Novo Nordisk shares pop on reports of activist investor stake<\/p>\n
Shares of Novo Nordisk<\/a> climbed 3.3% following reports that activist hedge fund Parvus Asset Management is building a stake in the Danish pharmaceutical giant in a bid to influence the appointment of its new CEO.<\/p>\n The move was reported<\/a> Monday by the Financial Times, citing sources with knowledge of the details.<\/p>\n Obesity drug maker Novo Nordisk last month ousted its longstanding CEO Lars Fruergaard J\u00f8rgensen as increased competition has weighed heavily on U.S. sales of its blockbuster Wegovy drug.<\/p>\n Neither Novo Nordisk nor London-based Parvus immediately responded to CNBC’s request for comment.<\/p>\n \u2014 Karen Gilchrist<\/p>\n Defense stocks fall ahead of more U.S.-China trade talks<\/p>\n A Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicle on Nov. 20, 2024, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.<\/p>\n Yan Dobronosov | Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images<\/p>\n European defense stocks are notching broad falls this morning, with the regional Stoxx Aerospace and Defense index extending losses to trade 0.8% lower.<\/p>\n That puts the index on course for its third consecutive day of declines.<\/p>\n Investors are monitoring U.S.-China trade talks<\/a>, which are set to continue in London on Tuesday. At the center of the talks are critical minerals, on which China imposed export restrictions <\/a>in April, in response to U.S. tariffs on Chinese exports.<\/p>\n Rare earth minerals are critical<\/a> for the production of weaponry and other defense technologies.<\/p>\n German defense giant Rheinmetall<\/a> was last seen trading 3.4% lower, while Germany’s Renk<\/a> and Hensoldt<\/a> were down 8% and 3.1%, respectively.<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n European stocks see mixed open<\/p>\n It’s 10 minutes since the opening bell, and European shares are in mixed territory.<\/p>\n The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last seen trading flat. London’s FTSE 100<\/a> was up 0.4%, while the German DAX<\/a> index was down by 0.2%. France’s CAC 40<\/a> was last marginally higher.<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n Sterling falls after UK labor market update<\/p>\n The British pound is currently down 0.5% against the U.S. dollar, trading at around $1.35.<\/p>\n Sterling has gained so 7.8% against the greenback so far this year.<\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n Cooling labor market could speed up Bank of England rate cuts, economists say<\/p>\n Workers cross a junction near the Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, UK, on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n Hiring appetite is weakening in Britain, according to Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed.<\/p>\n Reacting to the ONS’ data release, Kennedy pointed to government policies<\/a> including a minimum wage hike, a raft of new worker protections<\/a>, and the rising tax burden on employers, as dampening businesses’ willingness to take on staff.<\/p>\n “The labour market [is] one characterised by widespread caution, with the dampening impact of April’s rise in employer costs reinforced by global headwinds and uncertainty over the Workers’ Rights Bill,” he said.<\/p>\n “The sharper than expected falls in wage growth and payrolled employment suggest a more material pace of cooling may be starting to emerge, which could open the door to a faster pace of interest rate cuts from the Bank of England.”<\/p>\n Ruth Gregory, deputy chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics, agreed.<\/p>\n “With payrolls falling, the unemployment rate climbing and wage growth easing, today’s labour market release leaves us more confident in our view that the Bank of England will cut interest rates further than investors expect, to 3.50% next year,” she said.<\/p>\n Markets are currently not pricing in such a steep reduction in the central bank’s key interest rate, according to LSEG data. According to the data, analysts are overwhelmingly expecting the Bank of England to hold rates steady at 4.25% at its next meeting later this month.<\/p>\n “The jobs market is not collapsing,” Gregory stressed. “Indeed, there hasn’t been a big rise in the LFS redundancy rate or HR1 notifications (which firms are required to complete if the plan to lay off staff). But most indicators show labour demand is clearly weakening.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n British job openings continue steady decline, wage growth cools<\/p>\n The ONS’s data also showed this morning that job vacancies in the U.K. fell<\/a> to 736,000 between March and May \u2014 a decline of 63,000 openings, or 7.9%, from the previous three-month period.