BT Group shares slip after Labour vows to partially nationalize telecom provider

Shares of BT Group PLC BT.A, -0.17% fell as much as 3.6% on Friday before recouping losses after the U.K. Labour Party said it plans to partially nationalize the telecommunications provider if it wins the Dec. 12 General Election. The remarks came from an excerpt of a speech planned for Friday by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Labour wants to bring parts of BT’s digital into public ownership in order to bring "fast and free fiber-broadband" internet for all, starting with regions that have the worst broadband access. The plan will be paid for through Labour’s Green Transformation fund and by taxing U.S. multinational corporations Amazon AMZN, +0.08%, Facebook FB, -0.02% and Alphabet parent Google GOOGL, +1.00%, the speech said. Those companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "It should be a top political priority to super-charge the roll-out of full fibre broadband and 5G right across the U.K. so we can build the digital economy of the future. Whatever the result of the election, we’d encourage the next Government to work with all parts of the industry to achieve that. It’s a national mission that’s bigger than any one company," said BT in a statement.

A.P. Møller – Mærsk Reports Profit From Cont. Ops. In Q3; Revenue Down 0.9%

A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S (AMKAF.PK,AMKBF.PK) reported third-quarter profit from continuing operations of $520 million compared to a loss of $173 million, last year. EBITDA increased by 14 percent to $1.7 billion, reflecting an EBITDA margin of 16.5 percent compared to 14.3 percent. Underlying profit for continuing operations after financial items and tax was $452 million compared to $188 million. The company noted that the financials are materially impacted by the implementation of IFRS 16.

Third-quarter revenue decreased by 0.9 percent to $10.1 billion, as the increase in Logistics & Services and Terminals & Towage with Ocean on par was offset by a decline in Manufacturing & Others.

For 2019, A.P. Moller – Maersk expects EBITDA in the range of $5.4-$5.8 billion from previously around $5.0 billion.

Bharti Airtel reports $3.2 billion loss

Bharti Airtel Ltd. (532454.BY) posted a net loss of 230.45 billion rupees ($3.20 billion) in the second quarter as the company made provisions for payments it expects to pay to the Indian government.

Consolidated revenue during the July-September quarter came in at INR211.99 billion, from INR202.30 billion in the same period last year, said Bharti, one of India’s largest telecom-services provider, on late Thursday.

Bharti said it is making a provision of INR284.50 billion to pay overdue levies and interests to the government following the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling last month on a dispute over licensing fees.

"The management is reviewing its options and remedies available, including but not limited to filing petitions before the Supreme Court," the company said, adding that it will also seek relief from the government.

Write to P.R. Venkat at [email protected]

Calif. school shooting, ex-ambassador’s testimony and ‘Jeopardy!’: 5 things to know Friday

Calif. school district cancels classes after mass shooting

The entire William S. Hart Union High School District in Southern California cancelled classes Friday as a result of a mass shooting at one of its schools. Two students were killed and four more injured – including the gunman – in a 16-second shooting rampage Thursday at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, authorities said. The suspect, who was a student at the school, was taken into custody and treated at a hospital, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. He described the suspect as a male student whose 16th birthday was Thursday and added that the student was in “grave” condition after shooting himself in the head. Neighbors and classmates were surprised to hear the identity of the suspect and described the boy as pleasant. They also noted that he was changed by the death of his father two years ago. Classmates have identified the boy to USA TODAY, although law enforcement has yet to name him.

• More on the area: What you need to know about Santa Clarita, California
• “He doesn’t seem like the kind of kid to do this’: Classmates, neighbors surprised by suspect’s identity
• “Preparing for the worst”:Students made an active shooter video. Two months later, they took shelter in fear

Oil Prices Fall In Choppy Trade

Oil prices edged lower in choppy trade on Friday after an unexpected increase in crude inventories. The downside, however, remained capped by optimism over OPEC supply cuts and positive signals about U.S.-China trade talks.

Benchmark Brent crude dropped 0.65 percent to $61.88 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 0.45 percent at $56.52 a barrel.

Data released by the Energy Information Administration on Thursday showed that oil inventories in the U.S. increased by 2.2 million barrels in the week ended November 8, exceeding the 1.649 million-barrel rise forecast by analysts.

Gasoline inventories were up by nearly 1.9 million barrels in the week while distillate stockpiles dropped by larger than expected about 2.5 million barrels.

On the positive side, OPEC’s forecast for oil demand next year fueled hopes that the producer group and allies might have to deepen their supply cuts at their December meeting.

Fresh hopes of a trade deal between Washington and Beijing turned risk assets higher today after White House economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow told reporters the U.S. and China are getting close to a ‘phase one’ agreement on trade.

He cited ‘very good progress’ but added President Donald Trump isn’t ready to make a commitment.

Investors also welcomed a goodwill gesture by China lifting a nearly five-year ban on imports of U.S. poultry meat, a move that could lead to more than $1 billion in annual shipments to China.