MARKET REPORT
STOCK market guru David Schwartz said on Saturday the markets were due a correction and the FTSE 100 fell yesterday.
Even housebuilder TAYLOR WIMPEY dropped 1.20p to 73.05 despite lifting profit forecasts for the year. It said consumer sentiment was the best it had been for five years.
Mining group KAZAKHMYS fell 3 per cent to 784.50p on a downgrade from BARCLAYS.
Rival EURASIAN NATURAL RESOURCES rose 4 per cent to 334 as CREDIT SUISSE brokers backed the stock.
Primark owner ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS dropped 2 per cent to 1501p ahead of its Christmas trading update later this week.
Waste firm SHANKS rose 5 per cent to 94.75p on a £750million tie-up with Wakefield Council for a recycling venture.
THE FTSE 100 FELL 13.72 TO 6107.86
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Email: steve.hawkes@the-sun.co.uk
TECH giant APPLE hit the skids yesterday over fears the iPhone 5 may be losing its extraordinary App-eal.
Shares in the world's most valuable firm fell to $500 in the US for the first time in almost a year.
Sources yesterday claimed Apple has cut component orders from Asia for its latest "must-have" handset.
The company, which is worried about demand in the coming months, is understood to have slashed its screen order for the iPhone 5 in HALF.
Peter Misek, analyst at JEFFERIES, said component orders for January to March have come down from 35-40million to 25-35million.
Experts said that Apple is hardly in crisis, with results next week expected to show 50MILLION iPhones sold in the last quarter of 2012.
But the news will fuel concerns the company is facing a double whammy of lower consumer demand coupled with the rising threat from South Korea's SAMSUNG.
Yesterday Samsung said it had sold more than 100million Android Galaxy S devices since May 2010.
The Galaxy S3, launched in May last year, crossed the 40million sales mark in just seven months.
The firm shipped twice as many smartphones as Apple in the third quarter of 2012.
Apple shares were down three per cent at $503 last night.
Referring to Scrooge's underpaid clerk, one industry insider said: "Apple shares are hardly in Bob Cratchit territory.
"But Samsung is definitely becoming more of a threat, especially in China."
Analysts claim Apple's upcoming results are its most important for a decade. Company shares have fallen 17 per cent in the last three months amid concerns about profit margins and future growth.
The shares reached $700 in September when the iPhone 5 launched.
Ben Reitzes, of BARCLAYS CAPITAL, claimed a cheaper iPhone is needed to conquer the China market, adding: "Momentum can change quickly."
Greene: Wine is King
PUBS group GREENE KING has seen wine sales surge 76 per cent during the credit crisis.
The brewery behind famous real ales IPA and Old Speckled Hen said punters were quaffing claret at a record pace.
Chief exec Rooney Anand said sales of wine in Greene King pubs had rocketed since 2008. Beer sales only rose marginally over the same period.
Mr Anand told The Sun the results reflected the huge shift in the role of pubs — and the markets they cater for.
He added: "Over Christmas we sold 448,000 dinners — that's 56 tons of turkey, 42 tons of sprouts and 15 tons of Christmas pudding."
The record festive season meant sales over the 36 weeks to January 6 were up 3.7 per cent. Profit per pub rose 4.2 per cent.
Bankers at Sachs 'dodge 50p tax'
MINISTERS were last night urged to ban notorious GOLDMAN SACHS from picking up Government work over a bank bonus tax dodge.
Critics panned the US investment bank after it emerged it may delay paying bonuses until April — when the top rate of tax falls from 50p to 45p.
Goldmans insiders insisted the plan was only being "considered" for long-term share awards.
But despite being perfectly legal, the proposed move sparked fury across Whitehall.
It came amid claims BARCLAYS is cutting pay for investment bankers by up to 20 per cent.
Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott said Goldmans were "so greedy they know no shame".
He added that Chancellor George Osborne "needs to confirm that this behaviour would disqualify them from Government contracts".
Len McCluskey, of trade union UNITE, said: "Any decent Government would condemn this behaviour as a blatant case of tax avoidance."
Goldmans has around 5,500 staff in London.
A £150,000-a-year banker would save £5,000 in tax on a £100,000 bonus if it is handed out after April 6.
Goldmans paid chief exec Lloyd Blankfein a bonus on December 31 rather than in January so he could avoid a tax rise in the US.
Time runs out for M&S boss
THE boss of MARKS & SPENCER only has NINE MONTHS to revive the giant, a top City investor warned yesterday.
David Cumming, head of equities at STANDARD LIFE, said M&S chief exec Marc Bolland's job would be under threat if he failed to get "the autumn range right".
Mr Cumming added: "I think the market will wait to see how that range is going to work. If that is poor he'll be under a lot of pressure." It's the first public statement confirming investor unrest at M&S's struggles.
Standard Life holds a 1.7 per cent stake in M&S and is one of the most influential institutions in the City.
M&S last week revealed a 3.8 per cent fall in clothing sales in a Christmas trading statement that had to be rushed out after a leak.
Suits you sir! Moss sales rise
SUIT specialist MOSS BROS has defied the high street gloom to raise profit targets.
The chain yesterday hailed strong sales of tweed jackets and a boom in school "prom nights" as it cemented its recovery from the depths of a crisis in 2009.
Chief exec Brian Brick said Moss should make £2.7million this year — £900,000 above analyst targets. Sales in the 24 weeks to January 12 were up 2.7 per cent.
Shares yesterday rose 8 per cent to 72p — and have soared 108 per cent in the past year.
Moss Bros plunged into crisis after a failed takeover bid from Iceland's BAUGUR in 2008.
Swatch clocked Marilyn
SWATCH is splashing out almost £500million for "ultimate American jeweller" HARRY WINSTON.
The US group was founded in 1932 and name-checked by Marilyn Monroe in 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
It is famous for high-end luxury bracelets, rings and timepieces.
The deal is a huge boost for Swatch as the Swiss firm targets the luxury end of the Asian market.
Swatch is the world's biggest watchmaker by sales thanks to brands such as OMEGA and its colourful plastic watches.
Chief exec Nick Hayek said of Winston: "We were missing a brand that has a great history in jewellery."
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