Latest Developments

North America
CNBC Finance

J.B. Hunt stock plunges 13% after company warns third-quarter earnings will fall

Shares of J.B. Hunt plunged 13% on Wednesday after the trucking company said it expects its earnings to drop in the third quarter. "We kind of want to be transparent with investors and give an update that in light of these costs that are sort of hitting us, we are expecting our Q2 to Q3 earnings to actually drop 5% to 10%," Chief Financial Officer Brad Delco said at the Morgan Stanley Industrials conference. Delco said between recruiting, advertising, onboarding, training and sign-on bonuses, the company expects to see about $25 million more in the third-quarter costs compared with the second quarter. He said that means J.B. Hunt is "preparing for growth." Still, he added the company has also seen "some of the most radical and abnormal swings" in fuel prices that it has ever seen and record-high diesel prices, which are causing at least a $10 million headwind. Delco said he expects volumes to improve sequentially to offset the incremental pressures. "It really is more of a timing issue," he said. "I think you can look at a glass half-empty or a glass half-full. I'm really glad that we have visibility to these costs right now." Delco also said J.B. Hunt is working on repairing its margins, though he believes the company still has a long way to go. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

J.B. Hunt stock plunges 13% after company warns third-quarter earnings will fall
Europe
BBC Business

Tories pledge to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists

The Conservative Party has pledged to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists from outside the European Union. The Tories said the decision to scrap the scheme in 2021 left the UK less competitive than European destinations. Leader Kemi Badenoch, who was a Treasury minister when the tax relief was abolished, said businesses were being "let down by a tax policy that is chasing their customers away". The VAT Retail Export Scheme - which allowed overseas visitors to get a VAT refund on items they had bought in Great Britain and took home in their luggage - was scrapped for non-EU visitors under the previous Conservative government in 2021, while it was also not extended for EU visitors. At the time, Badenoch said it was "a costly relief which does not benefit the whole of GB equally". However, the Conservatives have now set out plans to restore VAT refunds for eligible visitors from outside the EU. The party said that if evidence confirms the scheme "pays its way", this would be extended to visitors from the EU by the end of the next Parliament. It said the cost of reintroducing the scheme would be offset by cracking down on "NHS health tourism", including more consistent charging of patients ineligible for free treatment, minimum recovery targets for debts and requiring full repayment of debts before visa applications or renewals will be considered. The remaining costs would be funded from a package of savings set out by the Tories last year. The party also argued the move would benefit shops, hotels, restaurants and the wider tourism industry. It pointed to research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), which suggested fully restoring tax-free shopping for tourists could attract up to 2.35 million extra visitors and generate £4.1bn in extra spending. The report from earlier this month also estimated that for every £1 of VAT refunded, this could generate £1.54 in other taxes.

Tories pledge to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists
Europe
BBC Business

I'd rather pay thousands on a holiday: Meet the pensioners spending the kids' inheritance

Happily retired, Sarah Moorhouse is using her private pension "to go places and do nice things at the drop of a hat". While other retirees with a decent monthly pension income may choose to build up an inheritance for their children, Sarah, 64, and her husband Geoff are opting to spend their money on living life to the max. "We like going to Scotland," says Sarah, a retired school administrator. "We've been down to Cambridgeshire, which was lovely. We go up to the Lake District quite regularly to a holiday cottage, and we're planning to go to Norfolk." The couple, who live in the Yorkshire Dales, go on holiday four or five times a year, spending hundreds of pounds each time because, in Sarah's view, "you only have one opportunity at life". They did recently sell their vintage Sunbeam Alpine sports car. But only so they could replace it with a more modern, sporty two-seater convertible, a Mazda MX-5. "I'm of an age where I'm going to friends' and acquaintances' funerals, and I think you just need to live life and enjoy it while you can, because it's a very precious commodity," says Sarah. Sarah and Geoff are part of a global personal finance phenomenon that has been dubbed "skiing", which stands for spending the kids' inheritance. It is challenging the notion that assets will get handed down to the next generation. One in seven UK parents of children of all ages (15%) now plan to prioritise enjoying their money in their retirement over leaving an inheritance, according to a March report, external by pension provider Standard Life. And in the US, the number of people expecting to get an inheritance from their parents dropped to 20% last year, from 25% in 2024, according to a study, external by financial services firm Northwestern Mutual. Sarah and Geoff have two adult daughters. One of them, Poppy, tells the BBC that she couldn't be happier that her parents are out and about having fun. She firmly rejects the notion that she and her sister should expect an inheritance. "To me that's wild. It never even crossed my mind that I'll get money when my mum and dad die. I'd so much rather them do what they want to do." Mike Ambery, retirement and savings director at Standard Life, believes that the move towards skiing in the UK has been driven by the disappearance of final-salary pensions, which provide guaranteed monthly pension payments that last for as long as the retiree lives.

