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☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Palantir, Robinhood, MicroStrategy, Target, Amazon & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-25 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Monday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Bernstein reiterates MicroStrategy as outperform The firm raised its price target on the stock to $600 per share from $290. " Morgan Stanley upgrades Banco Santander to overweight from equal weight The firm said the bank has a "resilient regional footprint." Morgan Stanley upgrades Robinhood to overweight from equal weight The firm said Robinhood is a Trump election beneficiary. Morgan Stanley upgrades KinderCare to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said shares are compelling at current levels for the daycare company. Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's survey checks "reinforce [the] multi-year iPhone upgrade thesis."

Persons: Bernstein, MicroStrategy, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Robinhood, Trump, HOOD, it's, Telsey, Apple, Goldman Sachs, Berkley, it's bullish, Tesla, TD Cowen, D.A, Davidson, Rosenblatt, Wedbush, Palantir, PLTR, Wolfe, Jones Lang Lasalle Organizations: Banco Santander, Caixabank, ING, Citi, U.S, Bancorp, UBS, Arm Holdings, BMO, Apple Intelligence, CVS, Bank of America, Shoals Technologies, Procter, Gamble, China, China EV, Nvidia, FedEx Locations: Santander, China

☆ ChatGPT can be tricked into telling people how to commit crimes, a tech firm finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-23 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —ChatGPT can be duped into providing detailed advice on how to commit crimes ranging from money laundering to the export of weapons to sanctioned countries, a tech startup found, raising questions over the chatbot’s safeguards against its use to aid illegal activity. Norwegian firm Strise ran experiments asking ChatGPT for tips on committing specific crimes. And in another experiment, run earlier this month, ChatGPT produced lists of methods to help businesses evade sanctions, such as those against Russia, including bans on certain cross-border payments and the sale of arms. Strise sells software that helps banks and other companies combat money laundering, identify sanctioned individuals and tackle other risks. “It’s like having a corrupt financial adviser on your desktop,” Rødevand said on the company’s podcast last month, describing the money laundering experiment.

Persons: London CNN —, Strise, ChatGPT, Handelsbanken, Marit Rødevand, Strise’s, ”, OpenAI, “, Rødevand, “ We’re, Europol, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Strise, CNN, Russia Locations: Russia, Nordic, Norway

☆ 'Too cheap to ignore': Buy this under-the-radar global bank with a 9% yield, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Nordea Bank , the Finnish lender, have been labeled "too cheap to ignore" by investment bank Berenberg. Net interest income – earned through the differences in rates offered to savers and borrowers — grew 7% year-on-year to 3.86 billion euros. "Trading on only 7.5x our [financial year] 2025 earnings — an 8% premium to the sector — we think Nordea is too cheap to ignore. However, the Berenberg analyst believes that Nordea's net interest income is relatively resilient, noting that "the market still underappreciates Nordea's [net interest income] stability, in our view, which contrasts favourably to that of more rate-sensitive Nordic peers." The analyst also said that recent challenges, including a slight miss on second-quarter net interest income expectations or a modest cost increase, should not deter investors.

Persons: —, Frank Vang, Jensen, Hugh Moorhead, Banks, Moorhead Organizations: Nordea Bank, Moorhead Locations: Helsinki, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, U.S, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Moorhead

☆ Profits of these 5 global banks will stay high despite an ECB rate cut, says Berenberg
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Despite an interest rate cut expected this week, profits at a handful of major European banks will remain robust, according to Berenberg. The European Central Bank appears on course to cut interest rates this week, the first reduction since 2019, despite a higher-than-expected inflation print . However, European banks underperformed their global peers over the past decade as the European Central Bank kept interest rates below or near zero until 2022. The investment bank's analyst also pointed out that European banks are currently trading at a 20% discount to their long-run average valuation despite improvements in their balance sheets and returns. According to Berenberg, historical data shows that European banks only traded below current valuations for 6% of the time between 1988 and 2020.

Persons: Banks, Peter Richardson, Richardson, Berenberg Organizations: European Central Bank, Chartered, Barclays, Nordea Bank, UniCredit, HSBC —, Bank Locations: U.S

☆ Dollar holds firm before Fed rates decision
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

On the day, the dollar index was up 0.1% to 103.51, just below Monday's 103.82 which matched last week's seven-week high. The Federal Reserve meanwhile is expected to hold U.S. interest rates steady on Wednesday but flag cuts are coming by dropping language indicating it is weighing further hikes. Interest rate futures price a roughly 43% chance of a Fed rate cut in March, down from 73% at the start of the year. A slowdown in Germany would foreshadow the same in Eurozone numbers due on Thursday and reinforce market expectations that European policymakers could start rate cuts earlier than the ECB has signalled. Expectations of interest rate cuts in China have driven a strong rally in the bond market this month while the yuan has been squeezed by flight from China's crumbling equity markets.

Persons: Jerome, Powell, Dane Cekov Organizations: Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve, Federal, U.S, French EU, ECB, Bank of Locations: U.S, Germany, China

☆ Investors spy value in cheap Finnish stocks after China and Russia pain
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Danilo Masoni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Finnish stocks are Europe's biggest laggards this year, as risks stemming from tensions with Russia and concerns over China's stuttering recovery have hurt its exporters. The top 25 stocks in Helsinki are worth a combined $150 billion. The OMX Helsinki 25 (.OMXH25) has lost 10% this year, versus the STOXX 600's (.STOXX) 8% rally. "Finnish stocks are attractively valued and a lot of bad news is priced in," Alava said. "If the European economy recovers in 2024 as I expect, Finnish cyclical stocks should recover too... this could be a good time for long-term investors to increase holdings".

Persons: Finland's, Tomas Hildebrandt, EVLI, Hilderbrant, Hertta Alava, Henrik Ehrnrooth, Schindler, Nordea's Alava, LSEG, Danilo Masoni, Christina Fincher Organizations: OMX Helsinki, STOXX, Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Deutsche Bank, NATO, Russia, Zurich, Otis, Metsa Board, Thomson Locations: Russia, Helsinki, Finland, Europe, China, Ukraine, U.S, French, OMX Helsinki, Alava

☆ Dow futures rise slightly as Wall Street heads for fourth straight winning week: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose slightly Friday ahead of a shortened trading session, as the major averages aimed for a four-week winning streak. Dow futures were up 90 points, or 0.26%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.12%, while Nasdaq-100 futures dipped 0.04%. For the week, the Dow and S&P 500 are up 0.9% each. It would be the longest weekly winning streak for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq since June.

Persons: Dow, hasn't, Philip Maldia Madsen Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Dow Jones, Dow, Nasdaq, Federal, Treasury Locations: New York City, U.S

☆ Dollar rebounds, Fed officials take center stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Karen Brettell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Comments from other Fed officials will also be evaluated for signs on whether they expect further rate increases. “Next week’s CPI print is going to be the best adjudicator we have on whether or not the Fed needs to hike rates again,” said Rai. The dollar index was last up 0.13% on the day at 105.19 after earlier dropping to 104.84, the weakest since Sept. 20. The yen hit 151.74 per dollar last week, edging close to October 2022 lows that spurred several rounds of dollar-selling intervention by the Bank of Japan. The Australian dollar fell 0.34% to $0.6491, after earlier reaching a three-month high of $.6523.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jerome Powell, ”, Bipan Rai, Lisa Cook, “, Rai, Dane Cekov, Cekov, Karen Brettell, Samuel Indyk, Jonathan Oatis, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Federal, CIBC Capital Markets, Market Committee, Fed, Bank of Japan, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: North American, Toronto, U.S, London

