Bloomberg Lululemon Athletica Inc. shares tumbled after the maker of fitness wear lowered its guidance for gross margin, stoking fears about profitability for a second-straight quarter. Gross margin is now expected to shrink by as much as 1.1 percentage point in the three-month period ending in late January, compared with a previous forecast for an increase of as much …

  Bloomberg Former McDonald’s Corp Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Easterbrook agreed to pay $400,000 over allegations from US regulators that he failed to disclose improper relationships with employees at the company. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that Easterbrook didn’t fully disclose violations of company policy leading up to his termination in 2019. The terms of his departure …

  Bloomberg UK retailers saw an uplift in sales in December as shoppers braved rail strikes and cold weather to buy Christmas gifts, but soaring inflation meant consumers had to pay more for fewer items. Retail sales rise 6.5% last month compared with a year earlier, driven by food sales which grew almost 8%, according to data from the British …

  Bloomberg Bezel, a US online watch reseller, won financial backing from a slew of investors including former Disney President Michael Ovitz, actor and comedian Kevin Hart, recording artist John Legend and professional athletes from the NBA and NFL. Launched in 2022, Bezel is taking aim at established watch resale platforms including Chrono24, Bob’s Watches and EBay Inc, seeking a …

  Bloomberg Tata Group is close to taking over a major plant in southern India in a deal that would give the country its first homegrown iPhone maker. The airline-to-software conglomerate has been in talks with the factory’s owner, Taiwan’s Wistron Corp., for months, and is looking to complete the purchase by the end of March, according to two people …

  Bloomberg China’s new regulation to increase scrutiny of companies’ foreign debt will become effective Feb. 10 in the market’s biggest overhaul since 2015. The effort will encompass debt instruments with tenors of over one year that are sold by Chinese firms or their controlled offshore entities, according to a Tuesday announcement on the National Development and Reform Commission’s website. …

  Bloomberg Byju’s, the world’s most valuable edtech startup, has sought more time from creditors to renegotiate an agreement governing a $1.2 billion loan that is in breach of covenants, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The creditors have until Tuesday to sign a forbearance agreement, which will give the company time till February 10 to negotiate broader …

  Bloomberg Tokyo’s inflation outpaced forecasts to hit 4% for the first time since 1982, suggesting the underlying price trend is stronger than expected by economists, a factor that could further fuel speculation the Bank of Japan will adjust policy again. Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 4% in the capital in December as food and energy costs continued to …

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s property market is seeing more deals as buyers bet the border reopening with mainland China will help channel more capital into the city and stoke a recovery. The number of transactions in 35 major residential projects jumped to an eight-month high in the two weeks ended January 8, according to Midland Realty. That is an encouraging …

Bloomberg A day after Brazil’s capital was stormed by his predecessor’s supporters, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva worked from his office, where he met with the country’s governors as well as the heads of congress and the Supreme Court. “We are not going to allow democracy to slip out of our hands,” Lula said at the meeting. “They want …