Simon Atkinson
Asia Business Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Japan's Fast Retailing - the parent company of fashion chain Uniqlo - had a good end to 2016, with quarterly net profits rising 45% to 70bn yen ($609m; £496m).

That was partly down to refocusing on thrifty shoppers, it said, after an unsuccessful experiment with raising prices. 

And the weather helped too. While an "unseasonably warm" October had hurt sales, things picked up once cold snaps started to hit in November.

Image source, Getty Images

Pimco, the world's biggest trader in bonds, thinks investors should be looking at taking long-positions in the US dollar against the yuan and other emerging markets currencies as China continues to face a "trilemma". 

In a research note, the firm says: "It is proving impossible to achieve three goals simultaneously: a stable or fixed foreign exchange rate, free capital movement and an independent monetary policy. Combining tighter financial conditions with this policy trilemma means that the currency will probably remain an “escape valve.”

It adds: "...we also think the possibility that the PBOC will allow the yuan to float freely, or at least widen its trading band, has increased."               

Pimco says: "As the Fed raises US interest rates in 2017 (we anticipate two to three increases) and the Chinese yuan continues to decline, we still favor long positions in the US dollar versus the yuan and other emerging Asia currencies."

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Image source, Emily Macinnes

A quarter of young adults aged 20 to 34 return to live in the family home - and the number is growing.

The pressure of student debts, the cost of renting, and the desire to save money for a deposit to buy a property are all factors.

While this idea may fill many parents with horror, bank First Direct says there are emotional positives for families.

It commissioned photographer Emily Macinnes to capture some of these "boomerang" families. Looks like they are having fun. No photos of the bank balance though.

Image source, Getty Images

The Bookings Institution believes US president-elect Donald Trump has not done enough, external to fully alleviate conflicts of interest. 

Norm Eisen, who is a fellow at the US think tank and the former ethics czar under President Obama, says Mr Trump's business should be sold by an independent blind trust.  

You can watch the Brookings Institution video here., external

His views echo those of Walter Shaub, director of the US Office of Government Ethics, who said Mr Trump's plan to handover control of his business to his two sons does not match the standards of US presidents over the last 40 years.

BBC Radio 4

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Volkswagen (VW) will not be broken by the billions of euros it is paying in fines and settlements over the emissions scandal, according Dr Matthias Holweg, professor of operations management at Saïd Business School in Oxford. 

He tells the BBC's Today programme that in VW's last full-year results, revenue reached €210bn (£181.9bn) and operating profit hit €13bn.

He also points out that the fines and settlements VW will be be paid out over time. 

He says: "The company is essentially sound apart from corporate governance issues." 

Image source, Getty Images

The FTSE 100 has clawed back some losses but is still trading in negative territory. 

The index of blue chip stocks is down 11.66 points at 7,278.83.

Mining stocks occupied four out of the five top risers, led by Fresnillo which jumped by 4.6% to £14.45.

Shire was the top faller, down 3.3% at £45.24, following a pledge by US president-elect Donald Trump to crack down on the price pharmaceutical businesses charge for drugs.

He said pharma companies are "getting away with murder". Hikma Pharmaceuticals shares also tumbled 2.8% to £18.50. 

Tesco's shares also fell, down 2.3% at 204p, after revealing its Christmas sales. 

Marks & Spencer gave up early gains and investors sent its shares down to 340.2p following better than expected sales of homeware and clothing but soft food revenue over the festive period. 

Like Heathrow, Gatwick has also cancelled flights - at this four flights out of 642 scheduled.

Business Live will keep you updated as more information emerges.

Bad weather looks like forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights from Britain's busiest airport, Heathrow. It is thought that up to about 100 flights out of a total of 1,350 could be hit, although that number may increase if the weather worsens.

An airport spokesman tells the BBC: ''The latest forecast is for snow this afternoon, which will reduce the number of aircraft able to take off and land each hour. Alongside our airline partners and NATS [air control], we have taken the decision to reduce the flight schedule on Thursday, to allow airlines to rebook passengers onto un-allocated seats ahead of time where possible. 

"We advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before coming to the airport. We apologise to those whose travel has been affected."

Image source, Getty Images

In addition to the blizzard of retail news today, some other major companies were reporting updates, including Barratt Developments, which said completions are down but retained its profit guidance., external

Barratt shares fell in early trading, but Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett seems untroubled.

"Fortunately, Barratt is a lot more than a London builder. Even last year London properties accounted for less than 12% of total completions, and with completions outside London at a nine year high today, the rest of the market shows little sign of slowing.

"Barratt is remaining cautious in the face of Brexit related uncertainty. But with interest rates low and home ownership still a key aspiration for many Brits, if Barratt builds, it seems likely the buyers will come,” Hyett says.

Image source, Getty Images

After subdued growth last Christmas, Primark is "back on top", with better sales and "no mention of unseasonal weather dragging down its performance," says Kate Ormrod, a senior analyst at Verdict Retail.

"While much of the UK high street was busy discounting in the fourth quarter to lure shoppers in, the strength of Primark’s offer was evident, and its development of complementary product ranges such as beauty and home ensured shoppers had plenty to buy into," she says.

Dunelm, the homeware retailer, reported a 0.2% rise in like-for-like sales for the Christmas period to £235.7m. Total revenue rose by 6.6% to £261.9m in the 13 weeks to 31 December. 

