Business

British budget airline EasyJet reported on Thursday its annual profit had fallen by more than a quarter. The company hinted that fares would continue to decline because of weak sterling. This is the first profit decline EasyJet has seen since 2009, showing its exposure to destinations hit by terrorism, like Egypt, Turkey and Paris and Nice in France. "The group says weaker sterling is making going abroad less affordable for the average Brit, while the rising threat of terrorism is putting customers off too. These are industry-wide factors. However, the competition is hotting up too," said George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. EasyJet’s stock has fallen 40 percent since the Brexit referendum in June. On Thursday, it was down over five percent.

British defense firm BAE Systems is in talks with Saudi Arabia over a multibillion pound arms contract. The UK has been one of the biggest weapons suppliers to the kingdom for over 40 years. BAE hopes the deal would be a step toward another contract with Riyadh for the Eurofighter Typhoon. The British firm has been in talks for over two years to sell 48 Typhoon combat aircraft to Saudi Arabia.

The prices of gold continued their slide on Thursday, following the biggest single-day drop in three years on October 4. Gold futures fell 0.1 percent at $1,265.80 an ounce as the US dollar strengthened and on concerns of a possible interest rates hike by the Federal Reserve that would push investors to exit their bullion holdings. “The dollar is steadily regaining some momentum across the currency markets and if US interest-rate expectations increase over the coming days, we can expect further losses for gold,” Jameel Ahmad, vice president of market research at FXTM was cited as saying by Marketwatch.com.

The Russian ruble extended its best performance among emerging market currencies as oil prices got a boost from OPEC's deal to cut production and weak US stockpile data. The Russian currency gained 0.4 percent trading at 62.38 rubles against the US dollar, as of 3:30pm MSK on Wednesday. The ruble has strengthened by over two percent over the last six sessions since the agreement by OPEC to limit crude supply. Brent crude, the benchmark used to price Russian oil, has surged 13 percent at the same time, trading at $51.82 per barrel, as of 12:30pm GMT on Wednesday.

Stocks in Europe traded lower on Wednesday as Bund and Treasury yields hit two-week highs following global monetary policy projections. Gold is up 0.4 percent at $1,274 an ounce and on track for its first gain in seven sessions. The British pound remained at 31-year lows. The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.9 percent as UK’s FTSE 100 declined 0.4 percent despite energy stocks being bolstered by rising oil prices. The December Brent crude contract is up 1.7 per cent to $51.75 a barrel on new data US crude reserves fell for the fifth straight week.

Moscow and Astana have agreed 27 draft economic projects worth over $4 billion. “A list of measures has been drafted for 2016-2017 to deepen bilateral trade. The joint action plan sets out 27 projects across a wide range of economic areas, worth over $4 billion,” said a statement released by the Kazakh National Economy Ministry. The step is expected to increase trade between the two countries by 5-11 percent in the medium-term. Moscow is currently exploring opportunities of to develop gas infrastructure in the Kazakh regions. Kazakh producers may participate in the Russia’s import-substitution projects.