The 10 biggest business stories on Wednesday February 10

Japan stocks close at lowest level since 2014; Disney feels force of Star Wars buy

(EPA)

1. Japanese stocks have fallen by more than 20 per cent since December. The Nikkei 225 fell as much as 2.4 per cent during trading on Wednesday, adding to 5.4 per cent losses witnessed in the previous session.

2. Adair Turner, a former city regulator, told the BBC that without radical policies the UK economy could be stuck with low interest “almost indefinitely”.

3. Pinewood Studio, where parts of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and movies from the James Bond franchise were filmed, is looking at “strategic options” that could involve a sale of the business. The company behind the famous film studios said that the search for an investment partner or buyer is underway.

4. Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest lender, is considering buying back billions of euros worth of senior bonds, the Financial Times reports. The goal is to prop up the value of the bank’s securities and share price, which have dropped since the beginning of the year.

5. HSBC has been sued by the families of US citizens murdered by drug gangs in Mexico, claiming the bank let cartels launder billions of dollars to operate their business, according to Reuters.

6. Japan's Asahi Group Holdings has offered $3.5 billion for two top European lager brands from British giant SABMiller, in what would be the biggest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese beer company, a report said Wednesday.

7. Heineken, the world's third-largest brewer, is forecasting higher revenues and profits this year. For last year the brewer increased profits by 16 per cent to €2.05 billion.

8. Hornby, the British model railway brand, has issued another profit warning with the company now expecting losses for the year to March to widen to between £5.5 to £6 million – up to three times worse than the guidance offered back in November, according to the Financial Times.

9. The mouse strikes back - the success of the release of the latest Star Wars movie and its merchandise helped Walt Disney post record quarterly profits. Disney reported earnings of $2.9 billion (£2 billion) for the first quarter to January 2, up 32 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier, with revenues up 14 per cent to $15.2 billion (£10.5 billion). But the company’s shares were 4 per cent lower in after-hours trading as investors raised concerns about Disney’s cable network, including sports channel ESPN.

10. Hermes, the French luxury handbag-maker, posted an 8.1 per cent rise in full-year sales at constant exchange rates on Wednesday, one of the highest growth levels in the luxury goods industry but marking a clear slowdown from 2014. Recent earnings reports from luxury-goods makers have disappointed, with Richemont’s Christmas season sales dropping for the first time in seven years and Swatch 2015 profit missing estimates.