JLR: some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in coming days.
Newsflash: Jaguar Land Rover has announced that “some sections” of its carmaking operations will restart “in the coming days”.
In a new statement, two days after the government underwrote a £1.5bn loan guarantee for JLR, the UK’s largest carmaker insists that the “foundational work” of its recovery is firmly underway.
However, we don’t know exactly which parts of JLR’s factory output will restart first.
JLR says:
As the controlled, phased restart of our operations continues, we are taking further steps towards our recovery and the return to manufacture of our world‑class vehicles.
Today we are informing colleagues, retailers and suppliers that some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days.
We continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the UK Government’s NCSC and law enforcement to ensure our restart is done in a safe and secure manner.
We would like to thank everyone connected with JLR for their continued patience, understanding and support. We know there is much more to do but the foundational work of our recovery is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide updates as we progress.
Key events
Gold hits $3,800 per ounce as rally continues
The gold price has surged over the $3,800 per ounce mark for the first time today.
The spot price of gold is up 1.5% at $3,819 per ounce, meaning the precious metal’s value has jumped 45% so far this year, on track for its strongest annual gains since 1979.
Today’s rally is being credited to expectations of a U.S. rate cut and concerns about a potential government shutdown.
I’ve looked at some of the other factors here:
Paul Williams, managing director of Solomon Global, now envisions $4,000/oz being hit by the end of this year, saying:
“Gold has increased almost $400 since August 22nd, supported by numerous factors including a softening US dollar, inflation concerns, anticipated additional rate cuts from the Fed, declining confidence in risk assets, ongoing geopolitical flashpoints and continued accumulation by central banks.
These dynamics and this momentum look set to remain, putting gold on a trajectory that makes $4000 by Christmas a strong possibility.”
A new healthcheck on UK borrowing shows that people are taking out more credit, as demand for new home loans fades a little.
The Bank of England has reported that UK consumer borrowing rose at the fastest pace since October 2024 in the 12 months to the end of August.
Net consumer borrowing rose by £1.692bn, up from £1.669bn in July.
Net mortgage approvals for house purchases decreased by 500 in August, to 64,700. Approvals for remortgaging decreased by 900 in August, to 37,900.
Today’s announcement that some JLR manufacturing will resume soon comes almost a week after the company extended the production pause until at least 1 October.
The cyber-attack has impacting its factories in Halewood, on Merseyside, and Solihull in the West Midlands, and its engine manufacturing site in Wolverhampton.
Experts have warned the production shutdown could hit the group’s bottom line by at least £120m, with the firm thought to usually build about 1,000 cars a day.
JLR: some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in coming days.
Newsflash: Jaguar Land Rover has announced that “some sections” of its carmaking operations will restart “in the coming days”.
In a new statement, two days after the government underwrote a £1.5bn loan guarantee for JLR, the UK’s largest carmaker insists that the “foundational work” of its recovery is firmly underway.
However, we don’t know exactly which parts of JLR’s factory output will restart first.
JLR says:
As the controlled, phased restart of our operations continues, we are taking further steps towards our recovery and the return to manufacture of our world‑class vehicles.
Today we are informing colleagues, retailers and suppliers that some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days.
We continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the UK Government’s NCSC and law enforcement to ensure our restart is done in a safe and secure manner.
We would like to thank everyone connected with JLR for their continued patience, understanding and support. We know there is much more to do but the foundational work of our recovery is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide updates as we progress.
Reeves cool on standalone wealth tax
It’s a busy day for chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is due to address the Labour party conference in Liverpool today.
Reeves has held a series of interviews – and has told Bloomberg that she doesn’t support calls for a wealth tax to be included in her autumn budget.
Reeves argues:
“We already have taxes on wealthy people; I don’t think we need a standalone wealth tax.
“I’m not even sure it would work.”
