William Hill (LON:WMH) plc has confirmed its full year outlook in a trading update on Wednesday, driven by the success of its US operations following the legalisation of sports betting. The bookmaker posted a trading update for the unaudited 17 weeks to 30 April, in which group net revenue for the period was up 2%. William Hill said that this reflects a year of transition in Retail and Online. Online net revenue was up 8%, reflecting the contribution from Mr Green, and Retail Sportsbook net revenue increased 2% with a “strong” sports betting through the period. US total net revenues increased 48% from operations in all seven US states that have currently legislated and regulated sports betting. Last year, sports betting was legalised across the US following a supreme court ruling. Federal law previously barred gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most US states as a result of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act established in 1992. Previously, only a few exceptions qualified under the law. “Just one year on since PASPA was overturned William Hill has doubled the sports wagering it handles in the US, seen record performances at the Super Bowl and March Madness, is live in all seven states to have allowed sports betting and expects to enter further states soon, with Indiana and Iowa the most recent states to pass bills to legalise sports betting,” Chief Executive Officer Philip Bowcock commented on the results. William Hill also highlighted the use of Anthony Joshua as a brand for its new advertising campaign in the UK. “Our new advertising campaign featuring Anthony Joshua marks a step change for William Hill with the brand-led creative also integrating safer gambling messages,” Philip Bowcock continued. As a result, William Hill said that its full-year outlook remains in line with expectations assuming normalised gross win margins for the remainder of the year. At the start of the year, William Hill warned of lower annual profits for 2018.

Asda owner Walmart said that the UK supermarket could be set for a stock market listing. The announcement comes following the supermarket’s blocked merger with Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) earlier last month. “While we are not rushing into anything, I want you to know that we are seriously considering a path to an IPO – a public listing – to strengthen your long term success,” Walmart’s International CEO, Judith McKenna, said to Asda managers at an event in Leeds, according to Reuters. “Walmart does not have a one size fits all approach to operating its international markets, but a consistent focus on strong local businesses powered by Walmart,” the company’s International CEO continued. At the end of April, the proposed merger between two of the UK’s leading supermarkets was blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) because it would have created a “poorer overall shopping experience.” The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) casted doubt over the merge since it released its preliminary results. Both Sainsbury’s and Asda had pledged in a joint statement to implement price cuts and deliver £1 billion in savings annually by the third year of completion of the merger. However, according to the Competitions and Markets Authority, consumers would not have benefited from the merger due to an expected increase in prices, reductions in the quality and range of products on offer and poorer shopping experience for consumers across the nation. The watchdog also found that the merger would have lead to motorists paying higher prices at locations were Sainsbury’s and Asda petrol stations are in close proximity. After the block of the £7.3 billion deal, Bloomberg News reported that Walmart was exploring other options for Asda, with and IPO as one of the alternative routes the supermarket could pursue. At 19:58-4 GMT Tuesday, shares in Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) were trading at +0.4%.

Greggs has raised its profit forecasts for the third time this year, on the back of the popularity of its vegan sausage roll. In a trading update, Greggs said that total sales jumped 15.1% in the first 19 weeks of 2019, compared to a 4.7% rise during the same period the year before. In addition, company-managed shop like-for-like sales jumped 11.1%, a huge rise on 2018’s 1% increase. The bakery chain attributed the strong performance to the successful launch of its vegan sausage roll. The firm has benefited from the marked rise in Veganism across the U.K, with many people turning to meat-free options over health concerns, or in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint. Commenting on the success of the vegan product, the company said in the trading update: “This built on a strong finish to 2018 and was further boosted by the publicity surrounding the launch of our vegan-friendly sausage roll. Sales since then have continued to grow very strongly, helped by the roll-out of vegan-friendly sausage rolls to all shops following limited availability in the early part of the year when demand outstripped supply.” Greggs also said it opened 8 new shops across the period, as well as closing 22 locations. Overall, the company said that on the back of strong sales figures, the board now expects annual underlying profits, before exceptional costs, to be ‘materially higher’ than previously anticipated. Shares in Greggs (LON:GRG) are currently trading +13.85% as of 11:26AM (GMT).  

