Norway’s Laegreid wins Olympic bronze but admits, on live TV, cheating on his girlfriend
Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid, who won bronze in the men’s biathlon at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Tuesday (10 February) in Italy, ...
Inditex, parent company of Zara, reported a 4% sales growth in Q1 2025, down from 11% last year, amid concerns about weakening consumer demand. Despite this, the company plans a 9% dividend increase and €1.8 billion investment in growth, with expansion into new markets.
Inditex, the parent company of Zara, reported a slower start to its first quarter for 2024, with sales up just 4% in currency-neutral terms from February 1 to March 10, compared to 11% growth during the same period last year. Despite strong overall sales and profit figures for 2024, meeting analysts’ expectations, concerns about weaker consumer demand are growing.
Inditex has seen rapid growth in recent years, driven by Zara's market share gains over rivals like H&M, and its share price has more than doubled in the last three years. However, analysts are concerned about the impact of weakening demand, especially in key markets like the United States. Bernstein analyst William Woods highlighted a “softer exit rate” for the quarter, noting the company would need a significant acceleration in the coming weeks to meet expectations.
Despite this, Inditex remains committed to profitable growth, with plans to increase its dividend by 9% and invest 1.8 billion euros in store refurbishments, technology, and online platforms. The company is also expanding its reach, with plans to open new stores in Iraq, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany.
JD Vance arrived in Armenia on Monday (9 February), becoming the first sitting U.S. Vice President to visit the country, as Yerevan and Washington agreed to cooperate in the civil nuclear sector in a bid to deepen engagement in the South Caucasus.
The United States and Azerbaijan signed a strategic partnership in Baku on Tuesday (10 February) encompassing economic and security cooperation as Washington seeks to expand its influence in a region where Russia was once the main power broker.
António José Seguro’s decisive victory over far-right challenger André Ventura marks an historic moment in Portuguese politics, but analysts caution that the result does not amount to a rejection of populism.
Buckingham Palace said it is ready to support any police investigation into allegations that Prince Andrew shared confidential British trade documents with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as King Charles expressed “profound concern” over the latest revelations.
Iran’s atomic energy chief says Tehran could dilute uranium enriched to 60 per cent if all international sanctions are lifted, stressing that technical nuclear issues are being discussed alongside political matters in ongoing negotiations.
Türkiye’s national energy company, TPAO, has struck a new cooperation deal with U.S. energy giant Chevron, signing a memorandum of understanding to explore joint oil and gas exploration and production opportunities, the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry announced on Thursday.
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about artificial intelligence (AI) creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of quarterly reports from Alphabet and Amazon later this week.
U.S. stock markets finished mixed on Wednesday (28 January) as investors reacted calmly after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, a decision that had been widely expected and largely priced in.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Chevron is in talks with Iraq’s oil ministry over potential changes to the commercial framework governing the West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world’s largest producing assets, after Baghdad nationalised the field earlier this month following U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia’s Lukoil.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment