Crypto News: The London Rush: Power Brands to the rescue

Morning, I'm Louise Moon from Bloomberg UK's breaking news team, bringing you up to speed on today's top business stories.

What links together Dove soap, Comfort detergent and Magnum ice-cream? Not just daily essentials, the household names dubbed 'Power Brands' by parent Unilever, helped boost the company's sales to beat expectations over the past quarter. Shares popped 3% in early trading.

That bodes well for a consumer goods giant that has been trying to reinvent itself to, essentially, do less and do it better. As part of sweeping plans, a separation of its ice-cream unit is due to happen by the end of 2025 and 7,500 jobs will be shed globally.

It is also a move to volume-led, not price-led growth, after a stretch of high inflation. Pricing growth continues to be a weak point for the dual-listed company, moderating to just a slight rise in the quarter.

Good news, then, for the daily ice cream eaters among us.

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.

Barclays slightly bumped its net interest margin guidance, as hedges provide protection from falling interest rates. The bank's third quarter pre-tax profit beat estimates.

Miner Anglo American is considering more cuts to diamond production in De Beers as demand from China and excess supply has led to a slump in prices. Shares were up 3%.

Applied Nutrition priced its IPO at 140 pence per share, near the bottom of the range, raising £157.5 million for the protein powder marker. Shares are up about 6% in early trading. PS: Tune into our chat with founder Thomas Ryder at 9:40am on Bloomberg radio.

Frasers stepping away from its attempt to buy Mulberry yesterday hasn't stopped it ramping up pressure on another company it has significant stake in: Boohoo. In an open letter, the parent company requested Mike Ashley be named CEO of the struggling fast fashion brand.

Trump and Harris are locked in a dead heat, just two weeks out of the US election.
Elon Musk's Tesla delivers a blowout quarter and lays out bold ambitions for 2025.
Billionaire Australian CEO steps down after alleged sex-for-investment scandal.

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

Forgive us for writing about the UK housing market again. What can we do? We are British after all, so it's that or the weather most of the time. Signs of life have been emerging in the housing industry. But it's a rising tide that will lift different boats at different times, depending on where they sit in the sector's ecosystem.

Estate agent Foxtons has reported a jump in sales revenue for example, because a pickup in activity quickly feeds into that sector. Homebuilders have been saying that things are slowly recovering, and they are benefiting somewhat from better sentiment, though it'll take longer to show up than for estate agents.

But Travis Perkins, the builders' merchant which provides products to those homebuilders, has issued a profit warning. It said that while a recovery is likely to emerge, it won't benefit until the second half of next year.

So the housing industry is getting better, but don't expect everyone to benefit at the same time.

— Sam Unsted

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

NatWest's net interest margin is also expected to have benefited from structural hedges, much like Lloyds and Barclays. The outlook for mortgages as loan demand grows will be scrutinised, analysts say, while shareholder return plans will also be in focus.

Hi, it's Kate from Pursuits. The just-released World's 50 Best Bars list has London down as one of the best cities for cocktails. Here's our favourites:

Tayēr + Elementary, Shoreditch

Ranked no. 4 globally, Monica Berg and Alex Kratena's sensational bar is divided into two. The street-facing glass-windowed Elementary has high end frozen drinks and one-sip martinis. The more ambitious, hidden Tayer is by appointment only.

Tayer + Elementary One Sip Martini Source: Tayer + Elementary

Satan's Whiskers, Bethnal Green

At no. 29, this groovy North London bar features low lighting and taxidermy, alongside notably low prices at around £12. The menu changes daily but is focused on perfectly executed classics. It stays open until "late" Sunday through Thursday, and even later on the weekends.

Scarfes Bar, Holborn

Set inside the Rosewood hotel, this swanky, clubby bar comes in at no. 37. Between marble walls decorated with caricatures from its namesake artist, sip tongue-in-cheeks drinks like Smoky Maria: a mixture of silver tequila, sherry, smoked clamato juice and yes, marmite.

Heathrow cited two reasons for a boost in passengers this year. Sport travel (namely from the Olympics), and what else?

[Yesterday's answer: Europe's biggest stock-trading hub in September was in Amsterdam, coming in ahead of London.]

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