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Sell Asos as profits fall: Online retailer Asos saw its shares jump 15% as investors believed the worst was over and the rebuilding can begin. However, Questor won’t be jumping on this bandwagon just yet and is waiting for more evidence of a recovery in profit growth. Asos reported full year pretax profits of £46.9 million to the end of August, short of initial expectations of £65 million. The damage was done in Australia, the retailer’s most profitable market. A combination of an economic slowdown, too much stock and a strengthening pound meant prices had to be slashed to clear items, and profits suffered as a result. While sales are slowing sharply on one side of the world, in Britain they are accelerating. The U.K. reported sales growth of 35% during the year, and an acceleration on the 32% growth rate reported during the first half. However, sales in the U.K. are made at a lower profit margin. The U.K. remains Asos’s largest single division, contributing about 38% of group revenue and 36% of group gross profits. Taken together, this suggests a less profitable business. Nick Robertson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive, was cautious on the outlook for next year, adding that even though he believes the stock build-up is largely cleared, prices will be lowered overseas to drive sales. Questor said sell on January 14, with the stock at £66.50, and thinks the shares at £22.33 still do not represent good value; trading on 45 times the revised profit figure of £48 million for August 2015, giving earnings per share of about 43.3p. With profits falling, competition increasing and capital investment high, it remains a sell. Asos at £22.60+316p Questor Says “Sell”.

Sutherland’s new fit: Taking the top job at SuperGroup, retailer of hoodies and arctic windcheaters, may not be a straightforward exercise in governance. But for Euan Sutherland it will be like donning trackie bums compared to his previous gaffe at the Co-Operative Group. He quit the mutual in March after a year as Chief Executive, declaring it “ungovernable”. Julian Dunkerton is snaffling the snappy title of SuperGroup Founder and Product and Brand Director. But he still owns 32% and will stay on the board alongside co-Founder James Houlder. Still, respect to Mr Dunkerton and SuperGroup for recognising the need to shift him from the daily slog of running a FTSE 250 group. The retailer is at the stage of expansion when Mr Dunkerton’s “instinctive” entrepreneurship may cause fraying at the seams. Mr Sutherland’s appointment should allow the group to put that behind it once and for all. That said, he should keep his trainers on. Having the former CEO and two Founder-Owners loitering in the boardroom isn’t a recipe for putting one’s feet up. Whether it is Rob Terry of Quindell, Lord Harris of Carpetright, or the Adderley family of Dunelm, too often Founders hand over power only in name or snatch back control when they don’t like their Executives’ style.

Oil markets: break-even bad: World crude prices have paused following their collapse this month. U.S. oil is holding at $82 a barrel and Brent at $85. How tempting to look over the cliff edge and conclude that the floor is not, in fact, too far down. One support may simply be that disruptions to supply (which have been declining lately) may rise again because of political tensions. Perhaps. But neither floor might remain where it is. Take break-even budget prices first. Saudi Arabia has doubled government spending since 2008. Revenues have only risen 7% in the same period, notes Bank of America. It certainly sounds like Riyadh cannot push one button for October’s volatility – cutting prices to retain its market share – much further without forcing itself into a budget deficit. But look outside the question of oil revenues, and government assets of $450 billion would be enough to cover eight years of deficits if required, says Deutsche Bank. The higher rate at which output declines in shale versus conventional wells over time might keep producers under pressure at the same time, though. They will have to replace declines with new drilling, requiring capital. It is a brave shareholder who provides it even after the fall in shale producers’ shares.

Metro Bank gains ground as small business champion: Metro Bank is attracting more small business customers as part of its drive to fill the void left by the large high street lenders.

Euan Sutherland the surprise choice as Superdry’s style king: The former Co-op Boss who famously quit the mutual after just 10 months, has become the unlikely Chief Executive of the Superdry fashion brand.

Number of small housebuilders plummets Trade body says banks’ reluctance to lend to smaller companies is the main reason

British American Tobacco, Europe's largest tobacco group, has seen a 9.6pc decline in nine-month revenues due to the strong pound.

William Hill says profits for year are likely to be at ‘top end’ of expectations after football World Cup boosts business: William Hill said profits for the year are likely to be at the ‘top end’ of expectations after the football World Cup boosted business.

Sainsbury’s performance worst since 1990s as sales slide by 3.1%: Sainsbury’s has suffered its worst sales performance since the 1990s over the past three months, as Tesco shows signs of recovery in a supermarket price war which has tipped the grocery industry into deflation for the first time in more than a decade.

High-end London house prices drop 20%: Luxury homes in prime central London, worth between £1 million and £2 million, have seen a drop in price of 20% over the past six months, as buyers are deterred by the talk of Mansion Tax and the impending general election.

How much longer can Asos defy gravity?: Nick Robertson – former adman, great-grandson of tailor Austin Reed and the guiding spirit behind Asos – says that 2014 has been the worst he has seen since he started the business 15 years ago, what with sterling going the wrong way, a warehouse fire and a glitch in its pricing systems. But looking ahead, he reckons earnings growth will be flat next year and perhaps 5% the year after. On the usual metrics, that means the stock is still overrated. That may have been true when the group started out flogging clothes – “As Seen on Screen” – via the net. Now, though, Asos sells trainers and own-brand pyjamas, and sales are close to £1 billion a year. As competitors are crowding into its space, it is having to play catch-up on installing the structures and systems needed to keep up with its expansion, particularly overseas. Asos will spend £110 million over the next two years beefing up systems and warehousing on top of the £65 million already spent this year. Now at about £22 – the level they were in 2012 – the shares are nearer ground level, but still prone to taking off like Marilyn dresses during gusts of hot air. Buyers should wait till they are anchored to reality.

Cargiant and Queens Park Rangers battle to build thousands of London homes: Two businesses have unveiled rival plans to build thousands of homes on the last big undeveloped site in London – even though neither has ever built a single house.

ARM Holdings offers rosy outlook in shift to internet of things: Royalties at ARM Holdings have regained momentum with the U.K. chip designer providing an optimistic outlook for future revenues, thanks to booming sales of Apple’s latest iPhones, consumers shifting to 4G mobile devices and manufacturers racing to build gadgets for the so-called internet of things.

Consumer-goods giant Reckitt Benckiser missed analysts' estimates slightly in its third quarter on the back of continuing currency headwinds, while like-for-like sales growth was held back by "tougher markets". The Anglo-Dutch firm, famous for brands such as Nurofen, Durex and Cillit Bang, said that sales excluding its pharmaceuticals division totalled $2.21bn in the three months to 30 September, down 6% from $2.36bn the year before and just shy of the $2.25bn consensus forecast.

Greene King ups stakes in £725 million bid to buy Spirit: Chef & Brewer parent firm ­Spirit Pub Company is poised to accept an improved takeover proposal worth £725 million from rival Greene King.

Primark Owner announces plans to open further stores in U.S., including its first in New York: The Owner of Primark has announced plans to open further stores in the U.S., including its first in New York.

London at risk of running out of affordable offices, agents warn: London could run out of more affordable, secondary office space, property experts warned, as demand from companies taking up space in the capital continued to gather pace in October.

New West Ham stadium facing cash problems: Problems with the new roof planned for the West Ham stadium may have led beleaguered construction company Balfour Beatty back to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to ask for extra cash.

Homeowners in property worth over £3 million to be hit with £10k tax: Labour would tax homeowners in properties worth above £3 million over £10,000 on average per year, in some cases much more, according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Sky landline and call charges to soar by inflation-busting 6%: Sky is increasing its landline and call charges by more than 6% – more than four times the rate of inflation – and is to charge £12 a year for its previously free 1571 answerphone service.