime
minister last year, he remains a power-
ful behind-the-scenes figure in the rul-
ing Liberal Democratic party, especially
on issues of diplomacy and security.
He is known as a strong advocate for
Kathrin
Hille
In response to a question, Abe later ‘A Taiwan they could intervene in support of the
advocated a trilateral security dialogue country if it were attacked.
emergency
with Taiwan and the US, something
from which Japan has previously shied
away for fear of antagonising China.
is a Japan
President Joe Biden recently said the
US would defend Taiwan against an
attack from China. That appeared to
Economic woes, not
Abe’s comments are especially signifi-
cant because, under the pacifist Article
emergency.
That is,
contravene the longstanding policy of
“strategic ambiguity”, in which Wash-
only China, lie behind
9 of the Japanese constitution, a threat
to the country’s own survival is required
before Tokyo can take military action.
it’s an
ington did not make clear how it would
respond. The White House intervened Solomon Islands riots
Taro Aso, then deputy prime minis-
emergency to say that US policy had not changed.
Peter Dutton, Australia’s defence

minister Shinzo Abe has warned, hint-
ing that an invasion could meet the hur-
dle for Tokyo to use military force.
Abe said a Chinese invasion would
amount to “economic suicide”, in a
speech delivered via video to a confer-
ence in Taiwan yesterday.
The remarks highlight the growing
tensions across the Taiwan Strait and
Japan’s shift towards more forthright
support for Taipei.
“A military adventure is the road to
economic suicide,” said Abe. “For sure,
Taiwan. In 2019 he stepped up military ter, said in July that an emergency in
planning for a potential conflict around Taiwan could lead to a “survival-threat-
Taiwan or the disputed Senkaku ening situation” for Japan, in remarks
Islands. The US and Japan have subse- reported by Japanese media.
quently conducted war games and joint The comments suggested Tokyo
military exercises to prepare for a possi- viewed the scenario of a Chinese attack
ble clash with China over Taiwan. on Taiwan as a potential case for mili-
“A Taiwan emergency is a Japan emer- tarily involvement. Abe’s latest remarks
gency. That is, it’s an emergency for the come closest to confirming that.
US-Japan alliance as well,” Abe said. “It’s A growing number of countries have
imperative that people in Beijing not appealed to China to refrain from bellig-
misjudge that, and most especially Pres- erent moves towards Taiwan. The US
ident Xi Jinping.” and some of its allies have suggested
Drought. Protests
for the minister, said last month it was “incon-
US-Japan ceivable” that his country would not
support the US in a campaign to defend
alliance Taiwan against China.
as well’ Abe’s comments follow Japan’s deci-
sion last week to approve $6.8bn in
extra defence spending after Fumio
Kishida, the prime minister, signalled
his concern about China’s rising power.
China sent warplanes into Taiwan’s
air defence zone at the weekend, a tactic
it has used to express its anger with Tai-
pei and has stepped up this year.
A
fter a mob burnt down buildings and pillaged
shops in Honiara last week, the smoke over
the capital of the Solomon Islands was inter-
preted as another iteration of the geopolitical
battle between China and the US.
Many of the ransacked properties were owned by ethnic
Chinese and some reports cast the unrest as “rioting over
China”. Daniel Suidani, premier of Malaita, the home prov-
ince of most of the protesters, has been campaigning
against Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare for his move to
switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China two
years ago. Sogavare has claimed that the unrest was “influ-
enced and encouraged by other powers”, a thinly veiled
reference to aid Malaita has received from Taiwan and the
US since the central government’s shift towards China.
The Solomon Islands, once a key battlefield between the
US and Japan in the second world war, have again become a
front line in great power rivalry. But the latest Honiara

Water crisis underscores Iran’s problems
Farmers feel marginalised in
fight for scarce resource as
sanctions batter economy
NAJMEH BOZORGMEHR — TEHRAN
Farmers demanding water for their
crops, protesters with blood pouring
down their faces and riot police shout-
ing at them to disperse.
In recent weeks, the scorched river-
bed at the heart of the historic city of
Isfahan has been the site of Iran’s biggest
ever environmental protest.
Riot police patrolled Isfahan at the
weekend after clearing the dried up
river, Zayandeh Roud, of thousands of
demonstrators who had made a camp
there. Dozens of protesters, some chant-
ing “Death to the dictator” and “Our
police, our disgrace”, had been arrested,
local media reported.
Iran, an arid and semi-arid country, is
struggling with decades-long drought
and a rapid depletion of its water
resources, a problem exacerbated by a
growing population.
Farmers near Isfahan are among the
worst hit, arguing they have lost out as
the government has prioritised provid-
ing water to cities and industry.
“Farmers know there is no water to go
into the river now but this [demonstra-
tion] is a wake-up call for authorities to
think of short- and long-term solutions,”
said Masoud Sarrami, a senior business-
man in Isfahan.
This is the latest protest to rock the
Iranian regime, hit hard by sanctions,
and makes clear the scale of the envi-
ronmental challenge faced by the
Islamic republic. As the protests grew,
President Ebrahim Raisi ordered a com-
mittee to be established to look into the
revival of Zayandeh Roud.
Vice-president Mohammad Mokhber
said the water problems would be
resolved “in any means and any possible
ways”. Ali Akbar Mehrabian, energy
minister, apologised to Isfahan farmers
last week and promised a solution.
The situation in Isfahan is extreme.
For the past 14 months, the river had
mostly dried up, said Heshmatollah
Entekhabi, a researcher of the Zayan-
Anger: deh Roud basin. Water was allowed into
Iranians gather the river from the dam during two
in the central 10-day periods.
city of Isfahan Local authorities say Zayandeh Roud
last month in dam, normally filled with rainwater and
protest over the water from nearby mountains, is only
water crisis. It 14 per cent full. Some 2m out of the 5m
was the latest population of the basin have been
demonstration severely affected. Many rely on crops
to rock the such as onions, potatoes and melons as
regime well as fodder corn and alfalfa for their
Fatmeh Nasr/ISNA/AFP/Getty livelihood.
“Protests in Isfahan are not politically
motivated at all but farmers have a lot of
detailed information on where their
water has gone,” said Fatemeh Kazemi,
an environmental activist in Isfahan,
indicating that local industry has been
prioritised for water supplies.
Farmers’ demands were legitimate,
Entekhabi said. “The government has to
revive Zayandeh Roud in any possible
way but until that day it must pay farm-
ers reasonable amounts for their losses.
Instead of going to the streets which had
the risks of conflicts, farmers chose the
dried-out riverbed and showed to peo-
ple in Iran and the world that the river is
truly parched.”
In a sign of how the protests in Isfahan
could escalate, thousands of people in
the neighbouring Chaharmahal Bakhti-
ari province, where the source of Zayan-
deh Roud is, took to the streets, afraid
their water supply would be diverted to
placate people in Isfahan. Farmers in
Isfahan destroyed some water pipes to
the southern city of Yazd.
The water crisis has been exacerbated
by Iran’s economic crisis. Heavily sanc-
tioned by the US after the nuclear deal
collapsed, Tehran struggles to fund
longer-term development plans. It also
lacks access to western technologies and
needs tens of billions of dollars to
reform its traditional irrigation system
and seek out less water-intensive crops.
At the UN Climate Change Conference
in Glasgow last month, Iran said it would
be committed to emission reductions if
sanctions were lifted. Iran’s vice-presi-
dent and head of the Department of the
Environment, Ali Salajegheh, asked the
conference: “How can Iran materialise
its commitments under the Paris [cli-
mate] accords if it is not able to receive
any financial and technical help from
the international community?”
Iran’s environmental activists tend to
agree. “We face a dead-end whenever
we suggest plans to the government,
which tells us in response that the coun-
try is under sanctions,” said Moham-
mad Darvish, a leading activist in
Tehran. “A large population will be dis-
placed in the foreseeable future. Where
should they go? This is not merely Iran’s
problem with its 85m population. It will
affect the whole world.”
For now, Isfahan is quiet. It is not clear
how far farmers there are prepared to
go. Some videos of the protests have
gone viral. In one video, an elderly
farmer said: “It was not hooligans [who
beat up people]. It was the police.”
Each time there was a major protest,
the regime lost a support base, said
Abbas Abdi, a reformist analyst. Now
they risk losing farmers, he said, “but it
does not seem to worry anyone in the
[political] system”.
riots also reflect failure to address poverty and inequality.
“Geopolitical manoeuvring was a trigger but it isn’t the
whole picture,” said Anna Powles, a senior lecturer at Mas-
sey University in New Zealand. “The dynamics underpin-
ning the riots are a complex web of longstanding local
grievances over the lack of economic development, cor-
ruption and the capturing of elites. These dynamics have
intersected over the past three years with geopolitical
competition.”
Honiara has history with riots. Ethnic violence between
armed groups from the main island of Guadalcanal and
those from Malaita, the most populous province, between
1998 and 2003 left the
country with traumatic
memories. Although an
‘The dynamics
external force led by Aus- underpinning the
tralia managed to end the
conflict known as “the
riots are a complex
tensions”, peace is fragile. web of local
Honiara saw violent pro-
tests after general elec-
grievances’
tions in 2006 and in 2019.
The root cause is the lack of economic opportunity for
young people displaced from poorer provinces and living
on the outskirts of the capital, often without electricity or
running water.
Terence Wood, a research fellow at the Development
Policy Centre of Australian National University, says
development is unlikely to happen in a political system
based on clientelism. “Australia gave a lot of aid in the
wake of ‘the tensions’. But they couldn’t change the coun-
try’s underlying political economy,” added Wood.
That is where China comes in. Businesses owned by eth-
nic Chinese have been targets in each round of rioting,
partly because disenfranchised locals see them as a main
source of corruption and economic inequality.
“There was some feeling against the Chinese businesses
that are involved in the financing of domestic politics, but
this is not new,” said Leliana Firisua, a Honiara resident
influential in the Malaitan community.
Ethnic Chinese have been dominating the retail sector
for decades, but now Chinese companies are expanding
into sectors where they had not previously competed with
locals and other foreign investors, such as agriculture and
resources. Moreover, observers of Solomon politics say the
diplomatic switch to China has fuelled the cultivating of
local politicians with money, long practised by Taiwan and
also by foreign investors in logging and mining.
“There have been rumours of an increasingly brazen
personal inducement approach,” said Mihai Sora, a former
Australian diplomat in the Solomon Islands and now
research fellow at the Lowy Institute. “The mechanics are
the same as those Taiwan used, but with more money.”
The spark that set it all ablaze appears to have been
Suidani’s political instincts to latch on to the geopolitical
narrative to pursue long-festering local grievances. The
Malaita premier has threatened an independence poll in
Malaita over the diplomatic switch from Taiwan to China.
“This unrest will not stop unless what the people are
demanding is achieved. And that is change,” said Firisua.
kathrin.hille@ft.com

Economic instability Taliban takeover

Pakistan inflation surge leaves Khan vulnerable to challenge
BENJAMIN PARKIN — NEW DELHI
FARHAN BOKHARI — ISLAMABAD
It has been a long time since Akram
Khan, a father of seven in his mid-40s,
has been able to serve his family meat.
“A year ago I used to bring a full basket
every morning,” said the fruit seller,
pointing to his half-empty cart of gua-
vas, bananas and a few apples in a busy
Islamabad market. “Growing prices of
every food has made it diffi-
cult . . . Now, people just can’t buy as
much as before.”
Pakistan’s more than 220m people
were spared the worst of the coronavi-
rus pandemic’s initial economic shock,
thanks in part to the government’s pol-
icy of shorter, looser lockdowns.
But they are now facing a new crisis.
Inflation has surged to the worst level in
years, with an index tracking essentials
such as fuel, food and soap last week ris-
ing above 18 per cent year on year.
The rupee has also lost 15 per cent of
its value against the dollar in six
months. Officials fear a rising import
bill will deplete foreign currency
reserves and further destabilise the
economy.
This poses a growing challenge to
Imran Khan, prime minister. His Paki-
stan Tehreek-e-Insaf party won power
in 2018 on a vow to end cycles of eco-
nomic instability, where high debt and
low foreign currency reserves forced
repeated bailouts.
But Khan has found himself trapped
in this same vicious rhythm, and rival
parties have sought to take advantage to
weaken or oust him before he serves the
remaining two years of his term.
“The political implication of [infla-
tion] is immense. For the PTI govern-
ment since the start, the economy has
been their weakest link,” said Bilal
Gilani, executive director of Gallup
Pakistan. “There has been instability in
the past three years, but the past three
months have been really challenging.”
Authorities said they were taking
steps to manage the situation. The IMF
and Pakistan last week agreed to
resume the next $1bn tranche of a sus-
pended $6bn financial package signed
in 2019, pending final approval.
The State Bank of Pakistan last month
also raised its benchmark interest rate
150 basis points to 8.75 per cent in an
effort to quell inflation. The central
bank said it had taken other steps such
as liberalising the exchange rate, which
it believes will help in the long term.
Authorities have blamed rising prices
on the global uptick in inflation. But
critics said Pakistan’s predicament was
a product of the same domestic mis-
management that forced Khan — who
once said he would rather die than take
“a begging bowl” to foreign powers — to
agree to Pakistan’s 12th IMF bailout
Prices have surged
in Pakistan, in particular
for poorer communities
Sensitive price indicator*
(2015-16=100)
180
Lowest expenditure quintile
160
140
All quintiles
120
100
2018 20 21
* Consumer index based on prices of essential items
for different expenditure groups
Sources: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics; Refinitiv
since the 1980s. “Structural issues
haven’t been addressed,” said Asad Say-
eed at the Collective for Social Science
Research, a Karachi-based think-tank.
Pakistan expects growth of more than
4 per cent this year, according to Fitch,
the rating agency, but a hotter economy
is also fuelling higher imports.
With Pakistan’s weak export sector
unable to counter the surge, the current
account deficit in the quarter ending in
September widened to $3.4bn, com-
pared with $1.9bn in the previous finan-
cial year ending in July.
The rupee has dropped to record lows
of more than Rs170 to the dollar as the
stalled IMF programme unnerved
investors. But in order for the fund to
resume assistance, Khan has had to
agree to painful measures such as rais-
ing petrol and electricity prices.
Analysts have warned that such steps
risk deepening the political backlash by
further squeezing low-income Pakista-
nis and small businesses. “Even motor-
cyclists are complaining [about] fuel
price increases,” said Ayaz Amir, a
former member of parliament with the
opposition PML-N party. “The govern-
ment is looking vulnerable.”
Afghan economic meltdown
one of worst ever, says UN
BENJAMIN PARKIN — NEW DELHI
The UN has forecast that Afghanistan’s
gross domestic product will contract
20 per cent within a year following the
Taliban’s takeover, one of the worst
economic meltdowns in history.
“[It’s] an economic contraction that
we’ve never seen before, ever,” said
Abdallah Al Dardari, the UN Develop-
ment Programme’s Afghanistan head
and a former deputy prime minister of
Syria. “I’m comparing with Venezuela,
Lebanon and so on; we haven’t seen
such an immediate, abrupt drop.”
A UNDP report yesterday said the
contraction was expected to worsen to
30 per cent next year, highlighting the
fragility of the Afghan state despite
almost two decades of US-led assistance
and billions of dollars in aid. It was not
strong enough to withstand the shocks
of the pandemic, droughts and the Tali-
ban’s takeover, the report says.
The UNDP forecast that per capita
income in Afghanistan, already the
poorest country in Asia, would drop to
$350 next year from $500 in 2020, hav-
ing already fallen from a peak of $650 a
decade ago. It had relied on foreign aid,
which the UNDP said was as much as 80
per cent of budget expenditure. Afghan-
istan’s foreign currency reserves, which
amount to almost half of the country’s
$20bn annual GDP, were also frozen,
prompting a cash and liquidity crisis.
Hundreds of thousands are owed
months of salaries, hospitals are close to
collapse and nine out of 10 Afghans are
expected to fall below the poverty line
by next year. More than half of the 39m
population require food assistance.
The UNDP said the Taliban’s own poli-
cies were exacerbating the breakdown.
Restricting women from education and
work could cost up to $1bn, or 5 per cent
of GDP, the UNDP estimates.
“Even if the assets are unfrozen,
humanitarian aid doubles and triples, it
will not be enough to mitigate let alone
avert the crisis that we’re seeing,” said
Zafiris Tzannatos, a professor at the
American University of Beirut. “Now
we’ve fallen off the cliff.”
Thursday 2 December 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 5
6 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Thursday 2 December 2021

Wage battles Hedge funds flourishing from coronavirus-fuelled market turbulence compete to recruit top talent y ANALYSIS

ExxonMobil sets wider carbon targets Loeb notches

3 US energy major plans 20% emissions cut by 2030 3 Measures branded ‘inadequate’ by activist investor
JUSTIN JACOBS — HOUSTON
ExxonMobil has broadened goals to
reduce the amount of carbon dioxide
released with each barrel of oil it pumps,
applying them across company opera-
tions but avoiding deeper emissions
cuts endorsed by rivals in Europe.
The US energy major said it aimed to
reduce company-wide greenhouse gas
intensity by 20-30 per cent by 2030. Its
previous target was a cut of 15-20 per
cent by 2025 for its “upstream”, or oil
and gas production, business, which it
said was achieved this year.
The emissions and spending plans
released yesterday are the first since
Exxon lost board seats in a proxy battle
with the Engine No 1 activist hedge fund
that had argued that the company was
ill prepared for a low-carbon future.
Andrew Logan, senior director for oil
and gas at Ceres, which co-ordinates
investor action on climate change, said
the new emissions targets were “grossly
inadequate” and said the company was
“losing ground relative to its peers” that
have more ambitious goals.
“It’s hard to find any signs that the
company’s fundamental approach to
addressing climate change has changed
with the addition of new board mem-
bers,” Logan said, although he added it
was “still early days”.
Carbon intensity is a measure of emis-
sions per unit of output. Activists have
criticised Exxon for using this yardstick,
rather than absolute emissions, because
it allows total emissions to rise if fossil
fuel output climbs.
But Exxon said its updated plans
would lead to “corporate-wide” emis-
sions 20 per cent lower by 2030.
Exxon’s new targets are limited to
emissions from its operations, not from
consumers burning the fuels it sells. Its
European peers BP and Royal Dutch
Shell have said they will cut oil and gas
output over time to meet emissions tar-
gets that encompass fuel combustion.
Texas-based Exxon intends to spend
‘It’s hard to find any
signs that the company’s
fundamental approach
. . . has changed’
$15bn on new emissions-reduction
efforts to 2027 — about $2.5bn a year.
The company’s total planned capital
spending is between $20bn and $25bn a
year to 2027, up from about $16bn in
this year’s pandemic-hit budget.
Charlie Penner, who ran Engine No 1’s
Exxon campaign before recently leaving
the fund, said the increased low-carbon
spending was positive “if the focus is
building scalable and profitable busi-
nesses, versus generating advertising”.
Chevron, Exxon’s biggest US competi-
tor, said in September it would spend
$10bn on low-carbon ventures up to the
end of 2028. Both companies have
pledged a lower share of total spending
to cleaner energy than European rivals.
The planned capital expenditures at
Exxon are still far below the $35bn in
annual spending the company had
planned before the pandemic pushed
down world oil demand.
Engine No 1 argued in its proxy cam-
paign that management was overspend-
ing, putting Exxon’s prized dividend at
risk. The oil supermajor has enjoyed a
surge in profits this year, thanks in large
part to higher oil and natural gas prices.
Darren Woods, Exxon’s chief executive,
said the company’s “improved financial
outlook” supported more investment in
“high-return projects, and a growing list
of financially accretive lower-emission
business opportunities”.
Much of Exxon’s future spending will
be focused on new projects in Guyana,
where it has discovered vast reserves of
crude off the South American country’s
coast, and in the Permian basin in Texas
and New Mexico, the largest US oilfield.
The company says the plans will allow
it to double earnings by 2027 compared
with 2019’s $14.3bn.
The $15bn in low-carbon spending
will be split between efforts to slash
emissions from the company’s own
operations, largely through reducing
methane leaks and gas flaring, and on
new carbon capture and storage, or CCS,
hydrogen and biofuel projects.
up win against
Third Point
insurgents
JOSHUA OLIVER
Dan Loeb has scored a victory in his
battle with insurgent investors at his
London-listed investment company,
winning a crucial shareholder vote.
The New York-based activist has him-
self been under attack from activists,
who have complained about a valuation
discount between the main fund at
Loeb’s Third Point and a London-listed
feeder fund Third Point Investors Ltd.
Asset Value Investors, the largest
insurgent, had urged TPIL shareholders
to remove Josh Targoff, Third Point gen-
eral counsel, from the London fund’s
board as a signal of their support for the
activists’ position. But that motion was
defeated in a three-to-one vote at a
meeting yesterday.
“Given the result of the vote
announced at the extraordinary general
meeting held today, the board expects
that AVI will now cease in its attempts to

Nuclear fusion impose its self-serving agenda,” TPIL

said. AVI did not comment.

group secures
The fight between Loeb and AVI, a
£1.2bn London fund manager, centres
on measures to narrow the gap between

$1.8bn funding
Commonwealth Fusion Systems has
secured nearly $2bn in funding from
investors that include Tiger Global
Management and Bill Gates, as the US
nuclear energy group looks to
develop the promising but fiendishly
difficult technology.
Tiger led the $1.8bn series B
funding round backed by about 30
investors. It was the largest private
investment to date in nuclear fusion,
which CFS wants to commercialise
and bring to the grid by the 2030s.
“The world is ready to make big
investments in commercial fusion as
a key part of the global energy
transition,” said Bob Mumgaard,
chief executive of CFS, which is based
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Nuclear power generation is based
on fission, where atoms are split.
Fusion, conversely, would push them
together and could in theory provide
a virtually inexhaustible supply of
energy without CO2 emissions.
But scientists have never been able
to create more energy than is needed
to carry out the process.
Sarah Provan in London and
Myles McCormick in New York
TPIL’s share price and its net asset value,
which consists of exposure to Third
Point’s main Cayman Islands-based
fund. Shareholders voted to back the
board’s plan, which will try to shrink the
discount through a share exchange facil-
ity with the main Third Point fund.
TPIL serves as a “feeder fund” passing
investors’ money through to Third
Point, which manages about $20bn of
assets and is known for activist fights
with public companies, including a
recent campaign to break up Shell.
The discontented shareholders have
accused Loeb of hypocrisy. Richard
Webb, CEO of Metage Capital, one of the
activists, said in October that the man-
ager’s actions were “in stark contrast to
the views frequently expressed by Dan
Loeb when an investor himself”.
Loeb has voiced his frustration at the
challenge on Twitter. “I hear the buzz-
ing of a harmless insect. I believe it is a
gad fly. Someone hand me a swatter,”
Loeb tweeted about AVI last month.
“Describing [AVI’s] antics as infantile is
an insult to crying babies,” he said.
The discount between TPIL to Third
Point has recently narrowed to 13 per
cent. The board hopes to close the gap
further by encouraging new buyers, but
said yesterday that “potential new
shareholders . . . have expressed hesi-
Clean energy challenge: a technician works on a rod sample mount at Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ facility in Massachusetts — David L Ryan/The Boston Globe/Getty tance in purchasing shares whilst this
distracting drama continues”.

EU must think twice before branding defence industry harmful

The draft moots limiting the label
INSIDE BUSINESS “harmful” to activities banned by inter-
national treaties, such as chemical or
EUROPE biological weapons. But the language
remains unclear.
Peggy Another proposal suggests barring
companies from qualifying for an eco-
Hollinger kitemark to be used for retail financial
products, if more than 5 per cent of
turnover comes “from the production
or trade of conventional weapons and/
smaller companies, crucial to the supply
chain and innovation, says Profumo.
But the proposal also risks deterring
civil companies, which provide increas-
ingly important technology to defence
projects.
There are good reasons to be critical of
the defence industry. Transparency
International has found that just 12 per
cent of the world’s top 134 defence com-
panies show a high level of commitment

E
arlier this year, Germany’s
Bayerische Landesbank qui-
etly decided it did not want to
do business with defence
companies any more.
“BayernLB has not announced it to
the public yet,” a bank spokesman told
me this week. “We are fading out busi-
ness relationships with companies
. . . [having] above 20 per cent turnover
in defence.”
The decision has sent shivers through
Europe’s defence industry. The state is
home to several defence companies
such as Airbus Defence and Space, and
Hensoldt. If Bavaria’s state-controlled
bank says defence is too controversial to
deal with, why should private sector
banks step in?
Now a bigger threat is coming, this
time from Brussels where a discussion is
under way about what constitutes
socially sustainable finance.
Europe’s classification system for
green investment, known as the envi-
ronmental taxonomy, will soon be pub-
lished. But officials are already working
on a “social taxonomy” to define which
activities contribute positively to soci-
ety, those that do no significant harm,
and those that are harmful.
In draft proposals presented this year,
the defence industry was grouped with
gambling and tobacco as harmful and,
so, potentially not socially sustainable.
or military products used for combat”.
This time there is no qualification about
controversial activities.
Not surprisingly, Europe’s defence
industry is raising the alarm. ASD,
the European defence industry’s trade
association, has written to the Euro-
pean Commission to warn that these
proposals could undermine the bloc’s
security by restricting defence
companies’ ability
to secure finance ‘It is a problem if we are
and so to invest.
“It is a problem if defined as not socially
we are defined as viable. Without security
not socially viable,”
said ASD president we cannot have a
Alessandro Pro- sustainable society’
fumo, who is also
chief executive of Italy’s defence cham-
pion Leonardo. “Without security we
cannot have a sustainable society.”
The proposals are already having an
impact. Jan Pie, ASD secretary-general,
cites examples of banks cutting ties with
defence companies in Germany, Fin-
land, Belgium, the Netherlands and
Sweden. One Belgian group has even
had to pay employees from non-EU
bank accounts, he says.
Germany’s defence industry trade
body has found that more than a third of
members face urgent issues with banks,
such as refusal to provide standard serv-
ices or export insurance.
The pain is being felt most acutely by
to fighting corruption. But there are
many international treaties defining
legitimate trade in conventional weap-
ons and Europe’s defence industry is
still crucial to the bloc’s security.
Politicians including commission
president Ursula von der Leyen have
recently stressed the need for a strong
defence industry in the face of growing
global threats.
There is an incoherence in defining
defence companies as “socially harm-
ful” if they are at the same time vital to
the EU’s peace and stability. Defence is
not the same as tobacco and gambling,
where it is difficult to see any wider
social good.
Some may not like defence, according
to consultant Francis Tusa of Defence
Analysis, “but then they have to do a
better job of explaining how we would
work without it”.
The commission should think care-
fully about the consequences of indis-
criminately labelling the sector as
unsustainable. Making it more difficult
for law-abiding companies to raise
finance will either force governments to
shoulder more expense, or buy more
from abroad — where Europe will have
even less control over behaviour.
Of course weapons are harmful. But
they are even more harmful if those who
threaten you have them and you do not.
peggy.hollinger@ft.com
Thursday 2 December 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 7
8 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Thursday 2 December 2021

COMPANIES & MARKETS

Technology Technology

Seedrs bought by US investing start-up Executive in

Deal sealed months after
regulator blocked merger
with UK rival Crowdcube
DANIEL THOMAS — LONDON
Seedrs, the UK crowdfunding business,
is being bought by a US investment
group just months after it warned that a
regulator’s decision to block a merger
with a local rival would stifle Britain’s
ability to create tech champions.
The Competition and Markets
Authority in March stopped a proposed
merger of Seedrs and Crowdcube on the
basis they were the only two sizeable
suppliers of equity crowdfunding to
start-ups in the UK. At the time, Jeff
Lynn, Seedrs’ co-founder, said a merger
was the only realistic way to build a sus-
tainable business. The CMA decision
was holding back efforts to “build some
great businesses in this country”.
Republic, a US start-up investing plat-
form, said yesterday it had bought
Seedrs in a $100m deal as part of a push
into European markets.
Seedrs was the first regulated equity
crowdfunder in the world and £1.5bn
has been invested via its platform. It has
helped raise early stage funds for com-
panies such as Revolut, the digital bank.
Lynn, who is also chair, will stay in his
role at Seedrs, and oversee Republic’s
European expansion. The merged com-
Financials. Private equity
panies will aim to exploit EU legislation
this month harmonising rules for
crowdfunding, opening the market for
larger-scale operations.
Republic says it plans to
‘commit substantial
capital to drive growth in
the UK and Europe’
Lynn said the new rules “created a
true European harmonised regulatory
regime, where none existed before”.
“The regulatory fragmentation has
made it nearly impossible to build plat-
forms of scale — this [reform] gives plat-
forms access to 27 different countries,
all under a single regulatory regime.”
As part of the deal, Davidson Kemp-
ner, a US investment firm, will buy
stakes owned by several Seedrs share-
holders, including those previously
managed by Neil Woodford, to become
a shareholder in the merged group.
The Woodford stakes are now man-
aged by the Schroder UK Public Private
Trust and Omnis Income & Growth
Fund, which along with a separate stake
held by Augmentum, represent about a
30 per cent shareholding in Seedrs.
Almost 5,000 smaller investors,
mainly Seedrs’ customers, also own
stakes in the business. These include
Andy Murray, the tennis player.
These investors will mostly be given
cash for their shares, though larger
investors will also be offered equity in
the combined business.
The transaction is subject to approval
by the Financial Conduct Authority and
Seedrs shareholders.
Republic said that it would “commit
substantial capital to drive growth in the
UK and Europe”.
Seedrs has applied for a licence to
operate in Ireland to allow it to provide
EU services, said Lynn, and plans to
open offices in European cities.
Kendrick Nguyen, Republic’s
founder, said he wanted to develop “the
strengths of both companies . . . to cre-
ate a clear industry leader”.
charge of
Meta’s digital
currency
project quits
DAVE LEE — SAN FRANCISCO
The executive tasked with launching
Meta’s faltering digital currency
project is to leave at the end of the year.
David Marcus announced his departure
after Meta, Facebook’s parent company,
suffered setbacks in its attempts to
launch cryptocurrency products,
including a new digital token, Diem.
In a series of tweets, Marcus said he
planned to launch “something new”
outside the social networking giant and
that his “entrepreneurial DNA has been
nudging me for too many mornings in a
row to continue ignoring it”.
Marcus, 48, had been at Meta for

Striking US miners take their fight to Wall Street
Buyout groups accused of
funding big dividends
through pay and benefit cuts
SUJEET INDAP AND ANTOINE GARA
NEW YORK
Striking miners at an Alabama coal
company want better pay and benefits
from management but are pushing their
case by focusing on the former owners
in the private equity industry.
Apollo Global Management, Black-
stone and KKR were among previous
owners that shared the bulk of almost
$800m in dividends after Warrior Met
Coal was formed out of a bankruptcy
reorganisation in 2016.
The miners argue that those special
payouts were made at their expense.
The stand-off has shone a spotlight on
“dividend recapitalisations” in which a
portfolio company borrows to pay a spe-
cial dividend to its owners.
Three US senators wrote to Apollo
and Blackstone this month criticising
their gains at Warrior and saying that
they “appear[ed] to have made off like
bandits”. The scrutiny comes as large
private equity firms earning strong
profits and enjoying soaring valuations
are emphasising environmental, social
and governance practices.
Warrior produces metallurgical coal
used by steel mills in Europe, South
America and Asia. Employees in the
United Mine Workers of America union
went on strike in April.
Almost six years before, Walter
Energy, Warrior’s predecessor, had filed
for bankruptcy protection citing falling
coal prices and high operating costs.
“The debtors suffer from crippling leg-
acy labour costs, principally in the form
of medical benefits and pension obliga-
tions, as well as insupportable hourly
labour costs,” it wrote in court papers.
Senior creditors of Walter, which
included Apollo, Blackstone and KKR,
made a so-called credit bid, agreeing to
buy its mines in exchange for their debt
claims. The group additionally bought
$200m of new Warrior shares.
As a part of the agreement with the
federal bankruptcy court, the private
equity firms were allowed to reject the
previous labour contracts with the
union, while the company’s pension
scheme was terminated and taken over
by the US government’s Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation. Such moves are
typical in corporate bankruptcy cases.
The cleansed balance sheet and
improvement in the coal business
quickly paid off for the new owners.
Mine workers Before its initial public offering in 2017,
march on the Warrior paid them a $190m dividend
Manhattan from cash on hand. A few months later it
headquarters of paid a $600m dividend funded with
BlackRock last cash as well as a $350m debt offering.
month. Below, The payments represented a good
Cecil Roberts, cash return: at the end of 2017, Warrior’s
president of the public equity value was $1.3bn.
United Mine Union officials say the payouts to the
Workers of investment groups drained the com-
America trade pany’s financial resources.
union, addresses “They are vulture capitalists,” said
the workers Phil Smith of the UMWA, referring to
Spencer Platt/Getty
Warrior’s previous owners. “This com-
pany wouldn’t exist had the minework-
ers not taken significant cuts in pay,
health benefits and vacation time when
it emerged from bankruptcy.”
The union says miners took a 20 per
cent pay cut after the restructuring and
face higher healthcare costs.
People close to the private investors
said their acquisition and investment in
Warrior saved jobs, while the annual
income of an hourly worker had risen
from $75,000 to nearly $100,000
between 2016 and 2021. They also said
private equity firms have no current
stakes in the company. An Apollo execu-
tive who remained on the board after its
investment ended resigned last week.
This year, coal prices have soared as
steel demand has recovered from the
pandemic but Warrior has been unable
to increase production even with
replacement miners. Walter Scheller,
chief executive, said output could rise
25 per cent if the strike were resolved.
Warrior said last month it had sold
$350m in new junk bonds to refinance
the 2017 debt offering used to pay the
second shareholder dividend.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Tammy
Baldwin and Bernie Sanders asked in
their letter to Apollo and Blackstone for
information about their role at Warrior.
Warren has sponsored legislation to cur-
tail dividends paid by portfolio compa-
nies to their private equity owners.
Blackstone, which exited the com-
pany in 2018, said the letter was “rid-
dled with misleading statements and its
characterisation of our broader
‘This business model is false”. Its credit busi-
ness “partnered to save 1,400
company jobs . . . during a significant market
wouldn’t downturn”, it said.
Apollo said its former investment
exist had pulled Warrior’s mining operations
the miners from the brink of collapse. “During the
time of Apollo’s investment until our
not taken ultimate exit in 2019, the company
significant thrived — its stock price increased, they
had positive relations with its workforce
cuts in pay, and the representative union, and
health employees, who rank among the top
earners in Alabama, received significant
benefits pay increases and bonuses,” it said. KKR
and declined to comment.
Warrior said: “Our goals during the
vacation negotiation process remain unchanged —
time’ to provide employees with a competitive
compensation package, while protecting
jobs and the long-term viability of the
company in a highly volatile market.”
Coal companies have historically
been aggressive dividend payers. War-
rior paid an additional $580m in special
dividends in 2018 and 2019.
Benjamin Nelson, coal industry ana-
lyst at Moody’s, said: “When times are
good, these [coal] companies can gener-
ate a fair amount of cash. When times
are bad, cash flow gets depressed.”
Warrior’s largest shareholder is Black
Rock with a 14 per cent stake mainly
through passive vehicles.
seven years and previously was head of
Facebook Messenger. He joined the
company from PayPal, where he was
president, and in August 2020 was
made head of Facebook Financial, a unit
designed to oversee all of the social
media group’s payments products.
Marcus said he found “comfort and
confidence” in Meta’s team, which will
now be led by Stephane Kasriel, head of
product for its digital wallet, Novi.
“They will continue to execute our
important mission well under [Kas-
riel’s] leadership, and I can’t wait to wit-
ness this from the outside,” Marcus
wrote. “I know there’s greatness ahead.”
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta chief execu-
Early backers abandoned
Facebook’s crypto
project as regulatory
pressures mounted
tive, said: “We wouldn’t have taken such
a big swing at Diem without your leader-
ship and I’m grateful you’ve made Meta
a place where we make those big bets.”
Diem, first announced in 2019 under
the name Libra, immediately attracted
the attention of financial regulators and
politicians concerned about broad
issues associated with cryptocurrencies
such as money laundering.
It was also launched against the back-
drop of the Cambridge Analytica scan-
dal and other privacy missteps at Face-
book.
Early backers, including Mastercard
and PayPal, abandoned the project as
regulatory pressures mounted.
In May, the Diem Association, an
independent body set up to run the cur-
rency, said it would narrow its scope,
dropping its application to the Swiss
Financial Market Supervisory Author-
ity to operate as a global payments serv-
ice and instead focus on the US.
Novi was launched as a small-scale
pilot in October, but will at first use the
Paxos Dollar instead of Diem. It is avail-
able to a limited number of people in the
US and Guatemala.
A group of Democratic senators
opposed the launch of Novi, writing to
Zuckerberg: “Facebook cannot be
trusted to manage a payment system or
digital currency when its existing ability
to manage risks and keep consumers
safe has proven wholly insufficient.”
Marcus’s unit also faced pushback on
non-crypto payment products. Last
year, regulators in Brazil ordered Meta
to suspend payments on its WhatsApp
messaging platform over concerns that
it would disrupt the country’s financial
system. Brazil’s central bank has since
given approval.
In India, the number of users allowed
to access WhatsApp payments has been
capped by the government.

