Groupon exceeds estimates

CHICAGO (AP) – Online deals website Groupon said Monday that second-quarter earnings beat Wall Street’s profit estimates, but it underwhelmed analysts with sales growth hurt by unfavorable currency movements.
Net income in the three months to June 30 came to $28.4 million, or 4 cents per share. The earnings reversed a net loss of $107.4 million a year ago.
Revenue rose 45 percent to $568.3 million, which was below the $574.8 million expected by analysts. Groupon says its revenue was $32.4 million lower because of a weaker euro and U.K. pound. That means sales made in Europe got converted back into fewer U.S. dollars.
Shares dropped $1.06, or 14 percent, to $6.49 in after-hours trading following the earnings release.

Hype builds for new iPhone

Pre-sales for the iPhone 5 will begin Sept. 12, the same day Apple is expected to announce the device, according to a new report.
Though the sixth-generation iPhone likely won’t launch or get to customers until Sept. 21, the new report says there will hardly be any gap between the phone’s unveiling and the start of pre-orders.
The report also says a second wave of iPhone 5 launches, for international markets not included in the Sept. 21 launch, will come in early October, likely on Oct. 5.
The website iMore put out the report, saying the information comes from two sources who have proved accurate in the past.
Earlier Monday, another report said an AT&T source confirmed the iPhone 5 will launch in either the third or fourth week of September.
–Los Angeles Times

Skechers reaches settlement

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – A federal judge on Monday tentatively approved a $40 million settlement between Skechers USA Inc. and consumers who bought the toning shoes after ads made unfounded claims that the footwear would help people lose weight and strengthen muscles.
An undetermined number of people will be able to get a maximum repayment for their purchases — up to $80 per pair of Shape-Ups; $84 per pair of Resistance Runner shoes; up to $54 per pair of Podded Sole Shoes; and $40 per pair for Tone-Ups.
The agreement comes three months after Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based Skechers reached a deal with the Federal Trade Commission over the advertisements for the shoes.

HSBC protesters must leave

HONG KONG – HSBC Holdings won a court order for the removal of protesters who have spent almost 10 months under its Asian headquarters, one of the longest- running demonstrations sparked by the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Protesters must leave the area before 9 p.m. Aug. 27, Master R. Lai said Monday at Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance. The court will assign a bailiff to execute the order, Lai said.
Protesters for Occupy Wall Street, whose movement to highlight income inequality spread from New York to other cities globally, were evicted in November. In Hong Kong, protesters numbering about 50 at the peak have pitched tents and laid out couches in the ground floor plaza under HSBC’s Central building.
– Bloomberg News

Pfizer plans IPO

Pfizer Inc. plans an initial public offering of a minority stake in its animal health business to pay off debt.
The long-anticipated offering by the world’s largest drugmaker will represent up to a 20 percent ownership stake in the animal health business, which it named Zoetis.
A regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission does not detail the size of the offering or the anticipated share price.
The filing listed a proposed maximum aggregate offering price of $100 million, but it also stated that figure was estimated solely to calculate the registration fee.
– Associated Press