British CPI stays at 1.7% in September, slightly below forecast

U.K. consumer price growth stayed at 1.7% in September, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. Economists polled by FactSet expected a 1.8% rise. While fuel prices, used cars and electricity prices fell, there were increases for furniture, household appliances and hotel stays.

ASOS FY Pretax Profit Declines; Revenue Up 13% – Quick Facts

ASOS plc (ASOMY.PK,ASOMF.PK,ASC.L), an online retailer, said the Group’s financial and operating performance has been disappointing during the year to 31 August 2019. Profit before tax declined 68 percent due to substantial transition and restructuring costs. Total sales grew by 13 percent supported by an improving performance in P4.

For the fiscal year, pretax profit was 33.1 million pounds compared to 102.0 million pounds, last year. Earnings per share was 29.4 pence compared to 98.0 pence.

Fiscal year revenue increased to 2.73 billion pounds from 2.42 billion pounds, last year. Retail sales were up 13 percent, for the fiscal year.

ASOS’s websites had 20.3 million active customers as at 31 August 2019, of which 6.4 million were located in the UK and 13.9 million were located in international territories. In fiscal 2019, the Group had over 72 million orders, an increase of 14 percent on the previous year. Active customer database grew by 10 percent.

TomTom swings to net loss

TomTom NV said Wednesday that it swung to a net loss in the third quarter of 2019, hit by higher operating expenses, as it raised its adjusted earnings guidance and cut its revenue outlook.

The Dutch navigational-technologies company TOM2, -4.27% reported a net loss of 43.4 million euros ($47.8 million) for the quarter to Sept. 30 compared with a profit of EUR17.2 million in the year-earlier period.

The company said it booked an increased amortization expense due to a change in the estimated remaining useful life of its map database.

Revenue for the quarter fell to EUR164.2 million from EUR176.3 million a year before, TomTom said.

The company said it now expects revenue for the full year to come in at around EUR700 million, having previously guided for revenue of more than EUR700 million. Adjusted earnings per share are forecast at EUR0.20 compared with previous guidance of EUR0.15 due to an expected higher gross margin, TomTom said.

Barratt Developments says forward sales dropped for early 2020

Barratt Developments PLC said Wednesday that total forward sales were down 2.4% at the start of fiscal 2020.

The U.K. house builder BDEV, -2.87% said its order book stood at 3.07 billion pounds ($3.89 billion) as of Oct. 13, down from GBP3.15 billion at the same time a year earlier.

Net private reservations per active outlet averaged 0.72 a week in the first 15 weeks of fiscal 2020, in line with the year-earlier period, the FTSE 100 company said.

The company said it remains focused on delivering its targets of volume growth in wholly-owned home completions of 3% to 5% a year, land acquisition at a minimum 23% gross margin, and a minimum 25% return on capital employed.

For the year ending June 30, 2020, Barratt expects volume growth toward the lower end of its medium-term target range.

Australia's nursing homes routinely sedate elderly: Rights group

Seniors in Australian nursing homes medicated to keep calm, says Human Rights Watch.

In Australia a national inquiry has been set up to investigate allegations of abuse in elderly care centres, according to Human Rights Watch.

The rights group found that that sick and vulnerable seniors are being sedated, often without their consent in old-age homes across the country.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Thomas reports from Melbourne.

Chances of Brexit deal this week are shrinking: BBC political editor

LONDON (Reuters) – The chances of a Brexit deal being agreed this week are now shrinking, BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg said on Twitter on Wednesday, citing government sources.

British and EU officials resumed talks to clinch a deal, just hours after late-night negotiations wound up.

The ‘most appalling night’ in English football

Can UEFA do anything to stamp out racism in football? Also today, Turkey say a ceasefire is “not an option” in northern Syria.

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Chances of Brexit deal this week are shrinking – BBC political editor

LONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) – The chances of a Brexit deal being agreed this week are now shrinking, BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg said on Twitter on Wednesday, citing government sources.

British and EU officials resumed talks to clinch a deal, just hours after late-night negotiations wound up. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, writing by Estelle Shirbon)

Eurozone inflation slows to near 3-year lows

BRUSSELS (AP) — Inflation in the 19-country eurozone has fallen to its lowest rate since November 2016.

Statistics agency Eurostat revised down the annual rate of consumer price inflation in September to 0.8% from its initial estimate of 0.9% as energy prices fell by more than initially thought.

The fall in the rate from the previous month’s 1% helps explain why the European Central Bank recently announced another stimulus package.

Low inflation can be a sign of economic weakness and has been a concern for officials at the ECB, whose goal is to have inflation of just under 2%. The central bank decided Sept. 12 to launch a package of measures aimed at raising inflation and supporting weakening growth.

Kawasaki Motors USA Recalls Lawn Mower Engines

Kawasaki Motors USA recalled about 950 units of lawn mower engines over concerns of burn and fire Hazards. The faulty fuel injector of the recalled engines can push more-than-required fuel into the engine, causing burns or fire, a statement published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

The recall involves Kawasaki engines used in riding lawn mowers sold under the Ferris brand name. These model years 2017 and 2018 Kawasaki FX850V-EFI series engines were sold along with mower model number IS 2100Z ZTR and the Cub Cadet Pro Z 760 LKW EFI.

However, the company said it is yet to receive any reports of incidents or injuries.

The company advised consumers to immediately stop using the mowers in reference and contact Kawasaki or a Kawasaki dealer for free repair.

The lawn mowers were made in the U.S. by Maryville, Missouri-based Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. U.S.A.

They were sold at Kawasaki dealers and lawn and garden stores across the U.S. from June 2017 through August 2019 for about $2,800 for the engines sold separately, and for between $10,000 and $12,000 for mowers with the engines.

In November 2012, Kawasaki Motors had recalled about 210,000 units of lawn mower engines over concerns of fire hazard as the fuel filter could leak. Kawasaki Motors received 110 reports of fuel leaks, but no injuries were reported.