Gucci keeps European shares in the black
European shares made cautious gains on Monday, with
Gucci
-owner Kering leading the pack following a leadership change. The news helped to break a five-day losing streak as investors pivot from the conflict in the Middle East.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.4 per cent higher amid the developments.
Dublin
The Iseq All-Share index ended the session at 11,553.51, up 98.98 or 0.86 per cent on the previous close.
READ MORE
It was a mixed day for the banks, Bank of Ireland rose 1.25 per cent to €12.115, and AIB Group increased its share price to €7.01, up 1.08 per cent. Despite these rises, Permanent TSB Group was a sectoral drag, falling 1.05 per cent to €1.88.
Ryanair rose 1.85 per cent to €23.71, while fellow travel stock Irish Continental Group fell the furthest, down 1.50 per cent to €5.26.
It was a good day for insulation and building materials specialist, Kingspan Group, who saw strong gains – rising 1.77 per cent to a share price of €77.45.
Glanbia Plc fared well in trading on the day, ending up 1.04 per cent to €12.62, whereas Kerry Group fell €1.39 to €95.70.
London
London's benchmark FTSE 100 rose on Monday, coming within spitting distance of a record high, after global risk appetite was boosted by reports Iran was seeking a truce with Israel.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.3 per centat 8,875.22 points, and came within a couple of points of its intraday record high of 8,908.74 points on March 3. The midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.5 per cent.
Ladbrokes owner Entain jumped 15.3 per cent, the stock's biggest percentage gain since September 2021, after its US sports-betting joint venture, BetMGM, raised its annual revenue and core earnings forecast.
The travel and leisure subindex surged 3.3 per cent.
In London, Metro Bank Holdings hit a more than two-year high and led gains on the midcap index after a report of takeover approach from private equity firm Pollen Street Capital. Shares of the British lender were up 18.4 per cent
The precious metal miners' subindex fell the most among sectors, down 3 per cent tracking lower gold prices.
Europe
European shares climbed on Monday, recouping some of last week's losses as Kering soared after the luxury group announced a chief executive (CEO) change and investors shifted their focus from the conflict in the Middle East that drove a sell-off last week.
On a sectoral basis, Heavyweight banks were the biggest boost, advancing 1.9 per cent
Gucci parent Kering jumped 11.8 per cent, among the top percentage gainers on the STOXX after the luxury conglomerate said it was hiring Renault boss Luca de Meoas to be its new CEO, confirming reports from earlier in the day.
Shares of the French automaker closed 8.7 per cent lower. A separate report said Tokyo's Nissan planned to reduce its stake in Renault.
On the downside, healthcare stocks lagged as Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk fell 3.5 per cent.
New York
US stock indexes had risen in midafternoon trading on Monday as oil prices fell after the Israel-Iran attacks left crude production and exports unaffected, allaying investor concerns in advance of a central bank policy meeting.
Crude prices retreated more than 3 per cent on reports that Iran is seeking an end to hostilities with Israel, raising the possibility of a truce and easing fears of a disruption to crude supplies from the region. Oil prices surged more than 7 per cent on Friday after Israel began bombing Iran.
Most megacap and growth stocks rose. Meta advanced after announcing on plans to roll out new WhatsApp updates over the next few months and Nvidia was also up.
UPS and FedEx edged up after the Trump Organisation launched a self-branded mobile network, dubbed Trump Mobile, and named the companies as shipping partners.
Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics plunged nearly half after the company disclosed a second case of a patient dying due to acute liver failure after receiving its gene therapy for a rare form of muscular dystrophy.
US Steel rose significantly after Trump approved Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion (€12.8 billion) bid for the company.
Cisco gained after Deutsche Bank upgraded the communications equipment maker to 'buy' from 'hold'.– Additional reporting, Reuters, PA.