I'd rather pay thousands on a holiday: Meet the pensioners spending the kids' inheritance
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Sollfege Smart Electronics IPO to raise ₹21.7 cr, open on Sep 30

The public offer is entirely a fresh issue of up to 39.60 lakh equity shares and priced at ₹55 per share, aggregating to ₹21.78 crore. Kolkata-based Sollfege Smart Electronics will raise ₹21.78 crore through an initial public offering to fund its retail network expansion plans, according to a statement. The initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription on September 30 and conclude on October 5. The shares will be listed on the BSE SME platform with a tentative listing date of October 8. The public offer is entirely a fresh issue of up to 39.60 lakh equity shares and priced at ₹55 per share, aggregating to ₹21.78 crore. The net proceeds from the issue, around ₹9.67 crore, will be used by Sollfege Smart Electronics to fund its working capital requirements, and ₹8.54 crore will be utilised to accelerate the expansion of its retail network by launching 12 new showrooms. "As we enter the next phase of our journey, our focus will remain on strengthening our market presence, enhancing the customer experience and building Sollfege as a trusted name in premium home entertainment and smart living solutions," said Umesh Kumar Agarwal, Managing Director, Sollfege Smart Electronics Ltd. Established in 2012, Sollfege Smart Electronics is in the business of premium audio, video and home automation solutions. Its total income increased from ₹12.74 crore in FY23 to ₹21.28 crore in FY25. During the same period, Sollfege's profit after tax rose from ₹36 lakh to ₹2.13 crore. The company said the planned retail expansion will help strengthen its presence and widen customer reach as demand for premium home entertainment and connected-living solutions grows. Finshore Management Services is the sole book-running lead manager for the IPO. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Sollfege Smart Electronics IPO to raise ₹21.7 cr, open on Sep 30
North America
CNBC Finance

Beauty, health and wellness are converging into one retail category

As consumers become more educated about the products they're buying and look to make more holistic purchases, a new retail category is emerging. What were once three separate sections — beauty, health and wellness — have converged into one large category as consumers look for products that serve multiple purposes. That change in consumer behavior is creating more competition for companies racing to win over the corresponding share of customers' wallets, industry experts said. According to a new study from consulting firm AlixPartners, nearly 100% of consumers surveyed believe that the category is just one budget item, whereas it was three before. The survey, conducted jointly between CEW and AlixPartners between May and June, sampled 1,000 consumers age 18 and over and split across gender, age, income brackets and regions. The survey also polled 127 executives in the beauty, health and wellness industries. "What we found in the data is a consumer is just as likely to trade off a night cream for another night cream as a night cream for a personal trainer," Lindy Firstenberg, co-lead of the company's beauty, health and wellness practice, told CNBC. "Anything in beauty, health and wellness is within the consideration set." As wellness becomes more mainstream, 40% of consumers in the survey said they want traditional beauty companies to expand their reach in terms of the products they offer. At the same time, the AlixPartners study found that 42% of executives said they wanted their companies to stay in their lane. "What that shows is a fundamental disconnect that consumers are asking for more; they're asking for different, they're asking for a new playbook, and executives are saying, 'No, that's way too scary. That's not going to happen,'" Firstenberg said. Firstenberg said she believes companies may be hesitant to take on a big bet that won't necessarily immediately pay off on a quarterly cycle. It's a move that would also include lengthy time for research and development and consumer profiling. "They're not willing to look outside of themselves in order to see that broader beauty, health and wellness bucket, which is the exact opposite of consumers," Firstenberg said. That trend comes as consumers are also becoming more knowledgeable about the products they're buying and integrating a more science-backed approach to their beauty purchases, a trend AlixPartners calls the "consumer PhD." Firstenberg said people are also looking to other consumers, especially on social media, for which products to buy and which ones will have the best results, instead of relying on the brands. Some companies are choosing to team up with existing brands on the other side of the sector to expand their offerings.

