UK economy grew by less-than-expected 0.1% in November; sterling falls
U.K. gross domestic product increased by 0.1% in November, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics, below a Reuters forecast for 0.2% economic growth.
The British pound extended losses to trade 0.28% down against the U.S. dollar and 0.24% lower against the euro shortly after the release.
Sterling strengthened on Wednesday after cooler-than-expected inflation prints out of the U.K. and U.S. sparked optimism around the U.K. economy and strengthened market bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year.
Pound/dollar.
Cartier owner Richemont posts 10% quarterly sales rise
Cartier owner Richemont reported a 10% increase in fiscal third-quarter sales even as China demand weighed, in a positive signal for the health of Europe’s luxury sector over the holiday shopping period.
Sales rose to 6.2 billion euros ($6.38 billion) at constant exchange rates in the three months to the end of December, which the Swiss luxury brand dubbed its “highest ever” quarterly sales figure. That was well above 1% increase expected by analysts in a consensus cited by RBC, according to Reuters.
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— Karen Gilchrist
December retail sales data due out Thursday
The December retail sales report due out Thursday is expected to show a 0.5% increase, down from a 0.7% rise the previous month, according to a Dow Jones consensus estimate.
Excluding autos, it’s expected to have risen 0.4% last month, up from a 0.2% gain in the prior reading.
The data is set to release 8:30 a.m. ET.
— Sarah Min
Who’d buy Ubisoft? The top potential suitors
On Jan. 9, Ubisoft said it was postponing the launch of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” and had appointed advisors to review strategic options.
Ina Fassbender | AFP via Getty Images
After delaying the launch of its latest Assassin’s Creed game and hiring advisors to review its options, Ubisoft has been shrouded in speculation over whether a potential takeover could be in the works.
The French video game publisher last week pushed back the release date for “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” to March.
It also appointed advisors to review “transformational strategic and capitalistic options to extract the best value for stakeholders.”
Ubisoft said it would “inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations if and once a transaction materializes.”
CNBC spoke to industry analysts about which names they think could emerge as potential buyers of the game maker. Click here to read the full story.
– Ryan Browne
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open in mixed territory Thursday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 9 points higher at 8,306, Germany’s DAX down 26 points at 20,595, France’s CAC down 15 points at 7,475 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 8 points at 35,705, according to data from IG.
Trading updates are set to come from Whitbread, Deliveroo and Richemont, while Rio Tinto releases its latest operational review. Data releases include German inflation figures and U.K. monthly gross domestic product.
— Holly Ellyatt
