Garmin’s Q1 results beat on strong demand for fitness, auto products (Reuters) -Garmin topped Wall Street estimates for first-quarter results on Wednesday as the Swiss navigation device maker benefited from new launches and strong demand for its products in fitness and auto segments, sending its shares up 9.6%. Garmin, which offers GPS devices and technology used for fitness tracking, sports, aviation and marine sectors, has introduced upgrades on its devices and launched new products, which have powered revenue growth. In the first quarter, it launched Forerunner 165 series, the latest additi ..read more

Stocks, dollar dip after data with eyes on Fed By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – A gauge of global stocks declined for the first time in three sessions on Wednesday while the dollar dipped against a basket of peers after a flurry of U.S. economic data and ahead of a policy announcement by the Federal Reserve. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks were lower for the first trading day of the month, after each of the major indexes closed out April with their first monthly declines since October. U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in April while data for the prior month was revised h ..read more

Apple set for big sales decline as investors await AI in iPhones By Yuvraj Malik (Reuters) – Apple’s plan to add generative AI to its iPhones and revive sagging sales in the crucial Chinese market will be in focus on Thursday, when the tech giant is expected to report its biggest quarterly revenue decline in more than a year. Long considered a must-own stock on Wall Street, Apple shares have underperformed other Big Tech companies in recent months, falling more than 10% year to date as fears mount about its slow roll out of AI services and as a resurgent Huawei takes market share in China. Ana ..read more

Sterling holds steady as markets await Fed decision By Harry Robertson LONDON (Reuters) – The pound held steady on Wednesday as traders waited for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day for hints about when U.S. borrowing costs might start to fall. Sterling was last effectively unchanged from Tuesday at $1.2488, after falling 0.55% the previous day as the dollar rallied on the back of strong U.S. economic data. The euro was also roughly flat at 85.46 pence, within the tight range it has traded in since the start of the year. Global markets were relatively subdued, with t ..read more

GSK raises profit outlook on strong vaccine, HIV drug sales By Eva Mathews and Maggie Fick (Reuters) -GSK raised its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday on strong demand for its common respiratory vaccine and specialty HIV medicines, though it expects sales growth to slow in the second half. CEO Emma Walmsley’s strategy has focussed on vaccines, cancer and infectious diseases and a shift in the company’s HIV focus to long-acting treatment and prevention therapies. The strategy has paid off as GSK gears up for 12 launches from 2025. The London-listed drugmaker said it expected a rise of 8% t ..read more

AI fuels cloud computing boom for tech giants By Yuvraj Malik (Reuters) – Three of the Wall Street’s heavyweight technology firms have reported better-than-expected sales at their cloud computing units in recent days, as interest in artificial intelligence drives a rebound in spending by corporate customers. Growth in the $270 billion cloud infrastructure market, a cash engine for Amazon.com, Microsoft and Alphabet, gives the clearest sign yet that AI investment is bearing fruit after investors drove those stocks to record highs, thanks to optimism about the emerging technology. Many big cust ..read more

Britain’s Next keeps profit guidance after first-quarter sales rise By James Davey LONDON (Reuters) -British clothing retailer Next on Wednesday kept its forecast for annual profit after reporting a 5.7% rise in first-quarter full price sales, slightly ahead of its guidance. With more than 800 stores in the UK and Ireland and nearly 8 million online customers, Next is often considered a gauge of how British consumers are faring. The group reiterated that it expects its sales in the second quarter to be weaker than the first quarter to April 27 because last year it benefited from particularly w ..read more

US spending on London real estate rebounds to highest in eight years By Iain Withers LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. investors are buying up London commercial property at the fastest rate in eight years, data compiled by BNP Paribas’s real estate arm showed, lured by signs the market in Britain is recovering faster than the harder-hit United States. Commercial property values and sales have plunged globally in recent years – including in Britain – as soaring borrowing costs and emptying post-pandemic offices have eroded investments. Vacancy rates have jumped, especially in the U.S. U.S. investor inter ..read more

Extreme heat shuts schools for millions, widening learning gaps worldwide By Gloria Dickie and Ruma Paul (Reuters) -Hena Khan, a grade nine student in Dhaka, has struggled to focus on her studies this week as temperatures surpassed 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Bangladesh capital. “There is no real education in schools in this punishing heat,” she said. “Teachers can’t teach, students can’t concentrate. Rather, our lives are at risk.” Khan is one of more than 40 million students who have been shut out of classrooms in recent weeks as heatwaves have forced school closures i ..read more

Sensodyne-maker Haleon posts tepid sales as demand for some products cool off (Reuters) -Consumer healthcare company Haleon reported first-quarter revenue slightly below market estimates on Wednesday, as volumes declined due to retailer destocking in U.S. and cooling demand for some of its medicines after a surge last year. The maker of popular household products such as Sensodyne toothpaste and pain-reliever Panadol, had earlier said that the first three months of 2024 would be impacted by a softer cold and flu season and a slowdown in painkiller Advil’s sales in Canada, following a surge in ..read more