Asos Shares Plunge 19% On Growth Fears

The share price of online fashion group Asos has plunged by nearly a fifth over fears about its future growth.

When markets opened at 8am the share price dropped 15%, before falling even further.

In late afternoon trades the drop eased to 10.1% down

The downbeat investor reaction comes after the group increased capital expenditure and lowered its full-year margin.

The retailer said it would increase a capital spending programme to achiever longer-term growth rather than short-term profit.

Asos said that in the six months to February 28 total group revenue was up 34% to £482m.

Although UK sales were up 32% to £182m and EU sales up 65% to £77m, sales in the rest of the world (RoW) were only up 14% to £116m.

This compared to RoW sales up 37% in the same period during 2012/13.

Furthermore RoW sales - responsible for 29% of non-UK sales - struggled in the last two months, rising only 3% compared to the same period last year.

Although its retail gross margin was up by 0.6% on the previous year, it fell by 0.3% in the two months to February 28.

The number of customers joining the Asos database eased slightly.

Although they were up 36% on the prior year to 8.2 million, the figure was down from 40% growth seen a year beforehand.

Asos now expects to see it hit annual global sales of £1bn.

CEO Nick Robertson said: "The group delivered strong sales and margin growth over the first six months of the year and we are now confident of achieving £1bn of sales in FY 2013/14."

Key capital expenditure costs include investments in China, IT expansion and boosting warehouse capacity in the UK and Germany.

Barnsley is the main UK warehouse centre for the group.

Asos was launched in 2000 and listed on London's AIM exchange in 2001. In 2010 it launched American, German and French sites.

The company, which targets people in their 20s, has also had to contend with the rise of Boohoo recently.

Its rival aims to provide fashion for teenagers and people in their early 20s, and its share price jumped 50% on flotation last week.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Osborne Close To Landmark China Banking Deal

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

George Osborne is closing in on a landmark deal that would see the City become one of the world's most important offshore centres for trading the Chinese currency.

Sky News understands that the Government hopes to announce by the end of the month the establishment of a London-based clearing bank that would act as a hub for offshore renminbi (RMB) payments.

The move would be significant because of the rapid growth in the volume of international RMB transactions as China's financial system and economy have become less insular.

The Chancellor has made it clear that increasing the City's share of trading in the China's currency represents a vital growth opportunity.

A London-based institution would effectively "oil the wheels" of the clearing process, reducing transaction and settlement costs, a source said.

A number of the country's vast state-owned lenders, including Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, have been vying to be appointed as Beijing's clearing bank in London, according to insiders.

A decision about the chosen institution could be made public within days.

The Treasury is understood to have been hoping to get a deal wrapped up in time for Wednesday's Budget statement, although that was now unlikely, a City source said.

In a speech in Hong Kong last month, Mr Osborne said the UK and China had an economic "two-way relationship of equals".

"Gone are the days when the British finance minister was only interested in securing greater market access to China.

"Now almost two thirds of all RMB payments outside of China and Hong Kong take place in London," he said.

The Chancellor said he was unashamed about having secured agreements establishing a swap line with China's central bank and allowing Chinese banks to apply to set up UK-based wholesale branches.

"Now London firms are able to invest directly in Chinese stocks and shares in RMB - something that's just not currently possible anywhere else in the West - thanks to our agreement with the Chinese Government last year.

"Ultimately what we all want to see is RMB being used more and more as a currency of choice in the world.

"The UK and Chinese Governments are in active discussions about the appointment of a renminbi clearing bank in London."

City sources cautioned that the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the banking oversight arm of the Bank of England, would also need to approve any deal.

The PRA is leading the consultation on rule changes that would mean Chinese banks operating in the UK as branches rather than subsidiaries, effectively entailing lighter-touch regulation by the UK authorities.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sainsbury's Sales Slide Is 'End Of An Era'

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's has reported like-for-like sales down 3.1%, ending 36 successive quarters of growth.

The result for sales, excluding fuel, were for the 10 weeks to March 15 - its fiscal fourth quarter.

That compared to a rise of 3.6% in the same period last year.

The result was worse than analysts had forecast.

Including recently opened stores, the firm's total fourth quarter sales fell 1% excluding fuel.

CEO Justin King told Sky News: "We've had 36 quarters, that's nine years, of consistent growth so obviously it is disappointing to be reporting sales down for this quarter."

The company said sales at its convenience stores were up 15% but online sales growth slowed to 6%.

It said this was because of a reduction in marketing while a new web portal was launched.

The firm said it expects a challenging 12 months ahead but expects to outperform its rivals in the ultra-competitive sector.

Sainsbury's is battling with Asda to be the second biggest firm in the sector, behind market leader Tesco.

Number four group Morrisons reported a loss last week and saw its share price drop 10%.