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Irish Times
10 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 17th: On EU and defence, the UN and cadaver dogs
Sir, – Your contributor Patrick Smyth in an opinion piece (' Ireland will have to commit substantial funds to arms procurement whether it approves or not, ' June 14th) makes some thought-provoking observations about EU defence preparedness. Smyth's article is based in part on his attendance at a fascinating debate on EU defence hosted by the Irish Institute of European Affairs (IIEA) last week. I also had the privilege of attending the event and a private lunch that preceded the public debate. At the lunch I participated in what was a very insightful off-the-record exchange of views with some of Ireland's leading defence and security experts. Unlike Smyth, however, I do not share some of the a priori assumptions contained within his opinion piece. He reiterates a number of received views about the status of Russia's military threat to the EU and 'former Soviet states' – many of whom are members of Nato. Smyth writes: 'Russia . . . has been massively expanding its military-industrial production capacity with an estimated spending in 2024 of 40 per cent of the federal budget and up to 9 per cent of its GDP'. READ MORE It is worth bearing in mind that Russia has a GDP of approximately $2.4 trillion – roughly that of Spain, give or take a few hundred billion. The combined GDP of the EU is over 10 times that of Russia. The EU White Paper on Defence Preparedness 2025 sets out the manner in which the EU must harness some of this GDP to address capability gaps in our collective defence and security. Specifically, it sets a spending target of ¤800 billion on weapon systems in support of the EU's 'Re-arm Europe' plan. Frankly speaking, the EU and its Nato members dwarf Russia's economic and military capabilities. Vladimir Putin has failed – spectacularly – to achieve his military goals in Ukraine thanks to the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people. If Russia fully mobilises its armed forces and places its economy on a full war-footing, it will fail and will ultimately collapse – as its Soviet predecessor did in the 1980s. Putin's criminal regime is undoubtedly at war with the EU and all of its member states, including Ireland. It is engaged in full spectrum combat operations in its invasion of Ukraine and in asymmetrical 'grey zone' operations throughout the EU. Despite this existential threat, I do not see any evidence to suggest that Russia has the military capability to carry out a successful ground invasion of a Nato state by 2029 as was asserted at the IIEA debate. In my professional and intellectual formation as a professional soldier, academic and security analyst for over 35 years, I am inclined to look for evidence-based data to inform my views – subjective as they are. Smyth is right to welcome the current debate on defence and security and the requirement for it to 'expand beyond Dáil Éireann's narrow confines'. However, I believe very strongly that we should avoid a generalised 'moral panic' and 'group-think' about the full spectrum of security threats that confront us. These include, but are not confined to, Putin's criminal aggression, along with global geopolitical and climate crisis. Europe armed itself twice in the 20th century with catastrophic results. While I accept that we need to invest in deterrence, I am fearful of a growing clamour for an offensive posture within Europe – from a collective of voices who for the most part have zero experience of armed conflict themselves. In the context of the current debate on our triple lock mechanism and its intimate linkage to our militarily non-aligned neutral status, I believe Ireland has a solemn duty to speak truth to power within the EU on the many unquestioned assumptions and myths about the real threats that confront us as a political, economic and social union. As was the case during the so-called Celtic Tiger years and the catastrophic clamour for austerity measures that followed it, we need to be very careful not to collaborate with and extend authoritarian and paternalistic narratives that have led Europe to calamitous outcomes in the past. – Yours, etc, Dr TOM CLONAN, Captain (Retired) Independent Senator, Leinster House, Dublin 2. Sir, – Patrick Smyth says, 'as Europe rearms at speed, Ireland cannot stand on the sidelines'. Surely, we all have to, as the alternative is an insane leap-frogging build-up of mutually destructive armaments. The article itself speaks of a '. . . real fear that the EU itself is existentially threatened'. This is the language of the cold war, a raising of tensions that will make EU citizens believe that there is no alternative but to heavily re-militarise. Thankfully, there is an alternative to the military solution, and Ireland is very well placed to advance it. The United States, which US professor and intellectual Noam Chomsky describes as a rogue state, and autocratic Russia, which is, arguably, another rogue state, are between them responsible for two of the most violent and destructive conflicts ravishing the world at present, one as combatant, the other as supplier of armaments. Those two states (in common with the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council) hold vetoes that make them virtually unaccountable to anyone or anything, except their own self interests. Ireland needs to, with the support of other like-minded nations, withdraw the security council vetoes held by those countries. There are those who will claim that the big powers will never give up those vetoes. However, they are not substantive. Paradoxically, this might be a highly propitious time to proceed with this, as there is a glimmer of evidence of war-weariness in both of those countries, a growing awareness that there might be a better means to achieve objectives than the military one (In war, the only winners are the arms dealers). If they fail to see that conflicts can be better resolved by peaceful negotiation, if they attempt to continue in their rogue roles, let the rest of the world proceed without them. The UN is not working, because it is not allowed to. Chomsky's word 'rogue' is designedly politic. 