Margins expanded, and the company would've produced a profit had it not lost an arbitration case to Swatch for which it paid $450 million. That's more than it earned in all of last year.

KeyBanc analyst Edward Yruma took the results in stride, saying, "While estimates came in slightly below expectations, the company had solid top-line trends and continued margin expansion.... We think that the company has again guided conservatively."

Tiffany plans to keep expanding globally with nine new outlets abroad and four more for the Americas.

EU leaders may add up to 12 names to Russia travel-ban, asset-freeze list as they meet on Russia, Ukraine and energy issues.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MARCH 20, 2014) (REUTERS) -  European leaders will agree to expand a list of those subject to travel bans and asset freezes on Thursday (March 20) but stop short of harder-hitting measures againstRussia over Crimea, biding their time to retain European Union (EU) unity and gaugeMoscow's reaction.

While agreeing to expand the list to include figures closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a step forward, it is a long way short of the powerful financial and trade sanctions diplomats and analysts say are needed to make Moscow pay attention.

French President Francois Hollande said setting out an objective of containing Russia's actions should be on the meeting's agenda.

"Pressure is necessary if there is to be discussion and negotiation. And that is why economical sanctions, even if they are not decided today, need to be considered, need to be in any case, prepared. As for today's and tomorrow's European Council meeting, individual sanctions need to be stated," he told reporters when he arrived at the two-day summit.

Britain's David Cameron confirmed names would be added to the asset-freeze and travel-ban list, but did not say how many. Any decision would not become law until it is published in coming days.

"This is an important council because what Russia has done is unacceptable and the countries of the European Union need to speak with a clear and united voice. What that means is more asset freezes and travel bans, more actions specifically in respect of what's happened in the Crimea, but also it means making sure that we do everything we can to help build a strong and democratic Ukraine and one of the things we must do at this council is sign a new agreement with the Ukraine offering them a prosperous future, access to our markets and real political support. That's what we need to do," Cameron said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed Hollande's sentiments and said a discussion of financial sanctions - what the EU refers to as phase three of its response - would take place at the summit, but no agreement on imposing the measures is expected.

"We will, once again, make clear that the annexation of Crimea is against all international treaties and we will deal with our response to it. We always say that firstly there should be talks, there are discussions with the OECD states which I think are important so that an observers' mission can quickly go to Ukraine and secondly, we will deal with sanctions, an extension to the so called second phase - that is extensions of visa bans and asset freezes and we will make it very clear that should it come to further escalations, we are prepared to enforce trade sanctions," Merkel said.

Russian forces took control of the Black Sea peninsula in late February, after the toppling of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich. Moscow-backed Yanukovich fled following months of protests spurred by his decision to reject closer trade and political ties with the EU and pivot to Moscow.

While Russia or the United States can largely act on the directions of one person, theEuropean Union can only move with the unanimous agreement of 28 prime ministers and presidents.

Germany, Britain, France, Poland and one or two other countries largely agree about the need to respond vigourously to Russia, potentially including some measure of financial sanctions, but most of the rest have severe reservations.

What they are likely to be able to agree on is financial support to the rest of Ukraine to help prop up the economy and bring it closer into the heart of Europe.

Leaders will also discuss ways to diversify their supplies, potentially including more wind and solar power, shale-gas exploration and imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States and Middle East.

The EU faces a geopolitical challenge in trying to move away from its dependence on Russian energy.

The big surprise in British Finance Minister George Osborne's annual budget plan was a shake-up of pensions - a move that's being seen as a vote winner among older Brits.

It gives Brits more access to their pension pots.

People won't have to buy annuities - insurance products bought on retiring, which pay out monthly sums until death.

Pensioners will also be allowed to take more money from their pension pots as a lump sum.

Richard Jeffrey from Cazenove Capital Management says the change is not before time.

Richard Jeffrey, Chief Investment Officer, Cazenove Capital Management, 

"This does not mean that people are not going to buy annuities full stop. Annuities will still I think suit a lot of individuals when they come to retirement age."

Despite this, Osborne's announcement wiped billions of pounds off the market value of the pension industry.

If some annuity demand falls away, insurance firms could now face lower levels of business in a market worth 12 billion pounds a year.

Shares dived by as much as 8% at Legal & General on Wednesday.

According to Bank of American Merrill Lynch, it makes a quarter of its core profits from annuities.

Stock in other insurers Aviva and Prudential also slid.

Britain's big insurers insisted their businesses are diverse enough to withstand any long term hit to annuity sales.

So what could investors do with their extra funds?