It said it would invest £1bn in slashing prices over the next three years to lure back customers, prompting further fears of an expanded price war.

Smaller discount chains such as Aldi and Lidl have attracted shoppers while upmarket Waitrose and Marks and Spencer have also taken a bite from the main retailers.

The sales slide for Sainsbury's comes as Mr King prepares to leave the firm in July.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Barclays To Hand Out £32m In Shares To Bosses

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Barclays will say on Tuesday it is handing out approximately £32m in share awards to its top dozen executives, just weeks after igniting a fresh pay row by hiking its bonus pool despite a fall in profits.

Sky News has learnt the share bonanza, which will be disclosed in a stock exchange announcement, will be about 20% lower than the sum paid out a year ago, which it hopes will appease investors angered by recent revelations about remuneration at the bank.

The equivalent announcement last year sparked a separate row because it was made on the day of the Budget, which prompted some observers to accuse Barclays of attempting to conceal the news.

That was an accusation denied by the bank, which said the timing of the disclosures was set a year in advance.

The precise value of the share awards announced on Tuesday will be dependent on the exact number of shares distributed to the dozen executives, who also include Tushar Morzaria, Barclays' new finance director.

A source said on Monday the final number could vary slightly but that £32m was "in the right ballpark".

In the case of chief executive Antony Jenkins, he will receive roughly £3.8m in deferred awards from bonus schemes in earlier years, although he will not receive any payments under the bank's long-term incentive plan.

Last month, he waived his entitlement to a bonus for 2013, saying "it would not be right" to accept one in a year when profits had fallen and Barclays had raised almost £6bn from shareholders through a rights issue.

Mr Morzaria's award will comprise a multimillion pound payment designed to compensate him for the loss of share options when he left JP Morgan Chase, his previous employer.

The best-paid of the top dozen executives is expected to be Skip McGee, the chief executive of Barclays' Americas business.

The former Lehman Brothers banker is expected to receive more than £5m in shares, according to a person close to the bank.

Barclays is said to be hopeful of averting another row over pay because the value of the share awards is down so sharply on last year, a trend that it expects leading shareholders to welcome.

This year's announcement will include 12 executives, three of whom work in Barclays' investment bank, whereas last year - when awards were higher - there were only nine employees included in the announcement.

Tuesday's statement will also include the first instalment of share allowances awarded to the ten executives other than the chief executive and finance director, meaning that less than £30m of the awards will relate to bonuses, a source said.

Last week, Fidelity, the fund management giant and a major Barclays shareholder, said the bank had landed itself in a "public relations mess" by increasing its bonus pool to £2.4bn despite profits falling by 10%.

"We are disappointed that the distributions between employees and shareholders did not favour shareholders more.

"It is disappointing that a year after making various commitments on pay, they have got themselves into a PR mess again," Dominic Rossi, global chief investment officer at Fidelity, said.

Last week, Mr Jenkins ran into another tussle over pay, saying in a newspaper interview he had had to pay bigger bonuses to avoid its investment bank falling into "a death spiral".

In total, 481 Barclays workers' remuneration broke through the £1m threshold, a 10% increase on the previous year despite the sharp decline in profits.

A round of shuttle diplomacy involving Mr Jenkins and Mr Morzaria, Barclays' new finance director, has attempted to reassure investors they will exert a tighter grip on the bank's cost-base during the next 12 months.

Since replacing Bob Diamond, his lavishly-paid predecessor, Mr Jenkins has pledged to make Barclays a stakeholder-friendly bank by boosting shareholder dividends and punishing employees whose behaviour does not meet exacting standards.

Barclays declined to comment.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dyson Fan Heater Global Recall Over Fire Risk

Up to one million fan heaters are to be recalled by British firm Dyson over fire risks, the company has announced.

The firm, which is known for its technically innovative products, said the recall affected its 'Air Multiplier' AM04 and AM05 machines.

The model, which does not have visible blades, was released in 2011 and the recall does not affect the earlier non-heat version.

Dyson chief executive Max Conze said: "We have sold a million heaters around the world; we have seen a small number short-circuit, which in four cases resulted in contained burning.

"Although there have been no instances of personal injury or damage to property, it's four too many.

"So we are working with the relevant regulatory bodies and preparing for a voluntary recall."

People with the heaters have been advised to unplug the devices from power sockets.

The Wiltshire-based company has listed instructions for 36 countries on its recall website.

Owners in Britain and Ireland must register with the company prior to the heaters being collected, fixed and redelivered free of charge.

The service will also include a new two-year warranty.

Owners in New Zealand and Hong Kong are being offered completely new machines in the first instance, while the procedures for those in the United States are yet to be finalised.

Consumers in Greece have been told to return heaters to the place of purchase.

The hi-tech company first gained fame for vacuum cleaners that did not need filter bags.

