NGmorningcall:UK 100 drifts lower, Barclays and Whitbread in focus1

7th Sep 2010 09:46

Overnight ReviewUS: Closed for Labor Day holidayAsia: The Nikkei snapped a four-day winning streak with carmakers spearheading some of the day's biggest losses. The yen's continued strength against the dollar and some profit taking weighed on stocks such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan.BarclaysBarclays has confirmed that Bob Diamond, head of its investment banking arm, Barclays Capital, will take over as chief executive when John Varley steps down at the end of March next year. Diamond, who's been running the division since 1997 when it was BZW, becomes president and deputy group chief executive at the beginning of next month. Varley stays on to advise on regulatory matters until 30 September 2011.WhitbreadCosta Coffee and Premier Inns owner Whitbread said like for like (LFL) sales growth has accelerated since June. Year on year sales growth in the 24 weeks to 19 August was 7.9%, up from 7.6% in the 13 weeks to 3 June. Costa Coffee sales eased off though to 8.3% from 8.5%. Premier Inn's quickened to 10.7% from 10.5%, while the pub restaurants business improved from 3.6% to 3.9%. "We remain confident about the outturn for the year, despite facing tougher comparatives in the second half" the company said.FXThe dollar held steady against the yen and the euro in reduced holiday trading on Monday. The single currency lost earlier gains as optimism over Friday's US jobs data began to dwindle. It was also pressured by news that Germany's banking association could need a further €105bn of capital under to avoid financial problems. Traders are also wary ahead of monetary policy decisions from central banks in Japan today and Canada tomorrow and the UK on Thursday. The pound fell for the fifth consecutive day against the euro amid more disappointing data and ahead of the BoE's meeting later this week. New UK car registrations fell 17.5% last month from a year earlier.CommoditiesOil fell on Monday with trading mostly subdued due to the US holiday. While there was no floor trading, crude fell 58 cents to $74.02 a barrel in electronic trade. Concern about declining demand for oil drove prices lower, as the US driving season comes to an end, traditionally marked by Labor Day. Unease about the struggling US economy and an oversupplied oil market is also weighing on oil demand. Gold was little changed at $1,251.20 in the absence of US floor trading.Major economic announcements0530 AUS Reserve Bank of Australia Interest Rate Decision Actual 4.5% / Forecast 4.5%