Ryanair’s optimistic outlook for the summer season could spell good news for the aviation and holiday industry more broadly, indicating that people aren’t putting foreign holidays on the chopping block as finances tighten. The airline, however, may have benefited from holiday-goers putting rock-bottom prices above all else, meaning more expensive competitors could face an uphill battle — and even Ryanair isn’t averse to raising fares.

Here’s the key business news from London this morning:

In The City

Ryanair Holdings Plc: Europe’s largest discount airline expects strong demand in the peak summer season to drive a 10% increase in passenger numbers and a “modest year-on-year” increase in net income in its fiscal year as travelers return to flying after the pandemic.

• Ryanair will hit its goal of transporting 185 million passengers this year, even after cautioning that the number might be slightly lower because of delays at Boeing Co., the sole supplier of its aircraft, CFO Neil Sorahan said in an interview
• The company reported a consensus-beating adjusted profit after tax of €1.43 billion for the year ended in March

NatWest Group Plc: The British bank agreed to buy back £1.26 billion of its own shares from the UK government, as the Treasury continues to sell down its stake after a bailout during the financial crisis over a decade ago.

• The deal represents about 5% of NatWest shares, and brings the state’s stake down to just under 39%

Wise Plc: Matthew Briers, the CFO of the international payments company, will step down from his role by March next year to focus on making a full recovery from an accident he had last year.

• CEO Kristo Käärmann said he’ll “always be grateful” that Briers “decided to jump on and build this rocket ship with us,” adding that he joined the company when it was losing money

UK House Prices: UK homebuilder stocks including Persimmon Plc, Barrat Developments Plc, Berkeley Group Holdings Plc and Redrow Plc may be active on Monday after the price of houses put up for sale climbed at the fastest pace in a year in May.

• Online property site Rightmove said average asking prices jumped 1.8%, hitting a record high of £372,894, as buyers were enticed back by a resilient economy and stabilizing mortgage rates

In Westminster

Rishi Sunak arrives back from the Group of Seven summit in Japan facing yet another cabinet scandal and Conservative Party finger-pointing over soaring migration numbers. At the center of both issues is Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who has come under fire for her handling of a speeding ticket last year.

Meanwhile, Sunak’s government plans to increase scrutiny of financial industry regulators as it attempts to accelerate growth in the sector, according to a Times of London report. The Treasury will table an amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Bill this week, that would boost the powers of the commissioner who handles complaints about the Financial Conduct Authority as well as the Payments Systems Regulator and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, the newspaper said.

Vintage blends. The government announced plans to scrap European Union regulations on wine production following Brexit, allowing makers to pick from a wider range of vines and create new blends. Other measures include scrapping a requirement that certain sparkling wines must have foil caps and ‘mushroom stoppers,’ the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said. Producers will also be allowed to sell piquette, a beverage produced by fermenting the leftover skins, seeds, and stems of grapes.

In Case You Missed It

Central banks and governments co-ordinated to press banks to manipulate the Libor and Euribor benchmark interest rates at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, the Times reported.

In October 2008, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, along with three European national central banks and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, intervened in the setting of Libor and Euribor, according to a book by BBC Economics Correspondent Andy Verity that’s being serialized in the newspaper. The Bank of England called the claims “unsubstantiated,” according to the Times.

Law firms Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling are set to merge, creating a massive new competitor in the legal industry. The firms have reached an agreement to merge, pending approval by partners at each firm, they said on Sunday. The new combined entity—Allen Overy Shearman Sterling—will have more than 3,900 lawyers worldwide.

UK fintech Revolut is sparring with its top shareholder SoftBank, after regulators said it needed to simplify its ownership to win a long-delayed banking license, the FT reported. Softbank is asking for compensation for giving up its priority class of shares, a condition set by the Bank of England for granting the license, the FT said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Looking Ahead

Meat supplier Cranswick Plc and rail and airport caterer SSP Group Plc are due to report earnings tomorrow. SSP’s tilt towards rail in the first half and industrial action means any major sales upside is more likely in the last six months of the year, Bloomberg Intelligence predicts. With air-passenger bookings looking strong and Asia-Pacific’s recovery gathering pace, the margin challenge will be to keep costs under control.

May PMI data tomorrow will help gauge whether stronger underlying growth in the early part of 2023 is carrying over into the second quarter, while the CPI print for April on Wednesday may provide the first concrete signs that inflation is starting to ease.

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