Technology Banks

SS&C Technologies ups ante for Blue Prism
SARAH PROVAN
SS&C Technologies, a US provider of
financial services software, has pro-
posed a £1.2bn offer for British robot-
ics software maker Blue Prism, as a bid-
ding war with US private equity group
Vista Equity Partners accelerates.
The SS&C offer would give each Blue
Prism shareholder 1,275p a share, a pre-
mium of 53.2 per cent to the closing
price of 832p on August 27, which was
the last business day before sale talks
were first disclosed. It values Blue
Prism’s equity at about £1.24bn.
SS&C’s offer is higher than the raised
1,250p a share takeover bid from Vista
announced a week ago. Vista’s price was
a 35 per cent premium to Blue Prism’s
closing price in August but less than half
its all-time high three years ago, when
the company was valued at £2bn.
That increased bid from Texas-based
Vista came after Blue Prism had agreed
in September to its initial 1,125p a share
cash offer for the provider of process
automation technology, whose custom-
ers include Fidelity, Daimler, eBay and
the NHS.
Vista’s plans included cutting up to a
tenth of the 4,750 employees of the
combined group. Blue Prism, based in
‘The opportunity . . .
will bring us access
to significant capital
resources and investment’
Warrington, in north-west England, has
about 1,000 staff worldwide.
Vista in its agreement reserved the
right to increase its offer price should
there be “an offer or possible offer for
Blue Prism by a third party”, including
SS&C.
Blue Prism directors view the latest
bid from SS&C as “fair and reasonable”
and intend to tell investors to back it.
They have withdrawn their recommen-
dation of the Vista offer.
“The opportunity presented to com-
bine Blue Prism with SS&C will bring us
access to significant capital resources
and investment in R&D alongside access
to SS&C’s extensive 18,000 customers,”
said Jason Kingdon, Blue Prism chief
executive and chair.
“The combination ensures that we
remain at the forefront of the next gen-
eration of intelligent automation and
can continue to provide innovative
products and services,” he added.
A takeover of Blue Prism would end
five years as a public company for the
20-year-old group. It began trading on
Aim with a £48.5m market capitalisa-
tion in 2016, after posting annual sales
for 2015 of £6m. It is the latest acquisi-
tion from overseas of a London-quoted
tech group this year. In August, Avast,
the cyber security company, agreed an
$8bn deal with NortonLifeLock.
See Lex
UBS poaches Youngwood from JPMorgan
OWEN WALKER
EUROPEAN BANKING CORRESPONDENT
UBS has poached a top executive from
JPMorgan Chase to be its chief financial
officer, completing an overhaul of the
senior management at Switzerland’s
biggest bank since Ralph Hamers
started as chief executive a little more
than a year ago.
Sarah Youngwood, who ran JPMorgan’s
consumer business, will replace UBS’s
veteran finance chief Kirt Gardner in
May. Also joining next year will be
former Morgan Stanley president Colm
Kelleher as chair.
Youngwood spent more than two dec-
ades at JPMorgan, becoming finance
chief of the consumer and community
banking group, the bank’s largest divi-
sion by revenue, in 2016. She had previ-
ously been JPMorgan’s head of investor
relations and had also worked in its
investment bank.
“With her strong record, in-depth
finance expertise and experience
across various banking areas, Sarah is
ideally suited to lead our finance func-
tion into the future,” Hamers said
yesterday.
Youngwood’s role was expanded last
year to include leading JPMorgan’s glo-
bal technology unit.
Hamers will reveal his strategy for the
world’s largest wealth manager at an
investor day in February. The plan will
heavily emphasise digitisation and a
Sarah Youngwood: picked for UBS
finance chief after 20 years at rival
greater push into the US mass affluent
wealth market.
Gardener, who joined UBS in 2013 and
became group finance chief in 2016, will
retire in May after spending two months
supporting Youngwood through a tran-
sition period.
Before becoming group finance chief,
Gardner was CFO for UBS’s wealth busi-
ness between 2013 and 2016.
Hamers said: “He was instrumental in
managing and maintaining the firm’s
strong financial position and safeguard-
ing client and investor trust through dif-
ferent market environments, and for
being a role model for our culture.”
UBS will learn the outcome of its long-
running tax case in France this month.
A ruling over its appeal against a €4.5bn
court decision for facilitating tax fraud
is expected on December 13. A parallel
case in Belgium was settled last month,
with UBS agreeing to pay €49m.
UBS has set aside $516m to cope with
expected legal costs.
Thursday 2 December 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 9
10
Hedge funds wage pandemic battle for talent
Multi-manager vehicles are offering sky-high rewards for traders after thriving during coronavirus market mayhem
LAURENCE FLETCHER — LONDON
As investors race to size up the threat
from the Omicron coronavirus variant,
one corner of the hedge fund industry
needs no reminding that the pandemic
moves markets.
Helped by diversified portfolios and
an ability to slash or raise their level of
risk quickly, multi-manager funds
including Millennium Management and
Citadel have been among the winners in
the wild markets of the past two years.
The rapid growth of such funds, which
trade a wide range of assets and strate-
gies, has unleashed a fierce battle for tal-
ent, driving pay for top traders sky-high
and helping reshape Wall Street as firms
expand beyond New York.
“There’s huge competition and scar-
city of talent,” said Tanya Lutyens,
founding partner at recruiter and con-
sultancy Lutyens Advisory. “When
there wasn’t this mad war for talent it
was more of a buyer’s market and firms
could dictate terms. Now they’re throw-
ing more at them [staff they want to
hire] to get them over the line.”
As the competition for staff has inten-
sified, Millennium, a $57bn fund head-
quartered in New York, this year opened
offices in far more temperate Palm
Beach and Miami as part of its sales
pitch. At the same time, funds are some-
times having to guarantee millions of
dollars in payments to persuade traders
to sign on the dotted line.
“It’s super-competitive,” said one
investor that backs such funds. “It’s now
got past the point in aggregate [across
the sector] where it’s economical” to
make these hires, he said.
For now at least, such unease over the
rising rewards remains rare. Assets in
the sector, which includes firms such as
New York-based ExodusPoint, Balyasny
and Steve Cohen’s Point72, have bal-
looned by more than $100bn during the
pandemic to $620bn, according to
eVestment data.
Multi-manager funds operate in per-
haps the most brutal pocket of the
industry. Employing tens or even hun-
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
COMPANIES & MARKETS
Manhattan transfer: hedge funds are opting for sunnier climes in locations such as Rosemary Square in West Palm Beach, Florida — Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg
Performance of multi-manager funds
Investment return (%) Portfolio breakdown (%)
25 Millennium
Millennium Quantitative
Citadel 20 strategies
Equity 16
15 arbitrage
28
10
Relative
value
5 Fixed equity
income 28
0 28
2019 2020 2021*
Source: FT Research * Year to Oct
dreds of small teams, or “pods”, that
independently trade a range of strate-
gies and assets, they use borrowing to
improve gains from winning bets while
trying to limit exposure to market jolts.
The approach has proved a good fit for
the market mayhem of the coronavirus
crisis, making such funds the most pop-
ular in the industry this year, according
to eVestment.
Founded in 1989 by Izzy Englander, a
former stock broker, Millennium made
25.6 per cent last year, its best perform-
ance in two decades, investor docu-
ments show, and is up 10.9 per through
to the end of October this year.
Citadel, the $43bn group run by Ken
Griffin, gained 24.5 per cent in 2020 and
is up 19.5 per cent in the first 10 months
of this year, said a person familiar with
the matter.
While their performance this year has
so far trailed the S&P 500, these hedge
funds continue to benefit from some
investors valuing returns derived from
specific bets more highly than those that
come from tracking an overall index.
Since 2019, Millennium, for example,
has returned billions to investors, who
have also been willing to lock their
money up for longer with the firm.
Adding to the allure is the consistency
of their returns over long periods, even
in turbulent markets. Despite having
half its $13.5bn in fixed-income assets,
Media
CNN suspends news anchor Cuomo
ANNA NICOLAOU — NEW YORK
CHRISTOPHER GRIMES — LOS ANGELES
CNN has suspended Chris Cuomo
“indefinitely” after New York’s attor-
ney-general released transcripts show-
ing the news host was more involved in
the defence of his brother, the former
state governor, than previously known.
Andrew Cuomo was forced to resign in
August after Letitia James, the attorney-
general, found that he had violated state
and federal law by sexually harassing 11
women.
CNN, the television news network
owned by AT&T, said Chris Cuomo had
admitted he broke the network’s rules
when he offered advice to his brother’s
staff.
But the documents released by James’
office on Monday showed a deeper level
of involvement than had been previ-
ously known, the network said.
“The documents, which we were not
privy to before their public release, raise
serious questions,” CNN said. “As a
result, we have suspended Chris indefi-
nitely, pending further evaluation.”
ExodusPoint
Fixed
income Equities
50
50
ExodusPoint, which was founded in
2017 by Michael Gelband, Millennium’s
former head of fixed income, lost less
than 3 per cent in October’s bond mar-
ket turmoil, better than macro funds
such as Rokos Capital and Alphadyne.
The “eat what you kill” model
adopted by many of the firms means
successful traders share in the spoils,
while those losing even relatively small
amounts of money can quickly be fired.
At Millennium, traders can have their
positions liquidated and be fired if they
lose around 7.5 per cent, although the
firm will also take other factors such as
market conditions into account, accord-
ing to people familiar with the matter.
In extreme cases a trader within the
multi-manager world can be out of the
door just weeks after arriving, the peo-
ple said. “It’s black and white,” said a
Millennium portfolio manager. “You
know the rules of the game. Millennium
tells you that they want to empower
you; bring over your business and your
team and we’ll take care of compliance,
administration, trading systems etc. At
‘When there wasn’t this
mad war for talent it was
more of a buyer’s market
and firms dictated terms’
The documents provided a fresh
problem for CNN over its anchor’s rela-
tionship with his brother. Andrew
Cuomo was initially praised for his
efforts during the early days of the coro-
navirus pandemic before several allega-
tions against him led to his resignation.
As more women came forward with
Chris Cuomo did not cover bad news
about his brother on his TV show
Thursday 2 December 2021
a time when starting your own hedge
fund is getting more expensive and
more complex, this really resonates.”
For talented traders, that has worked
out well. In addition to a base salary that
can reach $250,000 to $400,000, those
with strong performance are regularly
offered 20 per cent of the trading profits
they generate, some as much as 25 per
cent, say industry insiders.
Traders are also tied in by notice peri-
ods and lengthy non-compete clauses to
stop them decamping to rivals, often six
months but very occasionally stretching
to several years. To hire them, funds
have to compensate them for accrued
bonuses they are leaving behind plus
lost earnings during their notice periods
and early months at the new firm. Such
payments can now reach $10m and
occasionally as much as $20m.
Although they can accrue lavish
rewards, industry executives say the
trend also reflects how traders’ options
have narrowed over the past decade.
Multi-manager funds have benefited
as the cost of complying with post-finan-
cial crisis rules has made starting a fund
more onerous. Traders who might once
have done so are increasingly tempted
by multi-manager funds, where regula-
tion and compliance is looked after and
where they could be given up to $750m
or more to manage on day one.
This dynamic has fuelled the hiring
spree. Since the start of last year, the
number of lead managers, each of
whom heads a pod, at Millennium has
risen from 230 to more than 265, while
the size of pods has also been growing.
At ExodusPoint the number of lead
managers has risen from 60 to 105.
Firms frequently go head-to-head in
fights for traders. Citadel recently hired
Brad Schneider, previously at Millen-
nium. ExodusPoint, a name inspired by
the number of Millennium colleagues
Gelband first took with him, has added
tens of traders and other former Millen-
nium staffers to its ranks, though that
has slowed. It has hired 40 this year,
including 10 in Europe and 10 in Asia.
In recent months it is Millennium that
has been especially active, particularly
in Europe. Of the 22 hires that head-
hunter OCR Alpha listed for September
across the industry, eight were made by
Millennium, by far the most by any
firm. One rival executive said Millen-
nium was “trying to hire the market”.
Millennium and ExodusPoint
declined to comment. Citadel said: “We
invest heavily in building high-perform-
ing teams leveraging resources and
technology that help our portfolio man-
agers be more successful.”
Despite the robust performance from
multi-manager funds, the sector has
had setbacks. Some suffered initial
losses as markets slumped in March
2020 as Covid-19 spread, before inter-
vention by the Federal Reserve sparked
a recovery in riskier assets.
But with central banks signalling their
determination to scale back stimulus
next year, some executives worry about
how multi-manager funds will navigate
market fallout, particularly given their
huge asset growth during the pandemic.
“The issue for multi-strategy funds”
that borrow to juice returns is that
“when you have a big, unexpected move
in markets triggering a liquidity
squeeze, you’re going to have larger
drawdowns [losses]”, said Jim Neu-
mann, chief investment officer at Sus-
sex Partners, which advises investors on
hedge fund investments.
Additional reporting by Harriet Agnew in
London
accusations, his brother did not cover
the news on his show. However, he did
provide counsel to senior aides on how
to handle the crisis and tried to find out
what stories rival news outlets were
working on, raising questions about
CNN’s journalistic standards.
Anderson Cooper will take Chris
Cuomo’s 9pm slot.
Chris Cuomo apologised to viewers in
May for advising his brother. “I under-
stand why that was a problem for
CNN . . . it was a mistake,” he said. “I
can be objective about just about any
topic, but not about my family.”
The predicament comes as CNN is
preparing for a change in ownership.
AT&T, the Texas telecommunications
group, agreed this year to sell its
WarnerMedia subsidiary, which
includes CNN, to Discovery. The deal is
awaiting regulatory approval.
David Zaslav, the Discovery chief who
will preside over CNN if the deal is
approved, visited the network’s head-
quarters on Tuesday for a pre-sched-
uled meeting with top executives, said
people familiar with the matter.
Thursday 2 December 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 11

COMPANIES & MARKETS

Asset management. Divestment threats Currencies

Turkey tries
Investor groups fail to honour to prop up lira
Brazil rainforest pledges with round of
intervention
LAURA PITEL — ANKARA
ADAM SAMSON — LONDON

Turkey yesterday announced a return

Lack of action prompts fears
over industry’s commitment
to environmental targets
BRYAN HARRIS — SAO PAULO
MICHAEL STOTT — BRASILIA
Several European investment groups
that last year threatened to divest from
Brazil over soaring deforestation have
not done so, even as new figures show
the pace of destruction of the Amazon
rainforest is at its worst since 2006.
European food retailers, including
Britain’s Tesco and Marks and Spencer
have also shied away from threats to
boycott Brazilian produce, saying that
they now favour a united approach by
industry and government to stop the
felling of the world’s largest rainforest.
The lack of action has prompted
concerns about the commitment of
asset managers and retailers to take
effective action if environmental targets
are not met.
It has also led to worries that the
administration of President Jair
Bolsonaro — who has long advocated
opening the rainforest to commercial
development — could feel emboldened
if it believes boycotts will not happen.
“The latest data highlights that true
change has unfortunately not yet
occurred [in the Brazilian Amazon],”
said Thede Rüst, head of emerging mar-
kets debt at Nordea Asset Management,
just one of two investment groups out of
seven to follow through on their threats
of divestment.
“This increasingly concerns us as we
do not want to be accused of ‘engage-
ment washing’ — meaning having some
dialogue to look good, yet not achieving
real progress,” he added.
“If nothing happens, [then] this may
potentially harm future engagements as
countries learn that they can deflect
criticism by engaging without taking
actions,” said Rüst, noting that Nordea
had in August last year divested shares
of Brazilian meatpacker JBS worth
$40m over its environmental record.
In June 2020, more than two dozen
financial institutions around the world
wrote to the Brazilian government,
demanding it rein in surging deforesta-
tion which they said has created “wide-
spread uncertainty about the conditions
for investing in or providing financial
services to Brazil”.
Seven of the companies — including
Norway’s largest pension fund KLP and
the UK’s Legal & General Investment
Management — explicitly threatened to
divest from meatpackers and grain
traders linked to deforestation as well
as Brazilian sovereign bonds, if the
situation did not improve.
Jeanett Bergan, then head of responsi-
ble investment at KLP, told Reuters at
the time that divestments could happen
“as soon as this year [2020]”.
Since then, deforestation has
continued to soar. More than 13,200 sq
km of rainforest was razed in the 12
months between August last year and
July — a 22 per cent jump from the
previous year and the highest rate of
deforestation in 15 years — according to
data from Brazil’s National Institute for
Space Research.
The forest is typically razed to make
way for cattle ranching, soyabean farm-
ing or gold mining — much of which
seeps through poorly regulated supply
chains into international markets.
Of the seven groups, only Nordea and
Dutch group Robeco made divestments
in the past year with the majority of
the companies now saying they favour
“engagement” — particularly after the
recent COP26 summit in Glasgow,
where Brazil won plaudits for pledging
to eradicate illegal deforestation by
2028.
“Exclusions and active ownership are
two equally important tools that we as
an investor have at our disposal,” said
Sara Skärvad of Storebrand, which
co-chairs the Investor Policy Dialogue
on Deforestation (IPDD), an investor
pressure group. “Divestment can be the
solution but isn’t always. Sometimes
engagement takes us further.”
Graham Stock, partner at BlueBay
Asset Management — who has been
talking to the Brazilian government as
the other co-chair of the IPDD — said: “I
don’t think we should give up on the
engagement yet,” adding that new data
showing a decrease in Amazon fires in
the past three months suggested a
“slightly better picture” was emerging.
“[Our clients] want to hear about
engagement,” he said. “They are not
narrowing their interests in Brazil to
this single issue. There are other
elements in the ESG [environmental,
social and governance] story. Disinvest-
ment would be a blunt instrument and
an overreaction.”
Norway’s KLP, Storebrand and UK
asset manager LGIM told the Financial
Times that they had not divested from
Brazil over environmental concerns in
the past year.
Swedish state pension fund Ap7 said it
had not divested but added that it had
“blacklisted JBS a couple of years ago”
due to concerns over labour practices.
Oslo-based DNB Asset Management
said it had “previously excluded”
companies based on deforestation risk,
and Brazilian companies with links to
illegal deforestation were not a part of
its actively managed mandates.
It said it was in “ongoing dialogue”
with agribusiness group Bunge, which
is included in index funds the group
manages.
A damaged All of the investment groups that
plot of Brazilian spoke with the Financial Times said
Amazon they would still consider divesting if
rainforest in Brazil did not take further action.
Brazil — the JBS and Bunge did not immediately
respond to requests for comment.
deforestation
rate hit a 15-year The issue has become more pressing
record this year in recent weeks following a proposed
Bruno Kelly/Reuters
draft law from Brussels that would ban
imports into the EU of agricultural
products, including beef and soyabeans,
which come from deforested land.
If the proposal is made law, it could
sharply impact Brazil’s big meatpack-
ers, such as JBS and Marfrig, but also
international grain traders, such as
Cargill, which maintain operations or
source produce in the Brazilian Amazon
and the Cerrado savannah region.
“[The EU proposal] alone sends a
strong signal to the market of what is
expected,” said Jan Erik Saugestad,
chief executive of Storebrand, adding
that his company could still divest “if
results fail to happen”.
Several food retailers have backed
away from earlier threats of a boycott.
Last year, more than 40 European
companies, including Tesco and M&S,
warned they could boycott Brazilian
produce if a land reform bill widely
expected to spur Amazonian deforesta-
tion passed Congress.
Although the bill did not progress,
deforestation has nonetheless contin-
‘This ued to increase.
Many of the companies now say there
increasingly needs to be a unified push by govern-
concerns us ments and business to address the issue.
“We’re committed to playing our
as we do not part in tackling deforestation but we
want to be need the whole food industry and
governments to join us,” said a
accused of spokesperson for Tesco in comments
engagement echoed by Co-op, Sainsbury’s and the
British Retail Consortium, which also
washing’ represents M&S.
to a contentious policy of intervening in
the currency markets in an attempt to
steady the tumbling lira, despite a previ-
ous commitment not to do so and lim-
ited foreign exchange reserves.
The central bank said that “unhealthy
price formations” had prompted the
decision to sell hard currency such as US
dollars in an effort to support the lira.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
backed the move, saying the central
bank’s statutes permitted currency
intervention. “If they need to intervene
in that way, they do it,” he said.
The move comes after the lira tum-
bled to a record low of TL13.87 against
the US dollar earlier yesterday, a decline
of 46 per cent compared with where it
started in 2021.
The announcement sparked a strong
rally, with the currency strengthening to
about TL12.5 in London dealings — later
trimming some of its gains to sit at
TL13.2 to the dollar.
Turkey has not announced a direct
currency intervention since it sold
$3.2bn at the beginning of 2014. How-
ever, the country burnt through tens of
billions of dollars of its foreign currency
reserves in 2019 and 2020 in an unoffi-
cial intervention that attempted to bol-
‘If they make it clear
they [are prepared to]
drain their reserves, it
can work for a while’
ster the lira through a complex arrange-
ment with state banks.
That policy, spearheaded by Berat
Albayrak, Erdogan’s son-in-law, during
his time as finance minister, was highly
contentious. Opposition parties popu-
larised the slogan: “Where is the
$128bn?” — a reference to one estimate
of how much money was spent on the
ultimately futile intervention.
The scheme was halted in November
2020 when Erdogan brought Naci
Agbal, a respected former bureaucrat,
to the helm of the central bank and
Albayrak resigned. Agbal was fired less
than four months later.
Yesterday’s intervention was of lim-
ited size, at between $300m and $500m,
according to two people in the financial
industry. “The volume of intervention
doesn’t seem to be very big, which
makes sense given that their net reserve
position is somewhere between very
poor and negative depending on the
exact definition,” said Paul McNamara,
of asset manager GAM.
“This intervention on its own isn’t
going to work,” he added. “The market
will keep pushing back until they see
[the central bank] steps in again. If they
make it clear they are willing to inter-
Our global vene repeatedly and drain their
team gives you reserves, it can work for a while. But it’s
market-moving not a sustainable position.”
news and views, Net reserves remain negative once
24 hours a day borrowed money is stripped out at an
ft.com/markets estimated minus $46.8bn, according to
Goldman Sachs.

Derivatives Fixed income

Singapore’s Crypto.com in deal with US junk bonds hit by sharpest sell-off

IG for North America trading assets
JOSHUA OLIVER
Crypto.com, the fast-expanding
Singapore-based cryptocurrency
exchange, has forged a deal with IG
Group to snap up two assets that would
give it a foothold in the tightly
regulated US derivatives market.
The company, which grabbed attention
last month when it paid $700m to
rename Los Angeles’ main basketball
arena, yesterday agreed to a $216m deal
to buy IG’s stake in a US futures
exchange and a binary trading group
owned by the FTSE 250 company.
The deal would give Crypto.com a
route to offer some derivatives and
futures to US customers, an area that
has proved difficult for crypto
exchanges given the strict regulations
around providing these risky invest-
ment products to retail investors.
Kris Marszalek, chief executive of
Crypto.com, said the acquisition “will
give our customers access to an entirely
new set of financial tools to complement
our current offering”.
The deal includes North American
Derivatives Exchange (Nadex), which
offers traders binary bets on whether
something will happen, such as the rise
or fall of a currency, commodity or
index, within a particular timeframe.
That can be as short as five minutes.
Options providers usually allow cus-
tomers to magnify their bets using
borrowed money, vastly increasing
potential winnings and the extent of
the losses to which consumers are
vulnerable.
Nadex says customers are told their
maximum potential gains and losses
before the trade is executed.
Crypto.com paid $700m to rename
Los Angeles’ main basketball arena
IG Group will also sell its 39 per cent
stake in Small Exchange, a futures
exchange focused on retail traders,
launched last year with backing from
leading Wall Street players including
Citadel Securities, Jump and Interactive
Brokers along with Peak6, a private
equity vehicle run by former Chicago
options trader Matt Hulsizer.
The groups said the deal was expected
to close in the first half of 2022, subject
to regulatory approval.
Both companies were to be brought
under the Crypto.com brand, the
exchange said, but their chief executives
would remain in place.
June Felix, chief executive of IG Group,
said the sales would allow the company
to “further sharpen our focus” on
integrating and expanding its options
and future business via Tastytrade,
the US brokerage that it bought for $1bn
in January.
Crypto.com, a five-year-old privately
held company that has 3,000 employees
around the world, has recorded 20-
times revenue growth this year and
thrown off substantial cash, Marszalek
told the Financial Times last month, as
trading in digital assets booms.
in more than a year on Omicron fears
JOE RENNISON — NEW YORK
US junk bonds fell in November by the
most in more than a year on fears the
spread of the Omicron coronavirus
variant will hinder the ability of low-
rated companies to repay their debts.
A high-yield bond index compiled by Ice
Data Services dropped a little more than
1 per cent in November, marking only
the second month this year in which the
gauge has posted a negative total return
and its worst showing since September
last year.
The decline was driven by a slide in
the price of the debt, which offset the
interest payments the bonds provide.
It is one of the clearest indications yet
of how the emergence of a new strain of
coronavirus has prompted global
investors to shift away from stocks and
bonds of companies that are considered
to be most vulnerable to the potential
hit to the global economy caused by the
new variant.
The selling last month was even more
severe for the lowest-rated corner of the
market. The bonds of triple C and lower
rated companies returned minus 1.4 per
cent, reflecting worries that a boom in
financing for risky companies could be
knocked by tightening monetary policy
or stricter social curbs in response to the
new coronavirus variant.
Much of the downturn came on
Friday last week as concerns about
Omicron prompted governments to
rush to reimpose restrictions in an
attempt to stem the spread of infection.
Leisure was the worst-hit sector in the
‘At the end of the day,
the buyer base has not
been showing up as
heartily as it was before’
debt market on Friday, with airline
bonds also suffering.
Yet investors had already grown
cautious earlier in November as high
inflation and decelerating economic
growth heralded calls for the US Federal
Reserve to step back from its $120bn-a-
month pandemic-era bond-buying
programme faster than planned.
Comments from Fed chair Jay Powell
on Tuesday suggesting the US central
bank may accelerate its exit from the
bond purchases added to those jitters.
The additional yield above ultra low-
risk government bonds, or “spread”, for
the high-yield index rose from 3.03
percentage points earlier this month —
just marginally above its historic low —
to 3.67 percentage points on Tuesday, its
highest level since March.
“We have not seen these levels in a
while,” said Matt Eagan, a portfolio
manager at Loomis Sayles. “At the end
of the day, the buyer base has not been
showing up as heartily as it was before.”
In another sign of the souring
sentiment towards the asset class,
investors pulled $2.8bn from the high-
yield market last week, according to
data from EPFR Global, the biggest one-
week withdrawal since mid-March this
year, when inflation fears were first
spooking investors.
Investors also pointed to the seasonal
slowdown in the build-up to Thanksgiv-
ing with traders looking to book profits
and trim risk before trading dwindled.
Despite the selling, yields on junk
bonds are still in line with levels from
around the same time a year ago,
signalling costs will remain near histori-
cally low levels for many borrowers.
12 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Thursday 2 December 2021

COMPANIES & MARKETS

London is becoming The day in the markets

the Jurassic Park of What you need to know
stock exchanges 3 Global shares recoup some of this
week’s losses
European stocks rally in best day in almost 7 months
Stoxx Europe 600 index, daily % change
3 Markets remain in ‘tug of war’ as Wall

Paul Marshall Street volatility gauge stays elevated

3 European bank stocks among the
strongest performers on the continent
2

Markets Insight
1
Global stocks recouped some losses from
the previous session that had been
triggered by concerns about the new 0

T
he UK stock market is
becoming a global back-
water as US and Chinese
markets forge ahead. It has
largely failed to take part in
the global rally that began in 2015.
Of course, both the US and Chinese
stock markets benefit from more
dynamic and expansive hinterlands
with leadership in so many of the new
industries from fintech, renewables and
mobility, to medtech, agritech and
artificial intelligence.
But beyond these natural advantages,
the US is increasingly attracting compa-
nies from all over the world, including
the UK, to list on its exchanges.
They are drawn partly by the knowl-
edge that US policymakers can be
relied upon to support the stock mar-
ket. But the US equity market also
boasts far higher trading volumes and
far higher valuations than any of its
international peers.
We are reaching the point where com-
panies may decide we should simply all
agree on a single global exchange, trad-
ing 24 hours and located in New York.
The UK is not alone in falling behind.
All European bourses are more or less
moribund, relatively speaking.
Daily volumes so far in 2021 have
averaged $554bn in the US, $174bn in
China and $47bn in Europe. The biggest
US stocks each trade more than the
largest European markets.
Apple trades $12bn per day and Tesla
$21bn a day compared with the Euron-
ext exchange at $8.1bn a day in total and
the London Stock Exchange just $6.1bn.
But there are also homegrown reasons
for the UK’s market decline. None is
more peculiar (or farcical) than the role
of income funds, the UK fund manage-
ment sector’s signature dish.
These funds are a uniquely UK phe-
nomenon. They prioritise dividends
over any other kind of return from a
company and therefore, by definition,
penalise growth.
There is no comparable fund manage-
ment sector anywhere in the world.
According to the Investment Associa-
tion, of the £744bn of equity funds that
comply with its criteria, some 29 per
cent are in UK income or related UK all-
company strategies. The IA does not
have a UK growth sector and the bal-
ance of funds are mostly international.
British income fund managers believe
they have a mission to protect the
This is a form of financial
decadence, discouraging
capital investment
and stifling growth
incomes of pensioners (an honourable
objective) but this leads them to insist
on companies paying out the lion’s share
of their income rather than investing it
back in the business.
This is a form of financial decadence,
discouraging capital investment and
stifling growth and productivity.
Last month provided an almost per-
fect example of this, in the case of Scot-
tish and Southern Energy, in which Mar-
shall Wace’s funds have a stake of circa
£130m. SSE’s first-half results were bet-
ter than the market had expected and
the company also committed to a rise in
capital expenditure to £12.5bn by 2026,
up from a previous plan to spend £7.5bn
by 2025.
This included a 2.5-fold rise in invest-
ment in renewables. The increased
coronavirus variant and hawkish remarks
capital expenditure would be funded from the chair of the US central bank.
partly through the sale of a minority 25 Wall Street’s S&P 500 equity index was -1
per cent stake in the networks business up 1.4 per cent by lunchtime in New York,
and partly though a reduced proportion having closed down almost 2 per cent a
of net income paid out as dividends. day earlier. The tech-leaning Nasdaq -2
Many analysts would expect the stock Composite rose 1.3 per cent.
to trade up as the company doubled Jay Powell, chair of the US Federal
down on the potential of renewables. Reserve, told a congressional hearing this -3
But the stock closed down 5 per cent. week that the risk of higher inflation had
Despite some of the best renewable increased and signalled his support for a
wind resources on the planet, Britain quicker reduction of the bank’s stimulus -4
boasts very few corporate winners in measures that had been put in place at May 2021 Nov
this sector. SSE was demonstrating the the onset of the pandemic. Source: Refinitiv
ambition to be one. Yet it received a However, he also characterised the US
decisive stock market thumbs down. economy as “very strong” ahead of the
Maybe income fund managers eagerly anticipated US jobs data as markets swung between optimism government debt did not reverse
thought SSE would not make an ade- tomorrow. Economists polled by Reuters about economic growth and the yesterday. The yield on the US 10-year
quate return on its renewable invest- expect employers to add more than half a “humbling reminder that the pandemic benchmark Treasury note edged up just
ments? I don’t think so. The investment million new hires last month. remains with us”. 1 basis point to 1.5 per cent.
framework for renewable investments “Markets obviously got quite Markets, he said, “could stay in this tug Across the Atlantic, the Stoxx Europe
in this country is deliberately generous. concerned about the emergence of of war for some time, as really there is no 600 index gained 1.7 per cent, marking
The price fall might have partly Omicron but we remain in uncharted clear direction”. the continent-wide index’s strongest daily
reflected SSE’s rejection of calls from territory, no one really knows,” said Reflecting the unease, a gauge of stock performance in almost seven months.
Elliott Management for a break-up. But I Aneeka Gupta, research director at ETF market volatility remained elevated. The Shares in US and European banks,
believe the main driver of the share fall provider WisdomTree. “Powell’s vote of Cboe’s Vix index, which measures the which are viewed as beneficiaries of
was income managers selling because confidence in the economy has helped to expected volatility of the S&P 500 over higher interest rates, were among the
the dividend payout no longer complied bring back some risk appetite.” the next 30 days, was at 24 — way above biggest risers. The Stoxx banking index
with their perverse fund criteria. Kasper Elmgreen, head of equities at the 15 of the beginning of November. rose 2.2 per cent while financials listed on
It is sad to watch this, just as it is sad to European fund manager Amundi, warned In perhaps a sign that investors the S&P 500 climbed by a similar margin.
hear from so many growth companies that such confidence would remain fragile remained wary, Tuesday’s rally in core Naomi Rovnick and Hudson Lockett
how discouraged they are by the
feedback they receive on many of their
London roadshows. Markets update
The City of London is in danger of
becoming a sort of Jurassic Park where
fund managers dedicate themselves
to clipping coupons rather than US Eurozone Japan UK China Brazil
encouraging growth and innovation. Stocks S&P 500 Eurofirst 300 Nikkei 225 FTSE100 Shanghai Comp Bovespa
It is time the income fund sector was Level 4633.28 1824.55 27935.62 7168.68 3576.89 102921.10
phased out and replaced with funds that % change on day 1.45 1.80 0.41 1.55 0.36 0.99
are more focused on growth than divi- Currency $ index (DXY) $ per € Yen per $ $ per £ Rmb per $ Real per $
dends, on the future rather than the past. Level 95.945 1.133 112.970 1.332 6.370 5.621
% change on day -0.051 0.622 -0.506 0.680 -0.013 -0.493
Paul Marshall is chair of Marshall Wace, Govt. bonds 10-year Treasury 10-year Bund 10-year JGB 10-year Gilt 10-year bond 10-year bond
a multi-strategy investment manager Yield 1.460 -0.347 0.062 0.731 2.874 11.058
Basis point change on day 1.190 0.500 0.810 1.500 1.700 -1.400
World index, Commods FTSE All-World Oil - Brent Oil - WTI Gold Silver Metals (LMEX)
Level 484.74 70.57 67.32 1804.40 22.87 4326.90
% change on day 1.47 1.03 0.81 1.03 -1.59 -0.95
Yesterday's close apart from: Currencies = 16:00 GMT; S&P, Bovespa, All World, Oil = 17:00 GMT; Gold, Silver = London pm fix. Bond data supplied by Tullett Prebon.

