Toyota profit up 5% on stronger US sales

Japan's Toyota has reported a 4.7% year-on-year rise in net income for the three months to December, to 627.9bn yen ($5.37bn; £3.7bn), due in part to stronger sales in the US.

The company, the world's biggest carmaker, also raised its North America sales forecast for the full year to March, because of the higher US demand. 

Amazon missed analysts' estimates fourth quarter despite posting a 21.8% rise in sales and record profits.

Net sales rose to $35.75bn, which was about $200m short of Wall Street predictions. 

That was enough to send shares tumbling more than 13% in after-hours trading in New York.

Annual net profit of $596m also missed estimates as operating expenses jumped almost 18%.

However, profits for the three months to 31 December more than doubled to a record $482m (£335m).

Disappointing Christmas Sales, Poundland Investors shares slump 12%

"High Street customer numbers were down year-on-year and this has impacted sales growth," chief executive Jim McCarthy said.

 

Investors focused on these comments, rather than the reported 30% sales growth for the 13 weeks to 27 December.

Sales fall again at Marks & Spencer

UK like-for-like sales fell by 0.4% for the period. General merchandise, which includes the clothing division, were down by 1.2%.

Food sales rose by just 0.2%. Both figures were in line with analysts' expectations.

The retailer said underlying profits rose by 6.1% to £284m, although after taking into account one-off items pre-tax profits fell 22.7% to £216m.

 

Those one-off items included almost £27m on revamping UK stores and £22m on European store costs.

M&S said that trading conditions were challenging, with the UK retail sector affected by unseasonal conditions that resulted in high levels of promotions, particularly in the first quarter.

iPhone sales send Apple profits up

The tech giant's revenue was $51.5bn (£33.6bn), up 22% compared with the same period last year.

It sold more than 48 million iPhones in the period, which it said were "record fourth quarter sales", although the figure did miss analysts' expectations.

 

It also reported a net income of $11.1bn for the period, adding that 2015 was its most successful ever year.

Nigeria raises N45bn in 5-20year bond

Nigeria sold 45 billion naira worth of naira-denominated bonds maturing in 2020 and 2034 at an auction on Wednesday, paying higher yields than at its previous auction in August, the Debt Management Office said on Thursday.

 

The amount raised at the auction was short of the 70 billion naira initially proposed by the debt office. Traders said the debt office was constrained by the higher yields that investors demanded and reduced the amount of debt sold.

Investors had asked for yields ranging from 13.5 to 20 percent for the 2020 bond and 14.5 to 20 percent for the 2034 debt, but the debt office decided to cut off the sale at 15.95 and 15.97 percent respectively.

The debt office sold 20 billion naira worth of 2020 debt at 15.95 percent yields, 57 basis points more than 15.38 percent at the last auction in Aug.

Samsung Galaxy Announced fast Sales of new Android S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5 unveiled

Samsung has announced two new large high-end Android handsets: the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5.

Both phones have 5.7in (14.5cm) screens and are going on sale earlier in the year than their previous generations.

 

The launches follow five successive falls in Samsung Electronics' quarterly profits.

Analysts say the popularity of mid-range phones from Chinese rivals, and Apple's shift to bigger iPhones, have dented demand for Samsung's devices.

However, the firm remains the world leader in terms of overall smartphone shipments.

The announcements were made at a press conference in New York.

Economists Expected Retail Sales Growth Slowed in May

The Office for National Statistics said clothing sales were 1.6% down on April's level, the biggest fall since September 2014. The fall included a drop in internet clothing sales.

Economists had expected retail sales to be flat in May after sales in April were boosted by unusually warm weather.

By contrast, May was cooler than normal.

 

Food stores had a good month, with volumes up 0.6%, the biggest increase since December. Household goods stores and petrol stations also saw growth.

Some economists have predicted that UK consumer spending could be on track for a strong year as low inflation and rising wages give households more disposable income.

'Survival mode'

Sales Fall again in Sainsbury

The chain reported same store sales excluding fuel down a worse-than-expected 2.1% in the 12 weeks to June 6, which comes on top of a 1.9% drop in the previous three months.

Sainsbury's remains under pressure from falling UK food prices and as the big four grocers engage in fierce competition amid a scramble for market share, which is being eaten away by discounters Aldi and Lidl.

 

Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe, who took over from long-standing predecessor Justin King last July, unveiled a wide-ranging plan to fight back against the discounters in November which included price cuts to 1,100 items and improvements in quality to 3,000 own-brand products.

Blacks fades to black as it plans to shutter all 59 stores in Canada by August

Blacks, a storied company that became synonymous with cameras, pictures and family albums, will shutter its 59 stores across the country by Aug. 8, its parent company Telus announced Tuesday.

The move will see about 485 employees lose their jobs, most of which are in Ontario.

Oil leaps 5% on tempered Iran view, slowing US inventory rise

Oil prices jumped as much as 5 percent on Monday as traders reassessed how quickly Iran could increase exports after a preliminary nuclear deal and anticipated that a months-long rise in U.S. inventories may be slowing.

Brent crude tumbled nearly 4 percent on Thursday after Iran and six world powers announced a framework agreement on the OPEC member’s nuclear program. But initial expectations of a quick recovery in oil exports were tempered by views that it could take up to a year to roll back sanctions.