Category: 3. Business

A small business owner is preparing to face down the cosmetics giant L’Oréal at a tribunal next week over a trademark dispute she says has had a devastating impact on her.

Rebecca Dowdeswell, 49, from Nottinghamshire, has been locked in a three-year legal battle with the French company since it claimed her use of the name nkd for her business would cause “consumer confusion” with its own range of Naked beauty products.

Dowdeswell has been forced to close one of her two nkd salons and has run up legal fees of more than £30,000 ($39,500) fighting the £170 billion company, which has instructed top-tier law firm Baker McKenzie.

Before the intellectual property office tribunal on Wednesday, she said, “There’s never been any question or any evidence of any consumer confusion. From my perspective, we operate in very different sections of the beauty market. I only have an interest in waxing and hair removal.

“My three products I’ve launched under the nkd name are tied to hair removal aftercare, whereas they only use the Naked brand name against a handful of eyeshadow palettes and then a few other items of very specific makeup.

“And then the two brand names are spelt and pronounced differently, so I’ve always been pronounced ‘n-k-d’, they’ve always been ‘naked.’”

Dowdeswell launched her business in 2009, a year before L’Oréal launched its first Naked product in the UK, she said.

Her trademark expired in 2019, at which point she said she had a six-month window to automatically renew it but forgot to because of Covid, for which she said, “I fully hold my hands up.” When she got round to renewing in 2022, L’Oréal objected.

“We had already by then coexisted for over 12 years,” said Dowdeswell. “For a large company, £30,000 plus in legal fees is not a lot of money but to a very small business like mine it’s been really devastating. And the bigger impact has been the drain on my resources and the distraction that this has been to me, the drain on my time, my energy, my focus.”

She said it was the need to focus on the case that made her shut down her original — and biggest — salon in Nottingham at the end of 2023.

Dowdeswell did receive some good news earlier this week when L’Oréal reduced the scope of its objection, which means her remaining salon, in Leicester, will not need to be renamed and she can use the nkd brand for some beauty services and products.

But the two sides remain in dispute over other issues and she said the company’s late concession was in keeping with a “deliberate strategy to grind me down, to waste my legal expenses and to hope that this never gets as far as the hearing.

“I just feel really angry that nobody has held L’Oréal to account. And I really, really hope that they do get held to account on Wednesday.”

A L’Oréal spokesperson said, “Since 2022 L’Oréal’s position has never changed or been updated. We have always been willing to work with Rebecca Dowdeswell to support her business aspirations whilst respecting our longstanding trademark rights.

“The proceedings are still ongoing and we remain wholly committed to resolving this matter in a mutually agreeable way.”

By Haroon Siddique

Learn more:

L’Oréal to Acquire Kering Beauty Portfolio for $4.6 Billion

The companies announced on Sunday that L’Oréal will acquire Kering’s beauty brands and licenses for its fashion house names, including Gucci.

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Zurletrectinib (ICP-723) demonstrated tolerability and promising antitumor activity among pediatric and adolescent patients with NTRK/ROS1-altered solid tumors in a phase 1/2 clinical trial (NCT04685226), according to a news release from the developers, InnoCare Pharma.¹

Data were presented at the Congress of International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) 2025 in an oral presentation by Juan Wang of the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in Guangzhou, China. As of July 31, 2025, the objective response rate (ORR) among patients treated with zurletrectinib was 90% as assessed by an independent review committee (IRC). Additionally, among patients who completed full efficacy evaluations, those resistant to first-generation TRK inhibitors all achieved partial responses.

Furthermore, no dose-limiting toxicities were observed with the investigational agent, and treatment-related adverse effects (TRAEs) were primarily grade 1 or 2.

Additionally, the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) was found to be 7.2 mg/m² for pediatric patients and 8 mg/m² for adolescent patients. At the RP2D, comparable exposure levels between pediatric or adolescent patients vs adult patients were shown for zurletrectinib.

Previous interim findings presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting revealed that as of November 23, 2024, the median duration of response (DOR) and progression-free survival (PFS) were not reached.² The 12-month rates for DOR and PFS were 92.0% and 90.5%, respectively. Additionally, of 3 patients with brain metastases, 2 achieved intracerebral responses.