Main equity markets

S&P 500 index Eurofirst 300 index FTSE 100 index
4800 1920 7520

4640 7360
1840
4480 7200
1760 7040
4320
| | | | | | | | |
4160 || | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1680 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6880 | | | | | | | | | | |

Oct 2021 Dec Oct 2021 Dec Oct 2021 Dec

Biggest movers
% US Eurozone UK
Vertex Pharmaceuticals 8.06 Volkswagen 6.98 Bt 4.85
Applied Materials 5.66 Infineon Tech 5.41 Intermediate Capital 4.55
Ups

Hp 5.41 Lufthansa 5.07 Mondi 4.19

Microchip Technology 5.16 Ageas 4.78 London Stock Exchange 3.84
Ford Motor 4.82 Siemens 4.77 Darktrace 3.61
%
Salesforce.com -6.89 Telefonica -3.92 Ocado -3.12
Fortinet -4.64 Vopak -2.83 Croda Int -2.96
Downs

American Airlines -3.31 Lindt -2.73 Pearson -1.65

Servicenow -2.38 Gecina -1.93 Hargreaves Lansdown -0.71
Cf Industries Holding -2.29 Merck -1.19 Polymetal Int -0.58
Prices taken at 17:00 GMT Based on the constituents of the FTSE Eurofirst 300 Eurozone
All data provided by Morningstar unless otherwise noted.

Wall Street Europe London

Cloud software group Salesforce sank An upgrade to its outlook lifted Redde Northgate, the van hire and
after reporting “solid, if unspectacular” Husqvarna, the Swedish manufacturer of accident management services group,
results, said BMO Capital Markets. outdoor power products. jumped following the release of an
For the third quarter, diluted earnings Its annual organic sales growth target “excellent set of results”, said Barclays.
per share came in at $1.27, which beat the was lifted to 5 per cent while the group’s A 94.4 per cent year-on-year leap in
Refinitiv-compiled estimate by 35 cents, operating margin was expected to reach pre-tax profit to £78.9m came in ahead of
while revenue of $6.86bn was above the 13 per cent. This was above previous the broker’s expectations and was driven,
$6.79bn expected. goals spanning 4 per cent to 5 per cent in part, by stronger trading in both its
But Salesforce’s guidance for the next sales growth and an operating margin rental operations and Redde, its
quarter was “conservative”, said BMO, “above 10 per cent”. insurance claims business.
with fourth-quarter EPS expected to land Henric Andersson, chief executive, said Barclays increased the group’s price
between $0.72 and $0.73, falling short of Husqvarna, the home to such brands as target following the update.
the $0.75 that analysts had forecast. Flymo lawnmowers, had benefited from A revision to its outlook lifted Drax, the
Positive trial data reported by Vertex the “positive effects from the stay-at- biomass and hydroelectric group.
pushed the pharma group higher. home trend”. For the full year, it expected adjusted
A phase 2 study for VX-147 showed Intertrust sank after a suitor said it was earnings before interest, tax, depreciation
“statistically significant . . . and clinically abandoning its pursuit of the trust and and amortisation would “be around the
meaningful” results for its experimental corporate management group. top of the range of current analyst
treatment of a kidney condition. Private equity firm CVC Capital expectations”. This implied a 2 per cent
The data gave “clinical proof of concept Partners said it was “no longer in upgrade to core profits, said RBC Europe.
for the first genetically targeted approach discussions with” Intertrust. Another raised guidance drove
to treating kidney disease”, it said. The Dutch group said on November 12 Pendragon sharply higher.
Allbirds, the newly listed sneaker that it had entered into talks over a €18- The auto retailer increased its full-year
brand, tumbled after posting wider losses per-share bid by CVC but later, on outlook for underlying pre-tax profit from
than expected. November 22, added that it had “received £70m to about £80m. The group said the
It reported a 33 per cent year-on-year multiple expressions of interest” at “offer continuing shortage of vehicles in
rise in net revenue to $62.7m for the third prices ranging up to €22 per share”. October and November was “lower than
quarter but its $0.25 per share loss was Adler Group, a Luxembourg-based real anticipated” while customer demand and
double the losses forecast by analysts. estate group that operates in Germany, order levels remained at a “higher level
But Bank of America reiterated its surged on news of some divestments. than last year”.
“buy” recommendation and argued that They included the disposal of 15,362 The update prompted Berenberg to lift
Allbirds remained a “compelling long- residential and 185 commercial units, its price target for Pendragon on the back
term growth story with a differentiated which generated net proceeds of €800m. of “industry-wide tailwinds”, particularly
sustainability focus”. Ray Douglas Ray Douglas in the used-car market. Ray Douglas
Thursday 2 December 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 13

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 $

-0.506%
No change
1.45% 1.15% 1.04% 1.55% 1.80% 0.41% 0.78% 1.47% 0.622% 0.680% 1.72% 1.03%
Stock Market movements over last 30 days, with the FTSE All-World in the same currency as a comparison
AMERICAS EUROPE ASIA
Nov 02 - - Index All World Nov 02 - Dec 01 Index All World Nov 02 - Dec 01 Index All World Nov 02 - Dec 01 Index All World Nov 02 - Dec 01 Index All World Nov 02 - Dec 01 Index All World

S&P 500 New York S&P/TSX COMP Toronto FTSE 100 London Xetra Dax Frankfurt Nikkei 225 Tokyo Kospi Seoul

4,630.65 4,633.28 7,274.81 15,954.45 3,013.49

21,170.01 28,892.69
20,906.14 7,168.68 15,472.67 2,899.72
27,935.62
Day 1.45% Month 0.41% Year 26.49% Day 1.19% Month -1.55% Year 20.93% Day 1.55% Month -1.63% Year 12.30% Day 2.47% Month -2.91% Year NaN% Day 0.41% Month -3.43% Year 5.56% Day 2.14% Month -2.39% Year 11.90%

Nasdaq Composite New York IPC Mexico City FTSE Eurofirst 300 Europe Ibex 35 Madrid Hang Seng Hong Kong FTSE Straits Times Singapore
9,105.70 3,219.05
15,715.62 51,309.84 1,857.43 25,099.67
15,595.92 50,711.28 1,824.55 8,452.60
23,658.92 3,098.25
Day 1.15% Month 0.77% Year 27.20% Day 2.04% Month -1.81% Year 18.24% Day 1.80% Month -1.55% Year 20.61% Day 1.78% Month -6.68% Year 4.65% Day 0.78% Month -6.80% Year -10.21% Day 1.87% Month -3.12% Year 10.43%

Dow Jones Industrial New York Bovespa São Paulo CAC 40 Paris FTSE MIB Milan Shanghai Composite Shanghai BSE Sensex Mumbai
3,576.89
35,913.84
6,927.03 6,881.87 27,189.63 3,505.63 59,306.93
34,842.35 103,500.71 102,921.10 26,371.92 57,684.79

Day 1.04% Month -3.07% Year 16.73% Day 0.99% Month -2.52% Year -7.64% Day 2.39% Month 0.75% Year 24.70% Day 2.16% Month -1.86% Year 19.56% Day 0.36% Month 0.83% Year 5.46% Day 1.09% Month -2.66% Year 30.76%