[Reeves’s esteemed predecessor, Denis Healey, came to a similar conclusion in the 1970s, judging it was impossible to draft a wealth tax “which would yield enough revenue to be worth the administrative cost and political hassle”)
Reeves has also tried to play down reports that she would need to put up taxes by about £30bn in the budget, while insisting that much of the speculation about possible tax rises in budget is ‘rubbish’.
Our Politics Live blog has more details:
Eurozone economic sentiment improves in September
Over in the eurozone, economic sentiment has improved despite weakening confidence in the jobs market.
The European Commission’s eurozone economic sentiment indicator has inched up to 95.5 points this month, up from 95.3 in August. That suggests a little more confidence about the economic outlook, after a summer in which the EU struck a trade deal with the US.
However, the eurozone Employment Expectations Indicator dipped by 1.3 points this month, to 96.4, further below the long-term average of 100.
FTSE 100 heading towards record high
GSK (+3%) and AstraZeneca (+0.8%) are helping to push the London stock market towards a new peak.
The FTSE 100 index has gained 48 points, or 0.5%, this morning to 9333 points – not far from the alltime high of 9,357 set in late August.
The stock market is also benefitting from encouraging US economic data last Friday, which showed US personal spending growing while price pressures were unchanged.
“It can never be great for a CEO’s ego when a share price goes up on news of their departure, but that’s what has happened to GSK chief executive Emma Walmsley this morning,” points out AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Mould points out that GSK has lagged behind AstraZeneca for shareholder returns on Walmsley’s watch:
“Walmsley has been patiently leading a turnaround of the pharmaceutical giant almost ever since she took over in 2017 and she can point to real evidence of progress, including the spin-off of consumer health arm Haleon.
“However, litigation issues over Zantac and setbacks for its vaccine business – notably GSK was considered to have much more vaccine expertise than rival AstraZeneca before the pandemic – have held the business back.
“Using the ultimate arbiter, GSK has achieved a total return of around 30% since Walmsley took charge compared with more than 180% for AstraZeneca. In this context there may be some eyebrows raised at an internal appointment being selected to take over in the form of current chief commercial officer Luke Miels, particularly given his tenure largely matches his current boss.
“While it may not be reflected in the share price, Miels could be grateful in the longer term for the progress Walmsley has made in the background.”
Interactive investor: Walmsley’s leadership a success, share price less so
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, says the news that Dame Emma Walmsley is stepping down as CEO of GSK has taken investors by surprise.
The 3.5% jump in GSK’s share price this morning suggests the City is ‘excited’ by the appointment of chief commercial officer Luke Miels as her replacement, Scholar adds:
Walmsley has been at the helm since 1st April 2017 and her leadership has largely been judged as a success story. She navigated GSK through the challenges of the pandemic and successfully delivered its consumer health division’s spin-off into a standalone company, Haleon. Walmsley has also been in charge during a stretch when GSK has achieved a number of drug breakthroughs such as Arexvy (an RSV vaccine) and she has endeavoured to make AI and cutting edge technology central to GSK’s strategy. She also became the first woman to become CEO of a pharma giant.
However Walmsley has also faced a number of challenges not least with US litigation over its heartburn drug Zantac and an mRNA patent dispute with Pfizer and BioNTech. She also faced activist investor opposition from US hedge fund Elliott Management in 2021.
While there’s a vast amount to cheer when it comes to Walmsley’s leadership, shares haven’t performed so well, down around 10% since she took up the top job. And the stock is reacting positively today, suggesting investors are excited by the change in leadership.
Saxo: GSK looks ‘well positioned’
Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, reckons Emma Walmsley is handing GSK on in pretty good shape.
He says:
Emma Walmsley will step down as CEO at GSK after nine years in charge.
Shares rose on the news by over 3% – Walmsley copped flak for years, but the stock has traded sideways for two decades and things have been improving. The business looks well positioned after some notable progress in the year or so, particularly the spin-off of Haleon and strong cancer drug sales. Tariff uncertainty should start clearing, too
