BUSINESS LIVE: Spring Budget looms; L&G misses profit expectations; Capita to make extra cost savings
By Live Commentary
Updated:
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his Spring Budget at around 12.30pm today. The Government will be keen to woo voters ahead of a looming General Election, while Hunt will be cautious of a stuttering British economy and the constraints of his own fiscal rules – Click here for details on what we can expect to hear from the Chancellor today.
The FTSE 100 will open at 8am. Among the companies with reports and trading updates today are Legal & General, Capita, 888, Quilter, Rathbones and Premier Foods. Read the Wednesday 6 March February Business Live blog below.
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L&G misses profit expectations
Legal & General profits missed analyst forecasts in 2023 as the British insurer faced ‘challenging’ market conditions, with its investment management business suffering a drop in earnings of almost a fifth.
Group operating profit came in at £1.75billion for the year, compared to expectations of £1.67billion.
Legal & General Investment Management, which is one of the UK’s biggest investors, posted a 19 per cent fall in operating profits to £274million as its assests under management fell 3 per cent to £1.16trillion.
Chief executive Antonio Simoes said: ‘We are on course to achieve our five-year targets, and demonstrated resilience in challenging markets.’
Chancellor’s last throw of the dice: Hunt to hail turning point for economy in do-or-die Budget ahead of election
The economy has turned a corner.
That has been Jeremy Hunt’s mantra as Britain emerges from a downturn – and it is one that is likely to be repeated in today’s Budget.
Labour’s accusation, however, is that the Tories have crashed the economy.
In truth, Britain’s resilience has proved the most doom-laden forecasts wrong. Yet growth – at just 0.1 per cent in 2023 – has been nothing to shout about.
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BUSINESS LIVE: Spring Budget looms; L&G misses profit expectations; Capita to make extra cost savings