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 84127.04 79315.79 Cyprus CSE M&P Gen 68.46 68.68 Italy FTSE Italia All-Share 28919.63 28311.06 Philippines Manila Comp 6947.06 7200.88 Taiwan Weighted Pr 17585.99 17427.76 Cross-Border DJ Global Titans ($) 538.38 530.60
Australia All Ordinaries 7557.80 7587.40 Czech Republic
PX 1363.16 1357.22 FTSE Italia Mid Cap 48853.85 47841.92 Poland Wig 68331.69 67814.89 Thailand Bangkok SET 1590.81 1568.69 Euro Stoxx 50 (Eur) 4179.15 4063.06
S&P/ASX 200 7235.90 7256.00 Denmark OMXC Copenahgen 20 1800.63 1783.92 FTSE MIB 26371.92 25814.34 Portugal PSI 20 5473.89 5433.05 Turkey BIST 100 116840.94 116315.98 Euronext 100 ID 1326.74 1299.21
S&P/ASX 200 Res 4954.90 4912.80 Egypt EGX 30 11420.00 11395.60 Japan 2nd Section 7356.52 7357.12 PSI General 4160.12 4142.77 UAE Abu Dhabi General Index 8546.52 8478.59 FTSE 4Good Global ($) 11448.74 11246.39
Austria ATX 3710.35 3661.46 Estonia OMX Tallinn 1978.57 1970.26 Nikkei 225 27935.62 27821.76 Romania BET Index 12195.61 12607.30 UK FT 30 2714.70 2677.00 FTSE All World ($) 484.74 477.74
Belgium BEL 20 4154.97 4113.40 Finland OMX Helsinki General 12527.68 12265.79 S&P Topix 150 1664.31 1654.98 Russia Micex Index 3959.29 3890.59 FTSE 100 7168.68 7059.45 FTSE E300 1824.55 1792.23
BEL Mid 10238.68 10148.70 France CAC 40 6881.87 6721.16 Topix 1936.74 1928.35 RTX 1687.12 1645.81 FTSE 4Good UK 6672.91 6574.97 FTSE Eurotop 100 3438.04 3371.03
Brazil IBovespa 102921.10 101915.45 SBF 120 5349.42 5235.55 Jordan Amman SE 2071.22 2057.74 Saudi-Arabia TADAWUL All Share Index 10849.96 10761.80 FTSE All Share 4089.19 4025.87 FTSE Global 100 ($) 3055.77 3003.52
Canada S&P/TSX 60 1264.86 1248.56 Germany M-DAX 34329.53 33890.75 Kenya NSE 20 1871.31 1888.29 Singapore FTSE Straits Times 3098.25 3041.29 FTSE techMARK 100 6711.87 6593.14 FTSE Gold Min ($) 1992.55 1994.79
S&P/TSX Comp 20906.14 20659.99 TecDAX 3876.52 3838.55 Kuwait KSX Market Index 6633.44 6603.51 Slovakia SAX 395.72 395.72 USA DJ Composite 11769.54 11621.08 FTSE Latibex Top (Eur) 4440.00 4432.20
S&P/TSX Div Met & Min 1008.25 1008.54 XETRA Dax 15472.67 15100.13 Latvia OMX Riga 1269.30 1264.97 Slovenia SBI TOP - - DJ Industrial 34842.35 34483.72 FTSE Multinationals ($) 3182.13 3227.43
Chile S&P/CLX IGPA Gen 22120.89 22207.39 Greece Athens Gen 877.24 867.71 Lithuania OMX Vilnius 964.29 960.68 South Africa FTSE/JSE All Share 71198.08 70475.02 DJ Transport 16068.47 15843.15 FTSE World ($) 873.72 860.73
China FTSE A200 12933.13 12917.02 FTSE/ASE 20 2100.82 2077.72 Luxembourg LuxX 1575.11 1543.84 FTSE/JSE Res 20 67858.97 67251.21 DJ Utilities 911.74 893.56 FTSEurofirst 100 (Eur) 4636.01 4529.64
FTSE B35 9000.71 8988.96 Hong Kong Hang Seng 23658.92 23475.26 Malaysia FTSE Bursa KLCI 1496.93 1513.98 FTSE/JSE Top 40 64785.66 64063.82 Nasdaq 100 16342.23 16135.92 FTSEurofirst 80 (Eur) 5809.11 5662.09
Shanghai A 3748.88 3735.22 HS China Enterprise 8426.24 8368.49 Mexico IPC 50711.28 49698.72 South Korea Kospi 2899.72 2839.01 Nasdaq Cmp 15715.62 15537.69 MSCI ACWI Fr ($) 726.53 738.18
Shanghai B 281.73 279.41 HSCC Red Chip 3754.60 3740.98 Morocco MASI 13085.38 13099.49 Kospi 200 383.13 373.24 NYSE Comp 16540.67 16318.97 MSCI All World ($) 3101.80 3155.73
Shanghai Comp 3576.89 3563.89 Hungary Bux 51860.19 51464.60 Netherlands AEX 790.70 777.39 Spain IBEX 35 8452.60 8305.10 S&P 500 4633.28 4567.00 MSCI Europe (Eur) 1840.92 1856.96
Shenzhen A 2641.36 2636.28 India BSE Sensex 57684.79 57064.87 AEX All Share 1098.04 1074.70 Sri Lanka CSE All Share 11409.88 11440.53 Wilshire 5000 47499.52 46936.08 MSCI Pacific ($) 3039.58 3071.68
Shenzhen B 1180.50 1171.19 Nifty 500 14784.70 14648.35 New Zealand NZX 50 12724.29 12718.91 Sweden OMX Stockholm 30 2290.72 2241.66 Venezuela IBC 6454.56 6442.06 S&P Euro (Eur) 1944.15 1901.10
Colombia COLCAP 1261.61 1260.21 Indonesia Jakarta Comp 6507.68 6533.93 Nigeria SE All Share 43270.94 43308.29 OMX Stockholm AS 1002.95 986.33 Vietnam VNI 1485.19 1478.44 S&P Europe 350 (Eur) 1875.76 1842.63
Croatia CROBEX 2013.05 2011.29 Ireland ISEQ Overall 7953.16 7847.48 Norway Oslo All Share 1017.37 1006.88 Switzerland SMI Index 12266.46 12159.69 S&P Global 1200 ($) 3448.41 3399.54
Israel Tel Aviv 125 1954.62 1969.16 Pakistan KSE 100 45369.14 45072.38 Stoxx 50 (Eur) 3666.37 3593.42
(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 Dec 01 %Chg %Chg Dec 01 %Chg %Chg Dec 01 %Chg %Chg Dec 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 116.2 169.27 3.97 Unilever 199.5 3854.50 -4.50 Asml Holding 584.1 732.90 33.30 Softbank . 1329.8 5900.00 -130.00 B&m Eur Value Retail S.a. 632.80 3.1 19.8 Vivo Energy 131.80 18.3 50.2 Newriver Reit 86.00 15.4 4.9 Industrial Transportation 4774.74 36.1 26.7
Tesla 107.3 1147.56 2.80 Rio Tinto 192.3 4691.50 79.50 Nestle N 471.9 113.34 0.15 Tokyo Electron 699.9 59930.00 90.00 Bhp 2074.50 2.9 5.8 Redde Northgate 438.50 9.2 62.7 Barr (a.g.) 523.00 12.2 1.3 Real Estate & Investment Servic 3134.98 27.9 20.4
Nvidia 64.4 328.23 1.47 Glencore 178.1 369.80 12.70 Roche Gs 379.4 350.87 5.90 Sony 599.9 13895.00 70.00 Bt 166.30 2.8 22.9 Liontrust Asset Management 2300.00 8.5 76.2 Palace Capital 282.00 9.5 41.0 Health Care Equip.& Services 7831.21 27.1 20.6
Amazon.com 47.7 3536.60 29.53 Anglo American 173.3 2844.00 72.00 Sap Se O.n. 364.0 117.08 3.90 Fast Retailing Co., 565.6 67080.00 -320.00 Segro 1422.00 2.7 49.1 Future 3552.00 8.4 - Pendragon 20.30 6.8 60.9 Beverages 29625.37 25.5 17.2
Advanced Micro Devices 40.7 157.28 -1.09 Astrazeneca 160.8 8314.00 38.00 Daimler Ag Na O.n. 361.8 86.59 3.59 Toyota Motor 517.3 2045.50 44.50 Halma 3035.00 2.6 21.4 Dr. Martens 413.60 6.8 - Topps Tiles 63.50 5.8 11.8 Support Services 12434.48 22.4 12.6
Salesforce.com 39.6 265.34 -19.62 Bhp 140.8 2074.50 8.00 Totalenergies 337.9 41.94 1.33 Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha 387.1 7590.00 190.00 Experian 3431.00 2.5 22.0 Molten Ventures 966.00 6.6 47.3 Anglo-eastern Plantations 715.00 5.1 24.5 Real Estate Investment Trusts 3388.80 21.9 14.9
Microsoft 37.7 337.32 6.73 Diageo 129.9 3846.00 46.50 Volkswagen Ag Vzo O.n. 333.1 167.74 6.08 Recruit Hldgs Co Ltd 355.9 7018.00 117.00 St. James's Place 1584.00 2.2 40.0 Discoverie 1052.00 5.8 54.7 Rm 205.00 4.6 -3.3 Gas Water & Multiutilities index 5723.01 21.4 19.0
Meta Platforms 35.5 321.62 -2.84 Bp 122.5 332.90 7.45 Lvmh 308.2 697.50 10.90 Mitsubishi Ufj Fin,. 334.9 610.90 9.50 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust 1503.00 2.1 23.6 Hochschild Mining 129.00 5.7 - Residential Secure ome 103.00 4.0 15.0 Pharmaceuticals & Biotech. 18008.73 20.5 12.9
Paypal Holdings 18.5 185.65 0.76 Hays 117.5 150.80 4.40 Novartis N 300.4 71.21 0.77 Daikin Industries, 329.1 24185.00 1035.00 Polymetal Int 1364.00 1.8 - Games Workshop 9540.00 5.7 - Hollywood Bowl 232.00 3.1 18.4 Electronic & Electrical Equip. 11722.64 18.9 10.1
Alphabet 18.4 2895.58 57.63 Hsbc Holdings 113.6 429.20 9.85 Ing Groep N.v. 289.6 12.45 0.25 Sumitomo Mitsui Fin,. 304.5 3734.00 31.00 Bunzl 2866.00 1.6 15.1 Auction Technology 1322.00 4.6 - Stv 355.00 2.9 19.5 Electricity 9725.79 18.3 9.3
Aveva 3280.00 1.6 1.7 Trainline 284.80 4.0 - Porvair 720.00 2.9 33.2 Industrial Engineering 18334.85 17.6 12.0
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
Admiral 2988.00 1.4 0.5 Drax 601.00 3.9 59.2 Bakkavor 124.40 2.8 53.6 Media 9439.26 15.7 7.7
price change chng% price change chng% price change chng% price change chng%
Ups Ups Ups Ups Losers Losers Losers Losers
Vertex Pharmaceuticals 202.00 15.06 8.06 Liontrust Asset Management 2300.00 255.00 12.47 Volkswagen Ag St O.n. 263.60 17.20 6.98 Daikin Industries, 24185.00 1035.00 4.47 Jd Sports Fashion 226.10 -80.1 - Carnival 1228.00 -11.4 - Lamprell 32.00 -12.1 - Travel & Leisure 7188.24 -23.8 -
Applied Materials 155.52 8.33 5.66 Redde Northgate 438.50 43.50 11.01 Stellantis 16.00 0.86 5.68 Fanuc 23235.00 990.00 4.45 Int Consolidated Airlines S.a. 131.76 -13.8 -19.8 Wh Smith 1352.00 -10.7 - Hostmore 95.60 -11.5 - Automobiles & Parts 3751.11 -21.8 -
Hp 37.19 1.91 5.41 Drax 601.00 51.00 9.27 Prosus 74.63 3.71 5.23 Oji Holdings 548.00 23.00 4.38 Prudential 1314.00 -8.2 -4.3 Micro Focus Int 360.20 -10.5 - Hyve 91.20 -11.5 - Mining 20369.97 -16.8 -
Microchip Technology 87.74 4.31 5.16 Restaurant 85.80 6.10 7.65 Bay.motoren Werke Vzo 72.95 3.55 5.12 Seiko Epson 1901.00 71.00 3.88 Hargreaves Lansdown 1327.50 -7.9 - Ssp 225.00 -9.5 - Kkv Secured Loan Fund 12.30 -10.9 - Food Producers 6498.29 -13.8 -
Ford Motor 20.12 0.93 4.82 Wizz Air Holdings 4223.00 277.00 7.02 Infineon Tech.ag Na O.n. 42.09 1.92 4.78 Mitsui O.s.k.lines, 6730.00 230.00 3.54 Intercontinental Hotels 4563.00 -7.0 -4.1 Ao World 97.55 -9.3 - Tullow Oil 42.75 -10.8 43.6 Life Insurance 7620.04 -7.2 -7.7
Melrose Industries 148.80 -7.0 - Hill & Smith Holdings 1700.00 -8.9 19.7 Fisher (james) & Sons 330.00 -10.8 - Mobile Telecommunications 2830.71 -6.4 -9.5
Downs Downs Downs Downs
Pearson 583.40 -7.0 - Cineworld 49.05 -8.8 -23.4 Superdry 265.00 -9.9 3.6 General Financial 11168.86 -5.9 -
Salesforce.com 265.34 -19.62 -6.89 Ocado 1739.50 -56.00 -3.12 Telefonica 3.84 -0.16 -3.92 Cyberagent,. 2012.00 -81.00 -3.87
Rolls-royce Holdings 126.14 -6.6 12.6 Network Int Holdings 279.70 -8.4 - The Gym 244.00 -9.3 13.5 Household Goods 16948.73 -4.3 -
Fortinet 316.71 -15.41 -4.64 Croda Int 9816.00 -299.00 -2.96 Sartorius Sted Bio 501.60 -19.80 -3.80 Mitsubishi Motors 354.00 -12.00 -3.28
Burberry 1782.50 -6.3 -1.6 Easyjet 518.00 -7.0 - Petrofac 110.90 -8.9 - Nonlife Insurance 3135.67 -1.1 -2.8
American Airlines 17.10 -0.59 -3.31 Endeavour Mining 1730.00 -45.00 -2.54 Sartorius Ag Vzo O.n. 589.20 -23.20 -3.79 Otsuka Holdings Co., 4051.00 -95.00 -2.29
Informa 477.80 -6.3 - Rhi Magnesita N.v. 3068.00 -6.8 - Dignity 558.00 -8.5 - General Retailers 2629.64 -0.7 -6.3
Servicenow 632.26 -15.44 -2.38 Indivior 224.60 -5.20 -2.26 Lonza N 700.20 -12.47 -1.75 Softbank . 5900.00 -130.00 -2.16
Abrdn 239.00 -5.9 - Rank 140.00 -6.7 -0.8 Card Factory 49.90 -8.1 23.7 Tobacco 27619.38 -0.2 -9.9
Cf Industries Holding 59.20 -1.39 -2.29 Hochschild Mining 129.00 -2.80 -2.12 Vestas Wind Systems A/s 29.30 -0.28 -0.95 M3,. 5990.00 -129.00 -2.11
Entain 1720.50 -5.8 16.1 Just 78.45 -6.7 14.7 Renewi 765.00 -7.8 87.7 Food & Drug Retailers 4267.71 1.8 -3.4
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
Dec 1 Currency Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Dec 1 Currency Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Dec 1 Currency Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Dec 1 Currency Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change
Argentina Argentine Peso 101.0056 0.0828 114.4799 0.8818 134.5145 0.9940 Indonesia Indonesian Rupiah 14342.5000 20.0000 16255.8277 134.4921 19100.7008 152.0838 Poland Polish Zloty 4.0711 -0.0652 4.6142 -0.0416 5.4217 -0.0506 ..Three Month 0.7510 -0.0050 0.8509 0.0003 - -
Australia Australian Dollar 1.3995 -0.0109 1.5862 -0.0013 1.8638 -0.0021 Israel Israeli Shekel 3.1529 0.0022 3.5735 0.0271 4.1989 0.0306 Romania Romanian Leu 4.3647 -0.0307 4.9470 -0.0005 5.8127 -0.0025 ..One Year 0.7506 -0.0050 0.8500 0.0002 - -
Bahrain Bahrainin Dinar 0.3770 0.0000 0.4273 0.0029 0.5021 0.0032 Japan Japanese Yen 112.9700 -0.5750 128.0404 0.2348 150.4481 0.2285 Russia Russian Ruble 73.8300 -0.5513 83.6790 -0.0440 98.3233 -0.0828 United States United States Dollar - - 1.1334 0.0078 1.3318 0.0088
Bolivia Bolivian Boliviano 6.9100 - 7.8318 0.0540 9.2024 0.0605 ..One Month 112.9699 -0.5752 128.0404 0.2350 150.4481 0.2285 Saudi Arabia Saudi Riyal 3.7516 - 4.2521 0.0293 4.9962 0.0329 ..One Month - - 1.1332 -0.1896 1.3319 0.0088
Brazil Brazilian Real 5.6208 -0.0279 6.3706 0.0125 7.4855 0.0124 ..Three Month 112.9699 -0.5753 128.0405 0.2352 150.4481 0.2284 Singapore Singapore Dollar 1.3626 -0.0086 1.5443 0.0010 1.8146 0.0006 ..Three Month - - 1.1331 -0.1896 1.3318 0.0087
Canada Canadian Dollar 1.2749 -0.0080 1.4449 0.0010 1.6978 0.0006 ..One Year 112.9693 -0.5765 128.0408 0.2358 150.4481 0.2273 South Africa South African Rand 15.8325 -0.1912 17.9446 -0.0917 21.0850 -0.1144 ..One Year - - 1.1322 -0.1896 1.3315 0.0087
Chile Chilean Peso 832.3750 -0.7350 943.4150 5.6715 1108.5179 6.3164 Kenya Kenyan Shilling 112.6000 0.0500 127.6210 0.9354 149.9554 1.0522 South Korea South Korean Won 1179.3500 -8.5500 1336.6770 -0.4159 1570.6031 -0.9844 Vietnam Vietnamese Dong 22715.0000 21.5000 25745.2609 201.5633 30250.7790 227.3306
China Chinese Yuan 6.3703 -0.0008 7.2202 0.0488 8.4837 0.0547 Kuwait Kuwaiti Dinar 0.3026 0.0001 0.3430 0.0025 0.4030 0.0028 Sweden Swedish Krona 9.0445 -0.0303 10.2510 0.0366 12.0450 0.0392 European Union Euro 0.8823 -0.0061 - - 1.1750 -0.0004
Colombia Colombian Peso 3949.2500 -58.4500 4476.0854 -34.9581 5259.4265 -42.7470 Malaysia Malaysian Ringgit 4.2200 0.0085 4.7830 0.0425 5.6200 0.0482 Switzerland Swiss Franc 0.9199 -0.0056 1.0426 0.0009 1.2250 0.0007 ..One Month 0.8821 -0.0061 - - 1.1750 -0.0004
Costa Rica Costa Rican Colon 629.5400 0.1600 713.5215 5.0953 838.3918 5.7244 Mexico Mexican Peso 21.2585 -0.2310 24.0944 -0.0940 28.3111 -0.1195 Taiwan New Taiwan Dollar 27.7540 -0.0505 31.4564 0.1598 36.9615 0.1762 ..Three Month 0.8820 -0.0061 - - 1.1748 -0.0004
Czech Republic Czech Koruna 22.5049 -0.0951 25.5070 0.0687 29.9709 0.0713 New Zealand New Zealand Dollar 1.4601 -0.0133 1.6548 -0.0036 1.9445 -0.0049 Thailand Thai Baht 33.7250 0.0275 38.2240 0.2943 44.9134 0.3317 ..One Year 0.8811 -0.0061 - - 1.1739 -0.0004
Denmark Danish Krone 6.5609 -0.0463 7.4361 -0.0009 8.7374 -0.0038 Nigeria Nigerian Naira 413.7500 - 468.9448 3.2304 551.0128 3.6231 Tunisia Tunisian Dinar 2.8797 -0.0086 3.2638 0.0129 3.8350 0.0139
Egypt Egyptian Pound 15.7101 -0.0174 17.8058 0.1031 20.9220 0.1145 Norway Norwegian Krone 9.0332 -0.0782 10.2382 -0.0174 12.0300 -0.0243 Turkey Turkish Lira 13.1303 -0.1475 14.8818 -0.0635 17.4862 -0.0802
Hong Kong Hong Kong Dollar 7.7921 -0.0037 8.8316 0.0566 10.3772 0.0633 Pakistan Pakistani Rupee 175.3000 0.1500 198.6853 1.5375 233.4563 1.7335 United Arab Emirates UAE Dirham 3.6731 - 4.1631 0.0287 4.8917 0.0322
Hungary Hungarian Forint 320.0371 -4.4877 362.7304 -2.5526 426.2103 -3.1348 Peru Peruvian Nuevo Sol 4.0650 0.0034 4.6073 0.0355 5.4136 0.0400 United Kingdom Pound Sterling 0.7509 -0.0050 0.8511 0.0003 - -
India Indian Rupee 74.9125 -0.2400 84.9059 0.3147 99.7649 0.3385 Philippines Philippine Peso 50.3650 -0.0200 57.0838 0.3707 67.0737 0.4146 ..One Month 0.7510 -0.0050 0.8510 0.0003 - -
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 Dec 01 Nov 30 Nov 29 Nov 26 Nov 25 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 2714.70 2677.00 2699.20 2666.10 2790.70 0.00 2870.10
Beverages 2450.90 30.48 FTSE SmallCap Index 16.93 Mining 9.47 FTSE 100 Price Change FTSE 100 Price Change
Dec 01 chge% Index Nov 30 Nov 29 ago yield% Cover ratio adj Return FT 30 Div Yield - - - - - 0.00 3.93
Support Services 2.74 29.94 Aerospace & Defense 16.27 Consumer Services 7.93 3I Group PLC 1433.5 46.50 Johnson Matthey PLC 2084 -12.00
FTSE 100 (101) 7168.68 1.55 6568.91 7059.45 7109.95 6384.73 3.44 2.10 13.86 238.85 7089.73 P/E Ratio net - - - - - 0.00 19.44
Oil & Gas Producers 14.26 26.84 Tech Hardware & Eq 16.04 Life Insurance 5.74 Abrdn PLC 239.00 5.70 Kingfisher PLC 322.90 6.10
FTSE 250 (250) 22912.73 1.75 20995.72 22519.72 22756.33 19844.81 1.91 3.48 15.05 411.00 18521.93 FT 30 hourly changes Oil & Gas 25.74 Technology 15.36 Telecommunications 1.58 Admiral Group PLC 2988 31.00 Land Securities Group PLC 740.40 13.40
FTSE 250 ex Inv Co (183) 23675.20 1.89 21694.39 23236.23 23482.55 20309.30 1.86 1.17 46.12 367.04 19507.92 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 High Low Fixed Line Telecomms 24.17 Software & Comp Serv 15.30 Consumer Goods 0.99 Anglo American PLC 2844 72.00 Legal & General Group PLC 286.50 4.60
FTSE 350 (351) 4108.89 1.58 3765.11 4044.89 4076.21 3641.18 3.17 2.25 14.06 125.58 8074.96 2677 2707.2 2709.8 2708.9 2714.4 2714.9 2715.5 2705.6 2708.6 2719.3 2677.0 Real Est Invest & Tr 22.62 Industrial Transport 14.24 Beverages 31.66 Antofagasta PLC 1414.5 34.50 Lloyds Banking Group PLC 47.69 0.89
FTSE 350 ex Investment Trusts (282) 3997.48 1.60 3663.03 3934.59 3964.19 3547.44 3.25 1.92 15.99 95.98 4057.33 FT30 constituents and recent additions/deletions can be found at www.ft.com/ft30 Media 22.41 Pharmace & Biotech 14.16 Financial Services -0.65 Ashtead Group PLC 6222 178.00 London Stock Exchange Group PLC 6752 250.00
FTSE 350 Higher Yield (113) 3223.67 1.29 2953.96 3182.46 3201.90 2856.76 4.77 1.58 13.24 141.34 7057.79 Real Est Invest & Se 21.78 Food & Drug Retailer 14.01 Household Goods & Ho -2.18 Associated British Foods PLC 1955.5 32.50 M&G PLC 190.10 3.20
FTSE 350 Lower Yield (238) 4762.93 1.89 4364.44 4674.62 4718.98 4215.12 1.47 4.53 15.05 81.51 5737.75
FTSE SmallCap (253) 7267.57 1.30 6659.52 7174.49 7261.96 5954.98 2.53 4.64 8.52 163.04 11823.07 FX: EFFECTIVE INDICES Industrial Metals &
Industrial Eng
21.59
21.00
Health Care
NON FINANCIALS Index
12.17
12.04
Tobacco
Nonlife Insurance
-4.04
-4.27
Astrazeneca PLC 8314 38.00 Meggitt PLC 741.00 3.40
Auto Trader Group PLC 732.00 -0.60 Melrose Industries PLC 148.80 3.80
FTSE SmallCap ex Inv Co (133) 6018.34 1.40 5514.81 5935.33 6009.89 4682.75 2.07 1.24 39.03 101.58 10198.05
Nov 30 Nov 29 Mnth Ago Dec 01 Nov 30 Mnth Ago Industrials 20.76 FTSE 250 Index 11.83 Travel & Leisure -4.99 Avast PLC 605.00 -0.80 Mondi PLC 1791.5 72.00
FTSE All-Share (604) 4089.19 1.57 3747.06 4025.87 4057.63 3614.17 3.15 2.31 13.76 123.86 8115.75 Chemicals 20.74 FTSE All{HY-}Share Index 11.31 Food Producers -6.15 Aveva Group PLC 3280 73.00 National Grid PLC 1007 0.40
FTSE All-Share ex Inv Co (415) 3937.67 1.59 3608.22 3875.86 3905.35 3485.77 3.23 1.91 16.16 94.06 4058.16 UK 81.23 81.60 82.31 Gas Water & Multi 20.13 Basic Materials 11.05 Mobile Telecomms -6.19 Aviva PLC 394.40 9.40 Natwest Group PLC 215.60 3.00
FTSE All-Share ex Multinationals (533) 1318.79 1.81 1002.03 1295.29 1308.74 1162.62 2.54 3.51 11.25 31.70 2708.02 Source: Bank of England. New Sterling ERI base Jan 2005 = 100. Other indices base average 1990 = 100. Banks 18.74 FTSE 100 Index 10.96 Health Care Eq & Srv -8.10 B&M European Value Retail S.A. 632.80 12.60 Next PLC 8020 158.00
FTSE Fledgling (84) 13194.60 0.16 12090.66 13173.44 13199.91 9924.98 2.16 7.23 6.41 245.26 27698.71 Index rebased 1/2/95. for further information about ERIs see www.bankofengland.co.uk Construct & Material 18.50 Financials 10.92 Personal Goods -10.00 Bae Systems PLC 553.60 5.40 Ocado Group PLC 1739.5 -56.00
FTSE Fledgling ex Inv Co (35) 17566.06 0.45 16096.38 17487.90 17502.50 108.22 1.69 -3.06 -19.40 253.67 35910.94 Electronic & Elec Eq 18.44 Equity Invest Instr 10.65 Leisure Goods -13.81 Barclays PLC 189.68 5.46 Pearson PLC 583.40 -9.80
FTSE All-Small (337) 5061.29 1.23 4637.84 4999.61 5057.72 4127.50 2.51 4.76 8.37 112.44 10561.66 Utilities 17.40 Electricity 9.78 Automobiles & Parts -18.64 Barratt Developments PLC 710.00 12.60 Pershing Square Holdings LTD 3015 85.00
FTSE All-Small ex Inv Co (168) 4522.38 1.36 4144.01 4461.60 4515.65 105.21 2.05 1.10 44.07 76.00 9706.07 General Retailers 9.71 Oil Equipment & Serv -33.83 Berkeley Group Holdings (The) PLC 4429 145.00 Persimmon PLC 2816 79.00
FTSE AIM All-Share (743) 1196.05 0.71 1095.98 1187.56 1190.51 1064.94 0.91 1.53 71.55 10.14 1384.91
Bhp Group PLC 2074.5 8.00 Phoenix Group Holdings PLC 644.20 4.00
FTSE All-Share Technology (22) 2330.67 1.30 2138.34 2300.67 2314.90 2060.17 1.47 0.85 79.97 21.12 3308.67
FTSE All-Share Telecommunications (7) 1832.90 2.42 1681.65 1789.64 1813.75 1818.55 4.54 0.31 70.03 80.79 2640.64 FTSE GLOBAL EQUITY INDEX SERIES BP PLC
British American Tobacco PLC
332.90
2561.5
7.45
31.50
Polymetal International PLC
Prudential PLC
1364
1314
-8.00
38.00
FTSE All-Share Health Care (13) 12661.42 0.73 11616.56 12569.62 12671.54 11728.92 3.19 0.48 64.86 237.40 11410.20 Dec 1 No of US $ Day Mth YTD Total
YTD Gr Div Dec 1 No of US $ Day Mth YTD Total YTD Gr Div British Land Company PLC 518.20 9.40 Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC 6136 26.00
FTSE All-Share Financials (253) 4841.82 2.03 4442.25 4745.63 4780.01 4353.61 2.71 5.47 6.76 96.95 5193.03 Regions & countries stocks indices % % % retn
% Yield Sectors stocks indices % % % retn % Yield Bt Group PLC 166.30 7.70 Relx PLC 2345 8.00
FTSE All-Share Real Estate (56) 1213.16 1.23 1164.37 1198.43 1210.36 982.85 2.45 2.06 19.90 20.95 1235.10
FTSE Global All Cap 9370 814.66 -1.6 -2.8 11.9
13.9 1277.27
1.8 Oil Equipment & Services 26 228.46 -2.5 -2.5 20.7 405.39 26.2 4.9 Bunzl PLC 2866 -2.00 Rentokil Initial PLC 615.00 1.40
FTSE All-Share Consumer Discretionary (91) 5267.65 2.15 4832.95 5156.82 5240.20 4841.61 1.51 0.09 717.78 65.22 5454.27
FTSE Global All Cap 9370 814.66 -1.6 -2.8 11.9
13.9 1277.27
1.8 Basic Materials 370 633.74 -1.0 -1.0 3.9 1116.68 7.7 3.9 Burberry Group PLC 1782.5 25.00 Rightmove PLC 762.40 15.60
FTSE All-Share Consumer Staples (25)19003.54 0.65 17435.31 18880.96 19094.20 18449.81 3.92 1.23 20.81 564.81 16754.32
FTSE Global Large Cap 1800 730.48 -1.5 -2.4 12.2
14.1 1180.26
1.8 Chemicals 172 922.29 -1.4 -1.4 6.0 1583.08 8.1 2.2 Coca-Cola Hbc AG 2382 60.00 Rio Tinto PLC 4691.5 79.50
FTSE All-Share Industrials (88) 7221.03 1.92 6625.13 7085.21 7148.42 5777.80 1.64 2.78 22.02 100.03 8174.10
FTSE Global Mid Cap 2301 1028.27 -2.0 -3.7 12.2
14.0 1516.43
1.8 Forestry & Paper 21 288.80 -1.9 -1.9 -8.7 563.83 -6.3 2.8 Compass Group PLC 1499 36.50 Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC 126.14 3.64
FTSE All-Share Basic Materials (25) 7971.91 1.52 7314.04 7852.26 7779.59 6684.67 6.54 2.41 6.34 365.27 10206.38
FTSE Global Small Cap 5269 1104.21 -1.7 -4.6 9.7
11.2 1560.45
1.5 Industrial Metals & Mining 97 510.05 -1.6 -1.6 8.8 924.50 14.9 6.0 Crh PLC 3705 49.00 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 1607.8 30.40
FTSE All-Share Energy (14) 5912.78 2.03 5424.84 5795.30 5852.48 4712.71 3.77 1.66 15.97 174.61 6925.71
FTSE All-World 4101 477.74 -1.6 -2.6 12.2
14.1 793.05
1.8 Mining 80 871.71 0.5 0.5 -1.0 1599.14 4.6 6.0 Croda International PLC 9816 -299.00 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 1607 30.00
FTSE All-Share Utilities (10) 8382.18 0.67 7690.46 8326.70 8335.89 6927.39 4.26 1.65 14.22 238.06 12131.67
FTSE World 2663 860.73 -1.6 -2.4 13.8
15.8 1917.69
1.8 Industrials 757 568.67 -1.6 -1.6 8.6 888.94 10.1 1.5 Darktrace PLC 476.60 16.60 Royal Mail PLC 507.60 6.20
FTSE All-Share Software and Computer Services (20) 2502.27 1.20 2295.77 2472.64 2489.70 2226.04 1.46 0.85 80.30 22.29 3758.36
FTSE Global All Cap ex UNITED KINGDOM In 9077 863.59 -1.6 -2.7 12.2
14.0 1328.76
1.7 Construction & Materials 145 692.07 -1.3 -1.3 12.3 1139.79 14.4 1.9 Dcc PLC 5626 88.00 Sage Group PLC 783.40 11.60
FTSE All-Share Technology Hardware and Equipment (2) 6805.25 4.39 6243.66 6518.98 6423.63 4608.26 1.51 0.93 71.66 88.39 8631.43
FTSE Global All Cap ex USA 7546 576.19 -1.0 -4.6 2.24.6 992.56
2.5 Aerospace & Defense 35 749.83 -1.8 -1.8 2.2 1153.45 3.7 1.5 Diageo PLC 3846 46.50 Sainsbury (J) PLC 280.20 3.60
FTSE All-Share Telecommunications Equipment (2) 641.76 2.56 588.80 625.76 624.48 600.98 1.40 2.69 26.52 5.80 898.24
FTSE Global All Cap ex JAPAN 7978 849.37 -1.6 -2.8 13.1
15.0 1343.83
1.7 General Industrials 72 264.51 -2.6 -2.6 4.5 456.09 6.6 2.1 Entain PLC 1720.5 51.50 Schroders PLC 3523 87.00
FTSE All-Share Telecommunications Service Providers (5) 2826.43 2.41 2593.18 2759.87 2798.81 2809.28 4.67 0.29 75.13 128.98 3705.50
FTSE Global All Cap ex Eurozone 8710 861.89 -1.6 -2.5 12.5
14.4 1322.81
1.7 Electronic & Electrical Equipment 143 769.74 -1.0 -1.0 15.1 1088.78 16.4 1.2 Evraz PLC 589.80 13.80 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC 1503 13.00
FTSE All-Share Health Care Providers (3) 8138.89 3.73 7467.24 7846.15 7883.57 5998.31 0.13 53.19 14.77 6.62 7513.79
FTSE Developed 2211 791.09 -1.7 -2.5 14.3
16.2 1250.29
1.7 Industrial Engineering 147 1098.79 -1.6 -1.6 7.2 1711.67 8.9 1.7 Experian PLC 3431 51.00 Segro PLC 1422 13.00
FTSE All-Share Medical Equipment and Services (2) 5794.22 1.47 5316.06 5710.16 5802.99 6845.54 2.19 1.07 42.55 126.98 5454.19
FTSE Developed All Cap 5826 826.34 -1.7 -2.8 13.8
15.7 1286.99
1.7 Industrial Transportation 126 1034.19 -1.6 -1.6 12.8 1628.41 14.5 1.6 Ferguson PLC 11755 290.00 Severn Trent PLC 2872 -14.00
FTSE All-Share Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology (8)17945.00 0.66 16464.13 17827.89 17963.82 16398.56 3.28 0.44 69.32 335.72 14556.22
FTSE Developed Large Cap 888 743.41 -1.6 -2.2 14.7
16.6 1195.97
1.7 Support Services 89 678.02 -1.7 -1.7 5.4 994.92 6.5 1.1 Flutter Entertainment PLC 10440 250.00 Smith & Nephew PLC 1239.5 22.00
FTSE All-Share Banks (11) 2930.58 2.35 2688.74 2863.19 2848.47 2571.99 2.69 5.96 6.23 45.06 2488.95
FTSE Developed Europe Large Cap 237 421.26 -1.0 -5.3 7.2
10.2 809.14
2.7 Consumer Goods 540 662.86 -1.5 -1.5 8.5 1090.22 10.4 1.9 Fresnillo PLC 907.00 -1.00 Smith (Ds) PLC 369.00 10.70
FTSE All-Share Finance and Credit Services (7) 9686.75 3.50 8887.37 9359.26 9819.68 11808.91 1.48 1.58 42.74 128.18 12772.00
FTSE Developed Europe Mid Cap 351 730.55 -1.1 -5.7 4.66.9 1221.45
2.3 Automobiles & Parts 128 788.24 -0.5 -0.5 28.7 1253.74 30.1 1.0 Glaxosmithkline PLC 1541.2 16.20 Smiths Group PLC 1470 28.00
FTSE All-Share Investment Banking and Brokerage Services (33)10446.35 2.41 9584.29 10200.65 10331.87 9071.53 3.74 2.81 9.53 287.89 13981.58
FTSE Dev Europe Small Cap 721 1046.42 -0.9 -6.5 8.6
10.6 1680.09
1.9 Beverages 68 740.12 -2.7 -2.7 0.1 1230.07 2.1 2.2 Glencore PLC 369.80 12.70 Smurfit Kappa Group PLC 3902 70.00
FTSE All-Share Closed End Investments (189)14279.36 1.29 13100.98 14098.11 14260.95 12357.84 2.02 10.59 4.68 210.41 8717.65
FTSE North America Large Cap 256 1003.91 -1.8 -1.1 20.9
22.5 1484.80
1.3 Food Producers 132 727.61 -2.0 -2.0 1.4 1226.00 3.7 2.4 Halma PLC 3035 34.00 Spirax-Sarco Engineering PLC 15860 230.00
FTSE All-Share Life Insurance (6) 7746.45 2.38 7107.19 7566.64 7614.39 6996.55 3.46 2.27 12.73 267.54 9092.90
FTSE North America Mid Cap 414 1252.44 -2.6 -2.8 18.1
19.7 1709.13
1.5 Household Goods & Home Construction 61 596.29 -2.3 -2.3 3.5 979.27 5.9 2.4 Hargreaves Lansdown PLC 1327.5 -9.50 Sse PLC 1583 31.00
FTSE All-Share Nonlife Insurance (7) 3562.24 0.66 3268.27 3538.96 3556.82 3784.44 4.00 1.60 15.62 125.32 7299.79
FTSE North America Small Cap 1333 1276.37 -2.4 -4.7 11.6
12.7 1674.74
1.2 Leisure Goods 47 308.54 -1.4 -1.4 -6.5 430.47 -5.5 1.2 Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC 2248 33.00 St. James's Place PLC 1584 35.50
FTSE All-Share Real Estate Investment and Services (15) 3041.75 1.82 2790.74 2987.27 2984.59 2508.90 1.61 2.73 22.86 34.45 8886.84
FTSE North America 670 651.64 -2.0 -1.4 20.4
22.0 1.4 Personal Goods
984.92 89 1122.29 -1.3 -1.3 6.5 1697.08 7.9 1.4 HSBC Holdings PLC 429.20 9.85 Standard Chartered PLC 429.60 13.40
FTSE All-Share Real Estate Investment Trusts (41) 3012.67 1.09 2764.05 2980.15 3017.30 2427.60 2.64 1.96 19.31 55.05 4410.65
FTSE Developed ex North America 1541 300.19 -1.0 -4.9 2.45.0 557.41
2.5 Tobacco 15 888.26 -1.8 -1.8 -2.2 2365.20 2.4 6.8 Imperial Brands PLC 1563.5 21.50 Taylor Wimpey PLC 162.35 4.45
FTSE All-Share Automobiles and Parts (2) 3770.33 4.05 3459.19 3623.51 3677.09 3734.43 1.26 -8.37 -9.51 10.66 3893.91
FTSE Japan Large Cap 172 446.95 -1.1 -2.2 -1.40.5 2.1 Health Care
640.14 338 740.97 -1.5 -1.5 8.0 1160.61 9.7 1.6 Informa PLC 477.80 10.80 Tesco PLC 278.15 1.40
FTSE All-Share Consumer Services (3) 2488.01 2.46 2282.69 2428.28 2526.26 2379.05 0.01 110.73 64.80 0.13 3114.06
FTSE Japan Mid Cap 338 605.83 -0.9 -6.2 -6.0
-4.0 823.53
2.4 Health Care Equipment & Services 129 1547.53 -1.9 -1.9 11.2 1879.43 12.0 0.8 Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC 4563 114.00 Unilever PLC 3854.5 -4.50
FTSE All-Share Household Goods and Home Construction (13)14224.27 2.69 13050.44 13851.29 13942.69 13911.81 5.12 1.69 11.57 421.30 11861.90
FTSE Global wi JAPAN Small Cap 882 679.10 -0.4 -5.6 -4.8
-2.8 956.69
2.5 Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 209 469.59 -1.1 -1.1 5.6 786.74 8.0 2.3 Intermediate Capital Group PLC 2185 95.00 United Utilities Group PLC 1084.5 -
FTSE All-Share Leisure Goods (2) 24235.51 1.76 22235.52 23816.40 24136.45 24806.10 1.50 2.76 24.08 473.92 25933.20
FTSE Japan 510 182.57 -1.0 -3.0 -2.4
-0.5 292.75
2.2 Consumer Services 453 695.55 -2.1 -2.1 0.8 982.19 1.6 0.9 International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. 131.76 4.30 Vodafone Group PLC 111.06 1.72
FTSE All-Share Personal Goods (5) 30499.05 2.61 27982.18 29724.07 30375.10 25774.46 1.33 2.05 36.55 419.78 23371.34
FTSE Asia Pacific Large Cap ex Japan 958 817.47 -0.9 -4.4 -6.5
-4.6 2.3 Food & Drug Retailers
1445.35 69 322.41 -2.1 -2.1 7.9 501.04 10.5 2.4 Intertek Group PLC 5448 108.00 Whitbread PLC 2890 87.00
FTSE All-Share Media (11) 9721.40 0.90 8919.16 9634.24 9658.60 7851.25 1.77 1.05 54.04 177.13 6681.52
FTSE Asia Pacific Mid Cap ex Japan 919 1095.80 -0.3 -3.3 6.79.1 1863.07
2.6 General Retailers 157 1290.18 -2.0 -2.0 1.9 1747.18 2.5 0.7 Itv PLC 113.10 3.15 Wpp PLC 1072.5 30.50
FTSE All-Share Retailers (22) 2765.32 1.99 2537.11 2711.41 2764.72 2237.39 1.28 4.06 19.26 34.22 3505.26
FTSE Asia Pacific Small Cap ex Japan 2041 704.06 0.2 -1.5 8.3
10.4 2.1 Media
1167.08 84 465.64 -2.4 -2.4 -0.8 661.65 0.0 0.8 Jd Sports Fashion PLC 226.10 3.20
FTSE All-Share Travel and Leisure (33) 7087.59 3.11 6502.70 6873.74 7035.95 7608.95 0.12 -92.86 -9.34 11.71 7283.70
FTSE Asia Pacific Ex Japan 1877 647.25 -0.8 -4.3 -5.2
-3.3 2.3 Travel & Leisure
1215.91 143 480.27 -1.8 -1.8 -3.6 693.57 -2.8 0.9
FTSE All-Share Beverages (5) 29737.47 1.24 27283.45 29374.66 29579.51 23007.18 1.91 1.52 34.44 353.51 23344.72
FTSE Emerging All Cap 3544 866.94 -0.3 -3.4 -2.6
-0.3 2.5 Telecommunication
1459.81 89 144.27 -2.1 -2.1 -6.3 326.84 -2.6 4.4
FTSE All-Share Food Producers (10) 6686.84 1.30 6135.02 6600.95 6618.36 6916.11 1.76 2.97 19.11 110.25 6314.16
FTSE All-Share Tobacco (2) 27619.43 1.28 25340.19 27271.70 27570.28 27812.71 8.47 1.46 8.06 1715.05 24194.50
FTSE Emerging Large Cap 912 813.15 -0.5 -3.9 -5.2
-3.0 2.5 Fixed Line Telecommuniations
1377.08 35 107.80 -2.3 -2.3 -7.3 277.81 -2.4 6.1 UK STOCK MARKET TRADING DATA
FTSE Emerging Mid Cap 978 1113.29 0.0 -2.9 6.39.3 3.1 Mobile Telecommunications
1882.55 54 174.66 -1.9 -1.9 -5.1 342.72 -2.4 3.4
FTSE All-Share Construction and Materials (15) 8574.20 1.59 7866.63 8440.13 8513.45 7015.86 2.18 0.56 81.29 73.42 10135.46 Dec 01 Nov 30 Nov 29 Nov 26 Nov 25 Yr Ago
FTSE Emerging Small Cap 1654 944.02 0.5 0.1 10.8
13.4 2.3 Utilities
1524.15 198 318.80 -2.0 -2.0 -0.6 722.19 2.6 3.4
FTSE All-Share Aerospace and Defense (9) 4437.01 1.54 4070.85 4369.59 4387.21 3917.38 2.14 8.40 5.55 94.62 5298.96 Order Book Turnover (m) 248.19 88.71 85.09 85.09 85.09 150.06
FTSE Emerging Europe 87 413.05 0.0 -10.6 11.5
17.0 4.9 Electricity
821.88 142 359.09 -1.8 -1.8 -0.5 801.96 2.6 3.4
FTSE All-Share Electronic and Electrical Equipment (10)13858.46 1.99 12714.82 13587.46 13722.43 10699.13 1.24 2.13 37.71 154.90 13480.71 Order Book Bargains 1039954.00 1131921.00 1478402.00 1478402.00 1478402.00 593992.00
FTSE Latin America All Cap 251 675.49 -0.5 -3.4 -17.8
-13.8 5.7 Gas Water & Multiutilities
1213.55 56 318.49 -2.3 -2.3 -0.7 744.66 2.5 3.4
FTSE All-Share General Industrials (9) 5486.31 2.11 5033.56 5372.86 5433.10 5108.57 2.36 1.16 36.42 127.94 7033.63 Order Book Shares Traded (m) 1444.00 1615.00 2389.00 2389.00 2389.00 940.00
FTSE Middle East and Africa All Cap 332 764.62 0.6 -3.5 17.1
20.3 2.7 Financials
1358.39 871 285.97 -1.7 -1.7 13.3 533.14 16.3 2.7
FTSE All-Share Industrial Engineering (5)19911.84 1.71 18268.66 19577.43 19798.95 15746.25 0.96 2.51 41.44 192.50 26309.95 Total Equity Turnover (£m) 4004.39 5282.09 6736.49 6736.49 6736.49 4082.79
FTSE Global wi UNITED KINGDOM All Cap In 293 335.43 -1.2 -6.0 5.89.3 3.3 Banks
661.88 268 218.24 -1.5 -1.5 18.3 449.66 22.3 3.3
FTSE All-Share Industrial Support Services (32)11917.87 1.81 10934.38 11705.84 11800.81 9527.42 1.38 1.96 37.02 146.30 13449.78 Total Mkt Bargains 1298833.00 1411959.00 1809753.00 1809753.00 1809753.00 775715.00
FTSE Global wi USA All Cap 1824 1122.09 -2.0 -1.6 19.4
20.9 1.3 Nonlife Insurance
1600.38 72 329.02 -1.5 -1.5 10.0 532.84 13.3 3.0
FTSE All-Share Industrial Transportation (8) 7087.96 2.87 6503.04 6890.08 6976.85 3973.56 0.99 3.72 27.13 61.48 7270.25 Total Shares Traded (m) 4559.00 4718.00 6031.00 6031.00 6031.00 3627.00
FTSE Europe All Cap 1474 503.97 -1.0 -5.6 7.09.8 2.6 Life Insurance
929.69 54 233.79 -1.6 -1.6 0.6 433.62 3.9 3.5
FTSE All-Share Industrial Materials (1)21579.03 -1.71 752.14 21954.10 21203.96 19279.76 1.48 2.64 25.69 318.56 26702.54 † Excluding intra-market and overseas turnover. *UK only total at 6pm. ‡ UK plus intra-market turnover. (u) Unavaliable.
FTSE Eurozone All Cap 660 490.37 -1.0 -6.1 5.88.3 2.3 Financial Services
898.27 215 472.83 -2.0 -2.0 12.6 705.73 14.1 1.6
FTSE All-Share Industrial Metals and Mining (11) 6592.58 2.07 6048.54 6459.00 6391.86 5439.29 7.27 2.43 5.66 326.35 9456.62 (c) Market closed.
FTSE EDHEC-Risk Efficient All-World 4101 521.67 -1.9 -3.7 10.5
12.6 2.1 Technology
801.33 349 663.03 -1.2 -1.2 27.4 856.91 28.4 0.7
FTSE All-Share Precious Metals and Mining (6)19502.36 -1.20 17892.97 19740.16 19481.21 24805.28 4.18 1.82 13.16 1039.94 13285.27
FTSE EDHEC-Risk Efficient Developed Europe 588 391.69 -0.9 -5.7 4.97.3 2.4 Software & Computer Services
668.72 188 1065.21 -2.4 -2.4 26.8 1281.24 27.3 0.4
FTSE All-Share Chemicals (7) 18207.16 -1.42 16704.65 18468.54 18506.69 13940.88 1.77 2.57 21.96 261.18 17798.70
Oil & Gas 136 319.88 -1.9 -7.2 24.0
29.2 4.0 Technology Hardware & Equipment
623.39 161 547.57 0.2 0.2 28.4 758.05 29.8 1.1
FTSE All-Share Oil. Gas and Coal (14) 5738.29 2.03 5264.75 5624.28 5679.77 4573.63 3.77 1.66 15.97 169.47 6970.56 All data provided by Morningstar unless otherwise noted. All elements listed are indicative and believed
Oil & Gas Producers 95 306.16 -1.8 -7.0 26.7
32.3 4.2 Alternative Energy
610.58 15 241.79 -2.0 -2.0 -10.0 345.52 -9.5 0.5
accurate at the time of publication. No offer is made by Morningstar or the FT. The FT does not warrant nor
FTSE Sector Indices Real Estate Investment & Services 160 324.83 -1.4 -1.4 -9.4 615.17 -7.0 2.9
Non Financials (351) 4909.98 1.44 4499.18 4840.29 4879.40 89.39 3.28 1.54 19.82 118.57 8576.37 Real Estate Investment Trusts 102 551.53 -1.9 -1.9 21.3 1247.31 24.4 2.9 guarantee that the information is reliable or complete. The FT does not accept responsibility and will not be
FTSE Global Large Cap 1800 730.48 -1.5 -1.5 12.2 1180.26 14.1 1.8 liable for any loss arising from the reliance on or use of the listed information.
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/ 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
FTSE 100 7124.47 7149.49 7157.98 7156.46 7165.42 7159.50 7159.66 7129.49 7153.99 7181.89 7120.65 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 250 22664.10 22727.53 22813.01 22816.39 22823.43 22857.93 22889.82 22859.38 22886.76 22918.98 22664.10 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. Data provided by Morningstar | www.morningstar.co.uk
FTSE SmallCap 7187.70 7218.72 7230.53 7233.83 7232.72 7242.08 7251.24 7246.38 7254.51 7267.57 7187.70 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
FTSE All-Share 4060.04 4073.91 4080.60 4080.07 4084.33 4082.87 4084.09 4069.35 4081.48 4095.08 4060.04 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,
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.
Time of FTSE 100 Day's high:16:24:00 Day's Low08:32:15 FTSE 100 2010/11 High: 7384.18(11/11/2021) Low: 6407.46(29/01/2021)
Time of FTSE All-Share Day's high:16:24:00 Day's Low08:03:00 FTSE 100 2010/11 High: 4212.39(11/11/2021) Low: 3641.93(29/01/2021)
Further information is available on http://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. † 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 Albion Venture Capital Trust Int 2.529 1.934 2.520 1.910 1.83000 2.50000 Jul 30 3.570 4.986 date price(p) Sector code Stock price(p) +/- High Low Cap (£m)
price up date High Low Stock Price p +or- Brickability Group Int 223.503 75.257 11.863 5.416 3.010 1.890 0.96000 0.86780 Feb 24 2.045 1.947 11/30 145.00 AIM GELN Gelion PLC 175.50 25.00 180.00 147.00 18684.4
There are currently no rights offers by any companies listed on the LSE. Citius Resources Int 0.000 0.000 0.147L 0.101L 0.000 0.000 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000 11/22 277.00 AIM ETP Eneraqua Technologies PLC 278.00 -6.50 289.60 276.00 9235.8
D4t4 Solutions Int 7.575 5.087 0.325L 1.328L 0.690L 2.380L 0.85000 0.81000 Jan 10 2.850 2.700 11/19 10.00 REDC Red Capital PLC 30.50 1.00 30.00 21.95 305.0
Highway Capital Int 0.000 0.000 0.136L 0.148L 1.190L 1.290L 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000 11/17 2.25 TM1 Technology Minerals PLC 3.36 0.36 4.25 2.80 4073.4
Honye Financial Services Ltd Pre 0.000 0.000 0.813L 0.427L 3.300L 1.700L 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000 11/12 13.00 AIM FRG Firering Strategic Minerals PLC 13.35 -0.15 15.28 12.42 1159.9
Liontrust Asset Management Int 114.893 69.082 31.063 6.874 43.270 9.210 22.00000 11.00000 Jan 14 58.000 34.869 11/05 1.10 AIM MRK Marks Electrical Group PLC 124.00 4.60 128.00 110.00 13013.7
Loungers Int 102.361 53.493 12.809 0.117 10.600 0.200 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000 10/27 7.50 SFTL Softline Holding PLC 6.50 0.45 8.20 6.00 1194.0
Marechale Capital Int 0.497 0.176 1.501 0.064L 1.700 0.100L 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000 10/25 6.25 AIM AXL Arrow Exploration Corp 7.75 -0.25 8.40 6.50 1624.6
Marlowe Int 134.500 83.300 1.600 0.600 1.700 0.800 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000
Online Blockchain Pre 0.065 0.060 0.025 0.243L 0.180 2.320L 0.00000 0.00000 - 0.000 0.000
Redde Northgate Int 612.922 556.008 71.730 25.853 22.500 8.600 6.00000 3.40000 Jan 14 18.000 10.163
Residential Secure Income Pre 11.221 2.449 6.600 1.400 1.29000 1.25000 Jan 21 2.540 2.500
TPXimpact Holdings Int 37.495 21.175 0.559 1.571L 0.330 2.930L 0.30000 0.20000 Jan 28 0.700 0.200

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.
14 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Thursday 2 December 2021