Furthermore, the new drug application (NDA) for zurletrectinib as a treatment for patients with NTRK gene fusion-positive tumors was accepted by the Centre for Drug Evaluation (CDE) and was given priority review status in May 2025.³ The agency accepted the zurletrectinib NDA for review in the same patient population in April 2025.⁴

“Zurletrectinib has demonstrated outstanding efficacy and safety in adult, adolescent, and pediatric patients with tumors harboring NTRK fusion genes, bringing better treatment options for patients with solid tumors,” Jasmine Cui, PhD, co-founder, chairwoman, and chief executive officer of InnoCare, said in a news release on the NDA submission.⁴ “[InnoCare] is expanding the scope of its solid tumor pipelines through a combination of targeted therapies, immune-oncology approaches, and cutting-edge antibody drug conjugate [ADC] technology, looking forward to meeting the unmet needs of patients with solid tumors early.”

The multicenter, open-label phase 1/2 trial assigned patients with histopathologically confirmed, surgically unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors who were 12 years of age and older to receive zurletrectinib as an oral tablet.⁵ The primary end points of the phase 1/2 study were safety and tolerability and maximum tolerated dose. Secondary end points included maximum concentration of zurletrectinib and ORR.

Patients were eligible for enrollment if they had at least 1 measurable lesion per RECIST v1.1 criteria, or for primary central nervous system tumors, per Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) or International Neuroblastomas Response Criteria (INRC) criteria; an ECOG performance status of 0 to 1 or Karnofsky or Lansky performance status of greater than 60; and a life expectancy of more than 3 months.

Exclusion criteria included having any concurrent malignancy within 5 years prior to first study dose, receipt of prior anti-cancer treatment within 28 days of the first study dose, or any major surgical procedures within 4 weeks or minor surgical procedure within 2 weeks of first study dose. Those with a history of allergic disease, severe drug allergy, or known hypersensitivity to any component of the tablet formulation were ineligible for study enrollment.

References

1. Latest data of InnoCare’s zurletrectinib orally presented at SIOP 2025. News release. InnoCare Pharma. October 29, 2025. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/3suebres
2. Latest data of InnoCare’s robust oncology pipelines presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. News release. InnoCare Pharma. June 1, 2025. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/tbsukc6f
3. InnoCare’s zurletrectinib receives priority review from China’s NMPA. News release. InnoCare Pharma. May 2, 2025. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/ycx7vdv7
4. InnoCare announces the acceptance of new drug application for pan-TRK inhibitor zurletrectinib in China. News release. InnoCare Pharma. April 16, 2025. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/4w29v4kc
5. A phase I/​II clinical trial of ICP-723 in the treatment of advanced solid tumors. ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated September 2, 2025. Accessed October 31, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/3xc4746u

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/LinkedIn

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital shared a post on LinkedIn:

”Leaders from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital participated in the International Society of Paediatric Oncology – SIOP 2025 Congress in Amsterdam, engaging with experts from around the world and presenting on topics such as high-risk grade medulloblastoma and the future of chemotherapy-free treatment for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The congress served as a vital opportunity for international collaboration, focused on advancing cures and treatments for pediatric catastrophic diseases.

“We are at a moment in the global movement for childhood cancer where we are starting to get a greater recognition that childhood cancer is a priority at the global health level,” said Nickhill Bhakta, MD, director of the Sub-Saharan African regional program. “Getting those plans and those treatments so that no matter where you live and what resources you have, you can get access to the best therapies is one of the major priorities that we set to make sure that we can meet the moment that we live in.”

Throughout the week, St. Jude leaders participated more than 50 presentations and discussions, reinforcing the institution’s position as a leading global partner in pediatric oncology. The focus remained on strengthening educational leadership and expanding the reach of trusted patient and family resources. These efforts support the development of the global pediatric oncology workforce and ensure that families benefit from the latest advances in care.

The St. Jude Global Alliance was highlighted for its mission to improve survival rates for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases worldwide. By sharing knowledge, technology and organizational expertise, the Alliance seeks to reduce disparities and expand access to high-quality care around the globe.

The St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and its Global Scholars Program were featured as essential initiatives for workforce development. The program’s multi-phase structure aims to increase visibility, support scholar achievements, and foster alumni engagement. These efforts equip emerging leaders to address health system challenges in underserved communities at local, national, and global levels.

Together by St. Jude was showcased as a comprehensive online resource available in 12 languages, designed to provide trusted information to families facing childhood cancer, blood disorders, and other serious health conditions. By strengthening global partnerships and expanding digital engagement, Together by St. Jude ensures that accurate, relevant resources are accessible to families regardless of where care is received.

As the global pediatric oncology community continues to grow, collaborative efforts and knowledge-sharing remain essential to improving outcomes for children everywhere. The congress reaffirmed the commitment to advancing access to therapies and supporting families worldwide through innovation and partnership.”