Richard Jeffrey, Chief Investment Officer, Cazenove Capital Management, 

"I think it will mean that more is held in equities and for a longer period. I think there may be you know another interesting outcome from here. I think it may make people more aware of what they have in their investment portfolios. I think because of this situation in which most people when they built up a pension fund, it's just been effectively transferred into an annuity and an annuity income, didn't really think about what they had in their pension fund and weren't particularly close to the assets which are held there. I think this will make people closer to the assets and make them more responsive to how things develop, particularly in equity markets, so you might actually see the cult of the investor emerging in the UK in the same way as you see it in the U.S."

Others expect some pensioners to put their cash into property - which may affect the buy-to-let market.

The government has asked insurers and other pension providers to give retirees guidance.

But there are fears that while some pensioners may become canny investors, others may invest badly and risk squandering their life savings.

Inditex, owner of fast fashion brand Zara, posted flat profits for 2013.

It's a first in 13 years for the Spanish retailer.

Sales managed a 5 percent increase and there are signs of a return to growth this year, sending shares up more than 4%.

Bryan Roberts is from Kantar Retail.

SOUNDBITE: Bryan Roberts, Kantar Retail, saying (English):

"Inditex is already in a very good position with the mainstream Zara brand accompanied by at least half a dozen other brands. Some of them more upmarket, some of them more affordable. So they've got a great portfolio of brands."

Inditex owns eight high street chains in all, including Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Pull & Bear.

But it's Zara which has been losing out to budget retailers like H&M and Forever 21.

And it's austerity-hit Spain, the group's home turf, where sales have been falling.

Five year's ago they accounted for 37 percent of total sales.

Last year they were below 20 percent.

Asian sales have even overtaken Spain's.

But Zara has a secret weapon - its 20-year old discount sister company Lefties.

Bryan Roberts, Kantar Retail, saying (English):

"Lefties brand could be an effective way of both clearing that surplus stock through a company controlled channel while at the same time giving less affluent shoppers the chance to pick up some more affordable clothing within the Inditex stable of brands."

Inditex has done little to promote the discount store.

They currently only exist in Spain and Portugal.

But the retailer is beginning to recognise its new potential.

It's been slowing increasing the number of Lefties stores while closing Zara outlets.

It's a first in 13 years for the Spanish retailer.

The firm was hit by refurbishing costs and by weakening currencies in emerging markets.

Sales managed a 5 percent increase and there are signs of a return to growth this year, sending shares up more than 4%.

Bryan Roberts is from Kantar Retail.

Bryan Roberts, Kantar Retail,

"Inditex is already in a very good position with the mainstream Zara brand accompanied by at least half a dozen other brands. Some of them more upmarket, some of them more affordable. So they've got a great portfolio of brands."

Inditex owns eight high street chains in all, including Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Pull & Bear.

But it's Zara which has been losing out to budget retailers like H&M and Forever 21.

And it's austerity-hit Spain, the group's home turf, where sales have been falling.

Five year's ago they accounted for 37 percent of total sales.

Last year they were below 20 percent.

Asian sales have even overtaken Spain's.

But Zara has a secret weapon - its 20-year old discount sister company Lefties.

Bryan Roberts, Kantar Retail, 

"Lefties brand could be an effective way of both clearing that surplus stock through a company controlled channel while at the same time giving less affluent shoppers the chance to pick up some more affordable clothing within the Inditex stable of brands."

Inditex has done little to promote the discount store.

They currently only exist in Spain and Portugal.

But the retailer is beginning to recognise its new potential.

It's been slowing increasing the number of Lefties stores while closing Zara outlets.

BVO - Toyota Motor Corp will pay $1.2 billion to resolve a criminal probe into its handling of consumer complaints over safety issues, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

The faulty acceleration prompted Toyota to recall millions of vehicles, beginning in 2009.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER:

"Today, we can say for certain that Toyota intentionally concealed information and misled the public about the safety issues behind these recalls."

The settlement resolves a four-year investigation by U.S. authorities.

 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER:

"As part of the settlement of this case, Toyota will fully admit wrong doing. It will pay a financial penalty of $1.2 billion dollars, and going forward, the company will submit to rigorous review by an independent monitor that will examine and assess the manner in which Toyota regularly reports safety issues to the public and its regulator. The $1.2 billion dollar payment represents the largest criminal penalty imposed on a car company in the history of the United States."

Toyota faces hundreds of lawsuits over the acceleration problems that gained public attention after the deaths of a California highway patrolman and his family, which were reportedly caused by the unintended acceleration of his Toyota-made Lexus.

Last year, Toyota received approval on a settlement valued at $1.6 billion to resolve claims from Toyota owners that the value of their cars dropped after the problems came to light. It is also negotiating with hundreds of customers who said they had been injured.

