-- Retail sales in the UK grew 3.1% year over year on a like-for-like basis in March, against the 0.7% rise in the previous month, according to data from the British Retail Consortium published Tuesday.
Analysts were expecting a 0.9% increase for the month.
The strongest jump since April 2025 was mainly attributed to higher food sales amid an early Easter, while sales of travel-related goods were impacted by the conflict in the Middle East.
Shakti Pumps (India) (NSE:SHAKTIPUMP, BOM:531431) said it has invested 100 million Indian rupees in its wholly owned subsidiary Shakti EV Mobility by subscribing to 10 million equity shares, according to a Tuesday filing to the Indian stock exchanges.Shares of the company rose 1% in Wednesday's trade.With this, Shakti Pumps' total investment in the EV mobility unit has increased to 650 million Indian rupees, the filing said.The investment is aimed at supporting business expansion of the subsidiary, it added.
Challenger's (ASX:CGF) fiscal 2026 third-quarter update missed consensus across key Life metrics, with FM outflows significantly worse than expected, driven by institutional equity mandate attrition in both Australian and global equities, according to a Tuesday note by Jarden.The firm's redemption of all CGFPC notes on May 25 simplifies the capital structure, reduces the AT1 coupon burden, and is earnings-per-share accretive.Jarden sees balanced risk/reward for Challenger in the future, with catalysts including capital management flexibility from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority reform, as well as expanding retirement partnerships across superfunds.It lowered its fiscal 2026 sales forecast to reflect weaker institutional fixed-term sales, partially offset by higher retail annuity sales as partnerships come online.The investment firm retained its neutral rating on Challenger and raised the price target to AU$8.70 per share from AU$8.60 per share.
Proya Cosmetics (SHA:603605) posted 2025 attributable net profit of 1.50 billion yuan, down 3.5% from 1.55 billion yuan the previous year.Earnings per share slid to 3.80 yuan from 3.92 yuan, according to a Wednesday filing with the Shanghai bourse.Operating revenue declined 1.7% year over year to 10.6 billion yuan from 10.8 billion yuan.Shares of the cosmetics maker were up over 1% in recent trade.