Our US team writes:

Disney (DIS) plans to announce its next CEO in early 2026, the first timeline the company has publicly given for appointing a successor to current chief Bob Iger.

The media giant made the announcement on Monday while simultaneously revealing that current board member and former Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO James Gorman will serve as the board's new chairman, effective Jan. 2, 2025. He will exit his role as executive chairman at Morgan Stanley on Dec. 31.

“A critical priority before us is to appoint a new CEO, which we now expect to announce in early 2026," Gorman said in a press release. "This timing reflects the progress the Succession Planning Committee and the Board are making, and will allow ample time for a successful transition before the conclusion of Bob Iger’s contract in December 2026."

READ MORE

Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading platform IG said:

Pedro Goncalves writes:

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (MSFT), has compared the transformative potential of AI with the industrial revolution, as the company launched new tools designed to help businesses streamline operations.

Speaking at Microsoft's AI Tour event in London, Nadella said the goal is to “empower people to do things that they couldn’t do previously.”

One of the leading investors in AI, Microsoft announced the rollout of its Copilot AI features, which aim to enhance business productivity by automating routine administrative tasks. These AI tools, known as autonomous agents, are custom-built applications that can handle specific tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic work.

READ MORE

Shares in Finnish telecommunications company Nokia have seen some recovery after falling last week following the release of its third-quarter results.

Nokia posted a 7% fall in net sales year-on-year, citing a decline in its mobile networks business, primarily in India, as well as divestment in cloud and network services.

However, the company said its comparable gross margin year-on-year had increased to nearly 46%. Nokia said its full-year outlook for 2024 remained unchanged, expecting operating profits of between €2.3bn and €2.9bn.

Nokia also said it continued to make "significant progress" in its cost savings programme, with a €500m run-rate in gross savings actioned.

Reuters reported that Nokia had laid off nearly 2,000 people in China and planned to cut another 350 job in Europe as part if its cost savings measures.

Volkswagen's financial services arm has been slapped with a ￡5.4m fine by the UK's financial regulator for treating customers in financial difficulty unfairly.

Volkswagen Finance has agreed to pay over ￡21.5m in redress to around 110,000 customers who may have suffered harm because of its failings, the FCA said.

The problem: Between 1 January 2017 and 31 July 2023, Volkswagen Finance failed to understand customers’ individual circumstances or to provide support tailored to their needs. This meant that, in some cases, Volkswagen Finance took cars away from vulnerable customers without considering other options. This risked people being put in a worse position, particularly if they relied on their car to travel to work. Volkswagen Finance’s failings were compounded by poor templated and automated communications.

Vicky McKeever writes:

US plane maker Boeing is heading into a busy week, with investors watching developments closely around its costly labour strike, as well as its latest quarterly results.

More than 33,000 unionised workers, who have been on strike for more than a month, are set to vote on Wednesday whether they will accept Boeing's offer of a 35% pay rise over four years.

Boeing said last week that it was aiming to secure $35bn (￡27bn) in funding to shore up its balance sheet, as the company continued to deal with the labour dispute with its largest union.

Just days before that, Boeing released its preliminary third-quarter results, with the planemaker saying it expected to report a GAAP loss per share of $9.97, with operating cash flow of -$1.3 billion.

The company also said it would end production of its 767 tanker jet and push back the release of its upcoming 777X widebody jet.

In addition, new CEO Kelly Ortberg also announced the company would lay off 10% of its labor force, or around 17,000 employees.

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Boeing was exploring the sale of assets to bolster its finances.

Investors will be looking for more detail on the company's financial situation when it releases its full third-quarter results on Wednesday.

Shares were up 3.4% in pre-market trading on Monday morning but are down nearly 41% year-to-date.

The latest S&P Global release on UK consumer sentiment says:

• Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) lifted higher in October, moving closer to July’s 37-month high

• Outlook for household finances turned positive

• Positive income growth and slower inflation bolstered household confidence

“Confidence is being supported first and foremost by the strong labour market, with the survey showing both job security and income from employment improving at some of the fastest rates seen since data were first collected in 2009," said Maryam Baluch, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

"An easing of inflation worries, combined with expectations of a further lowering of interest rates, has also helped allay worries over the cost of living."

Sterling was lower against the dollar, slipping 0.2% to $1.3025 in early European trading, after tumbling to a near two-month low against the greenback last week, following weaker-than-expected UK inflation data.

Sterling initially showed resilience, buoyed by positive domestic jobs data. Despite a slowdown in wage growth, an unexpected drop in the UK’s unemployment rate lent support to the currency early in the week.

However, the rally was short-lived. On Wednesday, the release of softer-than-anticipated inflation figures sent the pound sharply lower. The UK’s consumer price index (CPI) for September showed headline inflation easing from 2.2% to 1.7%, below market expectations of 1.9%, and significantly under the Bank of England’s (BoE) 2% target.

READ MORE: Today's pound, gold and oil prices in focus: commodity and currency check, 21 October

Our reporter Pedro Goncalves writes:

The average asking price for properties coming to market in the UK has risen by 0.3% this month, equivalent to ￡1,199, bringing the total to ￡371,958, a small uptick as most owners are pricing homes to sell quickly.

This increase falls short of the typical October rise of 1.3%, amid a surge in buyer choice, which has reached levels not seen in a decade, according to property website Rightmove.

With a broader array of properties available, buyers are leveraging their newfound negotiating power, keeping price increases in check. Market activity, however, remains strong despite the uncertainty and fears surrounding the upcoming autumn budget.

FULL STORY HERE

Over in Asia stocks in Hong Kong received a knock, despite the Chinese central bank's efforts to support the economy by slashing lending rates.

The People's Bank of China made the expected move of cutting benchmark lending rates: the one-year loan prime rate was cut to 3.1% from 3.35% and the five-year LPR dropped rom 3.85% to 3.6%.

The Hang Seng (^HSI) headed for a close 1.4% lower, dragged down in part by banking stocks.

Over in Japan, the Nikkei (^N225) fell 0.1% in the session.

In terms of US markets, we're set for reports from:

• Tesla (TSLA)

• Boeing (BA)

• General Motors (GM)

• American Airlines (AAL)

• UPS (UPS)

Stocks hovered in premarket trade on Monday, with the three major indexes flirting with the flatline.

Our US team writes:

US stocks notched records and extended impressive streaks Friday as Netflix (NFLX) delivered powerful earnings and set the stage for Big Tech's corporate results in the coming days.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added about 0.4% and recorded a fresh all-time high, as well as its sixth straight week of gains, the longest streak in 2024. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up 0.6%, leading gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.1% after hitting a new closing high the day before.

The major stock gauges logged weekly wins after a strong showing by big banks to kick off earnings season. The Dow grabbed the top of the weekly chart, adding 0.9%, followed by the S&P 500, which increased 0.8%, and the Nasdaq's 0.7% gain.

Netflix's results late Thursday relieved some worries that Big Tech names might struggle in the third quarter as they did in the last. The streaming giant's profit surged to outstrip Wall Street estimates, while revenue and subscriber growth also came in stronger than expected. Its shares jumped around 11%.

Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown here, ready to bring you another week of markets news. The temperature has dropped in London — but the mood appears to be positive in premarket for the FTSE 100 (^FTSE).

Coming up later we'll be watching Microsoft's event on AI at work, featuring CEO Satya Nadella and UK CEO Clare Barclay.

Let's get to it.