The company, based in Malmesbury, holds more than 3,000 patents for over 500 inventions.

Its products are sold in more than 65 countries and a third of all staff are engineers and scientist, according  to the company.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama Threatens More Sanctions On Russia

The US has imposed sanctions against Russian officials after Crimea's referendum to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

An executive order by Barack Obama names seven Russian government officials, including top aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Treasury Department is also imposing sanctions on four Ukrainians, including former President Viktor Yanukovych and two Crimea-based separatist leaders.

Mr Obama said the new sanctions aim to make it clear to the Russians "that there are consequences for their actions" in the Crimean peninsula.

Residents of Crimea voted overwhelmingly in favour of the split

The measures are one of the most comprehensive sets of sanctions against Russia since the end of the Cold War.

But they appeared to do little to dissuade Mr Putin, with the Kremlin announcing that he had signed a decree on Monday recognising Crimea as a "sovereign and independent country".

Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who was named in the US list, suggested the measures would not affect those without assets abroad.

"Comrade Obama, and what will you do with those who have neither accounts nor property abroad? Or didn't you think of that?" he wrote on Twitter.

The announcement in Washington came shortly after the European Union slapped travel bans and asset freezes on 21 people.

The sanctions had been widely expected after Crimea voted overwhelmingly in favour of the split in Sunday's referendum.

Putin maintains the referendum was legal

Crimea's parliament has declared the region an independent state. 

In a phone call after the vote, Mr Obama told Mr Putin that Crimea's vote to join Russia "would never be recognised" by Washington.

And US administration officials say there is some concrete evidence that some ballots for the referendum arrived pre-marked in many cities and "there are massive anomalies in the vote".

The US, European Union and others say it violates the Ukrainian constitution and international law, and took place in the strategic peninsula under duress of Russian military intervention.

Mr Putin says the vote was legal and consistent with the right of self-determination.

The Crimea crisis triggered the worst stand-off between Russia and the US since the end of the Cold War.

At home, Mr Obama has faced accusations from Republicans that he has not shown enough resolve against Mr Putin.

Mr Obama is calling on Russia to pursue a diplomatic de-escalation of the crisis and support the Ukrainian government's plans for political reform.

He called on Russian troops in Crimea to return to their bases and halt advances into Ukrainian territory and military build-ups along Ukraine's borders.

The US has warned that any Russian moves on east and south Ukraine would be a grave escalation requiring additional responses.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Childcare: £2,000 Boost For Working Parents

Working parents are to get up to £2,000 of tax-free childcare in a move to target families who are "running to stand still".

The scheme will be worth up to £2,000 per child per year when it launches in autumn next year - £800 more than the £1,200 originally proposed last year.

The Deputy Prime Minister told Sky News the move would target hard-working parents who were "going out to work just to pay the nursery fees" saying many felt they were just "running to stand still".

It was only expected to apply to children under the age of seven, but parents will now be entitled to the money until their son or daughter's 12th birthday.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg will unveil details of the childcare scheme

Nearly two million families could benefit from the scheme - twice as many as the present voucher scheme, which is only available where adopted by an employer.

However, it has been criticised for excluding couples where one parent does not work and for applying to richer households with incomes of up to £300,000. Those where one parent earns more than £150,000 will not be able to take advantage of the scheme.

Speaking to Sky News Nick Clegg denied the scheme was unfair and said families on Universal Credit would now have 85% of their childcare costs met.

Mr Clegg said: "If you have two children and you have to pay their childcare costs then it's (the scheme is) worth up to £4,000 to you."

David Cameron said the policy, which effectively covers 20% of childcare costs up to a maximum of £10,000 a year, would help "hard-pressed families" and "provide financial security for the future".

Asked by Sky News whether he would be taking advantage of the tax-free childcare scheme for his children he replied: "I won't be taking it up." His salary crosses the £150,000 limit.

Earlier this month, the Family and Childcare Trust said parents now spend more on part-time childcare than their mortgage repayments.

How it works

However, Labour's Lucy Powell, the shadow minister for children, said the proposals were "too little, too late".

"Mr Cameron has cut support for children and families by £15bn since he came to office," she said.

"This Government has done nothing in this Parliament to help parents experiencing a cost-of-living crisis."

As well as the childcare tax break, the Government is to give an extra £50m to nurseries looking after the most deprived three and four-year-olds.

Families claiming Universal Credit will also have 85% of their childcare costs met, up from 70%.

The announcement comes as the Chancellor prepares to unveil this year's Budget.

George Osborne, who will set out the Government's spending plans for 2014-15 next Wednesday, has warned of "difficult decisions" to come.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bank Of England In Deputy Governor Shake-Up

The Bank of England has named two new deputy governors as part of a major shake-up under boss Mark Carney.