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 (€) CntJpRwy 15620 20.00 18455 13525 0.82 -19.90 28482.96 Nordea Bk 108.56 1.44 114.64 65.76 - - - BlackRock 917.47 12.86 973.16 670.28 1.63 26.77 139379.45 MondelezInt 59.75 0.81 65.60 52.91 2.03 20.52 83347.21
ANZ 26.64 -0.06 29.64 22.56 2.32 15.64 53662.33 Nokia 5.11 0.19 5.38 3.07 - - - Denso 8488 157.00 9053 4961 1.62 22.02 59202.24 SEB 133.40 1.70 141.85 81.80 - - - Boeing 196.04 -1.81 278.57 191.85 - -13.14 115212.56 Monsanto 9.77 -0.03 10.00 9.51 - - 244.25
BHPBilltn 39.90 0.53 54.55 35.56 5.29 13.26 84113.41 SampoA 43.60 0.21 47.33 33.07 - - - EastJpRwy 6925 -61.00 8626 6464 1.42 -5.33 23167.05 SvnskaHn 97.20 1.36 108.15 80.06 - - - Booking Holdings 2123.78 21.93 2687.29 1860.73 - 218.34 87209.6 MorganStly 97.22 2.40 105.95 61.86 1.39 13.37 174452.73
CmwBkAu 93.88 0.70 110.19 79.35 2.68 19.70 114468.26 France (€) Fanuc 23235 990.00 29700 21720 1.24 36.27 41527.53 Swedbank 185.00 2.66 196.70 140.70 - - - BrisMySq 55.54 1.91 69.75 53.22 3.49 -23.63 123279.08 Netflix 642.29 0.39 700.99 478.54 - 69.04 284503.76
CSL 309.19 2.40 319.78 242.00 0.91 43.99 100672.44 Airbus Grpe 101.92 3.20 121.00 81.84 - - - FastRetail 67080 -320.00 110500 66050 0.69 46.95 62985.05 Telia Co 35.07 0.16 39.97 33.45 - - - CapOne 142.55 2.02 177.95 87.82 0.68 5.88 60670.3 NextEraE♦ 89.41 2.63 89.47 68.33 1.58 57.97 175434.48
NatAusBk 27.38 0.08 30.30 22.25 2.25 17.45 64021.28 AirLiquide 147.84 2.02 154.36 124.25 - - - Fuji Hvy Ind 2130.5 -12.00 2413 1943 2.58 16.21 14505.88 Volvo 202.60 7.18 240.80 182.00 - - - CardinalHlth 46.69 0.46 62.96 46.20 4.02 23.28 13156.68 Nike 170.70 1.46 179.10 125.44 0.62 46.79 218121.56
Telstra 4.03 -0.04 4.09 2.98 2.51 25.50 34093.7 AXA 25.24 0.89 26.35 18.21 - - - Hitachi 6761 73.00 7460 3966 1.52 16.63 57946.68 Switzerland (SFr) Carnival 17.34 -0.28 31.52 17.11 - -2.16 16886.12 NorfolkS 276.50 11.23 296.06 226.09 1.43 24.09 67284.76
Wesfarmers♦ 57.04 0.18 67.20 49.01 2.93 26.79 46213.06 BNP Parib 56.59 1.51 62.55 39.71 - - - HondaMtr 3175 74.00 3677 2743 3.68 5.81 50909.85 ABB 32.28 0.39 34.79 23.66 2.39 35.18 72050.48 Caterpillar 195.31 1.96 246.69 172.28 2.03 25.45 105651.79 Northrop 351.81 3.01 408.03 282.88 1.70 12.48 55775.13
Westpc♦ 20.62 0.10 27.12 19.23 1.55 17.14 54053.18 ChristianDior 684.00 18.00 731.50 420.60 - - - JapanTob 2266.5 -7.00 2387.5 1898 6.27 10.29 40125.7 CredSuisse 8.99 0.08 13.50 8.68 2.55 116.59 24934.86 CharlesSch 78.63 1.24 84.49 48.89 0.88 34.42 142423.01 NXP 232.19 8.83 234.68 152.93 0.78 65.27 61747.04
Woolworths 39.84 -0.98 42.66 31.77 2.57 32.23 34502.17 Cred Agr 12.31 0.24 13.49 9.23 - - - KDDI 3288 -12.00 3899 2919.5 3.58 11.61 67063.31 Nestle 118.16 0.16 124.16 95.00 2.23 28.25 361602.88 Charter Comms 654.40 8.12 825.62 585.45 - 30.35 117327.18 Occid Pet 30.03 0.38 35.75 14.77 0.13 -5.63 28047.45
Belgium (€) Danone 52.35 0.36 65.30 50.88 - - - Keyence 70460 130.00 76210 47150 0.28 76.27 151689.95 Novartis 74.24 0.80 86.92 73.01 3.96 21.19 196479.22 Chevron Corp♦ 115.00 2.13 118.08 83.53 4.37 63.79 221683.88 Oracle 91.78 1.04 98.95 58.01 1.18 20.22 251310.07
AnBshInBv 49.76 0.50 65.86 46.66 - - - EDF 12.58 0.19 13.58 9.63 - - - MitsbCp 3430 39.00 3758 2474.5 3.83 16.00 45109.59 Richemont 138.85 2.15 143.55 73.22 0.70 57.95 78795.13 Chubb 181.01 1.54 197.92 144.00 1.72 9.32 77968.48 Pepsico 163.21 3.43 166.80 128.32 2.54 28.15 225662.79
KBC Grp 74.66 0.64 86.50 55.08 - - - Engie SA 13.00 0.19 13.87 10.98 - - - MitsubEst 1594.5 29.50 2047.5 1564 1.54 15.42 19639.85 Roche 365.80 6.15 378.95 293.05 2.39 23.46 279390.59 Cigna 200.33 8.43 272.81 190.88 0.96 9.19 66394.93 Perrigo 36.60 -0.11 50.90 36.26 2.45 -15.07 4896.12
EssilorLuxottica 181.64 4.62 195.00 116.40 - - - MitsubishiEle♦ 1432.5 8.00 1817 1418 2.47 13.21 27227.29 Swiss Re 87.52 1.08 94.96 77.26 6.58 22.69 30208.58 Cisco 56.25 1.41 60.27 43.01 2.49 23.49 237240.37 Pfizer♦ 54.38 0.65 55.70 33.36 2.73 25.87 305199.62
Brazil (R$)
Hermes Intl 1668.5 15.50 1678 815.80 - - - MitsuiFud 2403.5 67.50 2816.5 2014.5 1.80 15.72 20541.17 Swisscom 512.00 1.60 562.40 456.30 4.18 14.36 28833.61 Citigroup 64.13 0.43 80.29 55.25 3.07 6.82 129977.73 Phillips66 70.57 1.40 94.34 61.04 4.92 -18.82 30916.74
Ambev 15.80 -0.26 19.86 13.35 3.35 15.93 44249.07
LOreal 406.15 8.65 430.45 290.10 - - - MitUFJFin 610.90 9.50 688.90 441.10 4.04 10.27 71824.12 UBS 16.17 0.23 17.04 11.96 4.03 8.89 65064.6 CME Grp 224.19 3.67 230.90 175.91 1.51 43.47 80573.03 PhilMorris 88.64 2.70 106.51 75.69 5.40 15.63 137997.21
Bradesco 17.28 0.26 24.57 16.45 3.22 10.54 14973.62
LVMH 697.50 10.90 741.60 484.40 - - - Mizuho Fin 1413.5 11.50 1732.5 1287 2.88 6.25 31771.53 Zurich Fin 385.30 6.20 415.10 352.80 5.06 13.46 63023.65 Coca-Cola♦ 53.45 1.00 57.56 48.11 3.09 26.66 230851.41 PNCFin 200.11 3.11 217.60 139.30 2.22 15.75 84574.65
Cielo 2.08 0.01 4.45 2.02 4.83 6.39 1005.36
Orange 9.61 0.10 10.74 9.17 - - - Murata Mfg 8427 47.00 10835 7994 1.34 20.00 50410.63 Cognizant 79.04 1.06 82.84 66.19 1.17 22.54 41515.9 PPG Inds♦ 158.26 4.09 182.97 132.10 1.32 25.73 37571.06
ItauHldFin♦ 20.27 0.17 30.15 19.74 3.73 6.61 17880.83 Taiwan (NT$)
PernodRic 203.90 1.40 214.50 150.90 - - - Nippon T&T 3105 -20.00 3313 2468.5 3.16 11.79 99551.63 ColgtPlm 76.50 1.48 86.38 74.01 2.30 24.67 64477.92 ProctGmbl 147.81 3.23 149.72 121.54 2.22 27.31 357692.49
Petrobras 31.09 0.95 32.34 20.60 8.19 2.84 41166 Chunghwa Telecom 113.00 1.00 118.50 108.00 - 26.62 31584.37
Renault 29.33 0.87 41.42 27.48 - - - NipponTT 3105 -20.00 3313 2468.5 3.16 11.79 99551.63 Comcast 50.58 0.60 61.80 48.15 1.91 16.46 230595.63 Prudntl 103.55 1.29 115.52 74.58 4.19 5.91 39141.9
Vale 71.07 1.12 120.45 61.85 12.50 4.00 64895.37 Formosa PetChem 96.80 1.70 117.50 88.40 - 16.67 33224.55
Safran 103.12 4.34 127.74 96.88 - - - Nissan Mt 558.00 -4.90 664.50 498.40 - -45.82 20847.63 ConocPhil 71.42 1.29 77.98 38.77 2.31 65.71 94199.19 PublStor 335.06 7.68 340.95 212.22 2.30 47.81 58754.3
Canada (C$) HonHaiPrc 105.50 2.00 134.50 81.90 3.82 11.41 52696.69
Sanofi 85.84 1.98 91.14 74.92 - - - Nomura 478.00 0.60 721.00 473.20 4.81-215.26 13681.88 Corning♦ 38.15 1.06 46.82 34.81 2.43 38.24 32557.53 Qualcomm♦ 181.36 0.80 188.77 122.17 1.40 23.52 203123.2
Bausch Hlth 30.65 0.33 43.97 23.96 - -6.93 8616.56 MediaTek 1065 45.00 1185 689.00 3.34 21.70 61352.12
Sant Gbn 58.36 2.18 64.93 36.22 - - - Nppn Stl 1719.5 20.00 2381 1185 0.57 9.39 14464.71 Costco 546.12 6.74 560.78 307.00 0.53 50.08 241288.82 Raytheon♦ 81.11 0.19 92.32 65.02 2.40 35.40 121403.64
BCE 65.26 0.97 67.08 54.18 5.19 22.07 46519.6 TaiwanSem 600.00 4.00 679.00 493.50 1.60 29.61 560576.19
Schneider 162.76 6.54 163.44 112.25 - - - Panasonic 1244 1.50 1541 1131.5 1.58 11.77 27021.41 CrownCstl 185.60 3.95 204.62 146.15 2.70 74.05 80216.92 Regen Pharm 639.62 3.09 686.62 441.00 - 11.94 67620.46
BkMontrl 134.86 1.82 141.00 94.76 3.04 16.97 68556.64 Seven & I 4594 40.00 5340 3383 2.14 19.12 36047.75 Thailand (THB) CSX♦ 35.50 0.84 36.57 27.70 1.02 22.60 78727.32 S&P Global♦ 459.95 4.22 476.17 303.50 0.64 40.14 110846.75
SocGen 28.45 0.91 30.84 15.18 - - -
BkNvaS 83.16 3.38 83.99 64.60 4.23 11.89 79277.93 ShnEtsuCh 18965 -35.00 21480 16860 1.29 25.11 69947.86 PTT Explor 36.75 1.25 45.00 34.00 2.76 12.24 31125.1 CVS 90.65 1.59 96.57 67.06 2.13 17.22 119663.32 Salesforce 265.34 -19.62 311.75 201.51 - 111.70 259767.86
Total 41.94 1.33 45.16 24.51 - - -
Brookfield 72.54 1.20 77.51 48.34 0.85 33.35 93336.53 Softbank 5900 -130.00 10695 5807 0.73 2.73 89983.41 United Arab Emirates (Dhs) Danaher 324.74 3.10 333.96 211.22 0.25 42.31 232048.12 Schlmbrg♦ 29.37 0.69 36.87 20.87 1.68 25.42 41195.32
UnibailR 60.06 1.86 85.65 53.86 - - -
CanadPcR 90.24 0.84 100.00 82.12 0.84 19.55 47211.78 Sony 13895 70.00 14625 9562 0.39 14.89 155109.6 Emirtestele 31.94 0.94 31.94 17.02 1.65 31.46 75623.93 Deere 348.34 2.80 400.34 250.54 0.91 21.08 108006.82 Sempra Energy 123.08 3.21 144.93 114.66 3.36 18.48 39302.93
Vinci 86.32 2.66 96.95 75.38 - - -
CanImp 143.53 1.08 152.87 107.44 3.98 11.24 50757.54 SumitomoF 3734 31.00 4354 3062 4.99 8.28 45426.82 Delta 35.50 -0.70 52.28 34.60 - -299.51 22720.49 Shrwin-Will♦ 339.00 7.76 340.45 218.06 0.57 44.07 88884.51
Vivendi 11.46 0.21 11.75 5.04 - - - United Kingdom (p)
CanNatRs 53.02 0.78 55.44 28.67 3.35 15.53 48955.43 Takeda Ph 3013 -18.00 4365 2993 5.86 11.22 42199.94 Devon Energy 42.40 0.34 45.56 13.78 1.00 209.45 28704.8 SimonProp 155.38 2.54 171.12 82.02 4.09 35.27 51059.6
Germany (€) AscBrFd 1955.5 32.50 2528 1719 - 38.65 20617.12
CanNatRy 165.29 3.43 168.66 125.00 1.46 25.08 91665.92 TokioMarine 5791 83.00 6218 4907 3.39 18.44 35754.83 DiscFinServ♦ 108.80 0.95 135.69 78.21 1.56 7.22 31886.64 SouthCpr 59.01 0.51 83.29 54.92 3.59 16.96 45619.53
Allianz 198.96 6.52 223.50 182.52 4.87 9.48 92107.88 AstraZen 8314 38.00 9523 6499.8 2.47 40.02 140223.67
Enbridge 48.40 0.47 54.00 40.36 6.75 16.26 76916.17 Toyota 2045.5 44.50 2188 1410 2.25 9.84 295408.63 Disney 145.56 0.66 203.02 143.11 - 243.53 264578 Starbucks 112.31 2.67 126.32 95.92 1.51 48.54 131762.09
BASF 59.26 1.38 72.88 57.06 5.62 10.03 61689.95 Aviva 394.40 9.40 429.60 247.40 6.85 13.15 21079.26
GtWesLif 37.49 0.41 39.73 28.79 4.64 10.86 27359.48 DominRes 72.77 1.57 81.11 67.85 3.75 26.12 58833.62 StateSt 91.01 2.04 100.69 68.80 2.31 13.57 31262.22
Bayer 45.37 0.85 57.73 44.23 4.45 -5.84 50518.62 Mexico (Mex$) Barclays 189.68 5.46 217.63 111.83 0.53 6.12 43104.26
ImpOil 43.86 1.63 45.49 22.56 2.10 -84.98 23833.91 DukeEner♦ 98.86 1.85 108.38 85.56 3.76 26.92 76056.71 Stryker 245.76 9.13 281.16 220.90 1.01 50.06 92675.18
BMW 88.64 3.66 96.39 68.21 2.16 5.25 60479.26 AmerMvl 19.33 0.52 19.90 13.25 2.02 12.30 41021.9 BP 332.90 7.45 366.40 3.20 4.54 10.76 88360.77
Manulife 23.43 0.59 27.68 21.72 4.74 6.49 35700.01 DuPont♦ 75.74 1.78 87.27 63.25 1.53 39.68 39616.31 Sychrony Fin 45.31 0.52 52.49 31.03 1.92 6.49 24796.31
Continental 98.03 3.33 132.68 89.73 3.09 388.75 22222.13 FEMSA UBD 152.96 0.51 180.66 136.21 3.46 54.43 15550.19 BrAmTob 2561.5 31.50 2961.5 207.50 8.26 9.49 63601.72
Nutrien 86.32 1.64 91.15 59.45 2.59 41.56 38647.88 Eaton 166.18 4.12 175.72 113.79 1.73 36.75 66239.35 T-MobileUS 109.31 0.50 150.20 108.09 - 35.54 136534.04
Daimler 86.59 3.59 91.63 54.82 1.57 7.93 104995.15 WalMrtMex 69.85 2.47 76.95 53.38 0.88 28.45 57373.63 BT 166.30 7.70 206.70 116.65 - 11.39 21974.13
RylBkC 127.32 1.02 134.23 102.74 3.32 12.27 142334.28 eBay♦ 67.63 0.17 81.19 48.67 1.02 23.94 43963.27 Target♦ 247.71 3.87 268.98 166.83 1.05 20.61 118683.79
Deut Bank 10.89 0.23 12.56 8.37 - 17.26 25500.28 Netherlands (€) Compass 1499 36.50 1721.63 18.06 - -64.89 32830.91
SHOP 1924.8 -16.23 2228.73 1248.55 - 56.95 171527.15 Ecolab 226.08 4.61 238.93 201.15 0.84 58.39 64787.14 TE Connect 157.58 3.65 166.44 114.20 1.19 32.24 51418.83
Deut Tlkm 15.98 0.39 18.92 14.53 3.79 14.15 90324.81 ASML Hld 732.90 33.30 777.50 363.50 - - - Diageo 3846 46.50 4364.1 2805.28 1.83 33.92 128941.59
Suncor En 31.60 0.48 34.35 20.29 2.64 19.87 36073.3 Emerson 89.84 2.00 105.99 74.50 2.16 23.83 53445.82 Tesla Mtrs 1147.56 2.80 1243.49 539.49 - 377.231152454.17
DeutsPost 53.55 1.38 61.38 38.64 4.71 14.51 75203.03 Heineken 87.46 -0.48 103.80 80.84 - - - GlaxoSmh♦ 1541.2 16.20 1604.4 1190.8 5.19 17.78 100938.89
ThmReut 155.56 2.71 156.62 99.11 1.24 9.09 59441.8 EOG Res 88.74 1.74 98.20 46.31 1.67 28.50 51920.88 TexasInstr 198.23 5.86 202.26 159.56 1.93 28.68 183070.57
E.ON 10.96 0.07 11.43 8.27 4.32 8.36 32822.64 ING 12.45 0.25 13.74 7.15 - - - Glencore 369.80 12.70 420.03 3.40 1.17 31.93 71039.25
TntoDom 93.47 3.32 96.39 70.25 3.31 11.25 133727.88 EquityResTP 85.76 0.45 88.09 56.08 2.78 31.78 32161.39 TheTrvelers 149.94 2.99 163.29 131.99 2.28 10.64 36886.54
Fresenius Med 53.56 0.78 71.44 52.12 4.78 15.57 17779.07 Unilever 45.30 -0.12 51.31 43.00 - - - HSBC 429.20 9.85 462.55 329.55 2.50 13.18 114604.15
TrnCan 59.81 -0.11 68.20 51.26 5.58 29.11 45942.27 Exelon 53.53 0.80 54.86 38.36 2.76 56.09 52343.38 ThrmoFshr 636.00 3.17 666.65 433.52 0.15 30.56 250614.58
Fresenius SE 33.90 0.41 47.60 32.94 5.12 10.77 17376.57 Imperial Brands 1563.5 21.50 1686 1142 8.81 5.33 19858.67
China (HK$) Norway (Kr) ExxonMb♦ 61.40 1.56 66.38 38.34 5.46 -20.48 259919.84 TJX Cos♦ 70.08 0.68 76.94 61.15 0.71 35.34 84268.66
HenkelKgaA 66.70 1.15 86.50 65.25 2.77 18.27 19640.01 LlydsBkg 47.69 0.89 51.58 0.59 1.20 7.34 45772.51
AgricBkCh 2.62 0.05 3.30 2.54 8.50 3.44 10335.62 DNB 203.10 4.90 217.90 126.05 - - - Facebook 321.62 -2.84 384.33 244.61 - 24.75 761036.84 Truist Financial Corp 60.48 1.17 65.42 45.44 2.87 16.38 80734.24
Linde 287.00 5.25 297.20 199.35 1.26 48.50 166726.97 Natl Grid 1007 0.40 1016.2 805.40 4.87 21.75 45014.1
Bk China 2.72 0.01 3.17 2.54 8.54 3.36 29190.03 Equinor 230.20 1.50 238.75 116.30 - - - Fedex 235.29 4.92 319.90 216.34 1.15 12.92 62504.8 UnionPac 238.54 2.90 247.76 193.14 1.69 25.86 153351.57
MuenchRkv 246.40 8.05 269.30 215.25 4.01 16.23 39125.44 Natwest Group 215.60 3.00 235.07 145.40 1.39 14.28 34357.47
BkofComm 4.71 0.17 5.26 4.00 8.01 3.47 21163.27 Telenor 134.70 0.85 159.95 131.80 - - - FordMtr 20.12 0.93 20.79 8.43 - 29.09 78959.21 UPS B 200.85 2.48 220.24 154.76 1.95 30.15 146451.42
SAP 117.08 3.90 129.74 98.69 1.59 23.40 163020.83 Prudential 1314 38.00 1598.5 1158 0.89 18.26 45275.48
BOE Tech 0.79 -0.01 1.21 0.55 - -67.97 20.17 Qatar (QR) ReckittB 6136 26.00 7192 4905.16 2.85 -26.55 57545.06 Franklin 32.96 0.56 38.27 22.26 4.04 14.13 16574.07 USBancorp 56.44 1.10 63.01 42.47 2.87 12.56 83689.1
Siemens 148.02 6.74 156.98 111.36 2.39 23.55 142601.16
Ch Coms Cons 4.07 -0.01 4.73 3.21 5.22 2.82 2307.86 QatarNtBk 19.67 0.28 21.05 16.35 2.26 15.68 49888.26 RELX 2345 8.00 2634.82 1484.9 2.00 33.89 60417.49 GenDyn 193.63 4.66 210.21 144.50 2.94 16.84 54065.92 UtdHlthcre 454.80 10.58 466.00 320.35 1.10 31.14 428353.95
Volkswgn 263.60 17.20 357.40 152.60 1.84 7.35 88162.39
Ch Evrbrght 2.71 0.03 3.54 2.63 9.22 3.50 4409.54 Russia (RUB) RioTinto 4691.5 79.50 6876.26 4354 7.17 5.62 83798.17 GenElectric 95.81 0.82 116.17 80.08 0.33 73.49 105212.52 ValeroEngy♦ 69.96 3.02 84.95 51.90 5.53 -65.58 28602.14
Ch Rail Cons 4.82 0.05 5.99 4.07 5.68 2.47 1284.36 Hong Kong (HK$) GenMills 62.56 0.79 64.65 53.96 3.16 17.15 37892.12 Verizon 50.82 0.55 61.95 50.04 4.90 9.67 213309.88
Gzprm neft 349.28 9.76 3649 74.00 - - 111996.31 RollsRoyce 126.14 3.64 150.48 86.69 - 2.75 3124.29
Ch Rail Gp 3.82 0.11 4.70 3.33 5.62 3.19 2062.63 AIA 82.40 0.35 109.30 81.20 1.59 19.24 127920.34 GenMotors 59.03 1.16 65.18 40.04 - 7.99 85703.31 VertexPharm 202.00 15.06 242.99 176.36 - 27.64 51358.89
Lukoil 6575.5 -62.46 7554.91 7.45 - - 61708.5 RylDShlA 1607 30.00 1795.2 16.51 3.01 31.27 98384.55
ChConstBk 5.13 0.05 6.74 5.03 7.56 3.68 158281.15 BOC Hold 23.80 0.25 29.55 22.20 5.05 10.91 32293.29 GileadSci 69.78 0.85 73.34 56.56 3.84 17.65 87524.61 VF Cp 73.35 1.62 90.79 65.34 2.56 37.85 28810.19
MmcNrlskNckl 22174.43 335.21 28011.97 343.80 - - 46149.32 StandCh 429.60 13.40 533.20 406.20 1.52 15.34 18861.58
China Vanke 17.88 0.22 35.00 16.84 6.57 4.45 4362.52 Ch OSLnd&Inv 18.14 0.18 21.95 14.92 6.44 3.88 25479.53 GoldmSchs 384.48 5.49 426.16 231.35 1.25 7.29 128721.2 ViacomCBS 31.03 0.08 101.97 30.47 2.98 6.30 18826.1
Novatek 1689.94 48.75 13307.81 1160.85 - - 69499.77 Tesco 278.15 1.40 317.55 2.74 3.60 21.23 30329.52
ChinaCitic 3.40 0.05 4.29 3.15 8.91 3.04 6493.68 ChngKng 44.95 0.35 56.05 38.25 3.87 9.39 21018.6 Halliburton 21.93 0.34 26.75 16.78 0.81 49.33 19524.2 Visa Inc♦ 192.97 -0.81 252.67 192.55 0.63 40.44 322199.6
Rosneft 579.72 8.60 39143.78 116.00 - - 83217.32 Vodafone 111.06 1.72 157.52 1.56 6.90 342.78 39451.62
ChinaLife 12.96 0.12 18.46 12.22 5.74 5.18 12376.31 Citic Ltd 7.18 0.14 10.24 5.20 6.57 2.92 26805.22 HCA Hold 232.39 6.80 263.92 149.75 0.40 16.52 72278.59 Walgreen♦ 45.09 0.29 57.05 38.31 4.03 20.26 39030.46
Sberbank 328.89 9.40 568.52 213.80 - - 96162.08 WPP 1072.5 30.50 1121 11.00 2.24 27.25 18083.93
ChinaMBank 61.50 1.20 72.45 45.95 2.43 11.76 36234.19 Citic Secs 19.04 0.44 22.00 15.22 2.50 10.45 5567.09 Hew-Pack 37.19 1.91 37.52 22.08 1.95 12.06 42862.17 WalMartSto 140.14 -0.49 153.66 126.28 1.49 41.10 390785.94
Surgutneftegas 37.23 -1.02 49.50 29.80 - - 18015.55 United States of America ($)
ChinaMob 46.70 0.10 59.20 39.00 7.03 7.38 122714.69 CK Hutchison 49.40 0.55 65.80 48.85 4.53 5.71 24318.75 HiltonWwde 134.91 -0.17 154.40 98.57 - 1050.71 37600.95 WellsFargo 48.91 1.13 52.57 27.85 0.79 13.53 200844.54
CNOOC 7.78 0.12 10.60 6.50 5.71 6.20 44578.25 Saudi Arabia (SR) 21stC Fox A 35.93 0.22 44.80 27.12 1.23 10.32 11510.05
ChinaPcIns 22.60 - 42.75 20.85 6.27 6.61 8049.4 HomeDep 408.61 9.65 416.56 246.59 1.48 30.02 426686.57 Williams Cos 27.46 0.67 29.89 19.85 5.69 29.98 33364.72
HangSeng 140.00 2.00 166.70 130.50 3.80 17.74 34349.93 AlRajhiBnk 134.40 2.20 151.00 71.40 1.76 24.56 89561.78 3M 174.18 4.14 208.95 163.38 3.35 17.44 100787.21
ChMinsheng 3.03 0.03 5.01 2.56 8.27 3.95 3235.43 Honywell♦ 204.77 2.53 236.86 194.55 1.79 26.68 140968.37 Yum!Brnds 125.87 3.03 135.77 101.18 1.49 30.02 36896.66
HK Exc&Clr 434.80 4.80 587.00 378.00 1.82 44.24 70745.44 Natnlcombnk 61.40 1.00 70.00 42.00 2.33 18.66 49099.05 AbbottLb 128.14 2.37 131.61 105.32 1.22 37.44 226591.48
ChMrchSecs 17.22 0.20 28.18 16.01 4.37 15.51 20062.79 HumanaInc 428.77 9.06 475.44 370.22 0.60 23.48 55111.65 Venezuela (VEF)
MTR 41.05 -0.55 49.00 40.80 2.90-141.48 32628.15 SaudiBasic 109.20 1.00 136.60 95.70 2.65 21.45 87322.74 Abbvie 118.82 3.54 121.53 101.55 4.02 33.31 209968.73
Chna Utd Coms 3.91 0.03 4.96 3.85 1.67 19.21 18877.2 IBM♦ 118.46 1.36 152.84 114.56 5.31 21.11 106178.08 Bco de Vnzla 0.46 - 594.00 0.04 218.48 - 363.95
SandsCh 17.16 -0.76 40.55 14.64 - -15.56 17823.06 SaudiTelec 111.80 0.80 139.80 104.80 3.53 20.03 59601.24 Accenture 368.21 10.81 374.92 241.73 0.93 41.54 241818.05
ChShenEgy 16.98 0.82 19.36 13.64 12.60 6.11 7359.97 IllinoisTool 236.12 3.97 244.45 192.89 1.94 27.80 74113.52 Bco Provncl 2.06 0.02 798000 2.00 - -4.55 48.27
SHK Props 94.45 -0.35 126.00 94.00 5.07 10.60 35124.72 Singapore (S$) Adobe 674.81 4.96 699.54 420.78 - 57.73 321479.48
ChShpbldng 4.15 -0.02 5.08 3.78 - -273.28 14386.71 Illumina 365.92 0.59 555.77 322.60 - 72.71 57192.51 Mrcntl Srvcs 7.45 - 601.00 1.00 0.02 2.97 98.56
Tencent 468.80 9.40 775.50 412.20 0.33 20.81 577276.96 DBS 31.38 1.51 32.70 24.71 2.24 13.89 59149.18 AEP♦ 82.37 1.32 91.49 74.80 3.55 17.52 41485.79
ChStConEng 4.69 0.05 5.55 4.38 4.46 3.85 29923.35 Intcntl Exch 131.71 0.99 139.79 105.64 0.97 24.60 74205.99
JardnMt US$ 57.64 1.05 68.88 49.13 2.88 89.24 41430.52 Aetna - - - - - - -
ChUncHK 3.91 -0.02 5.50 3.89 4.38 7.88 15353.83 India (Rs) Intel 49.95 0.75 68.49 45.24 2.71 9.82 203146.65 Closing prices and highs & lows are in traded currency (with variations for that
OCBC 11.27 0.29 12.77 9.88 2.76 10.78 37202.4 Aflac 55.54 1.40 57.95 42.73 2.12 6.97 36737.97
CNNC Intl 7.10 0.27 8.31 4.59 1.63 18.18 19024.1 Bhartiartl 722.25 -6.00 781.80 465.26 0.26 -43.04 56732.15 Intuit 669.96 17.66 716.86 350.06 0.34 92.52 189709.08 country indicated by stock), market capitalisation is in USD. Highs & lows are
SingTel 2.40 0.04 2.63 2.21 4.30 72.55 29083.6 AirProd 292.31 4.87 316.39 245.75 1.87 34.46 64733.98
CSR 3.49 0.03 4.22 2.53 6.04 7.70 1957.76 HDFC Bk 1504.65 11.10 1725 1342 0.42 25.50 111292.58 John&John♦ 159.57 3.64 179.92 145.86 2.47 24.89 420083.24 based on intraday trading over a rolling 52 week period.
UOB 26.13 0.66 28.17 22.24 2.92 13.74 32101.54 Alexion 182.50 3.05 187.45 99.91 - 59.43 40336.01
Daqin 6.14 0.05 7.11 5.80 7.61 9.01 14329.31 Hind Unilevr 2344.85 27.30 2859.3 2120 1.32 65.82 73544.98 JohnsonCn 77.41 2.65 81.15 44.91 1.32 34.76 54522.37 ♦ ex-dividend
Allstate 110.59 1.87 140.00 102.44 2.35 4.81 31703.5
GuosenSec 11.18 0.15 14.57 10.32 1.96 14.00 15491.68 HsngDevFin 2703.65 30.55 3021.1 2221.2 1.58 24.94 65325.99 South Africa (R) JPMrgnCh 161.88 3.05 172.96 118.11 2.14 11.20 478398.47
Alphabet 2895.58 57.63 3019.33 1694 - 28.25 871018.48 ■ ex-capital redistribution
HaitongSecs 6.65 0.10 7.93 6.36 9.52 5.17 2909.83 ICICI Bk 727.70 13.35 867.00 472.20 - 26.02 67413.07 Firstrand 57.48 1.65 65.24 45.88 2.05 11.28 20365.3 Kimb-Clark 133.59 3.28 143.37 125.27 3.19 23.61 44981.99
Altria 43.81 1.17 52.59 39.91 7.57 18.55 80478.48 # price at time of suspension
Hngzh HikVDT 48.22 -0.42 70.48 43.38 1.62 28.91 61637.34 Infosys 1714.9 2.25 1848 1115 1.55 36.53 96273.37 MTN Grp 168.73 7.14 174.99 58.69 - 38.41 20081.02 KinderM 15.91 0.45 19.29 13.47 6.61 20.92 36074.51
Amazon 3536.6 29.53 3773.08 2881 - 63.881793578.27
Hunng Pwr 3.58 0.09 4.91 2.44 5.82 -44.00 2159.54 ITC 221.90 0.75 265.30 193.55 4.83 19.19 36500.36 Naspers N♦ 2469.38 11.14 3888 1262.66 0.24 13.42 67926.25 Kraft Heinz♦ 33.67 0.06 44.95 31.60 4.69 18.23 41213.51
AmerAir 17.10 -0.59 26.09 13.85 - -1.74 11075.35
IM Baotou Stl 2.87 -0.02 4.14 1.12 - 33.66 14271.22 L&T 1786 21.25 1981.75 1104.1 1.00 29.05 33490.61 South Korea (KRW) Kroger 41.26 -0.28 47.99 30.35 1.67 28.52 30678.81
AmerExpr 154.37 2.07 189.03 112.10 1.38 16.31 122636.63
In&CmBkCh 4.18 0.06 5.75 4.08 7.59 3.86 46559.8 OilNatGas 142.25 0.15 172.75 80.95 1.20 8.32 23888.44 HyundMobis 230000 9500 405000 220000 2.19 9.53 18443.9 L Brands 79.92 -0.15 - - - - -
AmerIntGrp 53.64 1.04 62.54 36.77 2.30 11.69 44536.25
IndstrlBk 18.12 0.11 28.07 17.08 4.31 5.08 55794.21 RelianceIn 2467 61.60 2751.35 1830 0.28 31.17 222819.94 KoreaElePwr 20950 200.00 30050 20750 5.84 6.51 11403.86 LasVegasSd 35.81 0.19 66.77 35.24 - -19.92 27361.38
AmerTower 266.09 3.61 303.72 197.50 1.87 48.98 121181.03
Kweichow 1932.99 2.22 2627.88 1525.5 0.97 49.74 381175.01 SBI NewA 475.30 14.75 542.30 244.10 0.82 17.45 56624.34 SK Hynix 116500 2500 150500 90500 1.01 13.56 71914.43 LibertyGbl 27.12 0.72 30.58 22.71 - 1.54 4797
Amgen♦ 204.24 5.36 276.69 198.64 3.17 21.53 115041.43
Midea 0.52 - 0.85 0.50 - 48.65 20.09 SunPhrmInds 745.35 -8.25 851.00 536.00 0.85 30.69 23872.45 SmsungEl 74400 3100 96800 68300 4.08 15.52 376607.31 Lilly (E)♦ 254.79 6.75 275.87 143.13 1.28 39.38 243730.18
Anthem 413.61 7.38 439.90 286.04 1.04 18.76 100388
New Ch Life Ins 20.75 -0.10 34.20 20.55 7.97 3.59 2753.78 Tata Cons 3577.8 48.65 3989.9 2699 1.11 36.45 176665.66 Spain (€) Linde 324.11 5.97 340.16 240.80 1.26 48.33 166124.11
Aon Cp 299.97 4.20 326.25 200.65 0.60 34.16 66092.01
PetroChina 3.43 0.04 4.20 2.32 5.92 5.33 9287.52 Israel (ILS) BBVA 4.82 0.12 6.29 3.74 1.24 9.55 36407.73 Lockheed♦ 335.32 2.00 396.99 319.81 3.06 15.65 92476.71
Apple 169.27 3.97 170.20 116.21 0.48 34.292777110.82
PingAnIns 54.25 0.20 103.60 48.80 4.99 6.66 20919.39 TevaPha 26.83 -0.44 43.90 26.83 - -2.49 9392.88 BcoSantdr 2.82 0.07 3.51 2.38 - -6.02 55463.35 Lowes 250.50 5.91 256.39 149.31 0.99 26.93 168776.37
Aptiv 164.02 3.67 180.81 119.75 - 47.66 44369.73
PngAnBnk 17.64 0.20 25.31 17.01 0.99 10.72 53736.09 CaixaBnk 2.32 0.05 2.90 1.93 1.17 3.01 21222.8 Lyondell 86.88 -0.26 118.02 84.06 4.96 5.13 28910.61
Italy (€) ArcherDan 63.47 1.26 69.30 48.57 2.22 16.06 35507.74
Pwr Cons Corp 6.67 0.10 9.96 3.57 1.35 13.65 11668.63 Iberdrola 10.06 0.16 12.57 8.59 4.01 19.95 72586.26 Marathon Ptl♦ 63.14 2.29 68.78 38.30 3.54 -28.98 38868.21
Enel 6.76 0.05 9.05 6.55 5.12 27.90 77837.42 AT&T 22.75 -0.09 33.88 22.55 8.82 -76.11 162399.3
SaicMtr 20.19 0.24 27.32 18.03 2.99 9.95 37029.21 Inditex 29.11 1.25 32.85 24.34 1.96 35.21 102828.67 Marsh&M 168.18 4.16 171.13 106.95 1.07 35.97 84913.3
ENI 11.90 0.26 12.83 8.06 4.86 -4.68 48646.72 AutomData 231.97 1.08 241.18 159.31 1.54 39.64 97748.46
ShenwanHong 0.07 0.00 0.11 0.05 - -12.00 74.19 Repsol 10.02 0.23 11.78 7.50 5.92 38.21 17346.15 MasterCard 312.38 -2.55 401.50 310.11 0.52 45.00 304474.76
Generali 18.13 0.40 19.35 13.74 5.62 11.45 32488.71 Avago Tech 565.97 12.29 577.21 398.10 2.38 43.77 232962.47
ShgPdgBk 8.56 0.05 11.24 8.44 5.46 5.39 39441.39 Telefonica 3.84 -0.16 4.32 3.12 10.30 2.34 24538.27 McDonald's♦ 249.52 4.92 257.79 202.73 1.98 28.16 186452.68
IntSPaolo 2.17 0.05 2.59 1.78 1.66 11.22 47755.8 BakerHu 24.03 0.69 27.66 18.75 2.96 38.01 20900.98
Sinopec Corp 3.51 0.10 4.69 3.32 6.26 5.26 11492.78 McKesson♦ 219.09 2.33 229.13 169.09 0.74 -8.15 33451.14
Unicred 11.12 0.43 12.16 7.30 1.09 19.31 28192.09 Sweden (SKr) BankAm 45.04 0.57 48.69 28.14 1.64 13.65 368611.14
Sinopec Oil 2.07 0.05 2.90 1.79 - 312.82 4409.23 Medtronic 108.39 1.69 135.89 106.59 2.09 39.57 145665.77
Japan (¥) AtlasCpcoB 478.10 7.10 518.00 364.40 - - - Baxter 76.50 1.93 88.32 73.12 1.36 32.54 38303.05
Denmark (kr) Merck 76.38 1.47 91.40 68.38 3.23 32.34 192925.28
AstellasPh 1755 -24.50 2025 1470 2.35 32.92 28923.05 Ericsson 93.85 2.69 121.80 91.00 - - - BectonDick 241.52 4.38 267.37 234.61 1.31 39.58 68597.38
DanskeBk 112.05 3.75 125.60 95.52 - - - Metlife♦ 59.31 0.65 67.68 44.62 3.02 12.38 49889.21
Bridgestne 4622 17.00 5467 3307 3.08 25.45 29199.91 H&M 167.24 7.24 229.50 157.90 - - - BerkshHat 423412.49 6536.49 445000 333150 - 6.53 262489.49
MollerMrsk 20060 285.00 21360 11885 - - - Microsoft♦ 337.32 6.73 349.67 209.11 0.63 43.472532591.96
Canon 2541.5 41.50 2938 1876 3.28 15.43 30005.84 Investor 213.20 3.25 221.95 143.45 - - - Biogen 235.64 -0.10 468.55 228.68 - 18.99 34613.8
NovoB 712.10 7.40 760.90 412.65 - - - Mnstr Bvrg 84.05 0.27 99.89 82.96 - 30.27 44474.14
BkNYMeln 55.86 1.07 60.52 39.29 2.14 14.97 46130.36