We have another IPO that's going to be coming out and will no doubt get lots of attention, that's King Digital which makes Candy Crush Saga. So it looks like valuation is going to come in about $7.6 billion, that's 22 million shares being offered. Just on face value, are you comfortable with that kind of valuation?

It all depends on what we think the company is going to do going from here. Can they expand Candy Crush to being a mobile- a multiple game type of product where they can put out new releases from this one big popular game? So we'll be meeting with them next week and asking questions about sustainability on what they're trying to produce, and try to find out whether or not this is one genre or one of many genres that they can make incredible game in.

ANCHOR:

And when you talk about sustainability, will some of the questions also revolve around profitability, revenue growth? What kind of numbers or percentage do you need to see to feel comfortable on investing in a name like this?

CHRIS BAGGINI, SENIOR INVESTMENT MANAGER, TURNER INVESTMENT PARTNERS, 

Right. Well, when you talk about digital games, the biggest fear is that it say boom-bust scenario. The game will do very well for a couple of months and then fade and whether or not there'll be something to replace it. So that's where all the questions I think will lead. We'll start with the top line and then you have to figure out, okay, well, how much does it cost you to make these games? I think those are all things that are very fair game. There has not been a digital company that has produced a sustaining, winning strategy yet. Unfortunately for Zynga when they came out, they were really tied to the Facebook platform. And Facebook changed the rules of that engagement overtime and they didn't have a Plan B ready. So it'll be very interesting to see how that works from here. Interestingly, Zynga has changed their methodologies and they are actually now rebounding as far as credibility on the street. You've seen the stock do very well lately. They've got multiple products. They made an acquisition we think is actually quite good. In the case of King, we have to see what they have.

There are a lot of skeptics out there who think Candy Crush is a one-hit wonder. The game though brings in about three quarters of King's revenue. Can King Digital really maintain the growth rate they've had in your opinion?

Well, I believe it's an interesting company. It has been actually founded like more than 10 years ago. It's only made money and revenues in the last two years. So it's a very interesting growth path for this type of firm which is potentially highly volatile but I also see IPO is priced attractively at just 12x-13x earnings and up to 5x last year's revenues. So it actually fits into a profile of growth investment.

ANCHOR:

So you think King is actually just slightly underpriced then?

JOSEF SCHUSTER, FOUNDER, IPOX SCHUSTER:

Yes, we believe the investment bankers obviously want to leave a good taste in investors' mouths by under-pricing the deal slightly like incumbent Zynga is trading at 5.14x last year's revenues, and actually King Digital comes in a little lower. But again, as I said, I see the IPO price at $24. We'll see how it opens - if it opens- if it doubles or if it goes up 50%, so valuations will be much more expensive.

ANCHOR:

Now, did you see any red flags in the IPO filing?

JOSEF SCHUSTER, FOUNDER, IPOX SCHUSTER

Well, I mean not really red flags. I think the interesting bid is actually that they are a company which has this huge user base and they're actually able to monetize- start to monetize, being able to monetize on this huge user base, so that's quite interesting. I wouldn't describe it as a kind of a red flag but something very notable. Something notable was, if I'm correct, that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are absent from the lead underwriter syndicate which is kind of unusual for this type of significant deal.

Poundland has set the price for its initial public offering at 300 pence a share, the top of its initial price range.

It's Europe's largest single price retails - selling everything from confectionary to cleaning products - and it's secured its place as a high-street hit during the recession.

 Paulette Rawlings, Poundland shopper, 

Ravis Gjini, Poundland shopper, 

"Everything that we need for the house. Everything is cheap here, it's nice."

 Brenda Bird, Poundland shopper, 

"Bits you don't find in other shops, together, and it's always well set out."

Poundland has also gone down well with investors.

Reportedly there was a lot of demand for the shares - which value the company at £750 million.

Poundland is the first discount retailer to look to a listing.

PTC

Three pounds buys you three bars of chocolate in this shop, or one of Poundland's shares.

During the recession, discount retailers like Poundland did well, and supermarkets Aldi and Lidl are still growing their market share.

Now after the recession, it seems discount retailers like Poundland are here to stay.

Their appeal isn't just about the prices, says Stephen Springham from Planet Retail.

 Stephen Springham, Senior retail analyst, Planet Retail, 

"They're very well-run retail operations, by that I mean the stores look very good, I mean obviously there is a discount element there, but the stores are anything but shoddy, you know, they are very well-merchandised, they are very well fitted out, and the product is there that people want at a price they can afford."

Poundland's not the only retailer tempted to market.

Convenience store McColl's has already listed, while Pets at Home has also set the price for its IPO.

Shares in online fashion retailer boohoo.com are due to start trading shortly.

And Fat Face, B&M and House of Fraser are some other store groups expected to come to market.

There are several reasons behind the IPO resurgence, says Taron Wade from Standard and Poor's.

Taron Wade, Corporate Research Team, Standard & Poor's, 

"We have seen equity valuations improve, so you know investors look at the companies and say well 'we believe there's more growth potential in this companies' so that's the first thing. The second thing is that there's been a lot of pent-up demand from private equity sponsors who have invested in these companies and they really haven't had access to the capital markets to exit their transactions, so they're taking the opportunity while investors are interested to exit. And then the third third reason is that overall we're just seeing an imporvement in sentiment, investor sentiment, the economy is starting to improve inEurope."

Poundland plans to almost double its number of UK stores to 1000 in the next 6 years - and open more in Ireland.

It's also turning its attention to Spain and will open 10 new stores there.

Question is, what will Poundland be called in a country which uses the euro.

/////

at Home set the prices for their initial public offerings (IPOs) on Wednesday, the latest British retailers to capitalise on London's buoyant market conditions.

Pets at Home will float shares at 245 pence apiece, in the middle of its initial price range, and giving the company a market capitalisation of 1.2 billion pounds ($2 billion).

The company is mainly owned by U.S. private equity group KKR and run by Chief Executive Nick Wood, a former CEO of American Golf and himself the owner of two dogs and Snuggles the hamster.

Europe's biggest single-price retailer Poundland <PLND.L>, which sells everything from Cadbury's chocolates to Coca-Cola soft drinks for just a pound, set the price of its IPO at 300 pence a share, the top of its initial price range, and valuing the company at 750 million pounds.

A source familiar with the matter said that demand had been high, with the books covered over fifteen times.

Poundland's flotation would raise 375 million pounds and see private equity firm Warburg Pincus reduce its stake in company to 37.9 percent, or 30 percent if an over-allotment is exercised.

American Golf and himself the owner of two dogs and Snuggles the hamster.

Europe's biggest single-price retailer Poundland <PLND.L>, which sells everything from Cadbury's chocolates to Coca-Cola soft drinks for just a pound, set the price of its IPO at 300 pence a share, the top of its initial price range, and valuing the company at 750 million pounds.

The store secured its place as a high-street hit during the recession.

It's the first discount retailer to look to a listing.

PTC

Three pound would buy you tubes of toothpaste in a POundland store, or one fo their shares ......

You could buy three .... tubes of toothpaste - for the same price as one of Poundland's shares.

The stores stock everything from cleaning products to camping equipment xxxx

Sign of the times or a new retail trend?

Just last year, there was concern about the future of high streets, as the some retailers collapsed during the recession.

Poundland was one to benefit when Brits tightened their belts.

Poundland's not the only British retailer tempted to market by the country's gradually improving economy.

Several others are also seeking listings.

Convenience store McColl's has already listed, while Pets at Home has also set the price for its IPO.

Shares in online fashion retailer boohoo.com are due to start trading shortly.

And Fat Face, B&M and House of Fraser are some of the other store groups expected to come to market.

Taron Wade from Standard and Poor's says xxxxx is behind the resurgence of IPOs.

POUNDLAND/BRIEF (URGENT) (UPDATE 1)

UPDATE 1-Poundland and Pets at Home set listing prices

(Adds detail on companies, ownership, banks)

By Freya Berry

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Poundland and Pets at Home set the prices for their initial public offerings (IPOs) on Wednesday, the latest British retailers to capitalise on London's buoyant market conditions.

Pets at Home will float shares at 245 pence apiece, in the middle of its initial price range, and giving the company a market capitalisation of 1.2 billion pounds ($2 billion).

The company is mainly owned by U.S. private equity group KKR and run by Chief Executive Nick Wood, a former CEO of American Golf and himself the owner of two dogs and Snuggles the hamster.

Europe's biggest single-price retailer Poundland <PLND.L>, which sells everything from Cadbury's chocolates to Coca-Cola soft drinks for just a pound, set the price of its IPO at 300 pence a share, the top of its initial price range, and valuing the company at 750 million pounds.

A source familiar with the matter said that demand had been high, with the books covered over fifteen times.

Poundland's flotation would raise 375 million pounds and see private equity firm Warburg Pincus reduce its stake in company to 37.9 percent, or 30 percent if an over-allotment is exercised.

Britain's retail industry is set for a flurry of offerings this year. AO World floated in February, while Boohoo.com, B&M and House of Fraser are also expected to come to market.

JP Morgan and Credit Suisse are bookrunners on the Poundland listing, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and KKR Capital Markets are leading the Pets at Home listing.

($1 = 0.6014 British Pounds) (Reporting by Freya Berry; Editing by Mark Potter) (([email protected])) Keywords: POUNDLAND/BRIEF