Superdry Plc Posts Wider Underlying Loss In H1; Revenue Down 23.4% – Quick Facts

Superdry plc (SDRY.L,SEPGF.PK,SEPGY.PK) reported a statutory loss before tax of 18.9 million pounds for the 26-week period to 24 October 2020 compared to a loss of 4.2 million pounds, prior year. Loss per share was 18.6 pence compared to a loss of 7.9 pence. Underlying loss before tax widened to a loss of 10.6 million pounds compared to a loss of 2.3 million pounds, prior year. Underlying loss per share was 10.4 pence compared to a loss of 5.7 pence.

First half total Group revenue was 282.7 million pounds compared to 369.1 million pounds, last year, a decline of 23.4%.

The Board believes it is prudent and in the long-term interest of shareholders to continue to focus on cash preservation in the short-term and has decided to not propose an interim dividend.

Short Interest in World’s Biggest ETF Plunges to Decade Lows

In this article

Bets against the world’s largest exchange-traded fund have plunged back to pre-pandemic levels seen about a year ago, before the onset of the fastest stock bear market in history.

Fueled by vaccine hopes and reflationary signals, short interest in the $334 billion SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ticker SPY) now sits at just 2% of shares outstanding, according to IHS Markit Ltd. data.

Barring melt-ups in 2017 and early 2020, these levels have rarely been seen over the past decade.

Falling short interest generally indicates growing faith in a stock rally because it suggests holders are unwilling to lend out the shares they own or that demand to borrow and bet against them has dropped. Still, as speculative mania engulfs Wall Street from Tesla Inc. and Bitcoin to call options, vanishing shorts may be seen as yet-another sign of market complacency.

“First-quarter euphoria has taken hold,” said Peter Chatwell, head of multi-asset strategy at Mizuho. “The second quarter’s likely massive growth rebound is viewed as sufficient to protect equity markets against downside in the coming months.”

— With assistance by Claire Ballentine

Samsung Launches New Galaxy S21 Smartphones

South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday launched three Galaxy S21 smartphones, including flagship Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Galaxy S21 Ultra sports the largest screen in the Galaxy S21 series with a 6.8-inch AMOLED Quad HD+ display and a refresh rate of 120Hz.

The phone features a quad rear camera including an upgraded 108MP pro sensor. Users will be able to shoot videos in 4K at 60fps across all lenses including front and rear four lenses. The device has a 40MP front camera.

Galaxy S21 Ultra is powered by a 5000mAh battery and can reach a 50% charge in just 30 minutes. It comes in two memory variants 12GB RAM with 256GB internal storage and 16GB RAM with 512GB internal storage.

In the U.S., the device will be run on Qualcomm Inc.’s Snapdragon 888 processor while in other markets it will get its latest in-house Exynos 2100 system-on-chip.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the first non-Note category phone to support the S Pen. Users can use an existing S Pen from a Galaxy Note or Galaxy Tab or purchase an S Pen separately on its own.

“Galaxy S21 Ultra is another example of how Samsung is driving meaningful innovation forward to give people personalized experiences that enrich their lives and empower them to express who they are,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics.

The flagship Galaxy S21 Ultra costs $1,199.99, while Galaxy S21 starts at $799.99 and the S21 is priced $999.99. The new phones go on sale January 29.

U.S. Factory Orders Jump 1.0% In November, More Than Expected

A report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased by more than expected in the month of November.

The Commerce Department said factory orders surged up by 1.0 percent in November after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.3 percent in October.

Economists had expected factory orders to climb by 0.7 percent compared to the 1.0 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

The report said durable goods orders advanced by 1.0 percent in November following a 1.8 percent spike in October, with orders for transportation equipment helping to lead the way higher.

Orders for non-durable goods also increased by 1.1 percent in November after climbing by 0.8 percent in the previous month.

The Commerce Department said shipments of manufactured goods also rose by 0.7 percent in November after jumping by 1.2 percent in October.

Inventories of manufactured goods also climbed by 0.7 percent in November following a 0.3 percent uptick in the previous month.

With inventories and shipments both rising, the inventories-to-shipments ratio was unchanged from the previous month at 1.41.

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New Oriental Education & Technology Group Q2 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Below are the earnings highlights for New Oriental Education & Technology Group (EDU):

-Earnings: $53.90 million in Q2 vs. $53.44 million in the same period last year.
-EPS: $0.33 in Q2 vs. $0.34 in the same period last year.
-Excluding items, New Oriental Education & Technology Group reported adjusted earnings of $69.14 million or $0.43 per share for the period.
-Analysts projected $0.34 per share
-Revenue: $887.69 million in Q2 vs. $785.21 million in the same period last year.

-Guidance:
Next quarter revenue guidance: $1098.6 -$1144.8 Mln