What to Watch: HSBC boss out, FTSE falls, Ocado and Just Eat deals

A generic stock photo of an Ocado home delivery van in south west London.
Ocado confirmed details of its joint venture with Marks & Spencer. Photo: PA

Here are the top business, market and economic stories you should be watching today in the UK, Europe, and abroad:

HSBC parts ways with chief executive John Flint

John Flint, the chief executive of HSBC (HSBA.L), is leaving his post after 30 years at the company.

In an unexpected announcement as the the bank unveiled its interim results, HSBC said in a statement that Flint would be leaving the lender "by mutual agreement with the board."

Flint has a 12-month notice period, but will stop his day-to-day responsibilities at group and help HSBC in the transition to find a replacement. Noel Quinn will take over as interim chief executive.

Ocado and M&S shares down after sealing deal

Shares in Ocado (OCDO.L) were down 4.5% and Marks and Spencer (MKS.L) were down 6.3% after the companies sealed the deal on their joint venture.

Ocado is parting ways with Waitrose, establishing a new 50:50 joint venture with M&S instead.

It confirmed today it had completed arrangements for the new venture, with 50% of Ocado’s grocery retail arm sold to a subsidiary of M&S.

Melanie Smith, M&S’s strategy director, was appointed CEO, while Ocado Retail Limited’s interim managing director was appointed deputy CEO for the transition period.

Just Eat and Takeaway.com finalise deal

A staff of takeaway food online 'Just Eat'  seen on Camden Street in Dublin. On Saturday, 14 January 2017, Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A Just Eat worker in Dublin. Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The British takeaway delivery firm Just Eat has finalised the terms of a merger with Amsterdam-based Takeaway.com in another deal announced today.

The new group, which will be called Just Eat Takeaway.com, will become one of the largest in a competitive market in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Canada.

It hopes its greater scale will help it take on Uber Eats and Deliveroo, with the companies stating on Monday they had backed the deal.

Just Eat shareholders received 0.09744 new Takeaway.com shares for each of their own shares. The terms value Just Eat at around £4.7bn ($5.7bn), according to Reuters.

European and Asian market sell-off on trade tensions

Fresh US-China trade tensions sparked a widespread sell-off in Europe on Monday, with more than 90% of companies on the STOXX 600 index (^STOXX) trading lower.

Britain’s FTSE 100 (^FTSE) index slipped 2%, the Euronext 100 (^N100 ) and France’s CAC 40 (^FCHI) were both down 1.7% and Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) was down 1.3%.

Industries sensitive to global trade tensions fell furthest, including miners, chipmakers and luxury firms.

Markets also slid overnight in Asia, with Japan’s Nikkei (^N225) down 1.7%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng (^HSI) was down by 2.8%, and China’s Shanghai Composite index (000001.SS) was down 1.6%.

What to expect in the US

US stocks also look set to slide on Monday. S&P500 futures (ES=F) were down 1.4%, Dow Jones futures (YM=F) down 1.3% and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) down 1.7%.