Beauty, health and wellness are converging into one retail category
North America
Yahoo Finance

Dow Drops To Record Worst Week In Six Months Amid Elevated Yields, Oil — NVDA, TSLA, SPCX, ONON In Focus

US stock indices ended the week lower as investors digested the first rate hike since 2023, elevated oil prices and pressure from rising yields. The S&P 500 ended Friday 1.1% lower, while the Nasdaq 100 added 1.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%. The Russell 2000, which tracks stocks with small market capitalizations, rose about 0.6%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for QQQ, SPY, and DIA was ‘bearish,’ with ‘high’ message volumes. Elevated Treasury yields continued to pressure equities, with the 10-year yield touching its highest point since July 2007 earlier in the week as it crossed 5%. It closed up nearly 6 basis points to 5.006% on Friday. The iShares 20+ year Treasury ETF (TLT) eased about 0.6% on Friday. U.S. crude oil closed the week mostly flat while staying above $100 per barrel. On Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.58% to $100.30 per barrel, while Brent crude dropped 0.91% to $103.87 per barrel. Friday’s trading capped off a mixed week for major equity benchmarks. The Dow fell 1.7%, marking its third consecutive weekly decline and its steepest drop since March. The S&P 500 dipped roughly 0.1%, whereas the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.7%. “Nothing has changed on the fundamental side to lead investors to think that oil prices will decline in a significant way or that yields will tumble over the intermediate term,” Matt Maley at Miller Tabak told Bloomberg. “We could still see a significant jump in volatility.” Artificial intelligence developer Anthropic has postponed its anticipated market listing until November, according to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal. London-based AI data center company Nscale has filed publicly for an initial public offering (IPO) in New York to acquire the infrastructure needed to meet the global demand for artificial intelligence compute power. Tesla (TSLA) was in the spotlight on Friday after Barclays said the EV maker could deliver more vehicles than expected in the third quarter and added that its autonomous driving technologies could boost margins. On Holding AG (ONON) signed French football star Kylian Mbappé as an athlete partner and global ambassador.

Dow Drops To Record Worst Week In Six Months Amid Elevated Yields, Oil — NVDA, TSLA, SPCX, ONON In Focus
Europe
BBC Business

Airlines criticise air traffic control as second glitch causes more disruption

Airlines have criticised the UK's air traffic control system after a second technical problem in two weeks caused major disruption to UK flights. EasyJet said Monday's incident "once again calls into question the resilience" of the service, while Wizz Air said there was a "national confidence crisis" in National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which runs the UK's air traffic. Nats said a "connectivity issue" at Prestwick was behind the disruption across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England - and had "nothing to do" with a separate software defect at Swanwick earlier this month. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said further issues today "cause even greater concern" about the UK's air traffic control. When asked by reporters whether he would look to fire the head of Nats, Burnham said "these are clearly serious issues and they need to be fully investigated". He added that the transport secretary was taking the issues "extremely seriously" and initially it's a matter for her "to get to the bottom of... and why there has been a recurrence." The underlying issue causing Monday's disruption has since been resolved, with Nats saying it was running at "full capacity", although officials warned of knock-on effects. A spokesperson said they were now "focused on working with our customers to recover their residual delays and help get their operations back to normal". More than 150 flights were cancelled at UK airports on Monday - including 140 departures and 137 arrivals, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. Easyjet was the worst affected airline, with 48 of its 670 scheduled departures cancelled, while British Airways has seen 13 cancellations from its 513 scheduled departures. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said passengers who had flights disrupted were "unlikely" to be entitled to compensation. It said the technical issue is "likely to be considered the result of 'extraordinary circumstances' under passenger rights rules", meaning that "although passengers should be looked after by airlines, they are unlikely to be entitled to compensation for delays or cancellations that were directly caused by the incident".