You Can Also Read:

Highlights From SIOP 2025 Congress

Almost a million young people are not in education, employment or training. Employers are freezing their hiring plans. Unemployment is at a four-year high. Not all is right in the UK jobs market, and the outlook is getting worse.

Typically it takes a full-blown recession to spark the type of growth in unemployment that Britain is witnessing today. About 100,000 jobs have been lost from company payrolls in the past year, and the official jobless rate has hit 4.8%, up from 4.1% a year earlier. More than 9 million working-age adults are neither in employment nor looking for a job.

But while this alone ought to be worrying enough, underneath these headline statistics are two troubling trends: a dramatic increase in youth unemployment and rising levels of ill health.

This week the government will respond. Sir Charlie Mayfield, a former chair of John Lewis , is expected to publish his Keep Britain Working review, outlining his recommendations for the government and business to do more to tackle rising levels of worklessness.

Commissioned by ministers last year, Mayfield believes businesses must do significantly more to help people with work-limiting health conditions and those with disabilities. Support for mental health in particular is key.

“This issue is a nasty one,” Mayfield told me recently at Labour’s party conference in Liverpool. “There is a tremendous opportunity to do better.

“It is absolutely huge in the context of what it means for those people individually, in terms of what it means for the productive capacity that is not then available to the economy, and therefore the implications that has for growth.”

As many as one in five working-age adults across the country are either not in employment or currently seeking a job, a position statisticians describe as “economically inactive”. For almost 3 million, the main reason is long-term ill-health, which is near to its highest level on record.

Most of the increase has been down to the health of young people. Between 2015 and 2024, the number of people with work-limiting conditions rose by 900,000, or 32%, for 50- to 64-year-olds. For those aged 16 to 34, the rise was 1.2 million, or 77%.

More than a quarter of 16- 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) are inactive because of disability and ill-health, according to the Resolution Foundation. That figure has more than doubled since 2005.

Separate analysis published this week by the TUC shows that unemployment for people with disabilities has jumped to the highest rate since before the Covid pandemic, and stands at more than double that of the rate for non-disabled people.

With the Mayfield review, the TUC chief, Paul Nowak, believes Labour has an opportunity to turn the page on a decade of Tory neglect of disabled workers. But it will require ministers to take action. “Our employment system is failing disabled people,” he said. “We can’t carry on as we are.”

The big question is how to respond. Who is best placed to help young people, and those with health conditions, to get on in the world of work?

Ahead of Rachel Reeves’s budget, business leaders have made clear that their capacity to do much more is at breaking point. But with the public finances in a tight spot, the government, too, has limited room for manoeuvre.

On 26 November, the chancellor will be expected to flesh out her promise of a “youth guarantee”, announced at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool. Investment in skills, training, apprenticeships and further eduction will also be key. The TUC is warning Reeves against taking a renewed shot at cutting disability benefits, urging her to reform the Access to Work scheme, and to raise statutory sick pay.

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Getting more people into work would be a much better way to cut spending on benefits. It would also benefit the economy: if the UK matched the lowest Neet rate among OECD countries, that could deliver a boost to the economy of £69bn.

For business, bosses feel in a strong position to push back against any new government requests to play a bigger role. Unless, of course, it involves a tax break or subsidy. After the chancellor’s last budget raised employer national insurance contributions (NICs) by £25bn, corporate lobbyists feel emboldened.

On the one hand, they have a point. Alongside this tax rise, a higher living wage, elevated borrowing costs, sticky inflation and a sluggish economic outlook, companies are under significant pressure. These headwinds are among the reasons why the jobs market is faltering. Business groups also warn that Labour’s “make work pay” employment rights bill would make matters worse.

Job vacancies have fallen most in the sectors hurt most by the rising cost of employment and fading consumer demand; retail, leisure and hospitality are among the hardest hit. However, these places are also typically the first ports of call for young people and those with health issues who are hoping to get back into the jobs market.

But employers refusing to do more to help them would be massively short-termist. Without support, the rise in people standing outside the jobs market will deprive business of potential employees and customers; unemployment would rise further, the economy would suffer, and the public finances would deteriorate. Nobody wins.

“Investment in employee health and wellbeing should not be a burden,” Mayfield told me in Liverpool. “It actually should be something that is both increasingly necessary and also highly returning for employers.

“What we have to figure out is, how do we create the circumstances where more employers both feel and experience that?”