<\/p>\n It marked the 35th consecutive decline in job openings. \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, average earnings (including bonuses) saw<\/a> a year-on-year increase of 5.3% for the period between February and April. Since spiking to 6.1% in December, annual wage growth in the country has steadily cooled.<\/p>\n U.K. unemployment rate rises to 4.6%, in line with expectations<\/p>\n A staff wanted sign in the window of a restaurant in the Soho district of London, U.K., on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021.<\/p>\n Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n Britain’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.6% in the three months to April, in line with economist expectations, data<\/a> from the country’s Office for National Statistics showed this morning.<\/p>\n In the previous three-month window to March, U.K. unemployment stood at 4.5%.<\/p>\n The U.K.’s economic inactivity rate \u2014 an estimate of those aged 16 to 64 who are out of work and either not seeking employment or unable to start work imminently \u2014 rose to 21.3% in the three months to April.<\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to expect today<\/p>\n Investors can expect a mix of economic data and earnings out of Europe today. The big release will be the unemployment rate from the U.K., along with figures on average earnings in the country. Economists polled by Reuters are expecting Britain’s unemployment rate to have hit 4.6% in April, up from 4.5% a month earlier.<\/p>\n Data on Italian industrial production is also due later on Tuesday.<\/p>\n On the earnings front, companies slated to update shareholders on their finances include British firms Paypoint<\/a>, Assura<\/a> and Tatton Asset Management<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Chloe Taylor<\/p>\n Here are the opening calls<\/p>\n The City of London is a blend of old and new, with St Paul’s Cathedral close to skyscrapers as well as Roman ruins.<\/p>\n Shomos Uddin | Moment | Getty Images<\/p>\n Good morning from London, welcome to CNBC’s live blog covering all the action in European financial markets as well as the latest regional and global business news, data and earnings.<\/p>\n Futures data from IG suggests London’s\u00a0FTSE<\/a>\u00a0will open 11 points higher at 8,838, Germany’s\u00a0DAX<\/a>\u00a0up 62 points at 24,234, France’s\u00a0CAC 40<\/a>\u00a0up 23 points at 7,807 and Italy’s\u00a0FTSE MIB<\/a> 83 points higher at 40,545.<\/p>\n Global markets have been buoyed by trade talks that are taking place between U.S. and Chinese officials in London this week, with hopes rising that both sides can avert large-scale punitive tariffs and a trade war.<\/p>\n Global markets will be keeping an eye on the talks, which are set to continue Tuesday.<\/p>\n The latest U.K. unemployment figures are also due, but there are no other significant earnings or data reports Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u2014 Holly Ellyatt<\/p>\n Global markets buoyed by China-U.S. talks<\/p>\n Global markets climbed overnight amid hopes that the U.S. and China will find a way to resolve their trade dispute, with talks between trade officials set to continue in London on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Asia-Pacific markets<\/a> and U.S. stock futures rose Monday night as investors waited for more insights into trade discussions between the U.S. and China. Traders are looking for signs of a deal that doesn’t involve the world’s two largest economies slapping extravagant tariffs on each other.<\/p>\n A car with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leaves a residence where trade talks between Chinese and U.S. delegations take place in Geneva, Switzerland, May 10, 2025. REUTERS\/Denis Balibouse<\/p>\n Denis Balibouse | Reuters<\/p>\n President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>‘s top trade officials met their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer negotiating on behalf of the U.S.<\/p>\n Trump has authorized Bessent’s team to potentially remove U.S. restrictions on the sales of chipmaking software, jet engine parts and ethane,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal reported<\/a>, citing sources familiar with the matter. Trump said Monday that the\u00a0talks were going well<\/a>\u00a0and he was “only getting good reports,” according to Reuters.<\/p>\n \u2014 Holly Ellyatt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Novo Nordisk shares pop on reports of activist investor stake Shares of Novo Nordisk climbed 3.3% following reports…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3090],"tags":[5189,51,3085,1700,5191,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-172424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-breaking-news-europe","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-business-news","11":"tag-economy","12":"tag-stoxx-600","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114658015020889465","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}