Market Live Email
AB Foods to spin off Primark, Experian taps Adam Crozier for chairman
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 21 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 10.6 points higher ahead of the bell on Tuesday, after wrapping up the previous session 0.55% softer at 10,609.08.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Associated British Foods said on Tuesday that it planned to demerge its Primark retail business from its food operations after a review. The Weston family's Wittington Investments, ABF's largest shareholder, said it would retain maintaining majority ownership of both entities. The news came as ABF posted a 19% fall in adjusted pre-tax profits to £663m for the six months ended 28 February and held its outlook for the full year.
Data and technology firm Experian said on Tuesday that Adam Crozier would join the board as a non-executive director and chair designate on 12 May. Crozier, who currently serves as chair of BT and Kantar, will succeed Mike Rogers as chairman following the conclusion of Experian's annual general meeting on 22 July.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
The government has confirmed plans to move older wind and solar farms which make up almost a third of Great Britain's power market on to fixed-price contracts to help protect households and businesses from future gas market shocks. Under the plans, first revealed by the Guardian, renewable energy projects that earn subsidies on top of the market price will be asked to sign up to contracts that pay a set price for electricity as part of the government's plan to "delink the price of electricity from the price of gas". - Guardian
Emails released on Monday by California's attorney general show Amazon allegedly colluding with other companies to raise the prices of pet treats, khaki pants, eyedrops and other products sold online. According to a newly unsealed court filing released by attorney general Rob Bonta, Amazon employees have repeatedly worked with vendors using its platform to push retail vendors including Walmart and Chewy to set higher prices collectively. - Guardian
Poor households are in line to have their debts to energy suppliers paid down by taxpayers under plans being considered by Ed Miliband. The Energy Secretary is in talks to soften the blow of the Iran conflict on family fuel bills with public funds, industry sources said. The move is one option on the table as the Government grapples with ways to provide targeted support and avoid the costly blanket subsidies deployed in the Ukraine crisis. - Telegraph
The UK's fraud office is being sued for more than $167m (£125m) by a Kazakh mining company over a botched investigation that triggered years of legal wrangling. Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation opened a case in the High Court on Monday demanding compensation from the Serious Fraud Office for the "unnecessary" costs it faced from a decade-long inquiry. - Telegraph
Savers want the £402bn Local Government Pension Scheme to prioritise seeking the best returns over backing UK assets, according to a poll. Almost twice as many people favoured maximising the performance of pensions in the LGPS, one of the UK's largest pension schemes, over "mandated" domestic investments, the survey of 2,011 adults found. - The Times
The founder of Wise is among those backing a British producer of synthetic natural gas, which has raised £25m as it gears up to build the largest plant of its kind in Europe. Rivan already operates the UK's largest synthetic natural gas plant in the UK and is looking to scale up by opening a new manufacturing facility in south London, as well as accelerating its research and development to help bring down the cost in relation to fossil fuels. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed lower on Monday after tensions with Tehran escalated over the weekend following the seizure of an Iranian‑flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.01% at 49,442.86, while the S&P 500 shed 0.24% to 7,109.14 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.26% weaker at 24,404.39.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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