Crypto News: The London Rush: The City's Friday feeling

Hi, I'm Louise from Bloomberg UK's breaking news team, catching you up on this morning's business stories.

The Square Mile has a reason to cheer this Friday, with silver linings ahead.

Ebury, the British payments group, and Shein, the Singapore-headquartered fast fashion retailer, are both setting up meetings with investors for potential IPOs in London.

The former, backed by Santander, could be valued at as much as £2 billion, and the latter at £50 billion. Totally different scales and industries, but it points to a growing theme: hope for a revival in London's stock market.

The City has long been grappling with a dearth of listings and a string of defections to New York and continental Europe. Just eight companies have raised $774 million in UK IPOs this year.

While there is a way to go, executives are somewhat reassured by the performance of Raspberry Pi since it debuted for £166 million in June — London's most notable float so far this year. Regulatory reforms are also playing a part.

And more may join the pack, including Liverpool-based maker of sports supplements Applied Nutrition. Just the boost the market needs.

What's your take? Ping me on X, LinkedIn or drop me an email at lmoon13@bloomberg.net. Oh, and do subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted business journalism on the UK, and beyond.

JD Wetherspoon full year profits beat estimates but, in what feels like groundhog day, chairman Tim Martin is still worried about further lockdowns. The pub chain also reinstated its dividend — cheers to that. Markets Today's Sam Unsted pours over (geddit?) Martin's meandering musings below.

Carmakers are revving up electric-vehicle discounts in an unsustainable fashion, on track to offer £2 billion in cuts this year, yet are falling far short of government-mandated sales targets.

Watches of Switzerland is buying New York-based luxury watch website Hodinkee, helping its expansion into the US and online.

To tackle the slump in a different kind of luxury deal, home sellers in affluent postcodes like Kensington and Chelsea are leaning on the lure of local aristocratic landowners to tempt rich buyers. Jolly good.

Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

Israel bombs Hezbollah in Beirut as G-7 nations urge restraint.
7-Eleven owner approaches buyers in sale that could fetch $2.9 billion.
US dockworkers to start clearing cargo backlog as strike paused until Jan.

Here's your daily snap analysis from Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog:

JD Wetherspoon results always contain a wealth of opining on various issues impacting the pub industry. The set released today is no different, touching on lockdowns, press inaccuracies and various tax issues.

The latter is the most interesting as these results landed at the start of a month that will end with Labour's first budget. The hospitality industry always has asks around business rates and duty relief, and those are all present and correct in today's statement.

There are also two recently raised issues, not likely to appear in the budget, that are addressed: curtailing licensing hours and reducing the standard size of drinks to schooners, or two-thirds of a pint. Both, Wetherspoon argues, would primarily have the impact of increasing the amount of alcohol consumed at home rather than in pubs, as opposed to reducing the overall amount of booze that Brits drink.

It also points out that products sold in pubs have changed significantly in recent years. Its highest-selling draft product is Pepsi, and volumes of coffee and tea are double that.

Plenty of fuel for debate on a Friday night sat in a pub, then, whether you're drinking pints, schooners or just having a cup of tea.

— Sam Unsted

Check Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog for updates all day.

Shell is updating the market on Monday, Imperial Brands is due on Tuesday and Hays on Friday.

For eco data, RICS house prices come on Thursday and August GDP figures will close the week out.

Before you reach for that Friday watermelon ice, do you know how many adults in England are estimated to have started vaping despite never having been regular smokers?

Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

[Yesterday's answer: Starling Bank was fined £29 million by regulators this week for "shockingly lax" controls against financial crime.]

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