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Walmart's JetBlack piques buyers' interest; Carnival lowers FY'19 outlook again

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Walmart's JetBlack piques buyers' interest; Carnival lowers FY'19 outlook again

TOP NEWS

* Walmart Inc.'s text-to-order business JetBlack has attracted interest from potential buyers and business partners as the U.S. retail giant weighs options for the unit, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the situation. Sources to the news outlet reportedly said that the offers could involve a partnership, spinoff or sale of the business.

* Carnival Corp. & PLC said it now expects adjusted EPS for fiscal 2019 to range between $4.23 and $4.27, versus its previous guidance of $4.25 to $4.35, marking the third time the company reduced its earnings guidance for the full year. For the three months to Aug. 31, the cruise operator reported adjusted EPS of $2.63, up from $2.36 in the year-ago period and above the S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus normalized EPS estimate of $2.54.

TEXTILES, APPAREL AND LUXURY GOODS

* H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB partnered with fashion brand Pringle of Scotland Ltd. to globally launch a knitwear line in stores and online beginning Oct. 3.

* The Gap Inc. plans to hire workers across all its retail stores, customer service centers and distribution warehouses for the upcoming holidays. The company aims to hire as many as 5,000 employees during its single-day hiring event Oct. 5.

* Compagnie Financière Richemont SA acquired Italian jeweler Buccellati Holding Italia SpA from Gangtai Group Corp. Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.

* Asics Corp. acquired an undisclosed equity stake in Spanish startup Pyrates Smart Fabrics, which develops environmentally responsible textile for sportswear. The Japanese footwear company plans to launch a capsule collection featuring Pyratex fabrics at the beginning of 2020.

* American Eagle Outfitters Inc. aims to cut its water usage in jeans production by 30%, sustainably source all cotton used in its products and use 50% sustainable polyester by 2023. It also pledged to be carbon neutral across all its facilities by 2030 and to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 and 60% by 2040 from the base year 2018.

* New York-based menswear and womenswear brand Thom Browne will launch its first fragrance collection called Vetyver in October, developed in partnership with flavor and fragrance company Givaudan SA, Women's Wear Daily reported.

E-COMMERCE

* Internet company Baidu Inc. is offering 31,304,352 of its American depositary shares in Ctrip.com International Ltd., with a 30-day option for underwriters to purchase up to a total of 4,695,648 shares for overallotment coverage. According to a Reuters report, Baidu aims to raise about $1 billion as it looks to invest in new revenue streams.

* Amazon.com Inc.'s fashion arm teamed up with Puma SE to roll out athleisure brand Care Of, The Business of Fashion reported. A pilot was launched in Europe in the week of Sept. 23 and the collection is slated for release in the U.S. in October. Financial or contractual terms of the agreement were not disclosed, the report added.

* Rent the Runway Inc. will refund customers and give them an additional $200 in cash due to ongoing supply chain disruptions that have resulted in weeks of delays, CEO Jennifer Hyman told Bloomberg News in a phone interview. Hyman reportedly said the issues started Sept. 13 when the company installed a new system in its New Jersey warehouse. The CEO told customers in an email that all orders for the first week of October have been canceled and that the company will not accept new orders or subscribers until Oct. 15.

FOOD AND STAPLES RETAILING

* Rite Aid Corp. narrowed its fiscal 2020 adjusted EPS outlook to between zero and 56 cents, from its prior guidance of a loss of 14 cents to an income of 72 cents. For the second quarter, adjusted EPS came in at 12 cents, versus a loss of 15 cents in the year-ago period, while revenue fell to $5.37 billion from $5.42 billion.

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES AND SPECIALTY RETAIL

* Bunnings Group Ltd. said a coding error in its payroll system resulted in the home improvement retailer underpaying its part-time employees who worked overtime, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing a company statement. Bunnings, which claims the error mostly affected the superannuation payments from May or June of each year since 2011, said it launched a "reconciliation" process to address the matter and has fixed the original error, the report said.

HOTELS, RESORTS AND CRUISE LINES

* The U.K. Parliament's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee has launched an inquiry into Thomas Cook Group PLC following its collapse into liquidation earlier this week. According to a release from the British Parliament, the inquiry will focus on a number of issues including the management of the business, executive pay, accounting practices and the role of auditors. Thomas Cook did not immediately respond to S&P Global Market Intelligence's request for comment.

* AccorHotels will relaunch a total of 10 hotels under the Orient Express banner by 2030, Bloomberg News reported, citing Orient Express Hotels executive director Guillaume de Saint Lager. The relaunch reportedly will begin in Bangkok in the summer of 2020.

* The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority said it is on track with its plan to repatriate more than 150,000 people back in the country until Oct. 6, following the liquidation of Thomas Cook Group PLC. The agency said it has 72 flights scheduled for Sept. 27 to bring back 16,000 people, in addition to the 61,000 passengers it has repatriated so far.

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The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng declined 0.33% to 25,954.81, and the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.77% to 21,878.90.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 1.12% to 7,433.37, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.38% to 1,093.52.

On the macro front

The durable goods orders report, the personal income and outlays report, the consumer sentiment report, the farm prices report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count report are due out today.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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