Personal Care Stocks Q3 Results: Benchmarking USANA (NYSE:USNA)

Investing.com -- Grupa Azoty SA announced that its unit Grupa Azoty Polyolefins has filed an arbitration claim against Hyundai Engineering at the Vienna International Arbitral Centre.

The claim, which totals up to €2.98 billion, relates to the implementation of the ’Polimery Police’ project.

According to Grupa Azoty, the claims stem from Hyundai Engineering’s alleged failure to fulfill its obligations under the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contract and its failure to complete the project as planned.

The Polish chemical company stated that the claims include contractual penalties for delays, damages for losses incurred, and demands for the rectification of defects in the project.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- Coty Inc (NYSE:COTY) has appointed Markus Strobel as executive chairman and interim chief executive officer, the beauty company announced Monday.

Strobel will take over the roles previously held by Peter Harf and Sue Nabi at the cosmetics and fragrance maker.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com - European stocks closed Friday’s session mostly in positive territory, posting healthy weekly gains despite a number of significant central bank policy meetings.

The DAX index in Germany climbed 0.4%, the CAC 40 in France was flat and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. climbed 0.6%. 

On a weekly basis, the DAX gained around 0.5%, while the CAC 40 and the FTSE 100 increased by over 1% and 2% respectively. 

Calm after hectic week

Investors appear to be largely resting Friday as a hectic week of economic data and central bank decisions comes to an end.

The European Central Bank maintained its key interest rate at 2%, as widely expected, but upgraded its outlook for economic growth in the eurozone, saying it now expects growth of up to 1.4% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026.

"The economy has been resilient. It grew by 0.3% in the third quarter, mainly reflecting stronger consumption and investment,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde, at Thursday’s press conference.

Still, sentiment among German consumers is set to fall significantly heading into 2026, according to data released earlier Friday.

The consumer sentiment index, published by the ‍GfK market research institute and Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, fell to -26.9 points ‍in January from a slightly downwardly revised -23.4 points.

The Bank of England cut interest rates on Thursday, as widely expected, but uncertainty remains over the U.K. central bank’s next move as several BoE decision-makers highlighted concerns about persistently high wage growth expectations and structural inflation pressures, even as a drop in retail sales in November highlighted a lack of consumer confidence.

The central banks in Sweden and Norway also held policy-setting meetings, and both decided to keep interest rates unchanged, as expected.

EU agrees more aid to Ukraine

Investors are also digesting the news that the European Union leaders have approved an aid package of €90 billion ($105 billion) over the next two years to fund Ukraine’s defence, agreeing to borrow the money rather than use frozen Russian assets.

EU governments had been debating whether to use €210 billion of frozen Russian assets, most of it held in Belgium, to support a so-called reparations loan for Ukraine. 

But in the end the leaders agreed to raise money through joint borrowing backed by the EU budget.

WH Smith cuts full-year profit forecast 

In the corporate sector, travel retailer WH Smith (LON:SMWH) reported a fall in full-year earnings and cut its headline profit forecast for the year ahead, after weaker trading profit offset revenue gains.

Cosmetics company Coty (NYSE:COTY) has sold its remaining 25.8% stake in hair care brand Wella to KKR for $750 million, while retaining rights ‍to a share of any future sale ‍or initial public offering proceeds.

Elsewhere, the shares of German sportswear retailers Adidas (ETR:ADSGN) and Puma (ETR:PUMG) fell after U.S. peer Nike (NYSE:NKE) ‌reported disappointing sales figures out of China, seeing gross ​margins drop for the second consecutive quarter.

Crude set for weekly loss

Oil prices are set for a second straight weekly decline, as persistent concerns about a global supply glut, coupled with rising prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, offset concerns over supply disruptions from a blockade of ‍Venezuelan oil tankers. 

However, Brent futures is up 0.8% to $60.29 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures have also risen 0.8% to $56.46 a barrel.

Both benchmarks were set to lose over 1% for the week.

On Tuesday, Trump announced a blockade targeting tankers carrying Venezuelan oil that are already under U.S. sanctions, although ​it’s unclear how the U.S. would enforce this announcement to any significant extent.

Trump also said, on Thursday, that he believes talks toward ending the war in Ukraine are "getting close to something" ahead of a U.S. meeting with Russian officials this weekend.

Investing.com - European stocks traded in a subdued fashion Friday, but were set to post healthy gains at the end of a week that has included a number of significant central bank policy meetings.

At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.1%, the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.1% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.1%. 

On a weekly basis, the DAX is set for a gain of around 0.2%, while the CAC 40 and the FTSE 100 are on track for gains over 1%. 

Calm after hectic week

Investors appear to be largely resting Friday as a hectic week of economic data and central bank decisions comes to an end.

The European Central Bank maintained its key interest rate at 2%, as widely expected, but upgraded its outlook for economic growth in the eurozone, saying it now expects growth of up to 1.4% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026.

"The economy has been resilient. It grew by 0.3% in the third quarter, mainly reflecting stronger consumption and investment,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde, at Thursday’s press conference.

Still, sentiment among German consumers is set to fall significantly heading into 2026, according to data released earlier Friday.

The consumer sentiment index, published by the ‍GfK market research institute and Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, fell to -26.9 points ‍in January from a slightly downwardly revised -23.4 points.

The Bank of England cut interest rates on Thursday, as widely expected, but uncertainty remains over the U.K. central bank’s next move as several BoE decision-makers highlighted concerns about persistently high wage growth expectations and structural inflation pressures, even as a drop in retail sales in November highlighted a lack of consumer confidence.

The central banks in Sweden and Norway also held policy-setting meetings, and both decided to keep interest rates unchanged, as expected.

EU agrees more aid to Ukraine

Investors are also digesting the news that the European Union leaders have approved an aid package of €90 billion ($105 billion) over the next two years to fund Ukraine’s defence, agreeing to borrow the money rather than use frozen Russian assets.

EU governments had been debating whether to use €210 billion of frozen Russian assets, most of it held in Belgium, to support a so-called reparations loan for Ukraine. 

But in the end the leaders agreed to raise money through joint borrowing backed by the EU budget.

WH Smith cuts full-year profit forecast 

In the corporate sector, travel retailer WH Smith (LON:SMWH) reported a fall in full-year earnings and cut its headline profit forecast for the year ahead, after weaker trading profit offset revenue gains.

Cosmetics company Coty (NYSE:COTY) has sold its remaining 25.8% stake in hair care brand Wella to KKR for $750 million, while retaining rights ‍to a share of any future sale ‍or initial public offering proceeds.

Elsewhere, the shares of German sportswear retailers Adidas (ETR:ADSGN) and Puma (ETR:PUMG) fell after U.S. peer Nike (NYSE:NKE) ‌reported disappointing sales figures out of China, seeing gross ​margins drop for the second consecutive quarter.

Crude set for weekly loss

Oil prices were set for a second straight weekly decline, as persistent concerns about a global supply glut, coupled with rising prospects of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, offset concerns over supply disruptions from a blockade of ‍Venezuelan oil tankers. 

Brent futures slipped 0.3% to $59.64 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.3% to $55.84 a barrel.

Both benchmarks were set to lose over 2% for the week.

On Tuesday, Trump announced a blockade targeting tankers carrying Venezuelan oil that are already under U.S. sanctions, although ​it’s unclear how the U.S. would enforce this announcement to any significant extent.

Trump also said, on Thursday, that he believes talks toward ending the war in Ukraine are "getting close to something" ahead of a U.S. meeting with Russian officials this weekend.

Investing.com -- Coty (NYSE:COTY) is selling its remaining stake in hair care brand Wella to KKR (NYSE:KKR) for $750 million, according to a Bloomberg News report on Friday.

The deal also includes the right for Coty to receive a share of future proceeds if Wella undergoes a sale or initial public offering.

The beauty company had previously sold a majority stake in Wella to KKR, and this transaction represents the divestiture of its remaining ownership in the hair care brand.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.