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
Hunng Pwr 3.58 3.49 0.09 2.58 0.44 14.0 -11.41 SandsCh 17.16 17.92 -0.76 -4.24 -3.04 -15.0 -3.49 Dec 01 date Coupon S* M* F* price yield yield yield US Dec 01 date Coupon S* M* F* price yield yield yield US
VertexPharm 202.00 186.94 15.06 8.06 15.76 8.5 9.27 Carnival 17.34 17.62 -0.28 -1.59 -2.82 -14.0 -24.95 High Yield US$ US$
Pfizer 54.38 53.73 0.65 1.20 3.49 6.8 24.48 Softbank 5900.00 6030.00 -130.00 -2.16 -922.00 -13.5 -4.19 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 -
Petrobras 31.09 30.14 0.95 3.15 1.80 6.1 8.40 AmerAir 17.10 17.69 -0.59 -3.31 -2.36 -12.1 -13.71 High Yield Euro The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 02/28 5.00 BBB+ A3 A 117.21 2.47 0.00 0.32 -
Sberbank 328.89 319.49 9.40 2.94 16.94 5.4 -7.68 ShenwanHong 0.07 0.07 0.00 -1.49 -0.01 -10.8 -26.67 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 -
NXP 232.19 223.36 8.83 3.95 11.16 5.0 12.95 Delta 35.50 36.20 -0.70 -1.93 -4.19 -10.6 -12.22 GTE LLC 04/28 6.94 BBB+ Baa2 A- 128.27 2.80 0.00 -0.11 -
Hew-Pack 37.19 35.28 1.91 5.41 1.75 4.9 18.82 LasVegasSd 35.81 35.62 0.19 0.54 -4.20 -10.5 -12.68 Emerging US$ United Utilities PLC 08/28 6.88 BBB Baa1 A- 130.43 2.62 -0.07 -0.22 -
BHPBilltn 39.90 39.37 0.53 1.35 1.85 4.9 9.08 AstellasPh 1755.00 1779.50 -24.50 -1.38 -198.50 -10.2 -8.45 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 -
MollerMrsk 20060.00 19775.00 285.00 1.44 890.00 4.6 7.88 AmerExpr 154.37 152.30 2.07 1.36 -17.24 -10.0 -11.54 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
Apple 169.27 165.30 3.97 2.40 7.33 4.5 13.56 Panasonic 1244.00 1242.50 1.50 0.12 -136.50 -9.9 -10.77 Electricite de France (EDF) 04/30 4.63 A- A3 A- 137.45 0.82 -0.01 0.10 -
MTN Grp 168.73 161.59 7.14 4.42 7.00 4.3 23.18 FastRetail 67080.00 67400.00 -320.00 -0.47 -7040.00 -9.5 -11.16 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 124.42 0.68 0.00 -0.11 -
Gzprm neft 349.28 339.52 9.76 2.88 14.40 4.3 -0.49 Nissan Mt 558.00 562.90 -4.90 -0.87 -56.50 -9.2 -3.22 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 02/31 3.00 BBB+ A3 A 121.70 0.93 0.00 0.02 -
Schneider 162.76 156.22 6.54 4.19 6.60 4.2 9.31 Sychrony Fin 45.31 44.79 0.52 1.16 -4.46 -9.0 -4.56 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
Novatek 1689.94 1641.19 48.75 2.97 65.71 4.0 -6.01 DiscFinServ 108.80 107.85 0.95 0.88 -10.70 -9.0 -5.17
Peru 08/27 4.13 BBB+ A3 BBB+ 103.50 3.66 0.01 -0.02 0.80 Yen
CNNC Intl 7.10 6.83 0.27 3.95 0.26 3.8 3.65 Renault 29.33 28.46 0.87 3.06 -2.78 -8.6 -5.57
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
RelianceIn 2467.00 2405.40 61.60 2.56 81.15 3.4 -2.73 Booking Holdings 2123.78 2101.85 21.93 1.04 -199.35 -8.6 -14.76
ASML Hld 732.90 699.60 33.30 4.76 23.90 3.4 4.63 Airbus Grpe 101.92 98.72 3.20 3.24 -9.54 -8.6 -7.85 Brazil 02/47 5.63 - Ba2 BB- 101.48 5.52 0.08 0.80 - £ Sterling
Shrwin-Will 339.00 331.24 7.76 2.34 10.98 3.3 9.28 CapOne 142.55 140.53 2.02 1.43 -13.32 -8.5 -7.06 Emerging Euro innogy Fin B.V. 06/30 6.25 BBB Baa2 A- 137.45 2.19 -0.03 0.02 -
Tata Cons 3577.80 3529.15 48.65 1.38 113.55 3.3 5.30 Safran 103.12 98.78 4.34 4.39 -9.36 -8.3 -11.13 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- 128.68 3.20 0.00 -0.01 0.40
IM Baotou Stl 2.87 2.89 -0.02 -0.69 0.09 3.2 2.14 Salesforce 265.34 284.96 -19.62 -6.89 -23.83 -8.2 -12.34 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
Dec 01 Rate Current Since Last Mnth Ago Year Ago Day's Month's Year Return Return Dec 01 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 23.72 -3.47 27.19 37.51 14.10 Dec 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 23.77 -2.45 26.22 45.68 2.67 - - - - - - - - -
US Discount 2.65 30-09-2019 2.75 2.75 1.75 ABF Pan-Asia unhedged 218.03 0.45 0.05 -4.11 -1.54 0.07 VXN 25.95 -1.44 27.39 40.53 18.01 Tr 1.75pc '22 101.17 0.21 10.53 -12.50 -40.00 -1150.00 104.44 101.06 29.68
Euro Repo 0.00 16-03-2016 0.00 0.00 0.00 Corporates( £) 393.84 0.27 -0.15 -3.67 -2.48 -0.38 VDAX 24.17 -3.37 27.55 93.30 - Tr 0.75pc '23 100.56 0.41 7.89 -16.33 -26.79 925.00 101.08 99.96 33.73
UK Repo 0.10 19-03-2020 0.25 0.75 0.25 Corporates($) 337.72 0.30 -0.12 -1.12 -0.12 -1.12 † CBOE. VIX: S&P 500 index Options Volatility, VXD: DJIA Index Options Volatility, VXN: NASDAQ Index Options Volatility. Tr 0.125pc '24 99.11 0.54 10.20 -8.47 -22.86 800.00 100.37 98.67 34.12
Japan O'night Call 0.00-0.10 01-02-2016 0.00 0.00--0.10 0.00--0.10 Corporates(€) 242.53 0.22 -0.27 -0.67 -0.79 0.52 ‡ Deutsche Borse. VDAX: DAX Index Options Volatility. Tr 2pc '25 105.35 0.56 5.66 -9.68 -22.22 2700.00 120.52 99.56 38.33
Switzerland Libor Target -1.25-0.25 15-01-2015 -0.75--0.25 -1.25--0.25 -1.25--0.25 Eurozone Sov(€) 256.19 0.37 0.17 -2.77 -0.98 -2.45 Tr 0.125pc '26 98.15 0.58 7.41 -12.12 -23.68 427.27 100.31 97.21 33.89
Gilts( £) 353.31 0.25 0.75 -6.83 -3.27 -6.36 BONDS: BENCHMARK GOVERNMENT Tr 1.25pc '27 103.57 0.61 5.17 -16.44 -26.51 281.25 107.14 102.14 39.34
INTEREST RATES: MARKET Global Inflation-Lkd 321.80 0.95 1.88 2.32 -2.02 6.61 Red Bid Bid Day chg Wk chg Month Year Tr 0.875pc '29 101.27 0.71 1.43 -19.32 -25.26 129.03 104.87 98.61 41.87
Over Change One Three Six One Markit iBoxx £ Non-Gilts 381.09 0.24 -0.08 -3.50 -2.29 -0.88 Date Coupon Price Yield yield yield chg yld chg yld Tr 4.25pc '32 134.04 0.86 2.38 -16.50 -21.10 82.98 141.66 130.03 38.71
Dec 01 (Libor: Nov 30) night Day Week Month month month month year Overall ($) 278.94 0.26 -0.08 -2.01 -0.08 -2.01 Australia 04/24 2.75 104.89 0.69 -0.07 -0.02 0.56 0.58 Tr 4.25pc '36 143.90 0.95 2.15 -15.18 -16.67 41.79 151.25 137.65 30.41
US$ Libor 0.07650 0.000 0.001 -0.005 0.09400 0.17325 0.24325 0.38238 Overall( £) 357.04 0.25 0.52 -5.93 -3.01 -4.89 05/32 1.25 93.90 1.89 -0.01 0.00 0.05 0.89 Tr 4.5pc '42 166.86 0.97 1.04 -17.09 -18.49 14.12 172.18 154.49 27.21
Euro Libor -0.58114 0.002 0.007 0.000 -0.59686 -0.59871 -0.55557 -0.50500 Overall(€) 248.14 0.33 0.02 -2.29 -0.94 -1.81 Austria 05/34 2.40 127.18 0.20 0.01 0.06 -0.07 0.44 Tr 3.75pc '52 175.94 0.91 4.60 -16.51 -20.18 2.25 177.48 155.15 24.10
£ Libor 0.03825 -0.001 -0.001 -0.003 0.06100 0.09388 0.26025 0.61950 Treasuries ($) 255.43 0.24 -0.01 -2.64 -0.01 -2.64 02/47 1.50 123.17 0.52 0.02 0.08 -0.02 0.48 Tr 4pc '60 206.36 0.77 4.05 -20.62 -25.24 -10.47 208.15 175.55 24.12
Swiss Fr Libor -0.003 -0.80820 -0.78360 -0.73200 -0.58620 FTSE Belgium 10/23 0.20 101.85 -0.76 0.01 0.03 -0.11 -0.06 Gilts benchmarks & non-rump undated stocks. Closing mid-price in pounds per £100 nominal of stock.
Yen Libor -0.009 -0.07867 -0.08467 -0.05417 0.04817 Sterling Corporate (£) - - - - - - Canada - - - - - - -
Euro Euribor
Sterling CDs
-0.007
0.000
-0.57000
0.50000
-0.57300
0.63000
-0.53800
0.78500
-0.50500 Euro Corporate (€) 104.47 -0.05 - - 0.54 -1.73 03/24 2.25 102.44 1.15 0.01 0.06 0.23 0.83 GILTS: UK FTSE ACTUARIES INDICES
Euro Emerging Mkts (€) 790.67 9.89 - - 0.92 24.85 Denmark - - - - - - -
US$ CDs 0.000 0.17000 0.17000 0.29000 Eurozone Govt Bond 110.04 -0.19 - - -0.34 -0.64 11/23 1.50 104.26 -0.64 0.01 0.00 -0.09 0.01 Price Indices Day's Total Return Return
Euro CDs 0.000 -0.55000 -0.59000 -0.53000 Fixed Coupon Dec 01 chg % Return 1 month 1 year Yield
CREDIT INDICES Day's Week's Month's Series Series Finland 04/23 1.50 103.26 -0.83 -0.02 0.02 -0.16 -0.09
04/31 0.75 107.24 -0.02 0.01 0.04 -0.09 0.36 1 Up to 5 Years 86.75 -0.08 2459.64 0.46 -0.99 0.52
Short 7 Days One Three Six One Index change change change high low 2 5 - 10 Years 177.67 -0.11 3703.17 1.75 -2.36 0.71
Dec 01 term notice month month month year Markit iTraxx France 05/23 1.75 103.79 -0.76 -0.01 0.00 -0.12 -0.05
3 10 - 15 Years 211.48 -0.20 4725.10 2.32 -2.75 0.93
Euro -0.65 -0.35 -0.67 -0.37 -0.70 -0.40 -0.74 -0.44 -0.68 -0.38 -0.66 -0.36 Crossover 5Y 287.40 6.83 27.83 25.76 291.37 239.25 05/27 1.00 107.44 -0.34 0.01 0.02 -0.12 0.22
4 5 - 15 Years 185.39 -0.14 3958.64 1.95 -2.32 0.81
Sterling 0.45 0.55 0.58 0.68 0.71 0.86 0.90 1.05 Europe 5Y 57.66 1.55 6.20 7.02 58.00 47.48 Germany - - - - - - -
5 Over 15 Years 384.01 -0.61 6443.87 5.27 1.00 0.87
US Dollar 0.11 0.31 0.04 0.24 0.07 0.27 0.07 0.27 0.19 0.39 0.23 0.43 Japan 5Y 50.08 1.58 3.67 2.15 52.84 46.14 08/23 2.00 104.91 -0.83 -0.03 -0.02 -0.12 -0.04
7 All stocks 185.54 -0.33 4056.79 2.97 -0.59 0.84
Japanese Yen -0.10 0.00 -0.10 0.00 -0.10 0.10 -0.10 0.10 -0.15 0.15 -0.15 0.15 Senior Financials 5Y 66.91 1.27 6.71 8.78 67.80 54.31 08/27 0.50 105.91 -0.51 0.01 0.01 -0.14 0.20
Libor rates come from ICE (see www.theice.com) and are fixed at 11am UK time. Other data sources: US $, Euro & CDs: 08/50 0.00 97.42 0.09 0.03 0.03 -0.14 0.25 Day's Month Year's Total Return Return
Markit CDX Greece 02/27 4.30 117.51 0.87 0.06 0.11 0.24 0.16
Tullett Prebon; SDR, US Discount: IMF; EONIA: ECB; Swiss Libor: SNB; EURONIA, RONIA & SONIA: WMBA. Index Linked Dec 01 chg % chg % chg % Return 1 month 1 year
Emerging Markets 5Y 221.97 20.34 34.75 35.51 221.97 168.20
Ireland - - - - - - - 1 Up to 5 Years 317.13 0.11 1.23 4.40 2651.08 1.48 5.65
Nth Amer High Yld 5Y 325.26 19.17 24.57 20.36 325.26 287.43
- - - - - - - 2 Over 5 years 940.34 0.48 7.12 12.67 7135.20 7.20 13.07
Nth Amer Inv Grade 5Y 57.39 4.32 5.63 5.06 57.39 49.43
03/24 3.40 109.45 -0.65 0.00 0.00 -0.08 -0.04 3 5-15 years 551.61 0.38 4.02 7.09 4427.60 4.16 7.91
Websites: markit.com, ftse.com. All indices shown are unhedged. Currencies are shown in brackets after the index names.
Italy 05/24 1.85 105.10 -0.21 0.01 0.04 -0.06 0.02 4 Over 15 years 1263.17 0.52 8.22 14.56 9318.74 8.29 14.80
08/27 2.05 109.22 0.41 0.02 0.06 0.00 0.19 5 All stocks 828.13 0.45 6.51 11.67 6404.89 6.61 12.16
05/31 6.00 145.82 0.92 0.04 0.09 0.05 0.30
COMMODITIES www.ft.com/commodities BONDS: INDEX-LINKED 03/48 3.45 132.93 1.86 0.04 0.09 0.10 0.44 Yield Indices Dec 01 Nov 30 Yr ago Dec 01 Nov 30 Yr ago
Japan 04/23 0.05 99.98 0.06 0.00 -0.01 -0.02 0.01 5 Yrs 0.57 0.55 0.04 20 Yrs 1.02 1.00 0.88
Energy Price* Change Agricultural & Cattle Futures Price* Change Price Yield Month Value No of
12/27 0.10 101.02 -0.07 0.01 0.00 -0.01 0.03 10 Yrs 0.84 0.83 0.41 45 Yrs 0.65 0.61 0.83
Crude Oil† Dec 68.01 1.15 Corn♦ Dec 571.25 3.25 Nov 16 Nov 16 Prev return stock Market stocks
12/34 1.20 112.54 0.23 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.03 15 Yrs 0.99 0.98 0.73
Brent Crude Oil‡ 70.57 0.72 Wheat♦ Dec 785.50 9.00 Can 4.25%' 26 126.56 -0.896 -0.841 1.15 5.25 - -
12/49 0.40 93.03 0.67 0.01 0.00 -0.01 0.05
RBOB Gasoline† Dec 2.00 0.03 Soybeans♦ Jan 1226.75 6.00 Fr 2.10%' 23 107.44 -2.181 -2.082 0.34 18.05 - -
Netherlands 07/23 1.75 104.27 -0.84 0.01 -0.01 -0.15 -0.09 inflation 0% inflation 5%
Heating Oil† - - Soybeans Meal♦ Dec 348.50 -0.50 Swe 1.00%' 25 121.78 -1.952 -1.942 0.76 35.63 - -
07/27 0.75 106.74 -0.43 0.01 0.02 -0.13 0.20 Real yield Dec 01 Dur yrs Previous Yr ago Dec 01 Dur yrs Previous Yr ago
Natural Gas† Dec 4.43 -0.18 Cocoa (ICE Liffe)X Dec 1576.00 -18.00 UK 1.875%' 22 107.52 -5.291 -5.369 0.06 15.74 - -
Ethanol♦ - - Cocoa (ICE US)♥ Dec 2320.00 0.00 New Zealand 04/27 4.50 111.04 2.31 -0.10 -0.09 0.19 1.76 Up to 5 yrs -3.75 2.42 -3.70 -2.74 -4.16 2.43 -4.12 -3.14
UK 2.50%' 24 366.15 -3.718 -3.882 0.56 6.82 - -
Uranium† - - Coffee(Robusta)X Jan 2311.00 51.00 05/31 1.50 91.54 2.51 -0.06 -0.12 0.08 1.59 Over 5 yrs -2.63 24.22 -2.61 -2.28 -2.66 24.27 -2.64 -2.30
UK 2.00%' 35 312.87 -2.869 -2.961 1.74 9.08 - -
Carbon Emissions‡ - - Coffee (Arabica)♥ Dec 233.25 0.00 05/31 1.50 91.54 2.51 -0.06 -0.12 0.08 1.59 5-15 yrs -3.17 9.76 -3.13 -2.75 -3.26 9.76 -3.22 -2.85
US 0.625%' 23 105.94 -3.451 -2.873 0.92 47.03 - -
White SugarX 484.20 -1.00 Norway - - - - - - - Over 15 yrs -2.57 29.29 -2.55 -2.23 -2.58 29.31 -2.57 -2.24
Diesel† - - US 3.625%' 28 135.22 -1.576 -1.508 1.25 16.78 - -
Sugar 11♥ 18.61 0.04 - - - - - - - All stocks -2.65 22.14 -2.63 -2.29 -2.67 22.22 -2.65 -2.31
Base Metals (♠ LME 3 Months) Representative stocks from each major market Source: Merill Lynch Global Bond Indices † Local currencies. ‡ Total market
Aluminium 2648.50 23.50 Cotton♥ Mar 105.50 -6.00 Portugal 10/23 4.95 111.03 -0.75 0.00 -0.02 -0.09 -0.18 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 2500.00 80.00 Orange Juice♥ Jan 121.50 -1.60 04/27 4.13 123.43 -0.20 0.01 0.04 -0.02 0.10 ©2018 Tradeweb Markets LLC. All rights reserved. The Tradeweb FTSE
amount.
Copper 9375.00 -76.00 Palm Oil♣ - - Spain - - - - - - - Gilt Closing Prices information contained herein is proprietary to
Lead 2285.50 15.50 Live Cattle♣ Dec 135.98 -0.98 BONDS: TEN YEAR GOVT SPREADS 10/23 4.40 109.81 -0.64 0.01 0.00 -0.10 -0.09 Tradeweb; may not be copied or re-distributed; is not warranted to be
Nickel 19980.00 55.00 Feeder Cattle♣ May 134.88 - Sweden 11/23 1.50 103.37 -0.21 0.00 -0.08 0.01 0.17 accurate, complete or timely; and does not constitute investment advice.
Tin 39020.00 160.00 Lean Hogs♣ Dec 73.45 1.05 Spread Spread Spread Spread 12/27 0.13 122.02 -1.80 0.03 0.06 0.01 -0.44 Tradeweb is not responsible for any loss or damage that might result from the use of this information.
Zinc 3214.50 30.50 Bid vs vs Bid vs vs 06/30 0.13 120.45 -1.74 0.03 0.06 -0.03 -0.29
% Chg % Chg Yield Bund T-Bonds Yield Bund T-Bonds Switzerland - - - - - - - All data provided by Morningstar unless otherwise noted. All elements listed are indicative and believed accurate
Precious Metals (PM London Fix)
Gold 1804.40 18.45 Nov 30 Month Year 06/24 1.25 104.83 -0.63 -0.01 -0.03 -0.06 0.12 at the time of publication. No offer is made by Morningstar, its suppliers, or the FT. Neither the FT, nor
Australia 1.89 - - Netherlands -0.43 - -
Silver (US cents) 2286.50 -37.00 S&P GSCI Spt 527.60 -10.95 37.54 United Kingdom - - - - - - - Morningstar’s suppliers, warrant or guarantee that the information is reliable or complete. Neither the FT nor
Austria 0.20 - - New Zealand 2.51 - -
Platinum 944.00 -26.00 DJ UBS Spot 95.92 -7.44 28.67 Canada - - - Norway - - - 07/23 0.75 100.42 0.49 0.02 0.00 -0.12 0.52 Morningstar’s suppliers accept responsibility and will not be liable for any loss arising from the reliance on the
Palladium 1767.00 -30.00 TR/CC CRB TR 232.99 -7.78 36.23 Denmark - - - Portugal -0.20 - - 07/27 1.25 102.92 0.72 0.03 0.03 -0.13 0.59 use of the listed information. For all queries e-mail ft.reader.enquiries@morningstar.com
Bulk Commodities LEBA EUA Carbon 58.91 -1.98 129.94 Finland -0.02 - - Spain - - - 07/47 1.50 107.81 1.15 0.02 -0.04 -0.26 0.26
Iron Ore 128.50 -8.45 LEBA UK Power 1048.00 -37.43 -39.60 Germany - - - Sweden -1.74 - - United States 03/23 0.50 100.14 0.39 0.05 0.09 0.08 0.21 Data provided by Morningstar | www.morningstar.co.uk
GlobalCOAL RB Index 232.50 6.00 Ireland - - - Switzerland - - - 03/27 0.63 96.17 1.37 0.00 0.08 0.08 0.80
Baltic Dry Index 3047.00 29.00 Italy 0.92 - - United Kingdom - - - 04/32 3.38 147.42 - - - - -
Sources: † NYMEX, ‡ ECX/ICE, ♦ CBOT, X ICE Liffe, ♥ ICE Futures, ♣ CME, ♠ LME/London Metal Exchange.* Latest prices, $ Japan 0.23 - - United States - - - 02/50 0.25 118.28 - - - - -
unless otherwise stated. Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data LLC, an ICE Data Services company. Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data LLC, an ICE Data Services company.
Thursday 2 December 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 15

MANAGED FUNDS SERVICE

Fund Bid Offer D+/- Yield Fund Bid Offer D+/- Yield Fund Bid Offer D+/- Yield Fund Bid Offer D+/- Yield Fund Bid Offer D+/- Yield Fund Bid Offer D+/- Yield Fund Bid Offer D+/- Yield Data Provided by
USD Accumulating Class $ 12.98 - 0.01 0.00 Foord Global Equity Fund (Lux) | R $ 18.13 - -0.38 0.00
Dodge & Cox Worldwide Funds plc-Global Stock Fund Regulated
USD Accumulating Share Class $ 28.65 - -0.54 0.00 Foord Global Equity Fund (Sing) | B $ 21.63 - -0.46 0.00
GBP Accumulating Share Class £ 35.45 - -0.65 0.00 Foord International Trust (Gsy) $ 45.94 - -0.53 0.00
GBP Distributing Share class £ 24.23 - -0.45 0.92
EUR Accumulating Share Class € 37.95 - -0.92 0.00
GBP Distributing Class (H) £ 13.77 - -0.25 0.70
abrdn Capital (CI) Limited
PO Box 189, St Helier, Jersey, JE4 9RU 01534 709130
(JER) Dodge & Cox Worldwide Funds plc-U.S. Stock Fund Mirabaud Asset Management
www.mirabaud.com, marketing@mirabaud-am.com
(LUX) Rubrics Global UCITS Funds Plc
www.rubricsam.com
(IRL)
www.morningstar.co.uk
USD Accumulating Share Class $ 38.50 - -1.06 0.00
FCA Recognised Conviction based investment vehicles details available here www.mirabaud-am.com Regulated Data as shown is for information purposes only. No offer
GBP Accumulating Share Class £ 45.04 - -1.22 0.00
Aberdeen Standard Capital Offshore Strategy Fund Limited Regulated Rubrics Emerging Markets Fixed Income UCITS Fund $ 137.77 - 0.22 0.00 is made by Morningstar or this publication.
GBP Distributing Share Class £ 27.24 - -0.74 0.83 Mir. - Glb Strat. Bd I USD $ 123.66 - 0.01 0.00
Bridge Fund £ 2.4670 - -0.0106 1.29 Rubrics Global Credit UCITS Fund $ 18.09 - 0.02 0.00
EUR Accumulating Share Class € 44.03 - -1.45 0.00 Franklin Templeton International Services Sarl (IRL)
Global Equity Fund £ 3.6794 - -0.0196 0.76 Mir. - DiscEur D Cap GBP £ 214.85 - 0.01 0.00 Rubrics Global Fixed Income UCITS Fund $ 179.65 - 0.01 0.00
JPMorgan House - International Financial Services Centre,Dublin 1, Ireland
GBP Distributing Class (H) £ 15.75 - -0.43 0.63 Mirabaud - UK Equity High Alpha £ 162.01 - -0.56 0.00
Global Fixed Interest Fund £ 0.9344 - 0.0007 4.70 Other International Funds
Income Fund £ 0.6945 - 0.0010 2.63 Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunities Fund Plc
Sterling Fixed Interest Fund
UK Equity Fund
£ 0.8871
£ 2.1425
-
-
-0.0023 2.76
0.0319 2.47
Franklin Emg Mkts Debt Opp CHFSFr 14.18
Franklin Emg Mkts Debt Opp GBP £ 9.28
-
-
0.01 3.01
0.01 2.90 Guide to Data
Ashmore Investment Management Limited (LUX) Franklin Emg Mkts Debt Opp USD $ 16.20 - 0.03 2.98 Polar Capital Funds Plc (IRL)
The fund prices quoted on these pages are
2 rue Albert Borschette L-1246 Luxembourg
FCA Recognised
Ashmore SICAV Emerging Market Debt Fund $ 81.56 - -0.03 5.58
Regulated
Automation & Artificial Intelligence CL I USD Acc $ 20.38 20.38 -0.26 0.00 Slater supplied by the operator of the relevant fund.
Details of funds published on these pages,
Ashmore SICAV Emerging Market Frontier Equity Fund $ 206.47
Ashmore SICAV Emerging Market Total Return Fund $ 71.16
-
-
-0.83 0.41
0.09 4.84
Asian Starts I USD Acc $
Biotechnology I USD
China Stars I USD Acc $
$ 18.70 - -0.16 0.00
$ 39.71 39.71 -0.15 0.00
$ 14.06 14.06 -0.10 0.00
Investments including prices, are for the purpose of
information only and should only be used as a
Ashmore SICAV Global Small Cap Equity Fund $ 231.52 - -1.05 0.00 Emerging Market Stars I USD Acc $ 15.03 - -0.15 0.00 guide. The Financial Times Limited makes no
Aegon Asset Management UK ICVC (UK) EM Active Equity Fund Acc USD $ 150.85 - -1.96 0.00 European Ex UK Inc EUR Acc € 12.96 12.96 -0.17 0.00 representation as to their accuracy or
3 Lochside Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9SA EM Equity Fund Acc USD $ 156.87 - -1.37 0.00 GAM Financial Opps I USD $ 15.78 - -0.27 1.52 completeness and they should not be relied
0800 358 3009 www.aegonam.com EM Mkts Corp.Debt USD F $ 83.64 - -0.13 5.69 funds@gam.com, www.funds.gam.com Global Convertible I USD $ 16.01 16.01 -0.11 0.00 upon when making an investment decision.
Authorised Funds Regulated
EM Mkts Loc.Ccy Bd USD F $ 69.06 - 0.38 4.79 Global Insurance I GBP £ 7.91 - -0.12 0.00
Global Equity GBP B Acc £ 3.54 - -0.04 0.00 LAPIS GBL TOP 50 DIV.YLD-Na-D £ 110.54 - -1.60 2.89 The sale of interests in the funds listed on
EM Short Duration Fund Acc USD $ 104.24 - -0.67 0.00 Global Technology I USD $ 97.18 - -1.81 0.00
LAPIS GBL F OWD 50 DIV.YLD-Na-D £ 111.28 - -1.47 0.45 Healthcare Blue Chip Fund I USD Acc $ 17.96 17.96 -0.30 0.00
these pages may, in certain jurisdictions, be
Healthcare Dis I Acc USD $ $ 14.47 - -0.08 0.00 Slater Investments Ltd (UK) restricted by law and the funds will not
Dragon Capital New Capital UCITS Fund PLC (IRL) www.slaterinvestments.com; Tel: 0207 220 9460 necessarily be available to persons in all
www.dragoncapital.com Healthcare Opps I USD $ 64.53 - -0.74 0.00
Leconfield House, Curzon Street, London, W1J 5JB FCA Recognised jurisdictions in which the publication
Fund information:info@dragoncapital.com Income Opportunities B2 I GBP Acc £ 2.80 2.80 -0.01 0.00
www.newcapitalfunds.com Slater Growth A Acc 829.26 829.26 2.91 0.00 circulates. Persons in any doubt should take
Other International Funds Japan Value I JPY ¥ 125.44 125.44 0.68 0.00
FCA Recognised Slater Income A Inc 150.50 150.50 1.87 5.22 appropriate professional advice. Data collated
Vietnam Equity (UCITS) Fund A USD $ 39.91 - 0.09 0.00 North American I USD $ 36.98 36.98 -0.98 0.00
New Capital UCITS Funds Slater Recovery A Acc 395.99 395.99 1.67 0.00 by Morningstar. For other queries contact
Smart Energy I USD Acc $ $ 10.78 10.78 -0.12 -
Atlantas Sicav (LUX)
New Capital China Equity Fund $ 269.37 - -2.02 0.00 Slater Artorius 376.21 376.21 -1.26 0.00 reader.enquiries@ft.com +44 (0)207 873
Smart Mobility I USD Acc $ $ 10.86 10.86 -0.11 -
Regulated Genesis Investment Management LLP New Capital Dynamic European Equity Fund € 152.40 - -1.49 0.00 4211.
UK Val Opp I GBP Acc £ 14.14 14.14 0.21 0.00
American Dynamic $ 7891.13 7891.13 -144.64 0.00 Other International Funds New Capital Dynamic UK Equity Fund £ 128.17 - -0.66 0.00
American One $ 7944.70 7944.70 -50.59 0.00 Emerging Mkts NAV £ 7.21 - -0.16 1.47 New Capital Global Alpha Fund £ 121.61 - -0.35 0.00 The fund prices published in this edition along
Bond Global € 1565.63 1565.63 -7.92 0.00 New Capital Global Equity Conviction Fund $ 240.08 - -2.91 0.00 with additional information are also available
Eurocroissance € 1566.62 - -46.22 0.00 New Capital Global Value Credit Fund $ 160.93 - -0.16 0.00 on the Financial Times website, www.ft.com/
Far East $ 1276.60 - -37.53 0.00 New Capital Japan Equity Fund ¥ 1764.15 - -21.73 0.00 funds. The funds published on these pages
New Capital US Growth Fund $ 549.87 - -9.77 0.00 are grouped together by fund management
New Capital US Small Cap Growth Fund $ 238.16 - -4.57 0.00 company.
New Capital Wealthy Nations Bond Fund $ 153.95 - 0.36 0.00
Polar Capital LLP (CYM) Prices are in pence unless otherwise
Aegon Asset Management Investment Company (Ireland) (IRL) Regulated
1 North Wall Quay Dublin 1, Ireland +35 3162 24493 indicated. The change, if shown, is the change
HPB Assurance Ltd European Forager A EUR € 225.53 - 4.17 0.00
FCA Recognised Anglo Intl House, Bank Hill, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 4LN 01638 563490
on the previously quoted figure (not all funds
Absolute Return Bond B GBP Acc 1162.88 - -0.39 1.61 update prices daily). Those designated $ with
International Insurances
High Yield Global Bond A GBP Inc 504.06 - 0.37 4.49 no prefix refer to US dollars. Yield percentage
Holiday Property Bond Ser 1 £ 0.47 - 0.00 0.00
High Yield Global Bond B GBP Inc 1087.06 - 0.81 5.23 figures (in Tuesday to Saturday papers) allow
Holiday Property Bond Ser 2 £ 0.63 - 0.01 0.00
Global Equity Income B GBP Acc 2451.55 - -7.88 0.00 for buying expenses. Prices of certain older
Global Equity Income B GBP Inc 1455.44 - -8.32 3.19 EdenTree Investment Management Ltd (UK) insurance linked plans might be subject to
lobal Equity Market Neutral Fund - B Acc GBP £ 13.15 - -0.04 0.00 PO Box 3733, Swindon, SN4 4BG, 0800 358 3010 capital gains tax on sales.
Stonehage Fleming Investment Management Ltd (IRL)
Global Sustainable Equity B Acc GBP £ 31.32 - -0.40 0.00 Authorised Inv Funds
www.stonehagefleming.com/gbi
Global Sustainable Equity C Acc GBP £ 31.88 - -0.40 0.00 EdenTree Short Dated Bond Cls B 99.10 - -0.21 0.86 Private Fund Mgrs (Guernsey) Ltd (GSY) Guide to pricing of Authorised
enquiries@stonehagefleming.com
Regulated
Regulated
Investment Funds: (compiled with the
Inv Grd Gbl Bond A Inc GBH 609.98 - -1.51 1.81
Monument Growth 16/11/2021 £ 555.50 561.25 -8.61 0.79
SF Global Best Ideas Eq B USD ACC $ 282.68 - -5.74 0.00
assistance of the IMA. The Investment
Short Dated High Yld Bd B Acc GBP £ 11.33 - 0.00 0.00
Association, Camomile Court 23 Camomile
Short Dated High Yld Bd C Acc GBP (Hdg) £ 11.46 - 0.00 0.00 SF Global Best Ideas Eq D GBP INC £ 324.17 - -4.93 0.00
Janus Henderson Investors (UK) Street, London EC3A 7LL. Tel: +44 (0)20 7831
Strategic Global Bond A GBP Inc 1330.30 - 0.39 2.70 PO Box 9023, Chelmsford, CM99 2WB Enquiries: 0800 832 832
Blue Whale Investment Funds ICAV (IRE) 0898.)
Strategic Global Bond B GBP Inc 754.39 - 0.24 3.45 www.bluewhale.co.uk, info@bluewhale.co.uk www.janushenderson.com
Authorised Inv Funds
FCA Recognised - Ireland UCITS OEIC: Open-Ended Investment Company.
Janus Henderson Instl UK Idx Opps A Acc £ 1.08 - 0.01 2.48
Blue Whale Growth USD T $ 12.91 - -0.30 0.00 Oasis Crescent Global Investment Funds (UK) ICVC (UK) Similar to a unit trust but using a company
Ennismore Smaller Cos Plc (IRL)
Regulated rather than a trust structure.
5 Kensington Church St, London W8 4LD 020 7368 4220
Oasis Crescent Global Equity Fund USD A (Dist) $ 37.59 - -0.58 0.23 Prusik Investment Management LLP (IRL)
FCA Recognised
Ennismore European Smlr Cos NAV £ 154.22 - 1.03 0.00 Oasis Crescent Global Income Fund USD A (Dist) $ 10.99 - 0.00 2.51 Enquiries - 0207 493 1331 Different share classes are issued to reflect a
Oasis Crescent Global Low Equity Fund USD D (Dist) $ 13.41 - -0.11 0.30 Regulated Superfund Asset Management GmbH different currency, charging structure or type
Ennismore European Smlr Cos NAV € 181.27 - 0.51 0.00
www.superfund.com, +43 (1) 247 00
Oasis Crescent Global Medium Equity Fund USD A (Dist) $ 14.67 - -0.15 0.05 Prusik Asian Equity Income B Dist $ 182.78 - 0.01 4.52 of holder.
Prusik Asia Emerging Opportunities Fund A Acc $ 224.48 - -1.55 0.00 Other International Funds
Oasis Crescent Global Property Equity Fund USD A (Dist) $ 10.08 - -0.15 0.41
Oasis Crescent Global Short Term Income Fund USD A (Dist) $ 0.98 - 0.00 1.64 Prusik Asia Fund U Dist. £ 265.71 - 2.06 0.00 Superfund Green Gold $ 1416.45 - -34.77 0.00 Selling price: Also called bid price. The price
M & G Securities (1200)F (UK) Oasis Crescent Variable Fund GBP A (Dist) £ 10.23 - -0.05 0.01 Superfund Green Silver $ 1277.25 - -26.86 0.00 at which units in a unit trust are sold by
PO Box 9038, Chelmsford, CM99 2XF Regulated investors.
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16
Vintage farce suits
our anxious times
THEATRE
Sarah
Hemming
T
here is only “one sausage”
available for consumption.
So the primly attired man-
servant solemnly informs
his tousled young master at
the breakfast table. Just a few lines in
and we’re off. Terence Rattigan’s war-
time farce While the Sun Shines crack-
les with double entendres and mischie-
vous misunderstandings. The sausage is
intended for the young American air-
man asleep in the earl’s bed, but it is Not
What You Think. And, Rattigan wryly
suggests, how very cheeky of you to
think it.
He wrote brilliantly about the war, as
recent superb productions of Flare Path
and The Deep Blue Sea (set in its dreary
aftermath) have reminded us. But it was
this sprightly farce that proved a long
runner during the conflict. Opening in
1943, it played for 1,154 performances:
perhaps there was something about the
combination of absurd comedy and
present danger that appealed to audi-
ences. Farce, when it clicks, is one of the-
atre’s best weapons against the random
pain of life, creating situations so grave
they could grace any tragedy — but
twisted just a notch so that we laugh at
the truth of them.
So perhaps we need Rattigan’s
play and Shakespeare’s Comedy of
Errors (at the Barbican, reviewed
below) as we enter yet another uncer-
tain stage of the pandemic. In both,
characters are trapped in agonising pre-
dicaments; in both, love, loyalty and loss
become playthings of the plot; in both,
catharsis arrives hand-in-hand with
puns and pratfalls.
To war-torn London first, where the
young Earl of Harpenden (Bobby) is
having a stressful day. A crucial appoint-
ment with the Admiralty looms, as does
his wedding, but first he must juggle the
sexy airman, sweet fiancée Elisabeth,
worldly lover Mabel, a pushy French
soldier and his crusty old soon-to-be
father-in-law, all of whom land in his
apartment unannounced. Before long
he is having to watch on as two rivals for
his girlfriend’s hand battle it out under
his nose.
As farces go, While the Sun Shines is
more amiable than uproarious. But
there is much enjoyment to be had from
the slow but sure cranking up of the plot
and the gradual pile-up of disgruntled
guests in the offstage kitchen as Bobby
tries — unsuccessfully — to control who
bumps into whom. Paul Miller’s droll
production savours the insouciant
touch of the piece, allowing Rattigan’s
double-meanings to land lightly and rel-
ishing the innocent shrug with which
the playwright weaves in a homoerotic
subtext and a sharp satirical dig at snob-
bery and the class system.
Some gags have dated more than oth-
ers: the national stereotyping grates, as
does the male characters’ easy sexism.
But Miller’s cast handle it deftly: each of
the three young men is pompous in his
own way and Philip Labey brings genu-
ine pain to the realisation that, for all
Bobby’s blithe protestations, the possi-
bility of losing his girl really hurts.
There’s lovely work from the two
women: Rebecca Collingwood’s Lady
Elisabeth is very funny when drunk, her
legs folding under her like a collapsible
stool; Sophie Khan Levy’s Mabel is a
shrewd survivor, but also subtly suggests
the heartache behind her pragmatic
acceptance of the way the world works.
Meanwhile, John Hudson’s stoic serv-
ant plods through it all. And behind the
silliness lurks something darker: a war-
time-induced sense of impermanence,
uncertainty, and a drive to grasp at fleet-
ing happiness whenever it comes.
To January 15, orangetreetheatre.co.uk
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
ARTS
Top: Rebecca Collingwood
and Conor Glean in
‘While the Sun Shines’.
Above: Guy Lewis as
Antipholus of Syracuse
in ‘The Comedy of Errors’
Ali Wright; Pete Le May
N
More pain and panic at the Barbican,
where the RSC arrives with its sunny
take on Shakespeare’s The Comedy of
Errors. Here the shipwrecks, sundered
families and mistaken identities that
would ripple through the playwright’s
work pile into this early farce, with
two sets of twins creating a Rubik’s cube
of confusion.
Antipholus and his servant Dromio
have landed in Ephesus to search for the
twin brothers they both lost in infancy.
Their striking resemblance to the local
Antipholus and Dromio makes for end-
less mishaps, not least a husband being
locked out of his own house while his
wife, Adrianna, entertains his lookalike
brother; a scary misunderstanding over
who has or hasn’t paid for a gold chain;
and a series of exasperating errands for
both servants, who always end up
reporting back to the wrong guy. Hand-
ily for the plot, the simple truth never
occurs to anyone.
It starts stickily. Based on Plautus, this
is scarcely Shakespeare’s subtlest com-
edy: it opens with a slab of exposition
that stops the action dead in its tracks
and is laden with cumbersome puns.
Phillip Breen’s production initially feels
uncomfortably hyper as it looks to
inject energy. But once it finds its
rhythm, it becomes very enjoyable.
Guy Lewis and Rowan Polonski draw
delicate distinctions between their
characters: Polonski, the local Antipho-
lus, is a smoothy who unravels into
dishevelled hysteria; Lewis, as his
brother, is a more timorous type who
begins to relish the attention he unex-
pectedly attracts.
Greg Haiste and Jonathan Broadbent
bring brilliantly precise physical com-
edy to the two Dromios: Broadbent is
particularly funny as he catapults over
his own luggage, struggles to open a box
Illicit pub is toast of the Turner Prize
The Array Collective’s mock
shebeen is peopled by singers,
protesters and storytellers.
Rachel Spence reports
orthern Irish group the
Array Collective have won
this year’s Turner Prize
with a fantasy shebeen peo-
pled by singers, protesters
and storytellers who make the eyes well
up even as they raise a smile. Dreamt up
by the Belfast-based band of artists and
activists specifically for the prize, the
illicit pub is an installation that is at
once a vibrant, intimate drinking den
and a simmering political cell.
Under a ceiling hung with jokey but
heartfelt banners — slogans include
“Stop Ruining Everything” — between
walls plastered with posters and paint-
ings, including one that derides the
presence of British retailers such as
Boots and Tesco, the pub is a place
where colonialism, sectarianism and
patriarchy are put through a convivial
but coruscating wringer of mockery,
dissection and dismantling.
The heartbeat is “The Druithaib’s
Ball”, a video of Rabelaisian perform-
ances and protests that unfolds with
such radiant immediacy, it seems to be
happening in the room rather than on
screen. From a rip-roaring pro-choice
speech that weaves women’s reproduc-
tive rights into a bigger picture of ine-
quality and oppression to a drag queen
who breaks down in the middle of an
acerbic, faux-mythical fable, Array
achieve both irony and authenticity in a
way that is rare and refreshing in the oh-
so-knowing mainstream art world.
Speaking at the Herbert Art Gallery
and Museum in Coventry, where the
Turner Prize exhibition is installed this
year, Tate Britain director and jury
chair Alex Farquharson applauded
Array for creating a “surprising, immer-
sive and hospitable space completely in
the spirit of their day-to-day art
of knives in the face of a raging hitman,
or pleads for leniency from the audi-
ence: “Oh come on, these jokes are 400
years old.”
Breen adds some lovely touches: a
chorus of shoppers, diners and tourists
shuffles closer every time another crisis
hits; little power struggles between
onlookers erupt all over the stage; the
fact that Adrianna (Naomi Sheldon) is
pregnant adds jeopardy to the misun-
derstandings. And he brings out the
sombre undercurrents beneath the
sparkly surface: the nightmarish sce-
nario of stolen identity or wrongful
accusation; the underlying hostilities
that threaten death; the deep grief of
loss. Again, it’s that dark undertow that
gives the comedy its bite.
To December 31, rsc.org.uk
There’s no farcical revolving door in
The Drifters Girl, though it would fit in
well. The popular four-man singing
group have cycled through some 60
singers over six decades. But one pres-
ence remained solid: that of Faye Tread-
well. The trailblazing manager of the
practice” despite living in a “divided,
sectarian world”.
The other members of the jury com-
prised Aaron Cezar, director of the Lon-
don-based Delfina Foundation; Kim
McAleese, programme director at
Grand Union, Birmingham; the actor
Russell Tovey; and Zoé Whitley, direc-
tor of the Chisenhale Gallery.
Announced at a ceremony at Coventry
Cathedral, the winner was awarded
£25,000, with £10,000 given to each of
the others shortlisted.
Array’s vitality is born from a fervent
commitment to their local community
and the issues that affect it. Their belief
in art as a tool for improving human
lives is shared with the other practition-
ers on this year’s shortlist: Black Obsid-
ian Sound System, a London-based
group of sound artists and activists who
focus on black and queer experi-
ence; Cooking Sections, who concen-
trate on the politics of food production;
Gentle/Radical, a Cardiff project that
aims to improve social care and com-
radeship; and Project Art Works, a Hast-
ings network that facilitates art by neu-
rodivergent practitioners.
All five are collectives. As always with
the Turner Prize, the shortlist has
caused controversy. Critics have
claimed that the work on show, much of
The shebeen, created by a Belfast-based group of artists and activists — David Levene
Thursday 2 December 2021
While the Sun Shines
Orange Tree, Richmond
AAAAE
The Comedy of Errors
Barbican, London
AAAAE
The Drifters Girl
Garrick Theatre, London
AAAEE
group, she took over when her husband
died, insisted the band was a brand big-
ger than any one set of singers, and, as
an African American woman, battled
the misogyny and racism of the cut-
throat music business.
Treadwell becomes the focus for this
jukebox musical and, as played by Brit-
ish soul and R&B singer Beverley
Knight, she’s a force of nature. Knight
brings effortless poise, charisma and
her sensational voice to the part: her
solos are simply superb, seeming to
burn into the air and pinning you to
your seat. She’s matched by Adam J Ber-
nard, Tarinn Callender, Matt Henry and
Tosh Wanogho-Maud as the multiple
Drifters, delivering those beguiling
songs — “Under the Boardwalk”, “Come
on Over to My Place”, “Save the Last
Dance for Me” — with infectious charm,
silky physical skill and admirable
vocal accuracy.
The music is a joy. Where the show
comes unstuck is with the drama itself.
Faced with this long and elaborate band
history, Ed Curtis’s script pins Tread-
well’s story to the legal battles about the
rights to the band’s name. The saga is
told in flashback, with Treadwell
explaining the history to her young
daughter as it unrolls in short episodes
across the stage.
Jonathan Church’s staging is witty and
fleet, but the approach makes for bitty,
unsatisfying drama and works against
proper engagement with the ever-
changing roster of band-members or
even Faye herself. That’s a shame
because the music is glorious, the per-
formances terrific — Bernard and
Wanogho-Maud cutting through as
George Treadwell and Rudy Lewis par-
ticularly — and, above all, because
Faye’s story deserves attention.
Booking to March 26, thedriftersgirl.com
From left,
Tosh Wanogho-
Maud, Matt
Henry, Tarinn
Callender and
Adam J Bernard
in ‘The Drifters
Girl’ — Johan Persson
which was originally made for contexts
outside conventional art institutions, is
unsuited to display in a museum.
In truth, most of it works remarkably
well. Entering into the thudding bass
beat that thundered through Black
Obsidian Sound System’s installation —
a moody, sumptuous haven in deep pur-
ple and black — it was impossible not to
want to dance, especially when a group
of schoolchildren came in and let rip.
Array’s biggest competition probably
came from Project Art Works, whose
paintings, drawings and sculptures
exhibited a meticulous, skilful luminos-
ity that betrayed no hint of the chal-
lenges their various makers might
have encountered.
Interdependence is the stuff of life.
The planet is drumming it home. But
much of the art world still pursues a
lonely, though profitable, course of indi-
vidualism over collaboration. In the
past few years, however, the tsunami of
protests that has hit cultural institutions
over issues such as corporate philan-
thropy, restitution and failures of diver-
sity, suggests change is urgently
required. Tate has been much in the fir-
ing line. This year’s Turner Prize might
be its best countermove yet.
Exhibition to January 12, tate.org.uk
Thursday 2 December 2021
Even before the emergence of the Omicron variant, governments were facing resistance to restrictions.
Now parties with an anti-establishment appeal are seizing the chance to target pandemic-weary voters.
Europe’s populists eye Covid backlash
T ‘What is
here was live music, danc-
ing and bottles of Sekt spar-
kling wine. The chancellor,
the president, the main-
stream party leaders and
the media bosses were all there, in black
tie and sequinned evening dresses.
What made last Friday’s gala extra
exclusive, though, was that it was also
the only legal party in the country — a
charity fundraiser at Austrian state
broadcaster ORF which, according to
organisers, means that it counted as an
“official” work event.
Four days earlier, the government had
banned all other parties when Austria
became the first nation in Europe this
winter to reinstate a hard national lock-
down. The new restrictions were cou-
pled with a highly controversial
announcement that vaccinations would
be mandatory for all adults from Febru-
ary. Austrians have to stay at home until
mid-December, non-essential shops are
closed and children can only to go to
school if strictly necessary.
One political group and its leaders
were conspicuously absent from Fri-
day’s bash — Austria’s far-right Freedom
party (FPÖ). As images of the gala circu-
lated widely on Saturday morning, the
leader of FPÖ Vienna, Dominik Nepp,
held a press conference. Austrians are
“locked up” in front of their TV sets, he
thundered, but “our federal govern-
ment is partying . . . without social dis-
tancing, without masks and, above all,
without shame”.
Even before the emergence of the new
Omicron variant, a number of European
governments were facing growing
resistance to restrictions that have been
put in place to deal with an early-winter
surge in Covid infections. The potential
for political pushback is likely to
increase as governments, nervous about
a new variant that might be more resist-
ant to vaccines, seek to impose new
measures on their populations — poten-
tially including more vaccine mandates.
In some countries, at least, the pan-
demic is now creating new political
space for the politicians of the right and
left who have spent the past decade try-
ing to surf a wave of anti-establishment
sentiment. Across the continent, popu-
list parties are rethinking their strate-
gies and casting themselves increasingly
as the parties of vaccine scepticism and
anti-lockdown libertarianism.
As public frustration grows, populist
politicians are finding themselves sing-
ing from a well-known songsheet, with
anger directed at hypocritical ruling
elites and seemingly out-of-touch scien-
tific experts. The pattern is most strik-
ing in central and eastern Europe,
where vaccine scepticism has been
higher than other parts of the continent
and new social curbs, as a result of rising
cases of Covid-19, have already begun to
be reimposed.
Until now, the pandemic has been
regarded as bad for populist parties. A
YouGov-Cambridge Globalism study
found in November that populist beliefs
had “broadly declined” in 10 European
countries over the past three years.
But populist parties are starting to see
opportunities in public discontent with
a rapidly changing and seemingly
never-ending pandemic. Shortly after
the hard lockdown in Austria was
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
FT BIG READ. EU POLITICS
By Sam Jones, James Shotter and Guy Chazan
Protesters announced last month, 40,000 demon-
against Covid-19 strators took to the streets of Vienna in
restrictions in one of the largest political protests in
Austria, years. In the Netherlands on the same
Romania and weekend, protests turned to riots in Rot-
the Netherlands. terdam and The Hague, with dozens of
The backlash arrests. Meanwhile in Brussels, 35,000
against a new people turned out to demonstrate
national against new curbs on their lives, includ-
lockdown has ing mandatory homeworking for four
been fierce in
Vienna, where
days of the week. The Czech Republic,
Germany and Switzerland have all seen
the far-right rallies in the past few weeks, with thou-
Freedom party sands in attendance.
has gained Whether or not established populist
support, below parties can turn public frustration into
FT montage; Getty Images;
APA/dpa; AP; Joe Klamar/AFP
political support will depend on the
course of the pandemic, as well as the
particularities of individual countries.
So far, populist parties in Europe have
had mixed success in funnelling public
discontent into votes.
But some parties are beginning to
seize the political opening presented by
the pandemic. “The past three years
may have been bad for European popu-
lists. But what is interesting now . . . is
how populists are changing their nature
and what that will mean for the future,”
‘We are a says the political scientist Ivan Krastev,
chair of the Centre for Liberal Strategies
civil rights in Sofia. “Suddenly populists all over
movement Europe have had a libertarian baptism.”
The pandemic has moved Europe’s
. . . all the populists closer to their counterparts
things that across the Atlantic, Krastev adds. In the
US, nationalism has long been entwined
are normal with libertarianism as a powerful anti-
for young establishment force. “I think we are
people have going to have a very turbulent political
decade ahead of us in Europe,” he says.
been robbed
Mobilised youth
from
On a frosty Saturday in mid-November,
them by thousands of protesters gathered at
government’ Zurich’s Turbinenplatz ready to march
through the city centre. It was a ragtag
assembly. Alongside supporters of the
populist rightwing Swiss People’s Party
there were Buddhists, free-market lib-
erals and Freiheitstrychler — “Freedom
Ringers” — heavy-set men in traditional
alpine dress carrying huge cowbells
over their shoulders.
The peaceful protest, which drew an
estimated 2,000 people, according to
police, was the latest of dozens across
Swiss cities in the past month. The pro-
tester’s target was a November 28 refer-
endum on the government’s legal pow-
ers to enforce the use of vaccines and
Covid test certificates. The government
won. But 38 per cent of the population
voted against it.
Switzerland is rich, efficiently
governed, with an economy that has
barely been hit by the pandemic and
with a well-resourced healthcare sys-
tem that has kept Covid-19 deaths nota-
bly low. Yet it has seen an upswell in sup-
port for campaign groups and move-
ments opposed to both vaccinations
and, more broadly, to any restrictive
measures imposed by the government.
It is, as such, an interesting example of
how the pandemic is galvanising a popu-
list backlash in some surprising ways.
“We’re fighting against forced vacci-
nation,” said Isidore Kasper, a young
carpenter from Biel who describes his
politics as “green and ecological”. He
supports the “Free Left”, a protest
movement opposed to vaccines and
lockdowns that emerged in the summer.
“I know of someone who had the vac-
cine and two days later he had a blood
clot. He’s not been the same person
since,” Kasper added. “This is a huge
issue. If things don’t change then we will
go and live in Mexico.”
Just how young many attendees at
protest rallies in Switzerland, Germany
and Austria have been is striking. A pan-
European poll by the European Council
on Foreign Relations teased out the gen-
erational divide: 57 per cent of under-
30s said their lives had been affected by
the pandemic, compared with just 35
per cent of over-60s. Moreover, 43 per
cent of under-30s said they were suspi-
cious of government motives in intro-
ducing lockdowns, compared with 28
per cent of over-60s.
Some of this anti-government senti-
ment is fuelling emerging movements
on the right and left. “We are a move-
ment of the youth, by the youth, for the
youth,” says Nicolas Rimoldi, one of the
organisers of Mass-Voll, a Swiss group
set up to protest coronavirus restric-
tions. “We are a civil rights movement,”
he adds. “All the things that are normal
for young people have been robbed
from them by governments.”
The limits of extremism
The growth in support for populist
groups is a far from uniform phenome-
non in Europe. Across the border in Ger-
many, the loose coalitions of lockdown
opponents and vaccine sceptics that
have sprung up have not yet translated
into ballot box success for established
populist parties.
For much of the pandemic, the far-
right Alternative for Germany has been
the most outspoken opponent of coro-
navirus measures in politics. Its politi-
cians have railed against what they call
the “corona dictatorship”.
The party’s position has gained it
some support in a country where vacci-
nation uptake has been slow compared
with other parts of Europe. In Germany,
68.5 per cent of the population has been
fully vaccinated, compared with 79.4
per cent in Spain.
A survey carried out by Forsa, a poll-
ing company, after the federal election
in September found that 50 per cent of
unvaccinated voters had chosen the
AfD, indicating that it had become
strongly associated with vaccine resist-
ance. Meanwhile, Germans have
become increasingly dissatisfied with
the government’s crisis response. The
YouGov-Cambridge poll found that 27
per cent of German responders said
their government was doing a bad job of
handling the pandemic in 2020. That
rose to 52 per cent this year.
But the AfD’s image has been tar-
nished by its strategy. Its association
with anti-vaxxers and coronavirus con-
spiracy theorists turned off the more
traditional rightwing voters it had previ-
ously won cautious support from with
its tough stance on immigration. The
AfD’s share of the vote fell from 12.6 per
cent in 2017 to 10.3 per cent in Septem-
ber’s election.
“The AfD discovered that it was
harder to mobilise voters with opposi-
tion to the corona lockdowns than it was
with the issue of immigration,” says
Hans Vorländer, a political scientist at
the Dresden University of Technology.
The party’s extreme positions were
opposed to those of the liberal Free
Democrats, who did not support the
lockdown but didn’t deny the severity of
the pandemic and was behind the vacci-
nation campaign from the start. Politi-
cal analysts say the FDP was able to
scoop up the votes of moderate corona-
virus sceptics and is now part of the new
government coalition that should be
sworn into office this December.
However, the emergence of the new
variant could lead to a sharpening of
political tensions in Germany. On Tues-
day, chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz
said he was in favour of mandatory vac-
cinations for everyone. If the Bundestag
now adopts such a requirement, it could
galvanise the anti-vaxxer movement.
Like in Germany, established populist
parties in the Netherlands have had
mixed success in winning voters. Fol-
lowing a campaign against lockdown
measures in the general election this
year, the Freedom for Democracy party
of Thierry Baudet — dubbed the Donald
Trump of the Netherlands — won eight
seats in parliament. It then lost three of
them to political defections after MPs
reacted in disgust to a party poster com-
paring lockdown to the Nazi occupation
of the country during the war.
The new wave of infections has been a
particularly difficult issue for the gov-
ernment in Poland, which is led by the
populist Law and Justice party (PiS).
Early in the pandemic it responded rela-
tively strongly, closing the country’s
borders in March 2020, introducing
lockdowns and mandating mask-
wearing in public places.
But as cases have soared again in
recent weeks it has been reluctant to
take similarly aggressive measures.
“I think that [Polish people] approach
restrictions, which are imposed by our
government, with a big dose of caution,”
17
deputy health minister Waldemar
Kraska said on the radio station RMF
interesting FM. “For many centuries, we have had
now is how in our genes a gene of resistance.”
Ryszard Luczyn, an analyst at Polit-
populists are yka Insight, says that the government’s
changing reluctance to introduce stronger curbs
was being driven by several factors,
their ranging from fear of upsetting its voters
nature . . . — most of whom do not want new
Suddenly restrictions — to worries about the cost
of another lockdown.
populists all Another factor, he adds, is that PiS is
over Europe also wary of allowing Confederation, a
far-right grouping that entered parlia-
have had a ment in 2019, to build its position by
libertarian hoovering up the support of anti-vaxx-
ers and lockdown opponents. “PiS has
baptism’ always tried to prevent anyone emerg-
ing to the right of them, and Confedera-
tion is there now, and PiS really, really
don’t want to strengthen them,” he says.
In Austria, too, it was the emergence
of a new party opposed to vaccine
restrictions, People-Freedom-Rights
(MFG), that appears to have pushed the
FPÖ into taking a harder line. MFG won
6 per cent of the ballot in regional elec-
tions in September — drawing a large
proportion of its support from former
FPÖ voters.
A new populist wave?
The key question for the months ahead,
says Austrian political commentator
Thomas Hofer, is whether populist par-
ties will be able to fuse the various and
growing strands of anger and discontent
circulating in pandemic-weary popula-
tions into something more durable.
“Can they transfer this issue about
freedom and personal rights to other
issues? The potential is there and I
wouldn’t underestimate it,” he says,
pointing to Austria. “Can the Freedom
party close the circle? They could per-
haps, if you imagine them taking this
anti-establishment message . . . and
join that up with taxes, with the cost of
living, with the cost of heating, with the
burden we are going to see imposed
because of the climate transition.”
Already, Austria’s Freedom party has
seen its poll ratings begin to steadily
rise. If there was a federal election
tomorrow, FPÖ is on track to win 20 per
cent of the vote, up from 10 per cent at
the beginning of the year.
“I think we are most probably facing a
The Austrian new cycle of political instability,” says
government has Krastev. The pandemic has fractured
announced that parts of the European liberal consensus
vaccinations will without many governments yet really
be mandatory having realised it, he says.
from February The certainties that Europe arrived at
Vadim Ghirda/AP in response to its last three big crises
have all been revisited, he adds. In the
war on terror, Europe argued for pri-
vacy and civil liberties, but the pan-
demic ushered in the biggest restric-
tions on personal freedoms in a genera-
tion. With the financial crisis, Europe
pledged to maintain fiscal discipline and
control spending, but national debt has
soared since Covid emerged. And with
the migration crisis, Europe champi-
oned open borders and integration,
whereas Covid has made it a fortress.
“The pandemic is a decisive
moment,” Krastev says. “But maybe not
in the sense of the train changing direc-
tion, but rather, speeding up.”
Additional reporting by Javier Espinoza
18
THURSDAY 2 DECEMBER 2021
Transitioning away from
‘transitory’ inflation
Fed chair is right to retire word that has caused confusion
On Tuesday, US senator Pat Toomey
channelled the mid-20th century Brit-
ish economist John Maynard Keynes’
dictum that “in the long run we are all
dead”. Asking Federal Reserve chair
Jay Powell about the current bout of
above-target inflation, Toomey said,
“I know you believe this is transitory.
But everything is transitory. Life is
transitory.”
Powell, wisely, said he would now
ditch the word, acknowledging that
describing high inflation as “transi-
tory” is causing as much confusion as
clarity. The phrase was originally intro-
duced as “transient” at the end of 2020
when Powell looked ahead to inflation-
ary pressures in the year ahead. It
aimed to capture the idea that what a
central bank had to consider was not a
temporary spike in prices nor the “base
effects” from comparisons to the year
before but the bank’s ability to keep
inflation sustainably at its target. In
Powell’s own words, price increases
“would not go on indefinitely”.
Critics of the Fed’s monetary
largesse, as well as its change in focus to
look at “average inflation”, seized on
Powell’s continued use of the word to
suggest the central bank boss had
taken his eye off the ball. Indeed,
Toomey also asked at the meeting of
the Senate committee on banking,
housing and urban affairs, “How long
does inflation have to run above your
target before the Fed decides maybe it’s
not so transitory?” The US central bank
has repeatedly had to revise up its own
forecasts of price growth and acknowl-
edge that the pressures are more
broad-based than it originally
anticipated.
Debates over the exact meaning of
the term were unhelpful, as was the
division of economic commentators
into “team transitory” and “team per-
manent”. Retiring the use of the phrase
will remove one distraction and unnec-
Rules of war need
rewriting for the AI era
‘Killer robots’ combine mass destructive power with cheap production
Whoever becomes the leader in artifi-
cial intelligence “will become the ruler
of the world”, Vladimir Putin said in
2017, predicting future wars would be
fought using drones. Even then, for all
the Russian leader’s own ambitions,
China and the US were the frontrun-
ners in developing the technology. Yet
four years later, the vision of autono-
mous fighting units is becoming a real-
ity, with potentially devastating conse-
quences. The computer scientist Stuart
Russell — who will devote a forthcom-
ing Reith Lecture on BBC radio to the
subject — met UK defence officials
recently to warn that incorporating AI
into weapons could wipe out humanity.
AI promises enormous benefits. Yet,
like nuclear power, it can be used for
good and ill. Its introduction into the
military sphere represents the biggest
technological leap since the advent of
nuclear weapons. While atomic bombs
were used on real cities in 1945, how-
ever, it took more than two decades
before the first arms control treaties
were signed.
Nuclear weapons are also difficult
and expensive to develop or obtain. By
contrast, AI-aided arms — used at scale
— could combine the power of weapons
of mass destruction with the scope for
cheap production of the AK-47. That
opens the possibility of their use, even
if not in their most sophisticated forms,
not just by advanced economies but by
“rogue” states and terrorists. And the
world is starting to wrestle with how to
control them while the technology is
still evolving at lightning speed.
The most immediate concern is
“lethal autonomous weapons systems”
(Laws), often dubbed “killer robots”.
In fact, the term means any mobile
platform — drone, android, self-flying
plane — carrying a machine that can
perceive its environment, make deci-
sions on tactics and targets, and kill.
Rudimentary versions exist today. The
essary source of confusion. Aside from
improving the central bank’s commu-
nication, however, Powell’s stance has
only shifted slightly. While he indi-
cated that the Fed may bring forward
the reduction in its asset purchases by a
few months, he said he still expected
inflationary pressures to ease.
Powell will probably be proved right
that inflation will fade. Surges in natu-
ral gas prices may not be reversed, but
they will almost certainly not be
repeated. Neither will the stunning
jump in used car prices that has been a
key driver of inflation. Indeed while
the Paris-based rich country think-
tank the OECD revised up its forecast of
US inflation for 2022 on Wednesday —
to 4.4 per cent from 3.1 per cent — that
would still mean inflation will spend
much of next year below the present
rate of 6.2 per cent.
What matters to the central bank is
any part that may not disappear.
Above-target inflation may become
self-sustaining if it leads to businesses
and workers expecting price increases
and incorporating them into their deci-
sion-making. Powell was right to say on
Tuesday that this is an increasing
“threat”. Accelerating the so-called
taper of quantitative easing by a few
months is a sensible response.
The new Omicron variant is a poten-
tial spoiler. Not only is it still unclear
whether vaccines remain as effective
against it, but so is its inflationary
impact. The OECD noted that it was
likely to exacerbate supply chain prob-
lems — as well as the shifts in spending
from services to goods — that have pro-
voked shortages. On the other hand,
few travel or hospitality businesses are
likely to feel as if they have significant
pricing power, even if a heightened fear
of infection contributes to labour
shortages. Powell may have banished
the word “transitory” but the inflation
debate is here to stay.
UN says Turkish-made Kargu drones
incorporating image-processing capa-
bilities were used in Libyan conflicts
last year to home in on selected targets.
Academics warn of swarms of cheap
miniature drones armed with facial
recognition and tiny bombs being used
as mass killing machines. Many
experts have demanded a ban on devel-
oping lethal autonomous weapons. A
UN body has drawn up guidelines and
worked on a potential embargo. Sev-
eral military powers oppose a ban,
fearing the loss of a chance to gain a
military edge or that others would
ignore a prohibition that would be near
impossible to enforce.
Yet many countries have joined con-
ventions on biological and chemical
weapons, though these also offer cheap
routes to mass lethality. The scientific
community says it has ideas and les-
sons from other arms control efforts on
how to devise and police a Laws ban.
Beyond killer robots, AI could be
used to enhance or replace human skill
in everything from operating weapons
to intelligence gathering and analysis,
early warning systems, and command
and control. Dialogue is needed not just
between the biggest military powers
but more broadly on rules of engage-
ment, what sort of wars countries are
prepared to countenance in an AI era,
and how to impose some transparency
and constraints. Agreements are
needed to keep humans “in the loop” in
all forms of military decision-making.
Establishing such contacts will not be
easy; China is reluctant to engage with
the US even on nuclear arms. But past
leaders agreed on “rules” of war, with
some limited success, because they saw
it as in their mutual interests to do so. It
should be more than a naive hope that
those rules can be updated for an age
when humans are combining awesome
destructive force with machines that
can calculate faster than they can.
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
Letters
Turkey must restore democracy to halt its economy’s decline
In your editorial “Turkey’s currency
crisis is of Erdogan’s making” (FT
View, November 29) you describe the
recent economic turmoil as “a very
unusual currency crisis” and argue that
“the collapse in the lira’s value has not
been caused by problems in the
country’s economic fundamentals”.
I disagree. In my opinion, the dire
state of the Turkish economy is indeed
caused by deteriorating economic
fundamentals. There are two main
reasons. First, the country has moved
away from democracy. A recent paper
by Daron Acemoglu and others
suggests that moving away from
democracy costs a country around 20
Banking on productivity
can end NHS cash squeeze
Martin Wolf (“We have to accept
higher taxes to fund health and social
care”, Opinion, November 29) is far too
pessimistic about the costs and tax
effects of the NHS and social care. The
NHS now has a clear strategy for
improving the service and containing
cost, set out in the “Long Term Plan” —
the best strategy document in the
history of the NHS. Stronger primary
care teams can reduce emergency
admissions from patients with long-
term conditions, and cut outpatient
appointments by a third.
There is potential for raising
productivity, as our new independent
research body Aiming for Health
Success has shown. In elective surgery,
100 NHS centres can increase output
by one procedure a day. This would
add 25,000 procedures in the next year
and could be followed by setting up
high-volume surgical hubs. GPs can
improve continuity with patients
through combining personal contact
with digital monitoring. These
methods can improve outcomes now,
rather than the slow-motion effects of
centralisation and future-itis.
For social care, we now have a great
resource in care home and domiciliary
staff, 80 per cent rated good or
excellent by the regulator. They need
some immediate support in funding to
allow councils to cover the realistic
costs of publicly funded care. We need
focus on the viability of the services in
the here and now.
A productivity model would use the
great talents of the 1.3m staff working
in the NHS. It would also reduce the
tax charge on younger taxpayers. The
usual recommendation of 4 per cent a
year real-term budget growth would
push total health spending towards 15
per cent of gross domestic product by
2040, blocking spending on other
programmes and adding to the unfair
burden on young and low-paid
workers.
Professor Nick Bosanquet
Andrew Haldenby
Aiming for Health Success
London W1, UK
Here’s raising a glass to the
cause of bottle recycling
You report that a “bottle shortage
leaves US distillers struggling to
dispense festive spirit” (November 27).
A glass bottle shortage in the US is a
call to step up glass recycling. Cheers.
I’ll drink to that!
MS Broussard
Santa Monica, CA, US
Cultural ties
between Spain
and Mexico
hold fast in a
political storm
Madrid
Notebook
by Daniel Dombey
per cent of its gross domestic product
in the long run. Since president Recep
Tayyip Erdogan introduced Turkey’s
new presidential system in 2017, the
Turkish economy has been moving
slowly to the new poorer “steady state”.
The new regime has caused all sorts
of problems for the economy. Just to
name one, foreign investment (both
short-term and long-term) has dried
up and Turkish investors are finding it
difficult to borrow from abroad.
Foreign monies have been the main
source of economic growth in Turkey:
fewer foreign funds mean lower
economic growth.
Second, according to the statistics
A booster jab is the only
sensible course of action
It is depressing that Stéphane Bancel,
the chief executive of Moderna, has
questioned how effective the current
vaccines will be against Omicron
(“Moderna chief predicts existing
vaccines will struggle with Omicron”,
Interview, FT.com, November 30).
It seems likely that people will
regularly need to have boosters. That’s
fine with me.
If it takes several months to create a
new, suitable vaccine, we should
eagerly wait for it, but in the meantime
we should continue to get vaccinated
and boosted. We should also take flu
jabs.
In addition to that, we should at least
be aware of the dangers of Covid. Too
many people barely seem to register
the threat. I don’t suggest lockdowns —
not until and unless hospitals become
overwhelmed — but I do endorse
homeworking, widespread mask use
(preferably FFP2 and FFP3 when
inside busy places), ventilation
(opening doors and windows every half
an hour) and a willingness to at least
partially cut back on socialising. It’s
probably best to meet a few people at a
time, rather than having large parties
on a regular basis.
Balance and moderation is key on
distancing and event attendance, I
think, but on vaccines and boosters,
there really is only one sensible course
of action: get vaccinated and boosted as
soon as you can.
I look forward to my booster and I’ll
probably book a flu jab soon too. Let’s
await the new Omicron vaccines with
positive anticipation.
Sebastian Monblat
London SM1, UK
It is 500 years since the Spanish
conquest of Mexico but a line winding
around a Madrid block shows that
the legacy of half a millennium is
more than rancour.
The queue was for an exhibition last
month at the Casa de México cultural
institute — a display about the Day of
the Dead that attracted 65,000
visitors, overwhelmingly locals.
Families patiently waited to see
traditional altars heaped with model
skulls and ceramics, great green glass
candelabras and other examples of
popular Mexican art.
That level of interest, in a city where
rival attractions include some of the
world’s great museums and galleries,
contrasted with a transatlantic
slanging match between politicians.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador,
Mexico’s president, stepped up his
campaign for Spain to ask forgiveness
for its conquest of his country. Isabel
Díaz Ayuso, the leader of Madrid’s
regional government, contested that
Spain had given the Americas the
Spanish language, Catholicism, “and
as a result, civilisation and freedom”.
This was always set to be a
turbulent year for relations between
the old capital and the former colony:
2021 also marks the 200th
anniversary of Mexico’s declaration
of independence from Spain.
Perceptions of the colonial period
differ drastically. Mexico is so marked
by the experience that people say
“mande” — “command me” — instead
of “what”? As a former Mexico
reporter now in Spain, I still do a
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
compiled by the World Bank, in 2018
Turkey’s foreign debt-to-gross national
product ratio was around 60 per cent —
this ratio was the same in the 2001
crisis. The Turkish economy has been
struggling to rollover this much foreign
debt. At the time of the regime change,
the long growth cycle sustained by
foreign borrowing was about to come
to an end, as it was about the time to
pay some of the debt back. The
worsening political climate due to the
new regime certainly is not helping.
Erdogan understands that the
country is getting poorer and in his
own way is trying to reverse the
Turkish economy’s inevitable decline.
Waive drug firm IP rules
before the next pandemic
Your Big Read “The inside story of the
Pfizer vaccine” (December 1) makes
crystal clear the problems of handing a
vital part of the pandemic response to
individual companies. It shouldn’t
surprise us that relying on the market
to distribute a limited supply of
desperately needed resources was
never going to result in equal access to
those resources.
But a solution to this market failure
has been on the table for more than a
year: waiving the intellectual property
provisions that allow companies like
Pfizer to monopolise medical
knowledge. Given that, as your piece
states, the company didn’t invent these
vaccines in the first place, such a
measure is more than justified.
Together with a mixture of carrots and
sticks for companies to share the
underlying knowhow behind their
medicines, as well as massive public
investment in manufacturing, this
could allow us to end the pandemic.
The dysfunctions of the
pharmaceutical industry are not new. If
we want to prevent the next Omicron
variant, and ensure we can deal with
the medical emergencies of tomorrow,
we need different rules and new
infrastructure which companies like
Pfizer currently have no incentive to
provide.
Nick Dearden
Global Justice Now, London SW9, UK
Give Trump some credit
for the vaccine rollout
In “Biden has been a disappointment
on the pandemic” (Opinion, November
24) Janan Ganesh describes the Trump
administration as “maladministration”.
Most wouldn’t disagree that Trump
comes across as a disagreeable fellow.
But as someone who spent years
submitting products for review and
approval by our Food and Drug
Administration, I can assure you that
his chief executive’s obnoxiousness
must have been a significant factor in
getting the vaccine programmes
funded and approved so quickly. This
was truly unprecedented.
Given Biden’s faltering missteps on
multiple issues, there is also no doubt
we would not in fact have the vaccines
under the current administration.
Perhaps Ganesh could at least give a
measure of appreciation for what an
often unpleasant but clearly driven
leader facilitated for the US, and
indeed the world.
Adam Howell
Doylestown, PA, US
double take when I walk past streets
named after the likes of Hernán
Cortés, the conquistador who remains
many Mexicans’ public enemy
number one. Cortés is a sinister,
simpering presence in Diego Rivera’s
great murals in the National Palace in
Mexico City, where the viceroys ruled
and López Obrador now holds court.
Yet even as politicians shout past
each other to rally their bases, culture
can be a meeting point. One reason
my family went to the Day of the Dead
exhibition was because my son, like
many other primary-school kids in
Madrid, is learning about Mexico.
Some Europeans appreciated
Mexican art from the first. In 1520,
the German artist Albrecht Dürer
visited an exhibition of plundered
Aztec treasures in Brussels and wrote:
“All the days of my life I have seen
nothing that rejoiced my heart so
much as these things, for I saw among
them wonderful works of art, and
I marvelled at the subtle ingenuity
of men in foreign lands.”
While those gold necklaces, sceptres
and mosaics have disappeared,
melted down for their gold amid the
despoliation of the Aztec empire, the
much humbler exhibition at the Casa
de México is an exercise in bridge
building. “We are a window into
Mexico in Spain,” says Ximena Caraza
Campos, its director-general.
As a Mexican cultural institution
the Casa, which gets over 130,000
visitors a year, has government
representatives on its board. But its
day-to-day operations are privately
Thursday 2 December 2021
Email: letters.editor@ft.com
Include daytime telephone number and full address
Corrections: corrections@ft.com
But his interventions are making the
adjustment even bumpier.
What Turkey is experiencing is not a
currency crisis but a transition to a
poorer steady state due to poorer
economic fundamentals. Reversing the
decline will only be possible by
restoring democracy in the country
and finding a new economic growth
model that does not rely on borrowing
and consuming.
I believe there are no crises without
worsening fundamentals and Turkey’s
recent crisis is no exception to this.
Engin Kara
Professor of Economics, Cardiff University
Cardiff, UK
Humans and machines
should both up their game
I enjoyed Sarah O’Connor’s trenchant
column “AI is making applying for
work even more miserable” (Opinion,
November 30).
We correctly measure AI against a
standard to which we could never hold
a human. Human interviewers can be
— your readers may judge how
frequently — rude, lazy and
unsympathetic, subject to bias both
conscious and unconscious. So mixed is
the track record that one of the
strongest criticisms of AI tools is that
they bake in historic human
performance bias. The opportunity
that AI systems offer is to act as a
mirror to the decisions hiring
organisations take. If set up and
managed correctly, they measure what
happens and can quantify what
actually does and does not work for
diverse mixes of candidates.
The key to getting this right is clear
transparency around data, keeping
humans in the loop and a focus on
explaining AI systems to stakeholders.
Research suggests that we are more
willing to accommodate poor
performance from a human than a
machine. Perhaps — but better surely
to cross-fertilise to improve both.
Tim Gordon
Partner, Best Practice AI, London N1, UK
Hong Kong is not suffering
a shortage of housing land
As insightful as the article on Hong
Kong’s sky-high property market was
(House & Home, November 27), it is a
shame to see the FT perpetuating the
myth that severely constrained
housing supply is due to a shortage of
land.
There is plenty of disused farmland
and brownfield sites in the New
Territories that could be built upon
without displacing productive
economic activity or infringing on
areas protected for environmental
reasons. The obstacles stem almost
entirely from issues of administration
and governance, which may now face a
reckoning as Beijing turns more of its
attention to Hong Kong’s housing crisis.
Indeed, it is telling that in the past
year the local authorities have
reprioritised plans for new residential
sites in the New Territories at the
expense of ongoing discussion about a
costly reclamation initiative, Lantau
Tomorrow Vision, that would provide
entirely new land to build on.
John Marrett
Asia Country Risk Service Manager, The
Economist Intelligence Unit, Hong Kong
financed and it was founded by
Valentín Díez Morodo, a son of
Spanish émigrés who has made
millions with Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s
biggest brewery (now part of AB
InBev). The Casa is his bid to bring the
two countries closer, by fostering
cultural and also business ties.
Those ties run deep. Mexico has a
place of pride, particularly among the
Spanish left, for taking in republicans
during and after the Spanish civil war.
Among them was Luis Buñuel, the
Aragón-born surrealist film-maker,
who made, among other Mexican
masterpieces, Los Olvidados, about
Mexico’s City’s street children.
When I lived in Mexico City, 25
years ago, I used to stroll in Parque
España, where a statue of an open
hand pays tribute to Mexico’s
welcome to the exiles. After landing
a freelance job with the Financial
Times, I celebrated by taking a slow
train to Veracruz, and travelled to La
Antigua, the first Spanish town in
Mexico, where tropical forest grows
among the ruins of Cortés’s house.
By contrast, when the Spaniards
built on the Aztec capital of
Tenochtitlan, which became Mexico
City, their works endured. Mexico
remains the country of mestizaje, or
mixing, its Spanish legacy an essential
ingredient as the two countries’
cultures criss-cross the centuries.
Places such as the Casa de México
make the subtle ingenuity of people in
faraway lands just that little bit closer.
daniel.dombey@ft.com
Thursday 2 December 2021
Uncertainty about Omicron does not excuse inaction
SCIENCE
Anjana
Ahuja
I
t is like a greatest hits compilation
that absolutely nobody wanted.
The Omicron variant of coronavi-
rus, first identified by scientists in
South Africa, features an unhappy
supergroup of mutations that have been
variously seen in Alpha, Beta, Gamma
and Delta, four earlier “variants of con-
cern”.
Of Omicron’s 50 mutations, more
than 30 are on the spike protein, the
molecular “key” the pandemic virus
employs to enter and infect cells. The
unprecedented number of mutations is
a cause for concern rather than panic.
Only time will tell whether the latest
variant, identified in several countries
in southern Africa and now known to be
present elsewhere, will turn out to be
inherently more transmissible, cause
Johnson cannot
just wish away
EU tensions
BRITAIN
Robert
Shrimsley
W
ishing will make it so,
just keep on wishing
and care will go”. Vera
Lynn’s uplifting lyrics
may have made her the
“forces’ sweetheart” but they rarely fea-
ture in diplomatic manuals. And yet this
song seems uncomfortably close to the
UK’s apparent desire for better relations
with the EU, and France in particular.
The last month offered up signs that
at least some in Downing Street can see
the advantages of a reset. Lord Frost, the
chief Brexit negotiator, has drawn back
at least temporarily from threats to sus-
pend the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Media allies have been briefed on the
desire for a new “entente cordiale” with
France. The growing pressure to halt
uncontrolled Channel crossings is the
clearest example of how often domestic
problems require European assistance.
But this reset is an end for which few
are prepared to will the means. Boris
Johnson wants better relations but sees
few domestic benefits to a softer line —
especially with his party’s troublesome
right flank. John Bew, his foreign policy
adviser, is making the case but, in the
words of one seasoned observer, “he is
cutting a pretty lonely figure”.
Luigi
Zingales
U
nder the benign gaze of the
Mario Draghi government,
the US private equity group
KKR is bidding for Telecom
Italia, one of the last large
firms in Italian hands. Italy, the eighth
largest economy in the world, has only
six companies in the Fortune Global
500, three of which are controlled by the
state. This compares with seven for
Spain, whose economy is ranked 14th in
the world by gross domestic product,
and 26 for France, which is seventh.
Some blame successive Italian gov-
ernments for not resisting foreign acqui-
sitions. They point to outgoing German
chancellor Angela Merkel blocking Fiat
from buying Opel in 2009 and French
president Emmanuel Macron delaying
Fincantieri’s acquisition of STX in 2017.
Others regard this latest bid as a sign
of the ultimate triumph of the European
more severe disease or evade immunity
conferred by current vaccines — or per-
haps all three.
Yesterday, Israel’s health minister,
Nitzan Horowitz, told The Jerusalem
Post there was “room for optimism, and
there are initial indications that those
who are vaccinated with a vaccine still
valid or with a booster will also be pro-
tected from this variant”. An Israeli tel-
evision channel broadcast unverified
claims yesterday that the Pfizer vaccine
was still highly effective at stopping
infection with the Omicron variant and
preventing severe symptoms. A firm
conclusion would be surprising given
that Israel has recorded only a handful
of Omicron cases so far.
That outlook echoes recent com-
ments from Ugur Sahin, BioNTech’s co-
founder and developer of the Pfizer
shot. Sahin explained that even if the
new variant were to shake off ill-fitting
antibodies and go on to infect cells, a
separate line of defence, cellular immu-
nity, would prevent severe illness.
A Pfizer spokesperson said the com-
pany could not comment on the unpub-
lished Israeli data and that the best
One European diplomat says the Brit-
ish approach is “always tactical rather
than strategic”. Progress is swiftly fol-
lowed by reverses, most recently follow-
ing the deaths of 27 migrants in the
Channel. The tweeting of a provocative
letter to Emmanuel Macron led to the
UK being disinvited from a summit on
the issue. One former diplomat noted:
“The French are world champion
flouncers but they were bound to react
badly to that letter and no one seems to
have thought about that. It was done for
domestic consumption.”
There is little evidence of meaningful
bridge-building. “I’ve not had any sense
of a real desire to re-engage,” says a For-
eign Office insider. Foreign secretary Liz
Truss’ primary focus is the US and the
Indo-Pacific region. Where her interests
are drawn towards the EU she has
focused most heavily on eastern Euro-
pean nations, notably those defying EU
rules. And the tone of EU relations is set
by Lord Frost. Elsewhere in cabinet, the
chancellor Rishi Sunak exasperates oth-
erwise-admiring officials with his lack
of interest in engaging with EU counter-
parts. Home secretary Priti Patel is cor-
dial in private but her public tone alien-
ates the allies she seeks.
Defence is cited as a foundation for a
reset, especially with France. But the
UK’s integrated foreign policy review
barely bothered itself with the issue of
European security and Britain still seeks
to bypass EU structures. Hopes for
broader rapprochement were severely
undermined by the Aukus deal. While
the White House rushed to salve
Corporate Italy must enter the 21st century
single market. But I see a failure of the
Italian economy to move into the
21st century. The problem is not that
foreign companies acquire Italian ones.
It is that Italy’s entrepreneurs seem
incapable of building companies able to
compete in the global economy.
Why is this? First, Italian entrepre-
neurs are obsessed with control. In
order to retain majority control of the
companies they found, they build frag-
ile pyramid structures, burden them
with debt and ultimately do not expand
much beyond Italy’s borders, since
doing so would require using equity to
pay for acquisitions.
This obsession with control is not just
a psychological matter. In Italy corpo-
rate control is highly valuable, because
whoever has it can easily take advantage
of minority shareholders without fear of
legal retribution. Anticipating this risk,
savers are reluctant to invest in the
equity market and finance the expan-
sion of Italian firms.
The second reason for underperform-
ance is the parasitic relationship
between domestic big business and the
Italian state. For decades, Fiat was heav-
★ FINANCIAL TIMES
Opinion
protection against Omicron was full
immunisation (including a third
booster). The spokesperson added that
the company has begun work on a vac-
cine tailored to Omicron.
The extent to which a new variant will
change the course of the pandemic is
difficult to call early — for good reason.
New infections may not have run their
course, making it hard to assess the
impact on severe illness and death.
There is a narrow window
for us to put in place the
lessons we learnt in the first
phase of the pandemic
Extrapolating directly from one country
is also dicey: countries vary in their
demographics, vaccination coverage
and circulating variants, as well as back-
ground health and healthcare capacity.
It is possible that genetics plays a role
too; researchers running the interna-
tional Covid Human Genetic Effort, a
project to identify genes linked to both
wounds, Johnson punched the bruise
telling Macron to “prenez un grip”.
Defence co-operation continues, nota-
bly on nuclear testing, but rather than
easing tensions, it is in spite of them.
Nor does the picture look rosier with
other capitals. The coalition agreement
for the new German government
stresses the need for a common EU posi-
tion in dealing with the UK and “full
compliance” with existing agreements.
Others note waning patience among for-
merly supportive leaders such as Mark
Rutte of the Netherlands. Meanwhile
Europe is moving on. Building ties with
Olaf Scholz, the new German chancel-
lor, is the priority for most EU states.
Brexit, of course, lies at the root of the
problems. The UK is now seen by Euro-
pean leaders as an unreliable ally, rip-
One question is whether
this government
is capable of securing the
thaw it purportedly seeks
ily protected from Japanese competi-
tion, while in the 1990s Olivetti was
granted the second mobile phone
licence by a sympathetic government.
This parasitic relationship reached its
peak when Silvio Berlusconi was in
power, first in the mid-1990s and then
again in the early 2000s. The country’s
telecommunications strategy was sub-
ordinated to the private interests of the
billionaire prime minister. Used to mak-
A belief that ‘small is
beautiful’ prevented
companies achieving
economies of scale
ing quick profits at home thanks to their
political connections, Italian companies
were unwilling to take the risks needed
to succeed in the global marketplace.
A belief that “small is beautiful” also
helped to prevent Italian firms from
achieving the economies of scale neces-
sary for global success. Italy invented
the pizza, for example, but still does not
Covid-19 vulnerability and resistance,
have not ruled out the possibility that
such genes might be clustered geo-
graphically.
Uncertainty does not excuse inaction.
The current UK plans to expand and
speed up the booster programme are
welcome, given that immunity is wan-
ing. Anxiety about potentially weaker
vaccines should not deter those from
coming forward now in the hope of get-
ting a tweaked vaccine later: bringing a
baseball bat to a knife fight can still be
effective.
This is also a narrow window for the
world to put in place the lessons we
learnt during the first phase of the pan-
demic. Countries including the UK were
accused of not closing borders to China
early enough in spring 2020 and rushed
to suspend flights from southern Africa.
Given Omicron appears to be already
spreading in the UK among people with
no travel history to southern Africa, the
effect of continued bans is questionable.
The UK has not stopped flights to the
Netherlands, which has Omicron cases
dating back to between November 19
and 23. Back in 2020, most of the UK’s
ping up agreements within months of
signing them. Macron may be the most
outspoken in berating Johnson as
untrustworthy and unserious, but he is
not out of step with other EU leaders.
The new default is a more tense and
transactional relationship. British min-
isters may lament the French desire to
show that Brexit has not been a success
and to weaken the City of London but
this should have been priced in, if not
from the start then at least once the UK
prioritised fish over financial services.
A more fundamental question is
whether this government is capable of
securing the thaw it purportedly seeks.
Some ex-diplomats are doubtful. “I
don’t believe this can be fixed under this
prime minister. The relationship with
France is so broken.” says one.
There are steps which could help. The
first would be to end the threats to sus-
pend the Northern Ireland protocol and
accept the proposed European Commis-
sion reforms on the implementation of
customs checks. This will disappoint
hardline Unionists but they are going to
be disappointed sooner or later.
have a large pizza chain. The concept of
the coffee bar is Italian in origin, but the
country is not home to a significant cof-
fee chain. The country is one of the
world’s biggest tourist destinations, but
it does not boast a large chain of hotels.
And while Italy is one of the global capi-
tals of fashion, the biggest Italian-
owned fashion company is ranked only
17th in the world by market value.
Finally, consider the failure to create
world-class universities. The success of
Montecatini and Olivetti in the 1960s
was driven by technology developed in
Italian universities. But who remembers
the last Italian firm to have prospered
on the back of technology developed by
researchers at home? In the 2021 Shang-
hai ranking of world universities, there
is no Italian institution in the top 150.
Many of these problems have been
decades in the making. Yet efforts to
address them have been limited.
Reforms to speed up civil trials are wel-
come, but have the unfortunate defect
of shortening the statute of limitation
for criminal offences, helping corrupt
entrepreneurs to escape punishment
for their crimes.
coronavirus infections were seeded not
from China but Europe.
There should be clear criteria for
imposing and lifting travel restrictions,
which are a poor but showy substitute
for the hard graft of everyday infection
control — vaccinating, masking, testing,
screening, contact-tracing and support-
ing the infected to isolate, financially if
necessary. Tulio de Oliveira, a geneticist
who contributed to the sequencing of
Omicron, tweeted his fury that South
Africa, which raised the alarm, is appar-
ently being punished for its openness.
He warns the country is running low on
the reagents needed to continue their
critical work.
The other lesson is that we need to
vaccinate the world and subdue trans-
mission. As Ravi Gupta, a professor of
clinical microbiology at Cambridge uni-
versity, puts it, continued spread is like
“rolling the dice for the virus” until it
hits a jackpot variant that defies vac-
cines and other interventions. We do not
yet know if Omicron fits the bill, but if it
does, it won’t be us doing the winning.
The writer is a science commentator
Ellie Foreman-Peck
The second step would be listen to the
mandarins and remember that the
essence of diplomacy is persuading oth-
ers to do things you want — it therefore
demands more consideration of their
concerns and temperament. The UK
needs to stop viewing European rela-
tions as part of an endless zero-sum
game of continuing Brexit negotiations.
Third, it could entertain the French
suggestion of UK asylum processing
centres in France though this might also
mean accepting more migrants.
Yet even listing these steps highlights
the problem. The character of the prime
minister and his government, with its
taste for brinkmanship, mistrust of dip-
lomats and campaigning instinct to rile
up its base, militate against the pragma-
tism required for a reset.
Tensions can ease but a true thaw
demands a strategic decision from an
endlessly tactical government. That
some wish for better relations is a start.
But wishing it is some way short of will-
ing it.
robert.shrimsley@ft.com
Moreover, not only does the flood of
money provided by the Next Generation
EU recovery programme foster the par-
asitic relationship between business
and government, the way that cash is
disbursed entrenches the cycle of
dependence. Some €11bn is earmarked
for the promotion of university
research, yet that is well under 1 per
cent of GDP and does not even cover
the annual gap in R&D between Italy
and the rest of Europe. No serious
attempt is being made, as far as I can see,
to help Italian companies develop the
economies of scale to compete in the
global marketplace.
To win the challenge of global compe-
tition in the 21st century, Italy must not
stand in the way of the process of
creative destruction. It should instead
foster the development of new giants
capable of taking on the world. If the
Next Generation EU recovery funds are
not used to aid this process, a huge
opportunity for the Italian economy will
have been missed.
The writer is a professor at the University
of Chicago Booth School of Business
19
Russia clamps
down on
historical
memory
EUROPE
Tony
Barber
O
pposite the Moscow head-
quarters of the FSB, suc-
cessor to the KGB which
once employed Vladimir
Putin, stands a large slab of
rock on a plinth. Known as the Solovet-
sky Stone, it was brought from a former
labour camp constructed in the 1920s in
Russia’s icy northern wastes. It was
placed on Lubyanka Square in 1990 at
the initiative of the human rights group
Memorial to commemorate the millions
of victims of Soviet repression.
Now state prosecutors are taking
action to shut down Memorial, a step
that signifies a dual assault on modern
Russian civil society and on the nation’s
wider struggle for historical memory
and justice. Dunja Mijatovic, human
rights commissioner of the 47-nation
Council of Europe, correctly describes
Memorial as “a symbol of the relentless
fight for freedom, democracy and
human rights in the post-Soviet area
and beyond”. But the threat to Memorial
also illustrates how, more than 20 years
into his rule, Putin’s crackdown on dis-
sent is inextricable from a desire to con-
trol Russia’s past.
Memorial emerged in the late 1980s
as Soviet society began to break free
from decades of glacial silence about the
mass crimes committed by the state’s
communist rulers against their own
people. One of Memorial’s founders was
Andrei Sakharov, nuclear physicist and
Nobel Peace Prize winner, and the moral
core of the Soviet human rights move-
ment. After 30 years of painstaking
The Memorial group
angers authorities because
its commemorations blend
into human rights activities
work, Memorial has compiled a data-
base of more than 3m victims of Soviet
political repression, mostly people who
were executed, imprisoned, sent to
labour camps or exiled during Joseph
Stalin’s 1924-1953 dictatorship.
Under Putin, the Russian state not so
much ignores these horrors as sidesteps
the question of who was responsible. It
prefers an alternative historical narra-
tive focused on the Soviet victory over
Nazism. In an increasingly intimidating
intellectual climate, Memorial has come
under attack for being “unpatriotic” in
drawing attention to the Stalinist
repressions that peaked in the 1930s but
continued during and after the second
world war. Yury Dmitriyev, a historian
who discovered a mass grave of the Sta-
lin era in the region of Karelia, was jailed
for 13 years on what supporters regard
as trumped-up charges of sexual abuse.
Memorial’s investigations are neces-
sary because, in contrast to postwar
West Germany, and later the reunified
German state, the authorities of post-
communist Russia do not view an hon-
est appraisal of history, no matter how
painful, as a moral duty to their citizens.
Instead, they crave a distorted version
of the past that props up their power.
Matters stood differently in the freer
atmosphere of the 1980s and 1990s
under Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris
Yeltsin, but that era is now viewed as a
time when historical truth-telling was a
symptom of social disorder and the
weakness of the state.
Memorial angers the authorities
because its historical research and com-
memorations blend into human rights
activities. This aspect of the group’s
work began in the 1990s in response to
the ferocious Russian military offen-
sives in Chechnya. Memorial publishes
regular updated lists of Russian political
prisoners, among whom it includes
Alexei Navalny, the jailed opposition
leader so reviled in the Kremlin that
Putin and his propagandists rarely even
mention his name.
In the shrinking space of Russian civil
society, Memorial is far from the only
organisation struggling to survive. In
June the courts outlawed Navalny’s
Anti-Corruption Foundation, which has
published several reports on alleged
high-level graft, as an extremist group.
Memorial’s roots lie in an era when
hopes ran high for a Russia at last
becoming confident enough to speak
the truth to itself. Its liquidation would
be the bitterest blow to the brave Rus-
sians who try to keep these hopes alive.
tony.barber@ft.com
20 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Thursday 2 December 2021

