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☆ Bumper merger savings help Stellantis profit top forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Giulio Piovaccari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It will also pay a dividend of 4.2 billion euros on 2022 results, or 1.34 euros per share. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at 10.95 billion euros for July-December, topping analysts' consensus estimate in a Reuters poll of 9.63 billion euros. It reiterated the same margin target for 2023, as well as one for positive cash flows. Increased industrial costs had an overall impact on the group's results last year of over 9 billion euros. "Challenges continue in securing capacity for (vehicle) outbound transportation: initially it was from plants to compounds and from compounds to dealers.

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Nvidia, Roku, Coinbase, DraftKings, Disney & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: Compass Point upgrades Coinbase to buy from neutral Compass said the "long-term opportunities outweigh near-term risks." Goldman Sachs reiterates Tesla as buy Goldman said it's bullish heading into the company's investor day on March 1. KeyBanc reiterates Nvidia as overweight KeyBanc raised its price target on the stock to $280 per share from $220. Daiwa reiterates Disney as buy Daiwa said it sees international growth for Disney which will further drive parks outperformance. Evercore ISI adds a positive tactical call on Walmart Evercore said it's bullish on Walmart heading into earnings next week.

☆ Unilever says prices hikes will continue into this year, easing in H2
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bottles of Dove body wash, produced by Unilever Plc, at an Iceland Foods Ltd. supermarket in Christchurch, UK, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Unilever Plc said on Thursday it would continue to raise prices for its detergents, soaps and packaged food to offset rising input costs, and ease up those hikes in the second half of 2023. The packaged goods industry has hiked up prices over the past year to cope with surging costs of everything from cocoa and sunflower oil to wheat. The industry had already been battling Covid-era supply chain issues and raw material expenses when Russia invaded Ukraine, further boosting prices of energy and other commodities. Underlying sales at Unilever rose 9.2% in the fourth quarter, beating a company-provided analyst estimate of an 8.2% increase.

☆ Iran OPEC official sees oil rebounding to $100/bbl in H2
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Nidhi Verma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Global oil prices may rebound to about $100 per barrel in the second half this year as Chinese demand recovers while supply remains limited, Iran's OPEC representative Afshin Javan said on Wednesday. "I think OPEC is moving in right direction," Javan told reporters on the sidelines of the India Energy Week, referring to the group's decision in December to cut production. "Why OPEC did it was because it was not very optimistic about the demand side," Javan said. Iran is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) although its oil exports are subjected to U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing Tehran's nuclear programme. On Monday, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais also defended the group's decision to cut production, adding that the move helped stabilise global oil markets.

☆ Novartis says operating profit to grow again ahead of Sandoz spin-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Full-year core operating income was broadly flat at $16.7 billion, it said in a statement, coming in slightly below market expectations of $16.8 billion. Novartis shares were down 1.3% in early trade on Wednesday and have fallen about 11% since January 2020, underperforming most rivals. They were also disappointed by guidance for Sandoz's core operating income to decline by a "low double digit" percentage in 2023 due to cost inflation and investments to make it a stand-alone entity. MS drug Kesimpta, which requires fewer injections than standard therapies, is expected to become Novartis' second largest growth driver in 2023, after Entresto. Novartis shares lagReporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by Josephine Mason and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Memory chips by South Korean semiconductor supplier SK Hynix are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken February 25, 2022. SK Hynix flagged lower chip prices in the current quarter. For the fourth quarter ended December, SK Hynix swung to a worse-than-expected 1.7 trillion won ($1.38 billion) operating loss, from 4.2 trillion won profit a year earlier. Analysts had expected a 1.3 trillion won operating loss, according to Refinitiv SmartEstimate. On its earnings call, SK Hynix said it will focus its resources on advanced chips to prepare for a market upturn in 2024.

