(Bloomberg) -- Bus and train operator FirstGroup and Heathrow Airport were the latest travel companies detailing a strong summer for the industry. We’ll get more colour tomorrow when EasyJet reports its full-year trading update, with investors’ attention on fears of a hard landing and unfolding geopolitical crises.

Key Business News

FirstGroup Plc: The company raised its profit forecast for its financial year 2024, saying demand for Lumo and Hull Trains had been stronger than expected thanks to higher leisure travel this summer. 

Heathrow Airport Ltd.: Europe’s largest travel hub handled seven million passengers in September, the first month since February 2020 to exceed 2019 traffic levels. 

• The company also said its CEO John Holland-Kaye will hand over to Thomas Woldbye next week, after nearly a decade at the helm

GSK Plc: The pharma giant reached a settlement for another US lawsuit claiming the drugmaker’s blockbuster heartburn medication Zantac causes cancer. 

What’s Next? 

EasyJet Plc’s results will likely be in focus tomorrow morning. The discount airline’s summer quarter are expected to have weathered the challenges of air traffic control strikes, wildfires in Greece and a technical glitch on the August bank holiday. Attention now turns to what follows the summer boom as demand slows, says Bloomberg Intelligence’s Conroy Gaynor.

Big Read

Britain’s challenger banks are headed for a reckoning in the wake of Metro Bank Holdings Plc’s troubles. Read more here.

Key Headlines

• UK Wage Growth Cools as Job Cuts Mount and Firms Cap Costs
• HSBC’s China Game Plan Clashes With Rising Political Risks
• Israel Latest: Israeli Death Toll in Hamas Attack Reaches 1,200

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--With assistance from Chloe Meley and Maggie Shiltagh.

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