World Stock Exchange: Marshall lore

New York US stock markets tower above foreign peers, attracting foreign listings and inspiring talk of a
global bourse. More equity capital is raised in the US than even mainland China and Hong Kong combined.
Most trading on these exchanges occurs in the last hour of the day.

Typical global trading day

Twitter: @FTLex
China AI: big data,
big country, big push
Investing in Chinese tech stocks has
been dangerous this year because of
political intervention. But for nearly a
decade before, the same stocks had
strong, predictable returns. A fresh
batch of local tech companies could
soon recreate the success of China’s
first generation of listed tech giants.
China aims to triple the size of its big
data and artificial intelligence groups
to ¥3tn ($471bn) of annual revenues in
the next four years, building huge new
businesses and a data exchange.
Most specialised Chinese AI and big
data companies are private. Expect
IPOs to add to the tally of quoted
businesses, which include Zhongchang
Big Data, iFlytek and Cambricon.
Shares have languished so far this year.
Cybersecurity groups such as Neusoft,
Sangfor Technologies and Bluedon
Information attracted little interest.
The push for self-sufficiency in big
data and a stronger global position for
China will be bad news for some.
Beijing is likely to follow Washington’s
lead in creating new barriers to cross-
border data transfers. Techs that have
listings offshore such as Didi, Alibaba
and JD.com face tougher scrutiny.
The push draws parallels with
Beijing’s aggressive plan from about a
decade ago to grow its electric car
industry. Subsidies fuelled rapid
growth from 2009. Today, China is the
world’s largest electric car market.
Sales have tripled this year.
Quotas and subsidies take much of
the credit. Chinese electric cars are not
always competitive abroad. That has
not stopped a flood of listings and share
price surges for companies such as Nio,
Xpeng, BYD and Li Auto.
There should be an equivalent bow
wave of investment across sectors such
as manufacturing, consumer goods,
agriculture and medicine. At present,
local governments and banks dominate
investment in AI and big data.
Chinese data scientists have a good
opportunity to refine algorithms and
deploy them profitably for two reasons.
First, the government will protect
them from foreign competitors.
Second, China allows businesses and
state bodies to use personal
information in ways prohibited
elsewhere.
This would leave foreign investors to
wrestle with ethical issues raised by
data privacy — or the lack of it. The
fuzziness of the interface between
private and public sectors would be a
concern, given the omnipresence of
state security agencies.
CEO pay:
spring fever
Chief executives need little help when
it comes to executive pay. That has not
stopped board directors giving some
bosses an extra boost through the
practice of “spring-loading”.
Under this mechanism, executives
are granted stock or options just before
good news being publicly disclosed.
That juices pay irrespective of any
performance criteria. In a recent
example, Kodak last year granted
awards to executives. Just days later
came an announcement that the US
government considered supporting the
company’s pharmaceutical division,
catapulting its stock price higher.
The Securities and Exchange
Commission has taken a tougher
stance, this week releasing guidance
recommending that companies be
more rigorous in the way they value
pay granted during the possession of
material non-public information.
This is not the first sketchy pay
practice to come under scrutiny. A
scandal erupted about a decade ago
over so-called “options backdating”
where companies manipulated the
timing of grants. That has since been
tightened but the law around spring-
loading has proven much looser.
An independent investigation
commissioned by the Kodak board
found no wrongdoing as it related to
the conveniently timed executive pay
grants. The report noted that curbs
around pay were less an issue for
federal securities law but fell under the
purview of state fiduciary duty
obligations of directors to
shareholders. While the Kodak process
was “flawed”, there were no violations
of laws or company policy on pay.
An academic study found that, of
1,500 companies that granted options,
a clear pattern indicated extensive
spring-loading. These ploys added up
to $100,000 of extra pay per chief. Still,
they are not the only ones. Savvy hedge
funds track share grants to snout out
upcoming deals. For their part, bosses
Average value traded per day on selected major exchanges* pre-pandemic ($bn)
Asia, Middle East and North Africa
0:00 03:00 05:00
Source: FactSet
US exchanges dominate equity capital raising
Equity capital markets volumes by exchange nations,
2016-2021** ($bn)
0 500 1,000
US
China
Hong Kong
UK
Japan
Germany
FT graphic Sources: Dealogic
Dismissing the London Stock
Exchange as “Jurassic Park” is harsh.
But hedge fund boss Paul Marshall,
writing today in the Financial Times,
made a valid point. Income funds are
a powerful force in the UK. Their
hunger for dividends deters fast-
growing start-ups from listing.
Marshall’s consequent vision of a
vibrant 24-hour global stock
exchange based in New York is not
entirely fantastical. It could be a good
thing for international investors. By
happenstance, fellow hedge fund
tycoon, Steve Cohen is on a similar
track. His vehicle Point72 Ventures is
backing 24 Exchange, which is
seeking regulatory approval for a US
stock market that is open all hours.
Fixed market opening hours are an
should earn any largesse handed out.
These nod-and-wink arrangements
have persisted for too long.
Blue Prism:
through a glass, darkly
Blue Prism shareholders needed a
bidding war. Now they have got one.
Competition for the UK robotic
automation software company heated
up yesterday with a bid from SS&C
Technologies. The US tech group’s cash
offer values the target at just over
£1.2bn, a hair above the price that rival
Vista Equity Partners put on the table.
Shares traded above the level of the
latest bid. That suggests there is more
to come. But do not expect investors in
Europe Americas
07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00
GMT *Stock exchanges include Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shenzhen, Singapore, NSE,
BSE of India, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Madrid, Nasdaq, NYSE and Toronto
Largest stock exchange operators
Listed companies market cap ($tn)
1,500 2,000 NYSE
Nasdaq
Shanghai Stock Exchange
Euronext
Japan Exchange Group
Shenzhen Stock Exchange
Hong Kong Exchange
LSE Group
**To Nov 2021 Source: Statista
artefact of person-to-person trading in
different time zones. Trading is heavily
automated now and capital is often
global. Focusing activity on a world
exchange could raise liquidity, improve
price discovery and reduce costs.
This electronic stock market would
have no single physical location. But its
natural nucleus would be New York
exchanges, which have a combined
capitalisation of $50tn, dwarfing
competitors such as Shanghai.
There are enough obstacles to ensure
the World Stock Exchange remains a
pipe dream for many years to come.
First, stock exchanges are competing
national institutions as well as trading
platforms. China is putting pressure on
local companies to switch listings from
the US to Shenzhen or Shanghai.
Blue Prism, yet another UK business
disappearing from the London market,
to celebrate too loudly.
The UK’s junior Aim served Blue
Prism well from its 2016 listing until
the beginning of this year. But a
slowdown in sales growth and closer
scrutiny of management targets
weighed heavily on shares. Large
fundraisings by US rivals have stoked
fears of competitive pressure. Even
trading above the latest offer price,
Blue Prism shares remain a third below
highs from the start of the year. Rival
bidders are unlikely to go that high.
Private equity group Vista does seem
certain to counterbid. If it matches
SS&C’s 25p rise, success at £13 a share
would represent a multiple of just over
6 times 2022 expected revenues.
Despite drifting lower since an April US
15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00
0 5 10 15 20 25
Second, a national regulator such
as the Securities and Exchange
Commission might serve foreign
investors poorly. Prudential
watchdogs would worry that a single
liquidity pool would amplify risks.
Third, some investors are
constrained by mandates that restrict
where they invest. A cash settlement
system would need to translate
fluently between multiple currencies.
Even so, the recent bull market has
shown off New York’s advantages.
These include patient capital,
financial ingenuity — albeit much of
it self-serving — and deep research
capacity. The prospect of a World
Exchange based in the US should, at
the very least, encourage laggards
such as London to up their game.
IPO, shares in rival UiPath are trading
at 25 times next year’s sales. SoftBank-
backed Automation Anywhere is set to
go public next year. On average, peers
are trading at 9 times sales.
Lofty valuations reflect demand for
robotic process automation software,
an industry growing at about 20 per
cent annually. The list of potential Blue
Prism suitors is long and includes
giants such as Microsoft and SAP. Vista
and SS&C, though, are not in the same
league. The latter is already leveraged
to three times ebitda. The Blue Prism
deal would take it up to four times.
A third bidder might save the day.
But almost 20 potential buyers have
sniffed around the company’s business.
Limited interest in Blue Prism may
point to specific issues that an apathetic
UK investor base cannot be blamed for.
15
10
Match/Tinder:
5 torch song out-turn
0 Dating apps are supposed to help users
find love. But they can also result in
messy and expensive break-ups, as
dating giant Match Group and
shareholder Barry Diller have just
discovered.
30
Match has agreed to pay Tinder
founders $441m to settle allegations
that it and its former owner IAC, which
Diller chairs, purposely understated
the app’s value to avoid paying billions
of dollars to the entrepreneurs.
The amount is far less than the $2bn
in damages that Tinder’s founders were
seeking. Still, it is a substantial sum. It
works out to about 60 per cent of the
net income that Match is expected to
pull in this year.
Match, which also owns Hinge and
OkCupid, said money for the
settlement would come out of the
company’s cash on hand. This stood at
$523m at the end of September.
Settling is the right call. Letting the
case go to a jury could have resulted in
a bigger payout. Jurors were unlikely to
appreciate the technical maths
involved in determining Tinder’s value.
Match’s shares, up 3 per cent
yesterday, remain down 24 per cent
from their October peaks. The
settlement means the company can put
a very public and bitter legal dispute
behind it and move on.
At the top of the company’s to-do list
is getting investors to fall in love with
its stock again. The pandemic has
proved to be a boon for dating apps.
Match reported that engagement
shot up during lockdowns as lonely
singletons looked for love online.
The habit has stuck even as
restrictions eased. Match posted a 25
per cent rise in sales to $801m during
the third quarter. The company added
2m paying users during the period.
Tinder remains Match’s crown jewel.
The app accounts for almost two-thirds
of the company’s total paying users.
That is both good and bad news. To
justify its heady multiple of 48 times
forward earnings, Match will have to
show it can create valuable assets on its
own.
Lex on the web
For notes on today’s stories
go to www.ft.com/lex

CROSSWORD
No 16,958 Set by BUCCANEER
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denial (10)
6 Star’s confession of carrying out fraud
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9 Entering low, dry ground, dress in blue
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24 Fictional canine is short and round (4)
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main (4)
27 Trio removing hot pants in parts of
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2 Which end of shinbone is sensitive?
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5 What Cockneys listening to music do
for phone parts (9)
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