(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)MOST FOLLOWED After well-received second quarter results yesterday online retailer Amazon has surpassed Wal-Mart to become the biggest retailer in the world. Of course who receives that accolade probably depends on your frame of reference. In terms of paying taxes for instance Amazon probably is not the biggest retailer in the world. In terms of market capitalisation however it moved past Asda-owner Wal-Mart in pre-market trading and is now worth US$267bn as against US$236bn for Wal-Mart. It is an impressive achievement for the retail giant which only came into existence 20 years ago starting life in a garage in Seattle. During that time the company has concentrated on growing the top line more than declaring profits but it made a post-tax profit in the second quarter earning US$92mln or 19 cents a share which surprised analysts who had forecast a loss per share of 13 cents. Closer to home drinks brands giant Diageo (LON:DGE) is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US for allegedly boosting sales figures by means of shipping excess inventory to distributors. 'Diageo is working to respond fully to the SEC's requests for information in this matter' the Johnnie Walker-maker said in a statement. The company is due to release its second quarter results next week. Optimal Payments (LON:OPAY) owner of the Neteller online payments service beloved of online poker players is increasing the number of shares it is issuing to the sellers of Meritus to take account of the dilutive impact of a recent 5 for 3 rights issue by Optimal. Optimal will now issue 12.84mln shares in connection with the Meritus acquisition up from 6.95mln previously. The shares have reacted positively to the news rising 2.9% which is something I would not have bet on. Talking of betting the strategy update from bookie Ladbrokes (LON:LAD) has not been well-received by the market. The company has announced a three-year marketing-led plan in which it pledges to 'aggressively' – 'vigorously' is a much better word don't you think Especially for a bookie – grow its UK digital recreational sports betting customer base; encourage more punters into its shops; deliver multi-channel revenue growth; accelerate growth in Australia. There's not much to disagree with there in terms of ambition and what the market has taken issue with is the news that these initiatives will lead to operating profit in the current financial year being about £20mln lower than previously expected. Finally spoken-word media platform Audioboom (LON:BOOM) crashed and burned this morning despite announcing a record number of users in May. Around 200000 new users joined the platform in the month with 1mln added in the first half of the year. Revenue was just £46k in the first half of the year and loss before tax widened to £3.27mln from £2.13mln which some unkind souls suggested could be accounted for by the company recruiting comedian Russell Brand to be the face of the company. LONDON OPEN Britain's blue-chips lost ground on Friday as European economic data disappointed and commodity prices kept falling. The FTSE 100 Index was 3.64 points adrift at 6651 just after the first hour of trading in London. Germany's Dax was 13 points down but France's CAC-40 was slightly up. Business survey data from economic researchers Markit showed the pace of eurozone economic growth slowing slightly in July though the rate of expansion remained one of the strongest seen in the past four years. By country output growth slowed in Germany albeit merely to a two-month low while a three-month low was seen in France. But there was good news elsewhere in the region as expansion rates accelerated pushing the pace of growth further ahead of both France and Germany although failing to match peaks earlier in the year. Oil prices were on the slide again with US light crude dropping 1.5% to US$48.45 a barrel and Brent off 1.6% at US$55.27. BP (LON:BP.) was flat at 401p but shares in Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSB) shed 6p to 1792p. BG Group (LON:BG.) also deflated 2.5p to 1051p. The Footsie followed the lead set by Asian stocks overnight where disappointing Chinese manufacturing data sent stocks crashing. In the US where the Dow lost 119 points at 17732 job data led to an increased concern that the Fed may raise interest rates as early as September. Gold prices continued to fall down 1% at US$1083 an ounce hitting shares in Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) by 7p to 3817p. Anglo American (LON:AAL) ticked up 7.3p to 813.7p after the mining giant said currency weakness in the countries where it operates and cost savings had partly offset a a 36% fall in half-year earnings due to lower commodity prices. Publishing group Pearson (LON:PSON) which on Thursday announced the sale of the FT to Nikkei for £844mln gained 37p to 1271p after reporting a 1% sales rise to £2.2bn reflecting growth in North America Brazil and China. Bookie Ladbrokes (LON:LAD) lost 2.5p to 125.8p as it confirmed plans for a merger with rival Gala Coral. Power generator rental group Aggreko (LON:AGK) plunged 217p or 15% to 1213p as it warned on first half and annual profits. It blamed security problems in Yemen and another slowdown in its North American oil & gas-related business. MARKET PREVIEW Britain's blue chips are poised to extend losses Friday as traders are put off by dismal commodity prices and a gloomy economic outlet. FTSE100 closed Thursday down 12 points at 6655 but today is called to open around 20 points lower. It will follow the lead set by Asian stocks overnight where disappointing Chinese manufacturing data sent stocks crashing. The so -called flash Caixin/Markit China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to a figure of 48.2. Economists had been expecting a reading of 49.7. It is the lowest reading for over a year. The theme of the lack of Chinese growth continues to be a bug bear for markets. The Nikkei 225 shed 133 points to 20551 while the Hang Seng shed 233 points. Yesterday stocks tumbled in London as disappointing UK retail stats emerged and commodity prices continued to fall. In the US where the Dow lost 119 points at 17732 jobs data led to an increased concern that the Fed may raise interest rates as early as September. In commodities gold and crude futures stabilised a tad with crude futures up from multi month lows and Brent at its lowest level since April 2 this year. Today Pearson (LON:PSON) will once again be in focus with its interim results. Yesterday it emerged it was selling the FT to Japan's Nikkei for £844mln bringing to a close a near 60 year ownership.
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