Wednesday 2 March 2018

Company news, markets and financial talking points, available from 8am Monday to Friday

'Winning' Apple posts record results

Apple has reported its best ever second quarter financial results, posting revenue of $61.1bn (£44.9bn) for the first three months of the year, up 16% on the same time a year ago. The tech giant said it sold 52.2m iPhones during the quarter, slightly below expectations. Shares rose 3% in afterhours trading. "It looks like on pretty much every front Apple has had a win," an analyst told the BBC.

Sainsbury's boss 'goes into bat for customers'

The chief executive of Sainsbury’s has claimed that his job is to "go to bat" for customers. Mike Coupe also insisted the merger with Asda would generate £350m of synergies through enhanced buying power that would improve choice and prices for punters. If approved, the merger will create a group with sales of £51bn, 330,000 staff and more than 2,800 UK stores.

Facebook announces move into dating

Facebook's has unveiled a dating service at its annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California. Mark Zuckerberg said that the match-making feature would consider privacy issues and would launch "soon". He added: "There are 200m people on Facebook who list themselves as single." The social network’s founder admitted that 2018 has been an "intense year" for his firm.

Gibson loses its tune as it files for bankruptcy

Gibson has filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles with $500m (£367m) of debt. The Nashville-based firm said the chapter 11 filing would assure the company's "long-term stability and financial health". Analysts are blaming an ill-fated acquisition of Philips' consumer audio division four years ago for $135m. Gibson’s iconic guitars have been played by stars including Elvis, Keith Richards and Jimmy Page.

Ofcom probes Express and Star takeover

Ofcom is investigating whether the takeover of the Express and Star newspapers is likely to damage free expression and impact editorial decision-making. The media watchdog will also examine whether the purchase of the titles by Trinity Mirror could lead to an insufficient variety of views in newspapers. Ofcom is due to report to the government by the end of this month.

Quote of the day… Merger mania must stop

"There are few better warning signs of top of the market froth than an outbreak of the merger mania we are seeing today." Jeremy Warner of The Times says we must "stop this merger madness".

THE NUMBERS... AT 0700 GMT

FTSE 100: up +0.15 to 7520.36
Dow Jones: down -0.27 to 24099.05
Dax: up +0.25 to 12612.11
Cac 40: up +0.68 to 5520.50
Nikkei: down -0.21 to 22460.43
Hang Seng: down -0.67 to 30603.26
US dollar: buys €0.8331 and £0.7351
Sterling: buys $1.1335 and €1.3607
Oil: $73.19 up +0.06