☆ Dollar dips on growing bets Fed rate hikes are over
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Karen Brettell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Comments from other Fed officials will also be evaluated for signs on whether they expect further rate increases. “Next week’s CPI print is going to be the best adjudicator we have on whether or not the Fed needs to hike rates again,” said Rai. The dollar index was last down 0.03% on the day at 105.02 and got as low as 104.84, the weakest since Sept. 20. Cekov said the yen likely needs to be around the 155 per dollar area for Japanese authorities to consider intervention or to talk the currency up. The yen hit 151.74 per dollar last week, edging close to October 2022 lows that spurred several rounds of dollar-selling intervention by the Bank of Japan.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jerome Powell, ”, Bipan Rai, “, Rai, Dane Cekov, Cekov, Sterling, Karen Brettell, Samuel Indyk, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Federal, CIBC Capital Markets, Market Committee, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: North American, Toronto, U.S, London

☆ Dollar extends drop, still vulnerable after Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Samuel Indyk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The dollar index was hovering around a 6-1/2 week low of 104.84, after falling around 1.4% last week. "You could still see a somewhat weaker dollar in the short-term, but if the (euro-dollar) rally continues it needs to get some fuel from somewhere." JPMorgan analysts say a sustained dollar sell-off would need signs of improvement in the euro zone, China and other regions, which it says are "still tenuous". The latest growth and inflation data from the euro zone and manufacturing surveys from China bear that out. Euro zone recession fears hardened on Monday after a survey showed a downturn in business activity accelerated last month as demand in the services sector weakened further.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Tina Teng, Dane Cekov, Adrian Prettejohn, Jerome Powell, Nordea's Cekov, Sterling, bitcoin, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Vidya, Kirsten Donovan, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Federal, Aussie, CMC Markets, JPMorgan, Economics, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Auckland, China, U.S

☆ Investors deliver harshest punishment for earnings warnings in 16 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Lucy Raitano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Barclays (BARC.L), a big UK lender, fell as much as 8% after signalling major cost cuts because of weakness on its home turf. Mark Denham, head of European equities at Carmignac, said high quality companies with high valuations tend to be very vulnerable if they miss earnings. According to Kasper Elmgreen, CIO at Nordea Asset Management, the fact that the economy is now starting to slow is one factor behind investors' harsh treatment of earnings disappointments. Amid the volatility, some investors see a buying opportunity in overly punished stocks. It is an example of a highly valued stock being extra punished for the environment," Denham said.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Angelo Meda, Mark Denham, Denham, Kasper Elmgreen, Elmgreen, Fabio Di Giansante, Carmignac's Denham, Danilo Masoni, Alun John, Joice Alves, Amanda Cooper, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Sanofi, Barclays, Banor SIM, Siemens Energy, Volkswagen, Volvo, Asset Management, Euroland Equity, pharma, Thomson Locations: Milan, Swiss, London

☆ Danske Bank profits beat forecasts on interest income boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COPENHAGEN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO) on Friday reported a bigger than expected third-quarter profit, boosted primarily by high interest income, and narrowed its full-year earnings guidance, sending its shares up more than 6%. Danske Bank's results mirror those of rival Nordic banks SEB (SEBa.ST) and Swedbank (SWEDa.ST), which also beat analysts expectations when they published third-quarter results earlier this week. Danske, Denmark's biggest bank, narrowed its 2023 guidance for full-year net profit to a range of 19.5 billion-20.5 billion crowns, from 18.5 billion-20.5 billion previously. Danske's net interest income was up at 9.32 billion crowns from a year earlier 6.29 billion, and just above the 9.09 billion forecast by an LSEG poll of analysts. The bank said it expects net interest income to grow further based on the announced central bank rate hikes.

Persons: Danske, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Terje Solsvik, Jane Merriman Organizations: Danske Bank, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Denmark's

☆ Swedbank beats Q3 profit estimates, says economy "remains resilient"
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Tom Little/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Swedish banking group Swedbank (SWEDa.ST) reported a bigger-than-expected third-quarter net profit on Thursday, and said the economy remained resilient despite turbulence and higher interest rates. Sweden's biggest mortgage lender posted a net profit of 9.13 billion crowns ($817 million), well above a forecast of 8.57 billion crowns in a LSEG poll of analysts. It had posted a profit of 5.59 billion crowns in the year-ago period. Swedbank, a rival to lenders such as Handelsbanken (SHBa.ST), Nordea (NDAFI.HE) and SEB (SEBa.ST), said interest income, which includes revenues from mortgages, rose to 12.9 billion crowns from 8.36 billion crowns a year ago, slightly beating expectations. Swedbank booked loan loss provisions of 347 million crowns, down from 602 million crowns in the year-ago quarter, and below analysts' expectations of losses of 583 million crowns.

Persons: Tom Little, Jens Henriksson, SEB, Swedbank, Johan Ahlander, Anna Ringstrom Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, Rights STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Swedbank

☆ Bank SEB's Q3 operating profit jumps 42%, beats expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Nordic bank SEB group logo is seen outside a branch in central Stockholm, Sweden, July 18, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Little Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Swedish bank SEB (SEBa.ST) reported a 42% rise in third-quarter operating profit on Wednesday, topping market expectations, but said the positive effect from higher interest rates had come down compared to previous quarters. Sweden's biggest corporate bank said operating profit was 13.0 billion crowns ($1.17 billion) against a year-ago 9.12 billion, beating a mean forecast of 11.0 billion in an LSEG poll of analysts. Banks have seen their income boosted by higher interest rates as central banks scrambled to bring down stubbornly high inflation. The bank, whose main rivals include Handelsbanken, Swedbank and Nordea, said its net interest income rose to 12.3 billion crowns from 7.7 billion crowns, above the 12.0 billion crowns expected by analysts.

Persons: Tom Little, SEBa.ST, Banks, SEB, Johan Ahlander, Anna Ringstrom, Eileen Soreng Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, Rights STOCKHOLM, Swedish

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. Traders have been on watch for weeks for a possible intervention by Japanese officials to combat a sustained depreciation in the yen. "It could just be people expecting intervention and then reacting to what they believed to be intervention," said Asher. To support the Japanese currency, authorities need to tap Japan's foreign reserves of dollars to sell for yen. A senior Japanese ministry of finance official declined to comment on whether Japan had intervened in foreign exchange markets.

Persons: Florence Lo, Michael Brown, Brown, Colin Asher, Asher, Niels Christensen, Jeremy Stretch, Edward Moya, Stretch, Tuesday's, Chuck Mikolajczak, Samuel Indyk, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed, Gertrude Chavez, Dreyfuss, Dhara Ranasinghe, Lucy Raitano, Ira Iosebashvili, Megan Davies, Jonathan Oatis, Andrea Ricci, Hugh Lawson, Gareth Jones Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Trader, Mizuho, Nordea, Bank of Japan, New York Federal Reserve, CIBC Capital Markets, Ministry, Finance, Seven, Japan, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, London, Copenhagen, Japan, U.S, Tokyo, Asia, New York, United States

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. The yen eased to 149.83 per dollar, its weakest in more than 11 months, moving ever closer to the 150 mark that some traders believe could prompt intervention by Tokyo to support the currency. "If the yen breaks 150 per dollar, which I think is likely, and verbal intervention is not followed by action then we could see dollar-yen at 155." In the broader currency market, sterling was last 0.4% lower at $1.2158, having slid nearly 4% against the dollar in the third quarter. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar slid 0.6% to $0.6395, while the New Zealand dollar edged 0.4% lower to $0.5972, as traders looked ahead to rate decisions from their respective central banks this week.