☆ Gold demand surged to an 11-year high in 2022 on 'colossal' central bank buying
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Alexander Manzyuk | ReutersGold demand soared to an 11-year high in 2022 on the back of "colossal central bank purchases, aided by vigorous retail investor buying," according to the World Gold Council. Annual gold demand jumped 18% to 4,741 tons (excluding over-the-counter or OTC trading) across the year, the largest annual figure since 2011, fueled by record fourth-quarter demand of 1,337 tons. "Central bank net purchases in Q4 totalled 417t, lifting H2 total buying to 862t. The majority of the central bank buying in 2022 came from emerging markets, with the Central Bank of Turkey the largest buyer at a record 542 tons. This means that the purchasing power of non-U.S. buyers is reduced and harms global gold demand.

"Samsung, in a roundabout way, is saying production will decrease slightly," said analyst Kim Yang-jae at Daol Investment and Securities. CHIP PROFIT TUMBLESEarlier on Tuesday, Samsung reported its lowest quarterly profit since 2014 and said persistent macroeconomic uncertainty will make for a tough first half of this year, though it expects demand to start recovering in the second half. At 4.3 trillion won ($3.49 billion), October-December operating profit was Samsung's lowest quarterly profit in eight years. Some analysts expect the chip business to book a loss in the first quarter, pulling overall profit below that of the fourth. In mobile, Samsung said fourth-quarter profit fell to 1.7 trillion won from 2.66 trillion won a year earlier, as a decline in low- and mid-end smartphone sales was greater than expected.

At 4.3 trillion won ($3.49 billion), October-December operating profit was Samsung's lowest quarterly profit in eight years. Revenue fell 8% to 70.5 trillion won. Some analysts expect the chip business to book a loss in the first quarter, pulling overall profit below that of the fourth. Memory chip rivals Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS) had already said they would slash investment in 2023. Investors will be watching for whether Samsung avoids mentioning a direct chip production cut - as is its usual stance - or rather gives a clear signal of production cuts given the severity of the memory chip down-cycle.

☆ LVMH shares fall as margins disappointment takes shine off Q4 figures
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Jan 27 (Reuters) - LVMH (LVMH.PA) shares, which had hit a record high earlier this month, fell on Friday as some analysts expressed an element of disappointment over the company's margins, which took some of the shine off its fourth-quarter figures. LVMH reported late on Thursday that its sales rose 9% in the fourth quarter as shoppers in Europe and the United States splurged over the crucial holiday season, helping partly to offset COVID disruptions in China. However, some analysts said one weak spot was its flat margins. "The slight wrinkle is on the margin, where the group delivered a flat operating margin year-on-year (versus consensus of +90 bps) – largely a reflection of maintaining/raising H2 marketing spend despite disrupted revenue growth," wrote Credit Suisse analysts. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Silvia Aloisi and Benoit Van OverstraetenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"We engaged in intense production adjustment in the fourth quarter," Kim Sung-hyun, CFO of LG Display said in an earnings call. It flagged investments of only about 3 trillion won this year, compared to 5.2 trillion won in 2022, and said it will conservatively maintain existing production. Shares in LG Display reversed early losses, jumping 4.1% in afternoon trade versus a 1% rise in the wider market (.KS11). It missed an average forecast of a 797 billion won loss from 10 analysts polled by Refinitiv SmartEstimate, weighted toward analysts that are more consistently accurate. A continuous decline in mid-sized panel prices and efforts to control inventory and reduce factory operations caused the loss, LG Display said.

☆ LVMH shares lose recent lustre as China takes margin toll
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Jan 27 (Reuters) - LVMH (LVMH.PA) shares, which hit a record high earlier this month, fell on Friday as some analysts aired disappointment at the company's margins, taking some of the shine off a fourth-quarter sales rise. However, some analysts focused on its flat margins. "The slight wrinkle is on the margin, where the group delivered a flat operating margin year-on-year (versus consensus of +90 bps) – largely a reflection of maintaining/raising H2 marketing spend despite disrupted revenue growth," Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a note. The division's profit from recurring operations came to 660 million euros for the year, a fall of 3%. Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Benoit Van Overstraeten and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Steelmaking Is Trying to Make Itself Greener and Researchers May Have Found a Way
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Steelmaking is one of the most carbon-intensive industries in the world, but researchers may have found a way to make it greener. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Sustainable Business A weekly look at environmental, social and governance issues and strategies for corporate decision makers. The system essentially creates a closed loop where the carbon split using the perovskite is put back into the system. “After five years, this system would save the U.K. steel industry £1.28 billion [equivalent to $1.57 billion], while reducing UK-wide emissions by 2.9%,” Ms. Kildahl said. For example, H2 Green Steel in Sweden is looking to cut carbon emissions by using hydrogen as a fuel source.

