Retail darling Abercrombie disappoints

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Kohl's raised its full year earnings outlook as the retailer trimmed expenses and reduced inventory levels. The Menomonee Falls, Wisc.-based company now expects adjusted earnings per share to as much as $2.25, up from as much as $1.85 previously and well above Wall Street's expectations. Kohl's also boosted its forecasted range for operating margin above analysts' average estimate. The retailer slashed its comparable sales guidance, however, as the metric fell below analysts' projection for the second quarter. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Neurocrine Bioscience's experimental schizophrenia treatment met the goal of a mid-stage trial. But shares fell more than 18 percent as investors were disappointed in the results compared with those of a rival medicine in development. Neurocrine's drug, a daily pill, outperformed a placebo on a measure of schizophrenia symptoms in a study enrolling 210 patients, Neurocrine said Wednesday. The difference was large enough to declare the trial a success but didn't measure up to the results from a similar treatment from Bristol Myers Squibb Co. that could win US approval next month. Neurocrine's shares fell as much as 18 percent before markets opened in New York. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Tourism, manufacturing, and a large US government contract fueled economic growth in small towns ranked in a report as the most vibrant this year. Los Alamos, N.M., topped the "Most Dynamic Micropolitans" 2024 list from the Heartland Forward nonprofit think tank, thanks in part to government labs and a highly educated workforce that fostered economic momentum there. Also ranking high among cities with a population of 10,000 to 50,000 were places with beautiful vistas attracting tourists and remote workers, areas where the electric vehicle industry is building mega-plants, and towns relying on the oil and gas industry. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Hyundai plans to double its lineup of hybrid cars as demand for pure electric vehicles slows, and announced a $3 billion share buyback as part of a plan to boost investor returns. Unveiling a new strategy at its 2024 investor day Wednesday, the world's third-biggest carmaker said it will increase the number of hybrids in its lineup to 14 — moving beyond compact and mid-size cars to add large and luxury vehicles. However, it kept its EV sales target unchanged at 2 million a year by 2030. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

After a two-year-long bankruptcy process, Scandinavia's flagship airline SAS is now under the ownership of Air France-KLM and private equity firm Castlelake, with former Novo Nordisk executive Kare Schultz at the helm of its new board. The move comes amid much overdue airline consolidation in Europe in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a recent slowing in travel demand. It will also shore up Air France-KLM's position in the Nordics, a reliable source of active travelers. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Record-breaking stock selloffs in two of China's biggest consumer companies erased more than $16 billion from the fortunes of the nation's richest people, underscoring deepening investor concern over the health of Asia's biggest economy. China's wealthiest person, Nongfu Spring Co. founder Zhong Shanshan, lost some $3 billion as the beverage giant's shares fell by a record 10 percent Wednesday in Hong Kong, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, leaving him with a total of $46.6 billion. Meanwhile, PDD Holdings founder Colin Huang's wealth tumbled by $14.1 billion on Monday, as shares fell the most in company history after it warned revenue growth would inevitably dwindle. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Police found no indication of criminal activity linked to a fire at Novo Nordisk's manufacturing hub in Denmark, saying factors including the weather and smoking may have contributed to the blaze in May. Authorities were unable to establish the exact cause of the May 16 fire at Novo's Kalundborg site, Per Severs, a local police commissioner, said by phone. The blaze caused extensive damage to the roof of a utility building that's under construction as part of the drug maker's more than $8 billion expansion at the location. Novo has been tightening safety at its construction sites after at least four fires in its home country in the span of several months. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Berkshire Hathaway became the first US company outside of the tech sector to surpass $1 trillion in market value. Shares of Warren Buffett's conglomerate rose 0.86 percent on Wednesday to push its market capitalization above the trillion-dollar mark for the first time. The stock has rallied this year on strong insurance results and economic optimism. The Omaha-based company joins the ranks of a small group to crack the milestone, dominated by technology giants like Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Nvidia Corp. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Lego is on the hunt for new digital partnerships, following the success of its Fortnite venture with Epic Games, which already reached 83 million people since the introduction, according to the toymaker's chief executive officer. Lego needs to stay relevant for its users, which "are increasingly present digitally" to ensure they'll continue to engage with the Lego brand decades down the line, Niels B. Christiansen said in an interview. With Lego Fortnite, the Danish company is trying to fend off competition from its two main rivals — Mattel and Hasbro — after both US companies enjoyed great success with recent ventures outside the world of physical toys. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

Apple took the rare step of cutting about 100 jobs in its digital services group, part of a shift in priorities for the critical division, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company informed the affected employees, who worked across several different teams in senior vice president Eddy Cue's services group, on Tuesday, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the move isn't public. The layoffs included some engineering roles, and the biggest cuts were made to the team responsible for the Apple Books app and Apple Bookstore. There were also layoffs in other services teams, including the one that runs Apple News. — BLOOMBERG NEWS