(Bloomberg) -- The British Chancellor this morning warned of the need to make “tough choices” to get debt down after the country’s budget surplus narrowed sharply in the biggest tax month of the year. In corporate news, InterContinental Hotels is joining the buyback frenzy, with $750 million of returns expected this year — that's despite reporting revenue per available room in Greater China nearly 40% lower than pre-pandemic levels. 

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

In The City

InterContinental Hotels Group Plc: The hotel chain will buy back an additional $750 million in 2023, despite its sales figures for last year missing estimates.

• The company had the strongest sales recovery in the Americas, although still remained below pre-pandemic levels in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Greater China

HSBC Holdings Plc: The bank will consider a special payout after the sale of its Canadian unit as the bank attempts to face down a campaign from its largest shareholder to pursue a wider break-up of the business. 

• Reporting results that beat analyst estimates, HSBC said it may pay a special dividend of $0.21 after the completion of the unit sale amid an ongoing tussle with major shareholder Ping An Insurance Group Co of China

Antofagasta Plc: The Chilean copper mining company reported a 22% decrease in revenue for 2022, as a result of fewer copper sales and lower realized copper prices.

• The company said improvements at some of its mines, alongside a recovery in China and the long-term support for copper from the energy transition, contributed to its “positive” outlook for this year

In Westminster

Rishi Sunak began an outreach effort to win support from Conservative rebels for a post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland after weeks of talks with the European Union. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is set to address Tory rank-and-file MPs today to brief them on the latest negotiations, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. 

Keir Starmer, meanwhile, will pledge that a Labour government would boost public purchases of local food as he seeks to appeal to the UK’s embattled farmers.

The largest-ever trial of the four-day work week found that most UK companies participating are not returning to the five-day standard, and a third are ready to make that change permanent.

In Case You Missed It 

An exodus of rich professionals from jobs is driving Britain’s crisis of low participation in the labour market, according to new research that lays bare the challenge of plugging widespread worker shortages.

In two decades, Glencore Plc’s former CEO Ivan Glasenberg created the world’s fourth-largest mining company by buying others, from miner group Xtrata to grain trader Viterra. “Now is the moment for another giant acquisition,” says Bloomberg Opinion’s Javier Blas. “The global energy crisis has delivered the company a one-off opportunity to transform itself.”

Burberry Group Plc’s new creative designer Daniel Lee hosted his first fashion show featuring big bright blue jackets in tartan patterns, oversized trench coats and handbags adorned with badger-like tails as the brand seeks to reinvent its “Britishness” once again.

Looking Ahead 

Results from Britain’s largest mortgage lender, Lloyds Banking Group Plc, will be in focus tomorrow morning. Lloyds will be the last major UK bank to report this earnings season, after investors seemed underwhelmed by figures from peers Barclays Plc and NatWest Group Plc last week. 

Lloyds’ provisions for loan-losses will likely “normalise” after it announced a sizable £668 million charge for the third quarter, says Bloomberg Intelligence’s Tomasz Noetzel. The size of any future charges will also depend on the direction of UK house prices. Lloyds is predicting an 8% drop this year — a key figure for market watchers. 

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