'Cowboy' might be another. They are members of the UN but resolutely refuse to be held accountable to the international body of nations. Ireland and the many other peace-loving countries can bring moral pressure on them to fully commit to the UN. Beyond that there is the growing realisation that general prosperity comes from peace, not war. If we need evidence of that, we need only to look at the bloody history of Europe and the great benefits flowing from the creation of the EU. The alternatives are a ruinously expensive stockpiling of arms, which, at best, will rot away in bunkers and, at worst, result in mutual annihilation. Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has demanded that Europe sort out its own defence issues. Not that Europe should need permission from the US. Let the EU do that. Let it follow the advice given by Prof Jeffrey Sachs to the EU parliamentthat the EU negotiate directly with Russia – one European superpower with another – to find conditions for an immediate ceasefire and an enduring solution to the Russian Ukrainian war. The EU was able to create peace between age old adversaries, let it now forge the conditions for enduring peace with Russia. – Yours, etc, JOHN O'RIORDAN, Dalkey, Co Dublin. Ireland, the UN and the triple lock Sir, – Taoiseach Micheál Martin is absolutely correct when he states that the role and international standing of the United Nations is being 'eroded'. In fact, the institutions of the UN are currently under grave threat on many fronts. Mr Martin goes on to assure us that 'this is a matter of deep concern' for his Government (' Taoiseach says UN being eroded, calls for world powers to de-escalate Iran-Israel conflict ,' June 14th). His point is well made, but why then choose this juncture to remove the UN element of the triple-lock mechanism for deploying Irish troops abroad? This means a distancing of Ireland from the peacekeeping structures of the UN and is hardly a vote of confidence in that body. On the contrary, this move arguably undermines the reputation of the UN as an international peacekeeper. The UN Security Council is undoubtedly a flawed institution – particularly because of its permanent members – but the Government here should surely be arguing for deep reform within the UN and a greater role for the general assembly. Instead, this fiddling with the triple lock appears to be about decoupling Irish Army deployment abroad from the UN and moving towards a closer relationship with emerging EU military structures. It is difficult to square this with the Taoiseach's commendable remarks on the need for us to support the key role of the UN as a multilateral institution. – Yours, etc, FINTAN LANE, Lucan, Co Dublin. Trump's birthday parade Sir, – Did the US army deliberately snub Trump by their out of sync marching on the big celebration? It looked more like soldiers our for a dander than a military march. It reminded me of the tale of the proud mother watching a parade of soldiers passing who declared 'there they go, and they're all out of step except my Johnny'. – Yours, etc , EOGHAN Mac CORMAIC, Cill Chríost, Gaillimh. Sir, – Did more people march in President Trump's birthday parade than watch it live? – Yours, etc, DENNIS FITZGERALD, Melbourne, Australia. Sir, – It is perhaps appropriate that the protest campaign against the presidential rule of Donald Trump is organised by a 'No King' coalition. The last king of the American colonies was King George III, who once said: 'A traitor is everyone who does not agree with me'. – Yours, etc, DERMOT O'ROURKE, Lucan, Dublin. Government and housing Sir, – It may be a harsh judgment but there is no doubt that the blame for the dysfunctional rental market in Ireland can be laid squarely on the shoulders of past and present governments and not on the private landlords. Their failure for many years to get the local authorities to build social houses in any great numbers has resulted in the State being now the biggest player, indirectly through the housing assistance payment (Hap), and, directly, in the private rental market. Using a sporting analogy for an extremely serious and sad situation, we now have a scenario where the State, as both player and referee, has decided that the only solution is to issue yellow and red cards to landlords in the form of rent controls. The disappearance of the private landlords off the pitch will undoubtedly make matters much worse and may well prove, courtesy of a biased referee, to be a major own-goal by the State. – Yours, etc , CHARLES SMYTH, Kells, Co Meath. Recruiting cadaver dogs Sir, – I see a cadaver dog is required again by gardaí to assist in the search for the remains of Annie McCarrick. That's twice now in a matter of months a cadaver dog was required. The training of these dogs is not arduous and it is relatively inexpensive. A few thousand euro at the outset and after that the normal cost of dog food and veterinary bills. It is outrageous that funding cannot be found to train even one dog given the difference it might make to one grieving family. I cannot accept the State funding of the greyhound industry to the tune of ¤20 million a year, an industry where thousands of dogs are culled annually because they can not run fast enough. Yet a dog needed to assist families who have lost a loved one through tragic circumstances is considered 'unnecessary'. It is time to get our priorities right. – Yours, etc, JOAN BURGESS, Cork. Sir, – If An Garda Síochána acquires a cadaver dog, will it be the Office of Public Works's responsibility to provide its kennel? – Yours, etc, DERMOT MADDEN, Meelick, Co Clare. Getting to grips with Ulysses Sir, – In reply to the letters regarding the difficulty of reading/finishing Ulysses, I found a marvellous book in Ballsbridge library, Dublin: Ulysses Annotated by Don Gifford. It has excellent explanatory notes at the bottom of each page, making the book much