Financial News in Review: ARM Holdings plc, Intel Corp, Argentine credit rating cut, Next turns more bullish, Barclays faces fresh allegations in the US.
ARM Holdings Plc (LON:ARM) is to maintain its lead over rival Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) in the smartphone market with the launch of processors that will power a new generation of “superphones”.
The 64-bit processors will be adopted by some of the largest semiconductor makers next year before being built into smartphones and tablets that will hit the market in 2014 and 2015.
ARM Holdings, which is based in Cambridge, said that the superphones would be three times faster than today’s best smartphones.
They will also be up to 50 per cent more power efficient, which should extend batterylife. The group has launched the products in Intel’s backyard in Silicon Valley.
The ARM TechCon, an annual “geekfest”, held in Santa Clara, California, opened yesterday with 5,000 delegates having paid to take a first look at the new designs, The Times explains.
Barclays faces fresh investigations
Barclays, already rocked by an interest rate rigging scandal, unveiled two new U.S. regulatory investigations into the bank's financial probity on Wednesday and said its profit was hit by charges for mis-selling insurance.
Following investigations in the UK over its dealings with Qatari investors, Barclays said the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission were investigating whether its relationships with third parties who help it win or retain business are compliant with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Argentine credit rating cut
Standard Poor's has cut Argentina's credit rating by one notch, four days after a key New York court ruling on Argentine bonds increased pressure on the government's ability to manage its debts.
SP lowered the country's rating to B- from B, deep into junk bond territory, and appended a negative outlook on the rating, a warning that another rating cut could come within a year if conditions in the Argentine economy worsen.
SP said the New York appeals court ruling against Buenos Aires on the treatment of some of its debt, along with other recent debt-related actions by the Argentine government, "highlight the increasing challenges the government will likely continue to face to design its economic and debt management policy," The Telegraph writes.
Next turns a touch more bullish on the outlook
Next nudged its profit forecast for this year higher after stronger sales in recent weeks, adding to optimism that the UK retail sector is bouncing back from a weak summer.
Britain's second-biggest clothing retailer said stronger sales in late September and early October made up for an unusually quiet start to August. Next sales rose by a better-than-expected 2.7% in the 13 weeks to 27 October, its third quarter, with its shops 1.1% ahead while Directory (online and catalogue) sales climbed 5.6%. That compares with overall sales growth of 4.5% in the first half.
Panmure Gordon analyst Jean Roche said: "Bears will point to the slowdown in Directory sales and bulls to the impressive pickup in retail sales. We are big fans of this blue blood multichannel retailer."