Insurance firm Hastings has seen shares dive after warning that profits will miss forecasts because of rising claims costs.

The UK firm also cuts its shareholder dividend as it told investors the company had seen repair costs soar higher in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The company said it was also weighed down by third party credit costs and a "small number of larger bodily injury losses" during the three months to December.

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It said it now expects to post operating profits of around £110 million for the year.

Hastings said it has continued to apply price increases ahead of the market, which it said means customer policies have remained broadly flat over the second half of 2019.

The company said it would cut its shareholder dividend for 2019 as a result of the slip in profits but did not confirm the exact pay-out.

Shares in the company fell 8.2% to 170p in early trading on Friday.

Cranswick's, the sausage maker, said that profit for the financial year will beat market expectations.

The company said that a "robust performance" had continued over the important Christmas period.

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It said that revenue continued to grow in each of its four categories, fresh pork, poultry, convenience and gourmet products.

The company said it started to invest more in its pig farms, including an acquisition of Packington Pork Limited late last year.

The business is based in Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

It comes as Cranswick lines up to grab a slice of the pork market in Asia.

The market update from Cranswick did not reveal its predictions for adjusted profit before tax, but said it would be higher than market expectations.

Last year's pre-tax profit hit £86.5 million.

Darren Shirley and Clive Black, analysts at Shore Capital Markets, upgraded their current pre-tax profit forecasts by 10.8% to £97.5 million.

Shoppers cut down on both how much they bought and the amount they spent at the end of last year, new figures show.

In the three months to December, amount spent and quantity bought fell 0.9% and 1% respectively when compared with the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics said.

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On a month-by-month basis, the amount spent dropped 0.3% and quantity bought was down 0.6%, compared with increases of 1.5% and 0.9% respectively a year earlier.

Rhian Murphy, ONS head of retail sales, said: "Retail sales fell sharply in the latest three months, with almost all sectors showing a decline.

"The longer-term picture is still one of growth, although it has slowed considerably in recent months.

"December was the fifth consecutive month with no growth as food stores suffered particularly poor sales, showing the steepest fall for three years."