They have been revealed as the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Ben Broadbent and International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director Nemat Shafik.

Dr Shafik will be the first female MPC member since 2010.

Mr Broadbent is to replace Charlie Bean as deputy governor responsible for monetary policy, from July 1 onwards.

From August 1, Ms Shafik will be in the role of deputy governor for markets and banking.

They have the roles under five-year terms and will also sit on the BoE's Financial Policy Committee (FPC).

The FPC regulates banks and the rate-setting MPC.

She will replace current MPC member Paul Fisher, who is the bank's executive director for markets.

Prior to taking the IMF role in 2011, Ms Shafik was the Government's permanent secretary at the Department for International Development (Dfid), from March 2008 to March 2011.

Dr Shafik - who has Egyptian, US and British nationality - was previously the youngest ever vice president at the World Bank.

She will be responsible for the BoE's exit from the £375bn quantitative easing policy.

In addition, Dr Shafik will review intelligence-gathering on markets.

The BoE has come under increasing scrutiny over allegations that some traders in the City have manipulated key foreign exchange rates.

Mr Broadbent previously worked as an economist at Goldman Sachs and becomes the first external MPC member given a deputy governor role at the bank.

He will be responsible for analysis of the UK economy and bank notes.

The BoE also confirmed Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman's report that Anthony Habgood would become chairman of its court of directors, from July 1.

Mr  Habgood is chairman of brewer Whitbread and publishing company Reed Elsevier.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

Music Streams Hits $1bn Amid Anti-Piracy Push

Global music sales continue to fall but revenues from streaming and subscription services have topped $1bn (£600m) for the first time.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (Ifpi), figures for 2013 show digital streams were up 51% globally.

It said streaming service Spotify now boasts over 24m users, while established players such as Google and Apple have also launched their own offerings.

However, Ifpi's Digital Music Report 2014 continued the industry's calls for an overhaul of search engine results, which it said can aid online piracy.

"Search engines have pledged to do more to tackle online piracy, but there is still a long way to go," the group said as it released the report in London.

"In August 2012, Google announced that it was altering its algorithm to take account of notices received from rights holders to place infringing sites lower down in search results.

"Unfortunately, this seems to have had little impact.

Ifpi added: "A search for the name of any leading artist followed by the term 'mp3' in the leading search engines still returns a vast proportion of illegal links on the first page of results."

As an example, Ifpi listed the leading five performing artistes from the Billboard 100 and said that copyright infringement pages appeared on searches from Bing, Yahoo! and Google.

Ifpi said that by last January, the global recording industry had sent in total more than 100 million requests to Google to remove links to infringing content.

It said the number of requests would have been higher but Google caps the number of requests on rights groups.

Approached by Sky News, a Google spokesman was unavailable for comment.

Mainstream search engine insiders question the Ifpi methodology, say they have taken millions of pirated content links off their portals and insist independent evidence down not back-up the piracy-support claims.

Ifpi lambasted Russian social network vKontakte, which it said allowed its 55 million average daily users to upload and share music and video files.

It added that the City of London's Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (Pipcu), funded by the Intellectual Property Office, has taken a key role in targeting infringement of rights holders.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More

GM Appoints New Safety Chief Amid Recalls

General Motors has appointed a new safety chief in the wake of its recall of more than 3.1 million vehicles over the last two months.

GM's chief executive Mary Barra said Jeff Boyer, an engineer with 40 years' experience, will be in charge of recalls and other safety issues, and will report directly to senior management and the board.

"If there are any obstacles in his way, Jeff has the authority to clear them," Ms Barra said.

"If he needs any additional resources, he will get them."

The newly minted position follows the announcement that GM was recalling an additional 1.5 million vehicles amid concerns of a faulty ignition switch.

In a video message to GM employees Ms Barra said the company fell short in catching a safety glitch linked to 12 deaths.

"Something went wrong with our process in this instance, and terrible things happened," she said.

Ms Barra told employees that GM is undergoing an "intense review" of its recall procedure, and that its system will change.

In the meantime, the company will cooperate fully with government investigators, she added.

"The bottom line is, we will get better as a result of this tragic situation if we seize the opportunity," she said.

On Tuesday, Ms Barra apologised for the deaths linked to the faulty ignition switch that can cause an engine to shut down unexpectedly and cause power steering and air bags to fail.

In the last two months, GM has recalled more than 3.1 million vehicles in the US and other markets.

The actions started with last month's recall of more than 1.6 million vehicles for the faulty switches.

The latest recalls cover airbag wiring harnesses, brake parts and other components across several models.

Ms Barra said the company is changing how it handles defect investigations and recalls.

GM said it expects to spend approximately $300m (£180m) in the first quarter to repair the vehicles in the new recalls as well as the vehicles covered by the other recalls.

00.25 | 0 komentar | Read More