Superdry future in doubt as it plunges to near £150m loss

Hopes that Superdry can ever return to former glories under founder CEO Julian Dunkerton were fading today after a disastrous set of results that leave investors worried for its future.

Dunkerton made a dramatic return to the business in 2019, furious at what management had done to a business he built and regards as one of his family.

Since then, shares have continued to plunge and his overhaul of the company ran into Covid and rough economic conditions.

Today’s results for the year to April had already been delayed by an auditor’s snafu, which hardly helped perceptions in the City. The shares were suspended while the books were completed.

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FTSE opens higher

A few minutes into today’s trading session in London, the FTSE 100 is up 0.25%.

Here’s a look at your key market data.

Shares plunge as NHS 111 provider Totally plans cost cutting

Shares in NHS outsourcer Totally Plc plunged by 11% this morning as it revealed it was cutting costs amid higher-than-expected expenses and slowdowns in the awarding of Government contracts.

The business, which operates the 111 service, said “the cost of agency staff required to deliver safe services for patients exceeds our anticipated forecasts and many decisions related to the awarding of new contracts are currently on hold”.

As a result, the business is “actively implementing strategies” to cut costs.

However, the business said it still expects to meet the financial targets it set out last month.

Shares are down 11% to 9.4p. They are down 80% since July of 2022.

Accsys Tech falls 18% after slump in demand amid construction slowdown

Shares in Accsys technologies fell as much as 18% this morning after the firm said a slowdown in housebuilding had hurt demand.

The company, which develops wood for construction said: “Trading conditions in the building materials, construction and residential housing markets in the UK, Europe and North America have continued to soften, impacted by rising interest rates, the higher inflation environment and slowing residential activity.”

Shares fell 18% to 80p.

Weak August for stock markets, Bitcoin’s worst month of year

The prospect of higher for longer interest rates and China’s softening economic data meant a rough month for financial markets in August.

Deutsche Bank reported today that just 12 out of 38 non-currency assets in its coverage were in positive territory, only slightly better than February’s 11 thanks to a recovery over the last week.

The gains since Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech last Friday meant the S&P 500 ended the month down 1.6% in total return terms compared with 4.7% on 18 August.

The overall monthly decline for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended a run of five monthly gains, although they have still delivered returns of 18.7% and 34.9% respectively this year.

The 8.2% slide for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index leaves it in negative territory for the year, down 4.4%. The FTSE 100 index fell by close to 3% in the month.

Brent crude oil prices rose 1.5% for a third consecutive time, while European natural gas prices surged 23.5% as concern grew about a potential strike at LNG facilities in Australia.

Deutsche Bank reported a weak month for cryptocurrencies in August, with Bitcoin down 10.9% in its biggest monthly decline of 2023 so far.

Direct Line to pay back £30 million to overcharged customers

Direct Line said today it will pay back any policy holders hit by a mistake it made in pricing some insurance policies after a change to the rules from regulators.

The FTSE 250 company overcharged some people renewing their car and home insurance after the Financial Conduct Authority banned the industry from charging more for renewals than they would pay if they were new customers.

At the time, the FCA said the rule change would save customers £4.2 billion over the next 10 years.

Direct Line said today that as a result of its error some “customers have paid a renewal price higher than they should have.”

It estimated that the cost of repaying customers would be around £30 million in total. About half of that was provided for on its 2022 results, it said.

Direct Line appointed a new CEO this week, poaching Adam Winslow from fellow insurer Aviva to fill the top job. The previous permanent cheif executive, Penny James, left in January after a profit warning led to it dropping its dividend payout and cancelling part of a share buyback. The warning came after a surge in the cost of motor insurance claims due to rising costs of second hand cars and longer repair times.

Markets focused on US jobs figures, Dell shares jump 8%

Traders are looking to this afternoon’s non-farm payrolls figure for guidance on whether the Federal Reserve has room to pause interest rate rises later this month.

A forecast decline from July’s addition of 187,000 jobs to 170,000 in August will provide more evidence that rates are in restrictive territory and slowing the US economy.

The prospect of the closely-watched figures put pressure on Wall Street yesterday, with the Nasdaq Composite the only major benchmark in positive territory.

The performance rounded off a disappointing August for markets after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq all fell in the region of 2%.

In trading after the closing bell, Dell Technologies jumped 8% after it raised full-year revenues and profit guidance due to higher demand for AI-optimised servers.

Asia markets have continued the cautious pattern of trading, with the FTSE 100 index forecast by CMC Markets open 16 points higher at 7455 after a drop of 34 points yesterday.

Yesterday’s selling came after Europe’s headline inflation rate remained unchanged at 5.3%, fuelling expectations of another ECB rate rise later this month.

Frasers ups stake in Boohoo yet again

Mike Ashley’s Frasers group has once again upped its stake in fashion retailer Boohoo.

The firm’s stake has gone up from 7.8% to 10.4%. That means Ashley is close to overtaking Boohoo founder Mahmud Kamani to become the biggest single shareholder of the business.

House prices fall 5.3% as interest rate hikes hit property

House prices fell 5.3% year-on-year in August, a much faster drop than expected, in a sign that interest rate hikes are clearly talking their toll on the property sector.

Princes were down 0.8% month-on-month, compared to a 0.4% expected drop.

House prices had proved surprisingly resilient even against the face of soaring interest rates, but today’s decline suggests that this may be starting to change.

Recap: Yesterday’s top stories

FzilchGood morning. Here’s a summary of our top headlines from yesterday: