Iran-backed Houthis join war with attack against Israel
There are fears the Iranian proxy may attack shipping in the Red Sea, adding to global economic woes.
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Sportswear giant Adidas drops 8% after profit guidance disappoints
The logo of Adidas is seen on a Gazelle sneaker for sale at a shop in Berlin, Germany, May 2, 2024.
Lisi Niesner | Reuters
Shares of Adidas fell as much as 8% on Wednesday after providing a disappointing 2026 outlook, as it grapples with unfavorable currency swings and a hit from U.S. tariffs.
The German sportswear company sees 2026 revenue growth in the high single digits from 2025’s total of 24.8 billion euros ($28.86 billion).
Operating profit is expected to increase to around 2.3 billion euros, despite a 400 million euro negative impact from U.S. tariffs and unfavorable currency developments.
The profitability outlook “will disappoint” investors, as it was 15% below overall expectations, said RBC Capital Markets analysts. “The question will be how conservative is the EBIT guidance given adidas’ preferred approach to be prudent at the start of the year,” they added.
An implied 9% margin from operating profit of 2.3 billion euros is well shy of expectations, Jefferies analyst James Grzinic said.
Fourth-quarter sales and profit both slightly missed the mark at 6.1 billion euros and 164 million euros in constant currencies, respectively, according to FactSet estimates.
“Driving double-digit growth in the fourth quarter despite all the external turbulence, and more than doubling our operating profit in the quarter made the year end very well,” said Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden.
Adidas also presented mid-term targets on Wednesday, seeing currency-neutral sales growing at a high single-digit rate in 2026-2028, with operating profit expanding by a mid-teens annual growth rate over that period.
Shares of Adidas were last seen 6.7% lower, notching a fresh 52-week low.
Adidas shares have almost halved over the past year.
Coming into Wednesday trading, Adidas shares had fallen about 43% over the past 12 months as investors remain skeptical about Adidas’ future.
The growth prospects of the global sportswear industry, characterized by excess supply and changing consumer preferences in China, represent another pressure point for investors.
Country peer Puma and bigger U.S. competitor Nike have faced similar woes and are also in the midst of a turnaround. In October, Nike’s CEO told CNBC it would “take a while” for the company to return to profitable growth.
Adidas on Wednesday also extended CEO Gulden’s contract until 2030, in an apparent vote of confidence in his strategy.
Gulden took the reins in 2023 to steady the company after its split with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, over antisemitic comments and triggering a crisis for Adidas, which had been relying on sales of the Yeezy sneaker line that Ye fronted.
Potential Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping could further damage global economy
The Iran-backed group could bring a second crucial waterway to a standstill, writes Sebastian Usher.
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IPL 2026: Virat Kohli hits fifty as RCB begin with impressive win over Sunrisers Hyderabad
Twelve England players are set to feature in the latest edition of the IPL.
Former England white-ball captain Jos Buttler will hope to find form after a disappointing World Cup as he returns to Gujarat Titans, where he is joined by batter Tom Banton and left-arm seamer Luke Wood.
Salt is joined by Jacob Bethell at RCB, alongside a new addition in middle-order batter Jordan Cox, though neither Bethell nor Cox played against Sunrisers.
Seamer Jofra Archer is back at Rajasthan Royals, while all-rounder Jamie Overton returns to Chennai Super Kings.
All-rounder Will Jacks will look to build on a promising winter at Mumbai Indians, while Liam Livingstone and Brydon Carse are at Sunrisers with Payne. Neither played in the opening match.
Batter Ben Duckett had been signed by Delhi Capitals but has pulled out to play in the County Championship as he looks to ensure he keeps his place in the Test team after a lean Ashes, while all-rounder Sam Curran has been ruled out of playing for Rajasthan Royals with an injury.
Hamptons real estate prices hit record, summer rentals go fast
A nine-bedroom, 11,000-square-foot oceanfront home in Bridgehampton, available for rent at $700,000 for any two weeks this summer.
Courtesy: Gary DePersia | Corcoran
Median home prices in the Hamptons hit an all-time high in the fourth quarter, as Wall Street bonuses and tech wealth fueled a new wave of buyers in the New York beach communities, according to brokers.
The median sales price in the Hamptons hit a record $2.34 million in the fourth quarter, up 34% from last year, according to a report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. The average sale price soared to $3.76 million. The number of homes selling for more than $5 million also hit a record, at 82, according to the report.