However, in the six months to the end of December, like-for-like sales fell by 1.6% to £423.1m.

Dunelm's chief executive John Browett says in a statement, external: "Following a difficult first quarter we have seen an improvement in performance both in our stores and online.

"We have continued to outperform the homewares market in what is a challenging and volatile retail environment."

Image source, Debenhams

Maureen Hinton, global research director at Verdict Retail, says that Debenhams' success at Christmas - like-for-like sales rose 3.5% - was down to a shift from fashion to beauty.

"For the department store having less dependence on fashion has proved a real asset. It had less promotional activity, despite the challenging clothing market, with fewer clothing options and 7% less stock," she says. 

"Its strength in beauty is a key benefit as beauty, in particular fragrance, is a major gifting category at Christmas, and not only drives sales but also drives footfall into its stores offering the opportunity to up-sell other products.

"It also has the benefit of an efficient, integrated online business, which worked well over Black Friday as well as during the Christmas period."

Image source, Getty Images

Mothercare's UK business returned to growth over Christmas. 

Like-for-like sales, which strip out revenue from new shops opened during the reporting period, rose 1% in the 13 weeks to 7 January. Online sales rose by 5.5% and the company said online trade now accounts for 40% of its UK revenue.

However, international sales tumbled by 6% on a constant currency basis. While its operations in China and Russia returned to growth, Mothercare said the Middle East "remained challenging".

Total sales for the group increased 1.8%.

Image source, Reuters

Analyst and long-time watcher of Tesco Richard Hunter says the "general director of travel remains positive" for the retailer, but there are plenty of headwinds.

"The much publicised potential damage to the UK economy following Brexit is an area where the UK consumer seems not to have read the script. For Tesco, this has translated into a solid Christmas performance across food and non-food alike.

"Food inflation has yet to kick in and Tesco’s concentration on efficiency and cost control are also contributors to an improving outlook. Inevitably, some challenges remain. 

"In the background, bond yields generally continue to put pressure on the pension deficit, the discounters may well redouble their efforts following the success this quarter of the larger players, whilst the absence of a dividend remains disappointing despite being prudent."

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Customers of Lloyds are suffering a second day of frustration with online banking services.

The banking group, which includes the Halifax and Bank of Scotland, had problems with web and app banking yesterday. The services were unavailable for a few hours during the day.

Although the bank said that problem had been resolved, there have been renewed issues today.

"We’re aware that some customers are experiencing intermittent issues this morning. Apologies for any inconvenience," the bank has tweeted.  

Andreas Illmer
Business reporter in Singapore

Image source, www.qiaodan.com

You might think it's fairly obvious that the name of a celebrity cannot just be used as a trademark for a company. 

Yet, if that name is spelled differently in a different country say in China, with Mandarin characters? 

The most prominent example here is Michael Jordan. Pronounced Chee-ow-dahn in China, there's a chain Qiaodan Sports, and they've been using the Chinese characters for that word as a trademark. 

Michael Jordan's case had already been settled in December in his favour, ending years of legal struggle. 

Now, China's top court has issued a guidance against such trademarks. The new decision by the Chinese People's Supreme Court forbids the "names from public figures from such areas as politics, economics, culture, religion and ethnicity" to be used as trademarks. 

Image source, Getty Images

Not everyone is impressed with M&S's Christmas results. 

Analysts at Liberum predict that the rise in clothing and homeware like-for-like sales over the festive period will be short-lived. 

It said: "Against the softest quarterly comparison base of the year, -5.8%, M&S has delivered the first positive trading update in clothing and home since last March with a rise of 2.3% although the period included six days of the sale vs one last year which flattered figures by 1.5%. We see 0.8% LFL as the underlying figure.

"We believe that the market will find this encouraging but caution against a difficult outlook. M&S says that 'our Q4 reported numbers will be adversely affected by sale timing and a later Easter' and comments on a 'background of uncertain consumer confidence'." 

"In addition, we note that fourth quarter trading will be up against the toughest comp of the year of +0.7% and expect that sales will fall back into negative territory in the three months to March 2017."

Image source, Reuters

It's been a good Christmas for John Lewis (which also owns Waitrose), with total sales up 4.9% to £1.9bn in the six weeks to the end of December.

But boss Sir Charlie Mayfield says this year may see headwinds.

"We sustained a strong sales performance right through to Christmas and enabled a great start post-Christmas... However, although we expect to report profits up on last year, trading profit is under pressure. This reflects the greater changes taking place across the retail sector. 

"We expect those to quicken, especially in the next 12 months as the effects of weaker sterling feed through. We will now accelerate aspects of our strategy. This will involve a period of significant change, investment and innovation to ensure the partnership’s success.” 

Image source, Getty Images

George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, is cautiously optimistic about M&S, which reported its first like-for-like improvement, external in clothing and home sales since April 2015.

Salmon says: "It’s clear that Christmas has been good to M&S. However, before investors uncork the champagne, it is worth remembering that this follows a 6% drop in like-for-like sales last Christmas, and the improvement isn’t enough for the group to bump up profit guidance for the year.

"In this context, the news represents more of a small step in the right direction rather than the giant leap that’s needed to get the business back to where it wants to be.”