Asos Plc ’s shares rose the most in four months after the online fast-fashion chain reported a 50% increase in underlying profits, driven by customer growth and strong performance in womenswear. The British retailer, which has revamped its app to help shoppers find items as part of a turnaround plan, kept its full-year outlook unchanged in a trading update Wednesday. The shares rose as much as 16%...
Asos Plc ’s shares rose the most in four months after the online fast-fashion chain reported a 50% increase in underlying profits, driven by customer growth and strong performance in womenswear. The British retailer, which has revamped its app to help shoppers find items as part of a turnaround plan, kept its full-year outlook unchanged in a trading update Wednesday. The shares rose as much as 16% in early London trading, the most since Nov. 13. They were down 25% this year through Tuesday’s close. Read More: ASOS Jumps as 1H Earnings, Margin Beat Estimates: Street Wrap The update follows a bigger-than-expected revenue drop in November which disappointed investors and raised doubts about the progress of the overhaul under Chief Executive Officer Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte . Amid competition from Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein, Asos’s turnaround is taking longer than expected as the company focuses on reducing costs. The company closed its Atlanta distribution center and instead serves US customers from its warehouse in Barnsley, England to cut costs.
The European Central Bank will act decisively and swiftly if the current surge in energy costs risks a broader bout of inflation, though for now it’s still assessing the shock caused by the Iran war, according to President Christine Lagarde . While the situation is different from 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ultimately sent consumer-price growth into double digits, there are “reasons fo...
The European Central Bank will act decisively and swiftly if the current surge in energy costs risks a broader bout of inflation, though for now it’s still assessing the shock caused by the Iran war, according to President Christine Lagarde . While the situation is different from 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ultimately sent consumer-price growth into double digits, there are “reasons for vigilance,” Lagarde said Wednesday in a speech. “We will not act before we have sufficient information on the size and persistence of the shock and its propagation,” she told the ECB Watchers Conference in Frankfurt. “But we will not be paralyzed by hesitation: our commitment to delivering 2% inflation over the medium term is unconditional.” Soaring energy costs brought on by the conflict in the Middle East are stoking fears of another inflation spike like the one four years ago. Bundesbank chief Joachim Nagel and others have signaled borrowing costs may need to be lifted as soon as April if the price outlook sours further. “We are prepared, if appropriate, to make changes to our policy at any meeting,” Lagarde said. Lagarde laid out three cases on how the ECB should to the current situation. “If the energy shock is seen to be limited in size and short-lived, the classical prescription of looking through should apply. Transmission lags mean that a monetary-policy response would arrive too late and risk being counterproductive.” “If the shock gives rise to a large though not-too-persistent overshoot of our target, some measured adjustment of policy could be warranted. The optimal response to such a deviation is smaller when the cause is exogenous supply disruptions rather than strong demand, but it is not necessarily zero.” “Moreover, to leave such an overshoot entirely unaddressed could pose a communication risk: the public may find it difficult to understand a reaction function that does not react.” “If we expect inflation to deviate significantly and persistently from t...
American economist Herbert Stein wrote in a 1985 column for The Wall Street Journal , "If it can't go on forever, it will stop." Investors should remember his statement, which became known as Stein's law, in the current global uncertainty. The conflict with Iran will end eventually. However, the way it concludes could create significantly different landscapes for investors. Here are three scenario...
American economist Herbert Stein wrote in a 1985 column for The Wall Street Journal , "If it can't go on forever, it will stop." Investors should remember his statement, which became known as Stein's law, in the current global uncertainty. The conflict with Iran will end eventually. However, the way it concludes could create significantly different landscapes for investors. Here are three scenarios for the Iran crisis endgame -- and the stocks to buy for each. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Pop Mart posted blockbuster earnings off the global Labubu craze, but that didn’t stop investors from dumping its stock, which closed 22.5% lower on Wednesday.
Pop Mart posted blockbuster earnings off the global Labubu craze, but that didn’t stop investors from dumping its stock, which closed 22.5% lower on Wednesday.