“In the past few years we’ve seen a tremendous upswing in wealth in the Hamptons,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel.
Wall Street bonuses are a big driver. Bonuses for 2025 were expected to be the highest on record, with the strongest growth since 2021, according to the Office of the New York State Comptroller. Real estate brokers say many hedge funders, private equity chiefs and venture capital investors are also joining traditional Wall Street bankers in the buying spree.
“Wall Street had a really good year, and that’s being reflected directly in Hamptons prices,” Miller said.
While prices for existing homes are rising, most of the gains for median prices are coming from a board shift in the sales mix.
Sales of homes in the lower and middle segments of the market remain under pressure from high interest rates. The high end, however, is booming with all-cash deals from buyers flush with liquidity after three years of double-digit gains in the stock market.
A greater share of total sales coming from the biggest, most-expensive homes continues to drive up the median.
“It’s not price appreciation, but a shift to the higher-priced home sales,” Miller said.
It’s not likely to slow anytime soon. Inventory remains low, especially for premium, oceanfront homes. Brokers say the summer rental and sales season is already off to a strong start – despite below-freezing temperatures and heavy snow “out East.”
“I’ve already rented most of my high-end stuff for the summer,” said Gary DePersia of Corcoran in East Hampton. “People are looking and renting early this year.”
DePersia said he rented a waterfront Hamptons home from July to Labor Day for close to $1 million. He said wealthy New Yorkers who continue to move to Florida after the pandemic are buying homes in the Hamptons as escapes during the hot Florida summers. He’s also seeing buyers and renters from California, he said.
While there are still many properties left for the summer, both rental and sales, he said those who wait for the usual last-minute discounts in May could be disappointed.
“We’ve got a ton of snow here, but I’m showing a $10 million house in the middle of the week to an interested buyer,” he said. “People want to be here, because in the summer their friends are here, their former and current colleagues, their family. They want a meeting ground and a cool environment.”
Scott McLaughlin OK After Sliding Through an INDYCAR Fence, But His Car Is Not
Barber Motorsports Park (Leeds, Ala.) — Scott McLaughlin spun and backed his car through a foam barrier and a chain link-and-cable fence in a wild-looking accident Saturday during INDYCAR practice ahead of Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix (1 p.m. ET on FOX and FOX One).
McLaughlin said the accident was much more dramatic than how it felt.
He exited the INDYCAR medical unit about 15 minutes after the crash, which occurred at the high-speed exit of Turn 1.
“I feel fine,” McLaughlin told me and a couple other reporters outside the medical unit. “A testament to the INDYCAR safety and whatnot, [the hit] was fine. I just dropped the right rear onto the exit of [Turn] 1.
“I’ve seen other people do that before, actually in testing, and unfortunately, I was the one that did it today. I’m gutted. … The crash was pretty theatrical, but I feel fine and just want to get back out there.”
The wreck ended the practice session after about 35 minutes — it was scheduled to be 40 minutes and then a pair of 12-minute group sessions — as INDYCAR had to repair cabling in the fence, a process that took more than an hour to repair.
McLaughlin wouldn’t criticize the barrier in the initial moments after the crash. He was fine, and his Team Penske squad was preparing a backup car after the crash.
[INDYCAR: Everything to Know About Eclectic Barber Track]
His car hit some raised gravel that possibly accelerated it as it backed into the barrier and slid underneath the lowest cable, breaking through the fence. His car stopped with just the nose on the inside part of the fence and the rest of the car (including the cockpit) outside it.
“I don’t want to nitpick anything because motorsports is built on accidents like this that we learn from,” McLaughlin said. “Do you want to see a car going through the catchfence? No. But do you want the catchfence to do a good job?
“I thought it did everything that I needed to do. I think the skipping on the gravel was probably what made it to that point. I’m not here to blame anyone.”
[INDYCAR: Rotating Points Leaders and More Parity Before Barber]
McLaughlin said it was far from the hardest hit — and obviously the car didn’t stop as abruptly as maybe it would have if it hit a more sturdy barrier.
“It was like the smallest one [compared to others] — and I’ve had a few lately,” McLaughlin said. “Like I said, it looked a lot worse than it felt.”
McLaughlin should be able to qualify the backup car Saturday afternoon (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1).
Shops and restaurants in Egypt told to close early as energy crisis deepens
Retail and dining premises will have to shut by 21:00 each night for the next month to conserve power.
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Fed Gov. Waller urges caution for now; cuts possible later in the year
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller on Friday expressed caution about current economic conditions but still sees the opportunity for interest rate cuts later this year.
Previously an advocate for rate cuts, Waller said in a CNBC interview that recent developments in the labor market as well as the uncertainty of the war with Iran require a more conservative approach.
“It doesn’t mean that I’m going to stay put for the rest of the year,” Waller said on “Squawk Box.” “I just want to wait and see where this goes, and if things go reasonably well and the labor market continues to be weak, I would start advocating again for cutting the policy rate later this year.”
Markets have almost completely doused the chance of rate reductions through the balance of 2026 and well into 2027. That’s a switch from expectations prior to the war, when traders had been looking for two or three cuts this year.
But soaring oil prices and an indeterminate time frame over how long the war will last have changed market expectations and caused a rethinking from Waller and other policymakers. Waller had dissented in January from a Federal Open Market Committee decision not to cut, but went along with the majority earlier this week for another pause.
His earlier dovish position was motivated by a clearly weakening labor market, which produced nearly no net job growth in 2025. However, he noted Friday that the labor force also is not expanding, so “net zero” growth is still leaving the unemployment rate unchanged, even with a 92,000 drop in nonfarm payrolls in February.
“If we get another 90,000 jobs decline in the next jobs report, that’ll be like four negative reports out of five. To me, that’s not zero. So at that point, you need to start thinking about this labor market isn’t good,” Waller said. “I don’t think this war is going to help in any way going forward, but we’ll have to see what happens with inflation.”
Waller is generally sanguine now about inflation, which he sees being boosted by one-off effects from tariffs but otherwise moving structurally towards the Fed’s 2% goal.
“If those tariff effects don’t roll off by the second half of the year, and then inflation starts rising then, then you’re in this tricky business of like, do we worry about inflation? Take a chance on recession or not?,” he said. “So I’m really going to keep an eye on what the future labor markets look like to see whether I want to start advocating for rate cuts in future meetings, but I also want to see what happens with inflation.”
Earlier Friday, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman who, like Waller, was nominated for the job by President Donald Trump, said she believes the Fed can cut three times this year. That would take the benchmark federal funds rate below the neutral level that FOMC officials see as neither supporting nor restricting growth.
Bowman, in a Fox Business interview, took that position even though she said she expects “strong growth” this year “supported by the supply-side policies that this administration is putting into place.”
Bowman is one of just three Fed officials who see aggressive rate cuts this year, according to an update of the Fed’s “dot plot” grid released Wednesday. A total of 19 policymakers participate in the grid.
Man City’s ‘statement’ win at Man Utd shows they are handling WSL title race pressure
“We are top of the league,” was the celebratory chant booming out of one corner of Old Trafford at the end of the Women’s Super League’s Manchester derby.
But it was not Manchester United’s day, it was Manchester City, on the brink of a first league title in 10 years, who were in party mood.
Kerstin Casparij kissed and clutched the City badge as she ran to the away end after scoring City’s third goal in a commanding 3-0 win, while Alex Greenwood was enthusuastically applauded at every second-half corner she took in front of the travelling fans.
The returning Japanese stars in City’s team – fresh from winning the Women’s Asian Cup – were hailed one by one after full-time as the celebrations continued long after the final whistle had been blown.
City did not just win at Old Trafford, they humiliated Manchester United and enjoyed every minute of it.
And with one hand on the WSL trophy, who can blame them?
Two more wins from their remaining three matches will guarantee them the title unless their rivals drop points and they can claim the crown early.
“The weather wasn’t helping,” manager Andree Jeglertz joked as he began his news conference away from the swirling wind and rain.
But having witnessed what he described as “one of the best” first halves of football from his side, which saw them lead 2-0 at the break, he admitted he enjoyed himself.
He said it was “amazing to watch and be a part of” a game where his players executed the gameplan with “confidence and big belief”.
“Definitely, I enjoyed that,” Jeglertz added. “It wasn’t relaxing, because it never is for a coach, but I felt we had control of the game.
“The players were enjoying finding solutions to a lot of things. They created chances. It was a fantastic game.”