Businesses might well be under pressure. But equally they cannot opt out either, and say: “Nothing to do with us.” We live in a society where we are all connected.

Udemy (UDMY) drew investor attention after reporting third-quarter earnings that topped profit and revenue expectations. However, total sales remained unchanged year over year and management offered a cautious revenue outlook for the coming quarter.

See our latest analysis for Udemy.

After beating quarterly profit expectations and announcing a shift to a subscription-first model, Udemy’s share price dropped sharply, with a 1-week share price return of -16.4% and a year-to-date slide of nearly 31%. Market momentum is fading as cautious guidance and changing revenue mix temper earlier optimism. This is reflected in a 12-month total shareholder return of -29.2% and an even steeper three-year loss.

If Udemy’s transformation has you rethinking where to look for growth, now’s a good moment to broaden your search and discover fast growing stocks with high insider ownership

With shares trading at a steep discount to analyst price targets and management projecting mixed signals ahead, is Udemy an overlooked bargain in the making, or is the market already bracing for slow growth?

Udemy’s narrative-driven fair value estimate lands at $10.17, which is significantly above the latest close price of $5.70. This valuation hinges on future earnings growth and profitability projections that diverge from the current market stance.

The shift towards a subscription-based revenue model, now comprising around 70% of overall revenue, provides greater earnings predictability, higher gross margins, and improved bottom-line performance as Udemy Business (B2B) wins larger deals and consumer subscription GMV grows more than 40% year over year. This indicates robust future margin expansion and more stable recurring cash flows.

Read the complete narrative.

Want to know what surprising numbers back this bold valuation? The fair value calculation leans on a set of forecasts that project a fast-changing earnings landscape and an ambitious profit trajectory. Curious which assumptions drive this upside? Read the full narrative for all the details lurking beneath the headline.

Result: Fair Value of $10.17 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, ongoing declines in consumer revenue and heavy reliance on a few large enterprise clients could limit Udemy’s growth and earnings stability in the future.

Find out about the key risks to this Udemy narrative.

If this take on Udemy doesn’t quite fit your outlook, why not dive into the details yourself and shape your own view in just minutes. Do it your way

A good starting point is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards investors are optimistic about regarding Udemy.

Why stop now? Expand your portfolio horizons like the pros by targeting stocks poised for big moves in fast-growing and innovative sectors.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include UDMY.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com

Synovus Financial (SNV) shares have edged up slightly in recent trading, gaining just under 1% and closing at $44.64. Investors are watching how the stock performs after a difficult month, as shares are down 8% over that period.

See our latest analysis for Synovus Financial.

Despite a tough stretch recently, Synovus Financial’s 1-year total shareholder return is down just 6.7%, while its five-year total return stands out at more than 100%. Although the short-term share price return has slipped, investors are considering whether the current softness signals the end of last year’s momentum or the beginning of new opportunities as the risk outlook changes.

If you’re reassessing your next move, it could be the perfect chance to broaden your search and discover fast growing stocks with high insider ownership

After recent declines and a mixed longer-term track record, the key question is whether Synovus Financial’s current valuation reflects a bargain or if the market has already accounted for the company’s future prospects. Could there still be upside from here?

With Synovus Financial trading at $44.64 versus a narrative fair value of $56.43, the widely-followed perspective sees substantial upside from current levels. This valuation is anchored in optimistic assumptions about core business drivers and expansion opportunities following the pending Pinnacle merger.

Accelerated investments in digital banking (e.g., loan origination, treasury management tools, payment modernization) and successful fintech partnerships are enhancing operational efficiency and improving customer loyalty. This should improve net margins and support higher fee-based income.

Read the complete narrative.

Curious how these digital moves are expected to reshape profit margins and fee income for years to come? There is a bold underlying strategy embedded in this valuation forecast, involving business banking momentum, predicted revenue boosts, and future earnings multiples that might surprise you. If you want to know how the future earnings lens builds this bullish target, there is only one place to see what is driving the forecast.

Result: Fair Value of $56.43 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, significant merger execution risks and ongoing commercial real estate headwinds could quickly challenge the optimistic outlook that is reflected in current valuations.

Find out about the key risks to this Synovus Financial narrative.

If you see the story differently or want to run the numbers your own way, you can quickly build your own take in just a few minutes, so why not Do it your way

A good starting point is our analysis highlighting 5 key rewards investors are optimistic about regarding Synovus Financial.

Step beyond the obvious and open the door to stocks with surprising potential by using the right investment tools. You could miss out on unique opportunities by staying in your comfort zone.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include SNV.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com

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