Discount store Poundland (LON:PLND) has agreed to a financial takeover from Steinhoff International in a £597m deal. Having already taken over Bensons for Beds and Harvey’s in the UK, the agreement comes as the South African company takes advantage of the weaker pound in buying the company which will increase its reach in Europe through Poundland’s 900 stores. Markus Jooste, CEO of Steinhoff, said: “Steinhoff is developing a fast-growing, price-led retail business across the UK and the rest of Europe. Poundland would be a complementary fit to this growth story” The deal will see Steinhoff pay 222p per share. The price represents a premium of 40.3% of the closing price of 158.25p on 13 June 2016. Poundland believes that this offer will increase its shareholders value as trading environments since the EU Referendum have become difficult, adding to prior economic uncertainty. The discount retailer has struggled after the £55m purchase of 99p stores with full year profits plunging and its share price falling from 418p to below 200p. In Reaction to the agreement, shares in Poundland increased back above the 200 mark by 12% to 219.75p Darren Shapland, Chairman of Poundland, said: “The Poundland Board believes that SEAG’s all-cash offer presents Poundland shareholders with an opportunity to realise their shareholding at a certain and attractive price, securing earlier delivery of the Poundland Group’s medium term value than could be expected from the ongoing turnaround process against a background of increasing economic uncertainty in the UK and a more challenging trading environment 13/07/2016

Burberry (LSE:BRBY) have announced a decline in like-for-like sales warning of further declines in wholesale revenue in the six months ending 30 September. In what has been a challenging year for the iconic British fashion institution, Burberry’s recent announcement of a reshuffle in the boardroom came too late to prevent a slide in performance; like-for-like sales dropped 3% with underlying retail revenue remaining unchanged at £423m. Changes at the top mean Marco Gobbetti will replace current chief executive Christopher Bailey, Bailey will become ‘President’ and chief creative officer. Christopher Bailey, who will remain as chief executive until Marco Gobbetti’s appointment next year attributed the dip in performance to challenging ‘external environments’ as the company has faced continuous declines in sales over the past 12 months across its main consumer regions in the Asia Pacific. Areas such as Hong Kong have seen double digit declines as consumer spending has fallen driven by reduction in tourism from regions such as Japan and Beijing that are home to one of its largest markets. Burberry said it expects wholesale revenue in the next six months ending September 30 to be down 10% compared to last year. As a result of the recent Brexit vote, the company said that if exchange rates remain at current levels, adjusted profits would benefit by £90m as the pound has recently fallen against the dollar and yuan slipping to a 31 year low. Soon to be Chief Creative and current Chief Executive Christopher Bailey said: “We continue to focus on managing our business with agility whilst implementing the ambitious evolution of our strategies and ways of working we outlined in May, to position Burberry for long-term growth. These plans are now well underway and on track to deliver our financial goals This progress, together with our recent management appointments, gives us real confidence for the future” At 11:59am BST Burberry Group PLC traded at 1,284.00 +81.00 (6.73%)

ASOS PLC (LSE:ASC) have reported in their latest trading statement that total revenue for the four months ended 30 June 2016 has risen by 30% to £514.6m compared to £396.7m the year prior. In addition, the fashion group reported a total sales growth of 30% up from £386m to £500.5m. This was helped by a rise in UK sales that increased by 28% from £158.4m to £203.1m as International sales in total increased by 59% from 2015. Success can also be observed in international sales which included a 53% rise in US sales and the successful launch of the European website in 2015 that has since grown by 32% generating £139.5m. The group revealed a 24% rise in active customers rounding up to 12 million. Nick Beighton, CEO, said that the company now expects sales growth to reach the upper end of the 20-25% range. Nick Beighton said: “I am pleased to report strong retail sales growth of 30% (+26% on constant currency basis) over the four months to 30 June 2016, underpinned by our continued price and proposition investments. UK growth remains strong at +28% and we have seen further acceleration across the US, EU and ROW segments; overall International retail sales increased by 31% (25% on constant currency basis).” “As anticipated, our retail gross margin for the period is down c.180bps, approximately 40% of which (c.70bps) is due to moving our main sale forward one week into this financial period, with the balance as a result of continued price investment” Companies like ASOS who are heavily reliant on international sales were put at risk following the Brexit vote. However, the company has defied Brexit fears by earning 60% of its sales overseas. Since the February lows, ASOS has rallied over 70% to currently trade at 4478p 12/07/2016

Boeing has secured a ten year, £9bn deal, with the UK that will see the UK government buy 9 marine patrol planes (P-8AS). The move means that to allocate the space needed to manufacture the planes, Boeing will build a new £100m facility in RAF Lossiemouth in Moray doubling the number of staff in the UK currently employed under Boeing. Uncertainty over the economy has shaken all sectors within the UK since the EU referendum and the new deal will restore some faith in the government’s ability to maintain defence spending at 2% GDP. The EU Referendum introduced fears that global companies would relocate from the UK should there be a Brexit vote. Boeing quelled these fears as it told investors that it would not move any of its business away from the UK and that its decision to make the UK its European headquarters was ‘neutral’. The deal is set to create up to 2,000 new jobs in the UK that will expand on maintenance support for commercial and military operations. The deal was announced today at the start of the 2016 Farnborough Air show by Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr Cameron said: “I’m delighted that we can announce today a long-term strategic initiative with Boeing that will create thousands of jobs, secure investment in R&D and create opportunities for the supply chain, as well as delivering on our defence commitments. “Boeing is one of the world’s most respected aerospace companies. This long-term commitment shows the UK is open for business, and attractive for investment.” The deal will also see the delivery of 50 Apache AH-64E attack helicopters that will serve in the British Army alongside a separate deal reached by the UK government for a further £365m worth of aerospace research and development provided for by both parties. The air show also provided the stage for the US company to announce its annual outlook for demands on civil aircraft’s. The company expects that demands up until 2035 will reach £4.6 trillion as the total number of planes needed by then will reach 39,600. Randy Tinseth, Vice-president of marketing at Boeing said: “Despite recent events that have impacted the financial markets, the aviation sector will continue to see long-term growth, with the commercial fleet doubling in size,” 11/07/2016

Nintendo (TYO:7974) shares have jumped over 20% following the immediate success of its new ‘Pokémon Go’ smartphone game. Over the past two trading days, the success of the gaming app has seen shares rise 34% adding $7.5 billion to its market value according to Reuters. Today, Nintendo stocks rallied 24.52% higher closing at 20,260 yen per share (£155.19). This leap is the highest since 1983 and is the first Nikkei share to breach the 20,000 yen barrier in 2016. The game, that has sent new generations and lifelong fans into a frenzy, was debuted last Wednesday on IPhone and Android devices in the U.S, Australia and New Zealand. The debut sent the app to the top of US gaming charts resulting in an early 10% rise in shares in the Kyoto-based company. The game which is not yet available in the UK, lets users track down virtual Pokémon game characters in real-life environments. The game has encouraged a surge of gamer’s to leave their homes and move around their local neighborhoods in a bid to hunt down the virtual characters on their smartphone screens. Nintendo has been reluctant to release products based on its best known characters such as the Super Mario Bros and Pokémon due to its sole commitment to console based gaming. But the recent partnership with mobile firm DeNa has enabled the company to enter the smartphone gaming platform and has already covered up the recent failure of its Wii U launch. As a result of its success, Nintendo has now promised four more smartphone games in the year ending March 2017 as analysts predict profits of up to 45bn yen (350m) 11/07/2016

Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) announced in its latest trading update that it is ‘too soon to judge’ the impact of the EU Referendum will have on the UK housing market. Persimmon’s said: “We believe that market fundamentals remain strong, supported by long term unfulfilled demand, and that the UK housing market will continue to provide good opportunities for those companies with the right strategic focus and the balance sheet strength to navigate future changes in trading conditions” Despite having shares drop more than 30% since Brexit, the group announced that completion volumes have increased by 6% to 7,238 new homes compared to 6,855 homes in the same period last year. Selling prices also increased by 6% to £205,500 compared to £194,378 in 2015. As a result, Group revenues increased 12% to £1.59bn up from £1.33bn in 2015. This results are retrospective and the next set of ‘post-brexit’ results will be watched closely. In its trading update the company also said they took “good levels of sales” through May and June despite a “period of increasing uncertainty” in the build up to the EU Referendum. As well as improvement in sales, the company said site visitors during the first six months of the year were 8% stronger than the previous year with the group’s total forward sales valued at a promising £1.36bn. This figure is expected to grow over the second half of the year based on pre=Brexit market conditions. “We remain confident in the Group’s prospects based upon our long term strategy, the hard work and dedication of all our team, the Group’s excellent forward orders, strong land bank and robust financial position” Persimmon said. 05/07/2016

Imagine Technologies Group PLC (LSE:IMG) today posted its final results for the year ended 30 April 2016. The leading multimedia company mainly known for its chip processor contribution to the IPhone production industry has stated that it has begun “swift and decisive” action after a challenging year that has seen its biggest fall in earnings in its 30 year history. The FTSE 350 Company reported that total revenue for the year ended April 30 had fallen 23%, declining to £120m from £156.8m. Licensing revenue from continuing operations fell to £17.1m from £37.8m as royalty revenue from continuing operations also dropped to £102.7m from £118.4m in 2015. The company reported a pre-tax loss of £63.2m down £5.7m after previous earnings of £2.2m a year earlier. In reaction to its report, immediate early morning trading dragged shares in the company down by 7.8% falling to £1.68.13p. Andrew Heath, Chief Executive, said: “As previously indicated in our trading update in May, the last year has been particularly challenging for Imagination. The results reflect a combination of difficult trading conditions and a significant restructuring of the business. “However, we have now taken the necessary action to put Imagination back onto a sound financial footing. Slower market activity and weaker sales in one of its largest shareholders, Apple, are thought to be behind the dramatic fall in revenue and profit. Plans announced by Chief Executive Andrew Heath who was appointed five months ago said the Hertfordshire based company will aim to save £27.5m by the end of the year by planning to increase investment in PowerVR after reporting ‘significant profits’ as well as increasing investment of up to £1.5m in graphics technology firms MIPS and Ensigma. As a result of cost-cutting schemes the tech firm announced that a total of 520 employees from its engineering activities will leave the group. So far 350 jobs have been cut since February. 05/07/2016