Airlines criticise air traffic control as second glitch causes more disruption
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman to visit Qatar for annual AIIB Board of Governors meeting

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will embark on a three-day visit to Qatar, leading the delegation comprising Finance Ministry officials. | Photo Credit: BIJOY GHOSH Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will embark on a three-day visit to Qatar, leading the delegation comprising Finance Ministry officials. Announcing Sitharaman's visit, the Ministry of Finance wrote in a post on X that the Finance Minister will be attending the 11th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, scheduled to be held on Monday in Doha, as the Indian Governor. As part of her visit, she will also hold several bilateral meetings with the AIIB President and her counterparts from various nations. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman will embark on an official visit to Qatar from 27th to 29thSeptember, 2026. The Union Finance Minister is leading the delegation comprising of Ministry of Finance officials.During the visit, FM Smt. @nsitharaman… pic.twitter.com/wA48MGv1iw Earlier in March, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Zou Jiayi, the new President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), here in the national capital, where they discussed strengthening the India-AIIB partnership. Representing the second-largest shareholder in AIIB, Sitharaman emphasised the need to scale up investments in AIIB member countries, particularly low-income countries, through various innovative financing and non-financing instruments. The Union Finance Minister also highlighted India's continued focus on infrastructure-led growth under the Union Budget, and both discussed the importance of enhanced collaboration with AIIB through early upstream services in the infrastructure sector in India. Among other issues, the Union minister stressed AIIB's role in developing the capital markets, expediting the approvals of projects in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and setting up a regional office in India, given the scale of AIIB's operations here. According to the AIIB website, it began operations in 2016 with 57 founding Members (37 regional and 20 non-regional). By the end of 2020, it had 103 approved Members representing approximately 79 per cent of the global population and 65 per cent of global GDP. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman to visit Qatar for annual AIIB Board of Governors meeting
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

India's key-tenor bonds may see relief after October-March supply cut

The word bonds on wooden cubes with office desktop. Business finance stock exchange concept. | Photo Credit: cagkansayin Indian government bond yields are set to open higher on Monday, tracking a rise in US Treasury yields, although a reduction in October-March supply of liquid five-year and 10-year bonds may offer some relief after a steep selloff in recent weeks. The benchmark 6.94 per cent 2036 bond yield is expected to trade between 7.06 per cent and 7.11 per cent on Monday, according to a trader with a primary dealership, after ending at 7.1194 per cent on Friday. “Traders may take some solace in the mild reduction in five-year and 10-year bond supply, as these two segments were heavily battered in the last few sessions,” the trader said. New Delhi plans to raise ₹7.86 lakh crore ($82 billion) through bond sales between October and March, slightly below earlier projections. The move takes full-year borrowing to ₹16 lakh crore, down from the ₹16.09 lakh crore projected after the first half and ₹17.20 lakh crore outlined in the Budget. The share of five-year and 10-year bonds in the borrowing mix has been cut to 12.1 per cent and 26.3 per cent, respectively, from 15.4 per cent and 29 per cent in April-September. The 10-year benchmark bond yield has jumped 36 bps in the last six weeks, while its shorter-duration counterpart has surged 46 bps during the same period. US Treasury yields stayed elevated, with the 10-year yield hovering around its highest level in nearly two decades, as recent data and comments from Federal Reserve officials reinforced bets on further rate hikes. Traders now see a 64 per cent chance of another rate increase in October and a 51 per cent probability of a further move in December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. The Fed raised rates earlier this month, for the first time since 2023. Expectations of a rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India have strengthened after August retail inflation accelerated to 4.82 per cent and following the US Fed’s latest move, with a majority now expecting an increase next week. Overnight indexed swap rates are expected to remain rangebound after rising in the previous week. Last week, the one-year rate added 9 bps to end at 6.16 per cent, the two-year rate also rose 9 bps to 6.37 per cent, while the five-year rate gained 4 bps to 6.6250 per cent.

India's key-tenor bonds may see relief after October-March supply cut