☆ Netflix's ability to churn out hits gives it an edge over rivals -analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

read moreAt least 18 brokerages raised their price targets on the stock as they cheered Netflix's 7.66 million subscribers additions that easily beat estimates of 4.57 million. "Content performance is underpinning all aspects of financial improvement and helps investors sleep better," Wells Fargo analysts said, adding that double-digit revenue growth could be achievable in the second half of the year. The company said it would roll out features this quarter to try and convert more password sharers to paying subscriber. But the company expects increased engagement and monetization after a short period of churn. Reporting by Aditya Soni, Tiyashi Datta and Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea's Q4 GDP likely shrank, hints at possible recession - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Veronica Dudei Maia Khongwir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Asia's fourth-largest economy is expected to have shrunk by a seasonally-adjusted 0.3% in the October-December quarter after growing 0.3% in the preceding period. All but one of 13 economists in the Jan. 16-19 Reuters poll forecast a contraction, with the other expecting growth to flatline. If realized, it would be the sharpest contraction since mid-2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was cementing its grip on the world. On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product (GDP) likely grew 1.5% in the fourth quarter, the median forecast of 21 economists showed, half the 3.1% growth in the third quarter. According to a separate Reuters poll, growth was forecast at 2.5% in 2022, slowing to 1.9% this year.

☆ Column: Model no more? Turkey's energy transition reversed in 2022: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

As Turkey's overall coal imports grew by only 8.8% in 2022, the surge in Russian purchases came at the expense of other suppliers such as Colombia and Australia. In contrast, Turkey's electricity generation from solar and wind averaged 16% in 2022, meaning that an overwhelming majority of power was generated from other sources. Share of electricity from solar + wind in Turkey, Germany & SpainAn additional 22% of Turkey's electricity came from hydro facilities in 2022, which provided valuable dispatchable clean power for utilities. Yet solar and wind supplies come with the headache of intermittency, when power generation totals slump at night and during cloudy or windless days. Until 2022, Turkey had been on a path to use cleaner-burning natural gas as that main source of baseload supply, with plans to phase out high-polluting coal use over time.

☆ Morgan Stanley upgrades consumer goods maker Church & Dwight, says now is a good time to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Now's the time to snap up shares of Church & Dwight as the consumer goods maker is set to gain after a dismal 2022, according to Morgan Stanley. The firm on Monday upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight and boosted its price target to $91 from $82. But, the firm expects a "sharp fundamental turn in 2023 to above-consensus organic sales and GM results," Mohsenian wrote. Morgan Stanley now expects robust second-half organic sales growth of 6.4%, solidly outperforming 2022 and moving ahead of its peers. Morgan Stanley is lowering its earnings per share estimates to be more in-line with consensus, but wouldn't be surprised to see upside in the second half of the year.

☆ Philippines c.bank flags 25 or 50 bps rate hike next month
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Neil Jerome Morales | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The pressure on us to match U.S. increases will be much lower," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla told reporters. Inflation will likely fall below the midpoint of the target range by end-2023 or early 2024, he said. The central bank's main concerns, for now, are inflation and, to some extent, a strong dollar and Medalla said he could not rule out further rate hikes until inflation pressures ease. What I am worried about is we are late and there will be a greater sacrifice of output later on," he said. Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ With Tesla battery packs and largest hydrogen tank in Japan, Panasonic tests a factory of the future
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Tim Hornyak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As a bullet train speeds by in the background, a liquid hydrogen tank towers over solar panels and hydrogen fuel cells at Panasonic's Kusatsu plant in Japan. Combined with a Tesla Megapack storage battery, the hydrogen and solar can deliver enough electricity to power the site's Ene-Farm fuel cell factory. As bullet trains whiz by at 285 kilometers per hour, Panasonic's Norihiko Kawamura looks over Japan's tallest hydrogen storage tank. The 14-meter structure looms over the Tokaido Shinkansen Line tracks outside the ancient capital of Kyoto, as well as a large array of solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells and Tesla Megapack storage batteries. The power sources can generate enough juice to run part of the manufacturing site using renewable energy only.

☆ UBS says high quality outperforms in recessions — 10 such stocks on sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Look to cheap high-quality stocks to manage recession risk in the new year, according to UBS. UBS highlighted several stocks in the S & P 1500 with market caps of more than $6 billion. Here are 10 of the stocks: One of the highest-quality stocks on the list is cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty , in the 99.1 percentile. Like Ulta, Walmart also raised its guidance when it reported earnings last month . Construction supplier Fastenal is another high ranker for quality, in the 95th percentile.

☆ India cenbank hikes key policy rate by 35 basis points
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

However, the pace of rate hikes is reducing from 50 bps to 35 bps, in line with expected global hikes." The market needs to keep a close watch on global rate hikes and sticky core inflation." "We expect RBI to go for another 25 bps hike in its next policy, with the terminal rate at 6.5%. ANUJ PURI, CHAIRMAN, ANAROCK GROUP, MUMBAI"The 35 bps rate hike by the RBI - the fifth consecutive rate hike this year - comes as no surprise. We see a possibility of another 25 bps rate hike before a prolonged pause."

☆ Stocks are likely to get smacked down in the first half of 2023 before markets improve
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The outlook for next year is a bit better for stocks, but the first half sounds like it could be downright ugly. The strategist expects lows to be retested due to what could be a significant decline in earnings as interest rates rise. Jeff Kleintop, Charles Schwab's chief global investment strategist, expects a shallow recession may already have begun. He predicts the first half will be worse for stocks than the back half of the year, with a choppiness similar to the past six months. Calvasina expects small caps to be an area of outperformance, and she still sees value in energy and financials.

☆ Family Dollar is a mess. It hopes lowering prices will help
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Family Dollar has lost ground in the dollar store race for years. “Family Dollar, from a pricing perspective, is in the best position in more than a decade.”The strategy appears to be working so far: Last quarter, foot traffic to Family Dollar stores increased for the first time in three years. Dollar Tree bought Family Dollar in 2014 for almost $9 billion, but these problems started before the acquisition, according to analysts. Some Wall Street investors have pressed Dollar Tree to sell Family Dollar. And new “H2” Family Dollar stores showcasing special Dollar Tree $1.25 merchandise sections and more freezers and refrigerators than traditional Family Dollar stores.

☆ China's industrial profits fall at faster pace in Jan-Oct
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Jan-Oct industrial profits -3.0% y/y vs -2.3% in Jan-SeptemberBEIJING, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms fell at a faster pace in January-October as a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and a deepening property crisis weighed on factory activity and demand. Industrial profits fell 3.0% in the first 10 months of 2022 from a year earlier, after a 2.3% slump in January-September, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Sunday. Likewise, analysts from Oxford Economics also cut their 2022 and 2023 GDP forecasts as they believe a broadening of lockdown measures is expected. Last month, China's industrial output surged 5.0% from a year earlier, missing expectations for a 5.2% gain in a Reuters poll and slowing from the 6.3% growth seen in September. Industrial profit data covers large firms with annual revenues above 20 million yuan from their main operations.

☆ A December rally may arrive, but the first half of 2023 could be rough for stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Some strategists see a bottoming for stocks in the first part of 2023, but others say the key indexes could avoid breaking down to a new low but remain volatile. Redler follows short-term technicals, and he said the market could run into weakness around earnings in the first quarter, after a fourth-quarter Santa rally. "I think the Fed does stop raising rates in the first quarter, but it has to leave them there for an entire year. Bank of America strategists cite that inversion, and expectations for a mild recession next year, as a reason behind their negative call on stocks for the first half. A dollar-cost average first half with an expected recovery in the second half," he said.

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