The UK unemployment rate for the first three months of 2019 fell to 3.8%, marking the lowest level since 1974. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the unemployment level fell from 3.9% the previous month. Meanwhile, the UK employment also rate rose to 76.1%. The ONS also said that average weekly earnings in the UK rose by 3.3% during the period. The government employment figure, Alok Sharma, welcomed the figures. He commented: “Rising wages and booming higher-skilled employment means better prospects for thousands of families, and with youth unemployment halving since 2010, we are creating opportunities for all generations.” “We now need to shift some of our focus to up-skilling people and supporting them into roles with real career progression to create a modern workforce fit for the challenges of the 21^st Century.” The unemployment figures are a welcoming sign that the UK economy is more resilient then expected given ongoing political and economic volatility. The ONS is an independent non-ministerial department that supplies national statistics for the UK. It was formed back in April 1996.    

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Next (LON:NXT) are set to launch a click and collect service which will allow online Amazon parcels to be collected from Next stores. Customers will be able to collect their online deliveries from hundreds of Next stores across the country. Based in Seattle, Washington Amazon.com is a multinational American technology firm that focuses on e-commerce. It boasts the largest online marketplace and cloud computing platform across the globe. It will partner with Next, the British multinational clothing, footwear and home products retailer. Headquartered in Enderby Leicestershire, Next as roughly 700 stores in the UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Amazon currently offers the self-service parcel delivery option to lockers across the UK. These operate by customers selecting a specific locker location and entering their unique delivery code into the locker in order to retrieve their items. The new Next delivery option will join Amazon’s current alternative delivery option. “We see it as a great way to create more convenience for our customers and create a win-win situation for the retailers who partner with us,” Amazon’s director of lockers and pick-up Patrick Supanc commented, according to Reuters. Adding the in store collection option could assist in boosting footfall for the high street retailer. Next recently beat the gloomy trading environment to hit the UK high street as it announced the unusually warm weather over the Easter holiday period boosted its full price sales. Earlier in April, Google’s parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was granted approval to operate its drone-delivery business Wing in the skies over Australia. The firm had been testing the delivery of food, beverages and medication over the past year and a half, but it has now been granted approval by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). As of 19:59 GMT -4 Monday, shares in Amazon.co Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) were trading at -3.56%.

German multinational financial services company Allianz (ETR:ALV) announced posted a 7.5% increase in operating profit for the first quarter of the year. Operating profit amounted to €3 billion, a 7.5% increase compared to the same period a year prior. This was mostly driven by Allianz’s Property-Casualty business segment following strong premium growth, lower claims from natural catastrophes and a improved expense ration. The higher operating profit figure was also largely offset by lower non-operating investment income and higher taxes, Allianz said. Internal revenue also grew by 7.5% over the period. Total revenues grew 9.1% to €40.3 billion. Allianz posted a net profit attributable to shareholders of €1.969 billion, according to Reuters, and this figure is just above the €1.908 billion profit projection given by analysts in a Reuters poll. “Allianz achieved strong results in the first quarter putting the group on track to meet its 2019 full-year targets,” Oliver Bäte, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SE, commented on the results. “Our customers continue to seek quality and service, both of which we are consistently focusing on. Despite economic and political volatility, we are very well positioned to further develop our franchise,” the Chief Executive Officer continued. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Allianz’s core businesses are insurance and asset management. Looking ahead, Allianz has confirmed its operating profit outlook for 2019 at €11.5 billion, plus or minus €500 million. Following the announcement of its new share buy-back program in February of up to €1.5 billion, 2.8 million shares have been acquired as of 31 March. This represents 0.7% of outstanding capital. According to Bloomberg, Allianz has estimates it will pay roughly €100 million worth of claims connected to mine disruptions at Vale SA and the Boeing 737 MAX crash which was followed by the global grounding of the aircraft model. Allianz is one of the companies that insured Boeing’s airline manufacturer liability policy, according to Bloomberg. A Bloomberg Intelligence estimate claims from the two airplane crashes could cost $1 billion.