LIVE: Burberry warns of profits; Robert Walters fees plummet; house prices fall

A leading tech investor has said chipmaker Nvidia could reach a valuation of almost £40bn within a decade.

That would make it worth more than the combined market value of the S&P 500, an index of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States.

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:

‘Burberry has announced a shake-up at the top with the appointment of Joshua Shulman as chief executive, who has experience at Kors, Coach and Jimmy Choo. Former boss Jonathan Akeroyd has resigned with immediate effect.

‘The change comes alongside an update on first-quarter operations that is making for difficult reading for investors. The weaknesses that the group had already flagged at the start of the year have worsened, with first-quarter revenues down a shocking 20%, not taking into account the impact of exchange rates.

‘If current trends continue, operating profits are expected to fall short of market expectations and the group expects to record losses in the first half of the year.

All of this has led Burberry to suspend dividend payments, a desperate measure to preserve cash and strengthen the balance sheet, indicating that fortunes are not expected to improve any time soon.

‘Brand weakness extends beyond China, with Europe and the Americas also experiencing double-digit revenue declines. There is much work to be done to make up for years of underinvestment in the brand. Unsurprisingly, the stock has taken a hit in early trading. The new boss has much work to do to steady the ship and demonstrate to investors that calmer seas lie ahead.’

Home prices fell more than usual in July, according to a real estate website, as new sellers tried to overcome the distractions of the general election, sporting events and the summer holiday season.

Across Britain, the typical asking price for a first-time seller fell 0.4% or £1,617 month-on-month in July to £373,493, down from £375,110 in June, Rightmove said.

This was a bigger drop than the typical drop seen in July, according to the website.

The average price drop in July over the past 20 years has been 0.2 percent.

Rightmove said the number of sales agreed and new sellers coming to the market was higher than a year ago.

Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, added: ‘The three main uncertainties hanging over the property market at the start of the year were when the first interest rate cut would occur and the timing and outcome of the general election.

‘We now have the political certainty of a new government with a large majority, which we hope will help generate confidence in people who move house.

‘It’s early days, but the new Chancellor’s immediate announcements on housebuilding targets and planning reform are positive signs that the Government is prepared to follow through on its manifesto promises.’

Royal Mail is facing a growing backlash over its plan to stop transporting mail by rail.

This newspaper revealed last week that the postal service will sell its last freight trains after nearly 200 years of delivering mail by rail.

The move sparked fierce opposition from unions, politicians and freight industry leaders over employment concerns.

Robert Walters reported a drop in quarterly net fees as macroeconomic and political uncertainties weakened employee and employer confidence.

Global recruiters have been struggling to gain traction as clients delay hiring and candidates are reluctant to change jobs in the current uncertain economic climate, with elections in some countries further weighing on the market.

“Our near-term planning now assumes that any material improvement in confidence levels will be gradual and unlikely to occur before 2025,” Robert Walters chief executive Toby Fowlston said in a statement.

Burberry has named former Michael Kors boss Joshua Schulman as its new chief executive, after the British luxury brand warned about its profits and scrapped its dividend payment for this year.

A slowdown in the luxury sector has hit Burberry hard over the past year, derailing the 168-year-old British brand as it tried to climb into the premium segment.

The company said weakness in its market had deepened, pushing underlying sales down 21 per cent in the 13 weeks to June 29, and as such it would change its offering to make it “more familiar” to its “core customers”.

That fall prompted the board to say CEO Jonathan Akeroyd would leave effective immediately by mutual agreement on Monday, just over two years after taking the job.