Dignity Cremation Service

Its shares were down 14 per cent.CMA’s review “adds another layer of uncertainty given that the company is partway through trials on pricing in funeral homes,” said Peel Hunt. “This news is likely to make Dignity look towards lower pricing rather than stick to the full-priced traditional funeral. The company has more to be concerned about on the cremation side as prices have risen substantially over the past decade and crematoria are effectively local monopolies. The outcome may just be greater visibility on pricing, but this will be unhelpful for Dignity given its current premium pricing.”Alfa Financial Software slumped after warning that a major customer had delayed an implementation project, causing a “significant” effect on second-half trading and pushing earnings “materially below management’s previous expectations”. The stock, floated a year ago at 325p per share, dropped more than 40 per cent to a record low of 188p.Anglo American led the miners higher as a better than expected US jobs report lifted both the dollar and metals futures.Goldman Sachs remained positive on the mining sector, saying the stocks have overreacted to rising Chinese defaults and trade tensions. “Despite these issues, we believe the miners are on their strongest footing for many years given a robust commodity outlook, double-digit free cash flow yields (at spot) and repaired balance sheets,” it said.In the wake of a profit warning on Thursday, FirstGroup bounced after the transport group’s decision to put exiting chief executive Tim O’Toole on gardening leave raised hopes among traders that the remaining board was inviting a bid or break-up.Frankfurt-listed Dialog Semiconductor weakened after key customer Apple confirmed it will use a second source for power management chips in 30 per cent of new iPhones. Apple’s in-house team has been widely reported to be developing a chip to replace those supplied by Dialog, which gets more than 70 per cent of group sales from t...

The government said the $2.65 billion industry’s self-regulatory framework may not be adequate, adding that it was “appalled” by some sales practices. It would consider asking the Financial Conduct Authority to oversee the sector. Dignity and Co-op Funeralcare - part of mutually-owned Co-Operative Group - dominate the market in Britain. Their offers include pre-paid funeral plans that let customers pay for a funeral at the market price at the time of agreement. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority, conducting a separate investigation into the sector, said the average cost of a funeral was nearly 3,800 pounds ($5,051) in 2017, with those on the lowest incomes potentially spending up to one third of their annual income on a funeral. Extra costs pile up to another 2,000 pounds, leaving many people concerned about taking on debt. The CMA said it would investigate whether the information provided by funeral directors on prices and services was clear enough for people to be able to choose the best option. It will also look at how prices have changed. (bit.ly/2HbySaP) The rising level of cremation fees will be considered as part of the review, with cremations now estimated to account for around 75 percent of all funerals, the regulator added. Shares of Dignity, Britain’s largest listed funeral service provider, fell as much as 14 percent, setting them on course for their worst day since the company said in January it would cut prices for some of its services. Both Dignity and The Co-operative Group welcomed the news and said they had both previously called for more transparency. “As part of our support for these reviews, we expect to share the work we have already collated to support the calls for regulation we have been making for some time,” Dignity’s CEO Mike McCollum said. Brokerage Peel Hunt, however, said the review came at a bad time for Dignity, as it trials new price models. “The outcome may just be greater visibility on pricing, but this will be unhelpful for Dignity g...