Aurelia Butler

The company said sales, particularly at its Kmart unit that includes Target-branded stores, improved in the second half of the year as COVID curbs eased, and that momentum has held up into the new fiscal year. Government-mandated store closures in the first half of fiscal 2022 to quell COVID outbreaks in Australia had contributed to higher expenses and led to staff absenteeism. Retailers including Wesfarmers have also been grappling with higher prices of raw materials and lower demand as inflation-hit consumers prioritize essential goods.”Kmart is uniquely positioned in an inflationary environment to extend its low-price leadership and profitably grow its share of customer wallet,” the company said in a statement Retail trading conditions have remained robust through the first seven weeks of the new financial year, Wesfarmers said. “While general inflation remains elevated, prices for some inputs such as cotton, timber and plastic resins have moderated in recent months,” the company said. Solid Australian retail sales data from last quarter underscored that Australian consumer spending remained robust even as inflation hit a 21-year high. Performance at the company’s home improvement chain Bunnings, which contributed nearly two-thirds to Wesfarmers’ annual profit, improved after a weak first half, with total store sales rising 7.8% in the latter six months. Wesfarmers net profit after tax, excluding one-off costs, fell 2.9% to A$2.35 billion ($1.64 billion), but beat analysts’ estimate of A$2.22 billion, according to Refinitiv data.The company expects net capital expenditure of between A$1 billion and A$1.25 billion for fiscal 2023, compared with A$884 million a year earlier. ($1 = 1.4331 Australian dollars) More

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Pilots at Lufthansa have rejected a wage offer by Germany’s flagship carrier and could go on strike anytime, union VC said on Thursday, as a dispute over pay continues.They had voted in favour of industrial action last month, threatening further disruption during the busy summer travel season.VC said Lufthansa’s most recent offer had been a step in the right direction but remained short of the union’s demands, which include a 5.5% pay rise this year for its pilots and automatic inflation compensation thereafter.”The legal and organisational preparations for strike action have been started. Nevertheless, it is clear that (VC) remains reachable,” the union said.Lufthansa said it had taken note of the union’s response after submitting an offer to the pilots of Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo on Thursday morning.”At the same time, we want to discuss the flexible form of this offer with the VC and have therefore proposed further dates to the union to hold talks. We are available to continue talks at any time,” the airline said.Strikes and staff shortages have already forced airlines including Lufthansa to cancel thousands of flights this summer and caused hours-long queues at major airports, frustrating holidaymakers keen to travel after COVID-19 lockdowns.Earlier this month, Lufthansa’s management reached a pay deal with ground staff, averting further walkouts after a strike had forced it to cancel more than 1,000 flights.It also faces possible walkouts by pilots at Eurowings, whose ballot for industrial action ends on Aug. 31. More

The waiting is almost over. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers his Jackson Hole speech on the economic outlook on Friday, which will give direction to every financial market in the near term, and set the tone until the Fed’s September 20-21 policy meeting. A flurry of Fed officials on Thursday shared their thoughts on the economy, inflation and interest rates, the most notable market impact of which was a bull-flattening U.S. yield curve to its most inverted in a week. U.S. yield curve: https://tmsnrt.rs/3QTB77i Wall Street also recovered a bit more ground. The Nasdaq’s rise of around 1.5% was also helped by a 6% jump in Hong Kong’s tech index overnight, the biggest rise in almost four months during market talk that Sino-U.S. audit discussions have made progress.Fresh stimulus measures from Beijing to help support China’s creaking economy, while not on a game-changing scale, will boost local sentiment, at least temporarily.But there is only one game in town – Powell’s speech at the Kansas City Fed’s annual policy symposium in Wyoming. How hawkish will he be? Will he hint at a policy pivot? On the Asian corporate front, the most keenly-awaited event on Friday is Chinese property developer Longfor Group Holdings half yearly results. The property sector is in trouble, and sources told Reuters earlier this month that state-owned China Bond Insurance Co Ltd was asked to guarantee Longfor’s bond issues. Japanese inflation is expected to rise to a fresh eight-year high of 2.5% in August from 2.3%, putting further pressure on the Bank of Japan’s policy of buying unlimited quantities of government bonds to cap the 10-year yield at 0.25%.If and when inflation tops 2.8%, it will be the highest since the peak of Japan’s boom in the early 1990s.Other key developments that should provide more direction to markets on Friday: U.S. PCE inflation (July)U.S. UMich inflation expectations (Aug, final) More