Apple shares fall following Chinese government ban

Apple shares fell by over 3% after it was reported that government workers were banned from bringing iPhones, as well as other devices created by non-Chinese companies, into the office. This highlights the tensions that are still rumbling between China and the USA. The ban on devices is currently only for government offices, but may extend to government owned businesses in the coming months, furthering China’s plan to reduce their dependence on US technology. 

Bumper corporate loan issuing across sectors

This week has seen a bumper week in the issuing of corporate bonds. In fact, it’s been one of the top 10 days ever for the quantity of corporate bonds available. Big names like Barclays, Nestlé and Toyota all joined the party, showing that the issuing wasn’t exclusive to one sector. Many suspect that this flurry of bond issuing comes in a time of calm before the storm, as we await the European Central Bank and the Fed’s decisions on interest rates in the coming weeks. 

WHSmith bumper profits still miss the forecast mark

Retailer WHSmith, once voted the worst retailer on the UK high street, announced bumper profits yesterday as annual revenues jumped 28%. However the profits missed the mark of their previous raise to profit expectations, which disappointed the market and sent their share price tumbling by over 6%. Most of WHSmith’s revenues are now generated from airport sales. As passenger numbers have been high, they’ve afforded WHSmith a strong year. However, with prices increasing, and passenger spending falling slightly, the high hopes didn’t quite match up to reality. 

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Sources: The Guardian, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq