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☆ What our Big Tech holdings signaled on expenses and hiring this earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

We want to see that happen with the Club's holdings, so we paid close attention to what management teams at our Big Tech stocks signaled on costs during this mixed earnings season. Head count grew by 22% on an annual basis, 6 percentage points of which was due to acquisitions that closed in the prior two quarters. "Our sequential head count growth from Q1 to Q2 will be minimal. ... We've added a lot of head count over the past 12 months, and we want to make sure we use those head count in the most productive way possible," Hood said this week. "We are holding some teams flat in terms of head count, shrinking others, and investing head count growth only in our highest priorities," Wehner said.

☆ Tech earnings just flopped. From Amazon to Meta and Microsoft, here are the biggest takeaways
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tech heavyweights like Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft flopped this past week, while Apple reported mixed results. Experts explain the obstacles in front of Big Tech, and what the takeaways from earnings are. Apple proved to be the lone strong point among Big Tech stocks. Weakness in digital advertisingAs the broader economy slows down thanks to the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, tech companies have faced a softening in advertising revenue. Big Tech spendingMeta, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon reported deceleration in key business lines, but all four insisted they will continue to invest despite the slowdown, Gil Luria, technology strategist at D.A.

☆ Five centuries on, Milan still echoes with the genius of queer icon Leonardo da Vinci
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Dan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

Since his death more than 500 years ago, multihyphenate genius Leonardo da Vinci and his spectacular works have inspired respect and wonder in generation after generation the world over. “Likewise in painting, I can do everything possible as well as any other, whosoever he may be,” da Vinci offered, not incorrectly. Today, his engineering genius and the advancements it inspired are showcased at Milan’s Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, the largest science museum in Italy. The museum’s Leonardo da Vinci Galleries, reimagined for the 2019 celebrations, use more than 170 historical models, artworks, codexes and installations to bring the artist’s story to life. Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" in the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

☆ 'Safe port in the storm:' Why investors rewarded Apple but fled its Big Tech peers after earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Apple's earnings received a drastically different reaction from investors than its Big Tech peers Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook. Shares of Apple were up about 7% Friday morning, the day after Apple reported earnings that showed 8% annual sales growth and despite misses on estimates for iPhone and services revenue. Apple looks like a "relatively safe port in the storm," as a note Friday from Credit Suisse analyst Shannon Cross says. Sacconaghi said some of Apple's Big Tech peers also seemed to have issues controlling costs, whereas Apple remains fairly lean and profitable. "Overall, our viewpoint remains consistent that Apple remains recession resilient given its products, services and wearables businesses," wrote Piper Sandler's Harsh Kumar.

☆ Apple set to report earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Performer Jon Batiste, left, and Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., center, at the Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Apple reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday. Apple also has the challenge of a strong dollar when sales from other countries make up the majority of the firm's business. Apple's services include revenue from the App Store, subscriptions such as Apple Music, search licensing fees from companies such as Google, hardware warranties and other businesses. "Most investors are aligned that services revenue growth should accelerate" during the December quarter again, wrote Morgan Stanley's Erik Woodring in a note this week.

☆ Apple sold slightly fewer iPhones than expected, but Tim Cook says the economy isn't yet affecting sales – bucking the Big Tech bad-news trend
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Apple proved not all tech companies are created equal. The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, unlike Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet. Apple sold fewer iPhones than Wall Street expected. Apple beat Wall Street's expectations for earnings and revenue, unlike big tech companies Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon, which all plunged on disappointing quarterly results. "Our record September quarter results continue to demonstrate our ability to execute effectively in spite of a challenging and volatile macroeconomic backdrop," said Luca Maestri, Apple's CFO in the company's quarterly earnings release.

Although iPhone sales were not as strong as some analysts had targeted, they were still a record for the September quarter. Minutes before Apple reported, Amazon.com AMZN.O added to tech sector misery, predicting a holiday profit slump that sent its shares down 20%. Apple's iPhone sales for the company's fiscal fourth quarter rose to $42.6 billion, when Wall Street expected sales of $43.21 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES. The company reported sales of iPads were $7.2 billion, compared with the average estimate of $7.94 billion. In China, which has experienced a sharp economic slowdown, Apple reported fourth-quarter sales of $15.5 billion.

[1/2] The logo of Apple company is seen outside an Apple store in Bordeaux, France, March 22, 2019. Although iPhone sales were not as strong as some analysts had targeted, they were still a record for the September quarter. Maestri said iPhone sales set a record for the September quarter, improving 10% over the prior year's quarter and exceeding the company's forecast. In China, which has experienced a sharp economic slowdown, Apple reported fourth-quarter sales of $15.5 billion. That is a gain from the prior quarter, when Apple logged sales of $14.6 billion.

☆ Apple reports earnings Thursday and all eyes are on iPhone 14 sales
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Apple will report its fourth-quarter earnings for the quarter ended in September after the bell on Thursday. The most important new information will be any details the tech giant offers on how the iPhone 14 series is selling. Apple could also see a boost from better-than-expected sales of iPads and Macs, which have been slowed by parts shortages in recent quarters. However, "most investors are aligned that services revenue growth should accelerate" during the December quarter again, according to Morgan Stanley's Erik Woodring. However, Apple sales appear to have remained strong, according to an analysis of iPhone wait times and third-party estimates of the premium smartphone market.

☆ Hermes plans big price rises, says no sign of slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We will probably have price hikes between 5 and 10 percent," Hermes executive vice president of finance Eric du Halgouet told reporters on Thursday, blaming increased costs and currency movements. Hermes, which has waiting lists for its prized $10,000-plus handbags and limits production to maintain exclusivity, increased prices by around 4% this year and by 1.5-2% on average in previous years. That compares with double-digit price hikes at Chanel. "For the moment, we don't see any sign of slowdown in any of our markets,” said du Halgouet. The Hermes figures suggest that "high-end global luxury goods demand has yet to normalise," said Luca Solca, analyst at Bernstein.

☆ How Mixing Materials Brings Luxury to Interior Design
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Amy Merrick | Photographs Francesco Lastrucci For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN HAS A GRITTY GLAMOUR that doesn’t endear itself to every visitor, but on my first visit I was surprised how much I liked it. From the imposing, imperial stone behemoth of Milano Centrale train station, I walked down the dusty, grand streets straight to the Villa Necchi Campiglio, a 1930s house and walled garden set like an emerald in the heart of Milan. I’d wanted to go ever since I saw Luca Guadagnino’s 2009 film “I Am Love,” in which the house served as both the set and soul of the story, a restrained but sumptuous vision of Italian architecture. Designed by fashionable Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi and built between 1932 and 1935 for the wealthy industrialist Angelo Campiglio, his wife and her sibling (the Necchi sisters) the house affirms that the jewels of Milan are often found behind lock and key.

☆ ECB to go big again on Oct. 27 with 75 bps rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters Poll - Euro zone economic outlookIn the run-up to winter, forecasters are expecting the ECB to be more aggressive in tightening policy. The bloc's central bank will take the deposit rate to 1.50% and the refinancing rate to 2.00% next Thursday, a view held by an overwhelming majority of respondents in the Oct. 12-18 Reuters poll of more than 60 economists. Three-quarters of respondents to an additional question, 27 of 36, said the bank ought to choose a 75 basis point lift to the deposit rate while two said it should go harder with a 100 basis point increase. Reuters Poll - ECB monetary policy outlookSHORT AND SHALLOW? The deposit rate was expected to reach a peak of 2.50% next year and the refinancing rate 3.00%, higher than the 1.50% and 2.00% highs given in September.

☆ ECB to go big again on Oct. 27 with 75 bps rate hike: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Nissan, Renault relationship should be 'more equal' Renault CEO tells Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The relationship between Japan's Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) and top shareholder Renault SA should be "more equal", the Nikkei newspaper quoted the French automaker's chief executive as saying. "Each company needs to do what is best," he told the Nikkei, adding that that was the spirit of their alliance. Such a shift could mean the biggest reset in their relationship since the 2018 arrest of longtime executive Carlos Ghosn. Talks so far have included consideration of Renault selling some of its Nissan stake, Reuters has previously reported. For Nissan, that could mean a chance to alter a structure that many executives at the Japanese company have seen as unbalanced.

☆ Renault CEO: problems remain regarding supplies of semiconductor chips
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Renault (RENA.PA) and other carmakers are still facing problems regarding the global shortage of semiconductor chips needed in the car industry, Renault Chief Executive Luca de Meo told the Paris Automotive Summit. "We are still pretty much in trouble with this kind of thing," said de Meo. "It might get better but problems are here to stay for a while," he added. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Gilles Guillaume;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dwayne Johnson reportedly sidestepped the DC movie boss to get a major character's long-awaited cameo into 'Black Adam'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dwayne Johnson went around the DC film boss to seek approval for a major character's cameo in "Black Adam." The new Warner Bros. studio heads said yes to the cameo, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Neither representatives for Johnson nor Warner Bros. immediately returned requests for comment. "Black Adam" is the first franchise tentpole theatrical release in months, as movie theaters face a lack of new releases compared with before the pandemic. "Black Adam" comes at a time when the DC movie franchise itself is at a crossroads.

☆ Baristas in San Francisco went on strike. Their robot co-workers went right on serving
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

For three days last month, 1,000 food-service workers at SFO went on strike over wages and working conditions. For decades, robots have been replacing, or at least nudging aside, human labor. But at SFO, robot baristas didn't simply replace humans — they crossed a picket line. Cafe X robot baristas stayed on the job when food-service workers went on strike at San Francisco International Airport last month. The short version is: Every new robot per thousand human workers reduces employment by 0.2 percentage points and decreases wages by 0.42%.

☆ France: keen that Renault keeps industrial and technological advantages in Nissan alliance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would hold further talks with Renault (RENA.PA) chief executive Luca de Meo regarding Renault's alliance with Nissan (7201.T) and that France was keen for Renault to hold onto its industrial and technological advantages. "I will talk about it soon with Luca de Meo, we are in talks with Luca de Meo. We just want to make sure that the decisions taken by Renault keep the alliance between Renault and Nissan, and that it will be in the interests of Renault, in terms of technologies and platforms," said Le Maire at the Paris Car Show. Renault is Nissan's largest shareholder with 43% while the Japanese automaker in turn owns 15% in Renault. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Sudip Kar-GuptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apollo, Gemini astronaut James McDivitt dies at age 93
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Astronaut and commander James McDivitt shows several days' beard growth during the Apollo 9 mission while onboard the Lunar Module "Spider" in Earth orbit, March 6, 1969. NASA/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - James McDivitt, a former U.S. astronaut who commanded some of NASA's earliest and most ambitious missions in space, died in his sleep last week at age 93, NASA said in a statement on Monday night. The fourth mission under Project Gemini, a precursor to NASA's Apollo program, marked McDivitt's first flight to space. McDivitt later joined two astronauts as commander of the Apollo 9 mission, a crucial debut flight test of NASA's Lunar Module that would later land astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Joey Roulette Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sales at the world's largest luxury brand jump on strong demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

French luxury goods giant LVMH beat market forecasts in the third quarter, posting a sharp rise in sales as wealthy shoppers splashed out on fashion and Americans in Europe made the most of the strong dollar. The world’s biggest luxury group, home to fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior, got an added boost from improved business in China as COVID-19 curbs eased. The group’s fashion and leather goods division led the jump in sales with a 22% increase on the same period a year ago. The third-quarter results for LVMH, which also owns Sephora and Bulgari, kicks off earnings season for the industry. Rivals Hermes and Gucci owner Kering will both report sales for the three months on Oct. 20.

SEOUL, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Renault (RENA.PA) Chief Executive Luca De Meo said on Tuesday the automaker was looking to find a partner for a carve-out of its combustion-engine business that would bring scale and drive down costs on technology, including hybrids. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterDe Meo said Renault was in talks with the French government over its evolving strategy. De Meo has said Renault needs new partnerships because of the scale of the investment needed to shift toward battery-powered cars and charging. In exchange for investing in the EV venture, Nissan is looking to Renault to reduce its stake in the Japanese automaker, a person familiar with the talks said. Renault currently owns about 43% of Nissan, which in turn has a 15% stake in its long-term partner with the French state holding another 15%.

The Renault CEO was scheduled to speak to reporters in Seoul on Tuesday evening, his first public appearance since news broke of the talks with Nissan. In exchange for its investment in Renault's EV unit, Nissan has asked Renault to take steps to sell down its 43% stake in Nissan, people with knowledge of the talks have said. Nissan has a 15% stake in Renault, as does the French government, but the Japanese automaker does not have voting rights. Nissan would also have to sign off on the plan for Geely to take a large stake in Renault's gas-engine business, code-named "Horse." Volvo and Geely created a joint-venture under the name Aurobay to shift their own combustion-engine business into a new stand-alone business.

☆ French luxury groups to highlight sector's resilience as demand holds up for now
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - French luxury groups LVMH (LVMH.PA), Gucci-owner Kering (PRTP.PA) and Hermes (HRMS.PA) are expected to post double-digit third-quarter sales growth as demand for high-end fashion from tourists and shoppers revamping post-pandemic wardrobes remains strong. Without citing a corresponding inflation figure, UBS estimates prices for the sector increased by 4.6% on average this year, through July. A Visible Alpha consensus cited by the bank points to 13% organic sales growth. Pusz expects 13% organic sales growth for Kering and 15% growth at constant rates from Hermes, over the period. LVMH posts third-quarter revenue on Oct. 11, while Kering and Hermes announce results on Oct. 20.

☆ Renault, Nissan messy breakup is least-bad option
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Another headache is the alliance’s lopsided governance, which sees Renault hold a 43% stake in Nissan but the Japanese group prohibited by French law from exercising voting rights associated with its 15% stake in Renault. That will need Nissan’s backing, and the Japanese group might also invest in the electric division. The quid pro quo may be for Renault to give up some of its 43% share in Nissan. That implies the current value of just over 9 billion euros assigns little worth to the Nissan stake. Nissan is pressing Renault to cut its 43% stake in the Japanese group to as little as 15%, Reuters reported on Oct. 8.

The talks, which could prompt the biggest reset in the alliance since the 2018 arrest of longtime executive Carlos Ghosn, have included consideration of Renault selling some of its Nissan stake, two people with knowledge of them said. Renault and Nissan said in a joint statement that they were "engaged in trustful discussions around several initiatives" including a potential Nissan investment in the EV venture and what they called "structural improvements" in their alliance. In exchange for investing in the EV venture, Nissan is looking to Renault to reduce its stake in the Japanese automaker, a person familiar with the talks said. Nissan may consider raising funds to buy back the shares held by Renault, one person told Reuters. Nissan may need to raise funds to buy the shares back from Renault, the source added.

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