Good morning.
The owner of British Airways has returned to profit, even as delays and cancellations caused misery for British tourists.
IAG posted an operating profit of €293m (£245m) in the three months to the end of June, up from a loss of almost €1bn in the same period last year and above expectations.
The group has benefited from a pick-up in demand after the pandemic, as well as higher ticket prices. But flights have also been canceled for thousands of passengers, who have often faced long delays at airports due to understaffing.
IAG said a cap on passenger numbers at Heathrow would limit capacity to 80% of pre-Covid levels over the summer and 85% in the fourth quarter, a 5% reduction from previous guidance .
5 things to start the day
1) Defense companies revitalized by war in Ukraine BAE Systems expects a flood of new orders from countries preparing for a return to industrial warfare
2) China’s fleet of ‘dark’ oil tankers take Russian crude at sea Ships are turning off their tracking signals to transfer Russian oil in the mid-Atlantic
3) Amazon warns of hiring slowdown after second straight loss Jeff Bezos’ fortune rises by $14 billion as shares rise
4) No new homes in west London as electricity grid runs out of capacity Housebuilders have been told it could take until 2035 to connect new developments to the grid.
5) Lord Cruddas’ wealth falls by £100m as CMC crashes 20% The company says a weak pound and unfavorable exchange rates are to blame.
What happened during the night
Asian shares followed a late rally on Wall Street as markets focused on a possible slowdown in the pace of rate hikes rather than a US recession after data showed its economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter.
The broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei share average opened up 0.4%, while the Seoul index and Australia’s index opened up 0.75% and 0.76% respectively.
China did not mention its full-year GDP growth target after a high-level meeting of the Communist Party and said it will strive for the best possible results for the economy this year .
It arrives today
- Corporate: AstraZeneca, Croda International, IMI, IAG, Intertek, Jupiter Fund Management, Morgan Advanced Materials, NatWest, Rightmove, Standard Chartered (interim); Glencore (business update)
- Economy: GDP (EU), Inflation (EU), Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (US), Chicago PMI (US), Michigan Consumer Sentiment (US), National House Price Index (UK)