more accessible for everybody. Worked for me! – Yours, etc, GENA LYNAM, Sandymount, Dublin. Sir, – Tackling James Joyce's Ulysses proved a worthwhile exercise when I came across my great-grandfather Michael 'Micky' Hanlon of whom Mr Joyce was clearly no fan ('ignorant as a kish of brogues'). As I have little account of the true character of this Moore Street fishmonger, I wonder if any of your readers would be able to add some meat to these discarded fish bones? – Yours, etc, HUGH McDONNELL, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Residential options for all Sir – The call for better residential options for younger people with disability by Parkinson's Disease Ireland (Letters, June 14th) should prompt consideration of better joint working and advocacy across all ages. Otherwise, a key risk is promoting a tolerance for lesser conditions for certain groups, such as older people. This was a notable failure of the Ombudsman's report on younger people in nursing homes, Wasted Lives, which completely ignored the fact that the loss of choice and independence noted extended also to the more than 20,000 older residents of nursing homes. Advancing new thinking on nursing home care, such as the household (Teaghlach) model of small domestically configured units, configured in moderate sized collections, located near the communities where residents formerly lived, needs forceful and unified advocacy. Policymakers tend to avoid action where they detect divisions between related but differing advocacy groups. It would therefore be preferable that organisations such as Parkinson's Disease Ireland would join with other advocacy groups, such as Care Champions, Age Action, ALONE and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, to promote a joint position on nursing home care design, policy and service provision which delivers dignified care while promoting independence, choice and flourishing. – Yours, etc, Prof DESMOND O'NEILL, Consultant physician in geriatric medicine, Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Peter McVerry Trust tells PAC it will not attend hearing
The Peter McVerry Trust has again rejected a request to appear before a powerful Dáil committee for a public hearing on its €15 million State bailout. The Committee of Public Accounts (PAC) had asked the charity to attend Leinster House on Thursday to discuss a report on its financial troubles by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), the spending watchdog. The meeting comes after serious governance failings by the trust came to light in investigations by two State regulators. This is the trust's second such refusal. It declined to attend the PAC in early 2024 because investigations were ongoing. READ MORE The charity established by Jesuit priest Fr Peter McVerry received just over €140 million from State sources between 2019 and 2022, the last year for which figures are available. [ Dublin hotel bought for €6.24m by McVerry Trust vacant since 2022 Opens in new window ] Responding to questions, the trust said it was not 'at this time' in a position to attend the PAC and still awaited completion of financial accounts for 2023. The C&AG report found the trust wanted the State to fully fund its services in the future. The previous financial model assumed 70 per cent State income and 30 per cent from fundraising. The report also said the Department of Housing had incurred €1.56 million in costs for 'professional fees' in relation to the McVerry trust. Such spending was in addition to the €15 million rescue package. In a letter to the PAC, the McVerry charity said the comptroller's document was 'accurate and the committee can be assured that the trust has nothing to add to it at this stage'. The charity was 'deeply appreciative' of financial support from the department and other funders, it said. Fine Gael TD James Geoghegan , a PAC member, said the refusal to attend was not acceptable, adding that the trust should reconsider. 'The reasons previously given for not attending the PAC committee was because of outstanding investigations which are now complete,' he said. 'Now the explanation is that they have nothing further to add, but this could have been an opportunity to help rebuild trust.' Asked about its refusal to attend, the trust held out the prospect of a PAC appearance when the 2023 accounts are released. 'Once these audited accounts are available, they will be published and we will share relevant information with our stakeholders and the public as appropriate, including making representatives available for the appropriate Oireachtas committee in due course,' it said. 'We remain fully committed to the ongoing reform and restructuring within our organisation. We continue to work intensively with our funders and regulators to ensure full regulatory compliance and to secure long-term financial sustainability.'
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Ex-HSE chief Paul Reid to become chair of new planning authority
Former HSE chief executive Paul Reid is set to become chairman of the new planning authority that will replace An Bord Pleanála. Mr Reid will chair the board of An Coimisiún Pleanála when it is established formally by Minister for Housing James Browne, it is understood. A former senior civil servant and head of Fingal County Council, Mr Reid took command of the HSE in 2019 in the months before the first coronavirus outbreak. He became a household name during pandemic lockdowns and the Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Mr Reid stood down in late 2022, saying the HSE was entering a new phase as the pandemic threat eased. [ Pat Leahy: Housing emergency? Ireland is not even acting at the level of mildly urgent Opens in new window ] Mr Browne is expected to set out Mr Reid's appointment in an information memorandum to the Cabinet. READ MORE Legislation was enacted last year to overhaul planning and replace An Bord Pleanála with An Coimisiún Pleanála. In a bid to speed up the planning process, the new body will be subject to statutory mandatory timelines for planning decisions.