Persons: Florence Lo, Dane Cekov, Shunichi Suzuki, Jarrod Kerr, Nordea's Cekov, bitcoin, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam, Simon Cameron, Moore, Emelia, Alex Richardson Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Bank of Japan, Bank of Japan's, Finance, Congress, Democratic, Australian, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Britain, U.S

☆ Pound, franc slide as central banks pause hikes; dollar holds firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Samuel Indyk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The euro rose as high as 0.9677 francs and is set for its biggest one-day rise since June. The dollar rose 0.8% to 0.9053 francs , hitting its highest level since June 13. "The Swiss franc has understandably weakened after the surprise hold in the policy rate today," ING strategists said in a note. Meanwhile, Sweden's Riksbank and Norway's central bank both raised rates by 25 basis points, in line with expectations. Although you never know for sure with this central bank," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sterling, Goldman Sachs, Michael Cahill, Sweden's, Niels Christensen, Matt Simpson, Samuel Indyk, Brigid Riley, Kevin Buckland, Sam Holmes, Shri Navaratnam, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Swiss, British, U.S . Federal Reserve, Friday's Bank of Japan, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, ING, Fed, Bank of Japan, New Zealand, NZ, Thomson Locations: Swiss, Sweden, Norway, Swedish, Norwegian

☆ Twenty years after euro "No" vote, Swedes fret over weak crown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Simon Johnson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Think Sweden, where a nosedive in the local crown currency over the past 18 months is proving a blessing for used-car dealers and other exporters. Companies like KP Energy, which imports solar panels to sell to trade buyers, cite the damaging effects of higher purchase costs and rising interest rates, which hit household spending. "It impacts us a huge amount when the crown weakens against the euro and when the demand picture changes," its CEO Filip Wiqvist said. A Demoskop poll this week showed 42% would vote "No" to joining the euro, while 34% would support it. Believing the crown is around 20% undervalued, the Riksbank has hedged its own foreign currency exposure in anticipation of future strengthening.

Persons: Joachim Agren, Registradores, Espania, Filip Wiqvist, Wiqvist, Jan Soderstrom, Annika Winsth, SEB, Robert Bergqvist, Martin Floden, Floden, Catherine Evans Organizations: STOCKHOLM, BCA, Reuters, Companies, KP Energy, European Union, Technologies, KPMG, European, NATO, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish, Spain, EU, Ukraine, Turkey

China's onshore yuan meanwhile ended its domestic session at the weakest since 2007, as it battles capital outflow pressures and a widening yield gap with major economies. The U.S. dollar index , which measures the greenback against major peers, was last 0.05% lower at 105 but remained not far from the previous session's six-month high of 105.15. IN THE DOLDRUMSThe onshore yuan opened at 7.3400 per dollar on Friday and touched its weakest level since December 2007 at 7.3510, while its offshore counterpart sank to a 10-month low of 7.3621 per dollar. The onshore yuan has fallen roughly 6% against the dollar so far this year and has become one of the worst-performing Asian currencies alongside its offshore counterpart. The Australian dollar was last 0.28% higher at $0.6395, but eyed a weekly loss of over 0.8%.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Dane Cekov, Nordea's Cekov, Sterling, Vishnu Varathan, Shunichi Suzuki, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam, Gerry Doyle, Angus MacSwan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Nordea, Mizuho Bank, Finance, Bank of Japan, Bank of, Australian, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: U.S, Germany, Europe's, Europe, United States, Bank of Japan

☆ How Ozempic and Weight Loss Drugs Are Reshaping This Country’s Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Eshe Nelson | More About Eshe Nelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But Denmark keeps the krone pegged to the euro, and so when the krone rises in value, “the central bank has to respond,” he added. The central bank has been spending kroner to purchase foreign exchange and building up reserves. Because of these purchases, the central bank has also increased the gap between Denmark’s interest rates and the ones set by the European Central Bank. The central bank declined to comment for this article. It caused the country’s currency to soar, in the process making other exports expensive and uncompetitive and hampering the overall Dutch economy.

Persons: Mr, Pedersen, Helge J Organizations: Novo Nordisk, krone, Danske Bank, European Central Bank, —, Nokia Locations: United States, Denmark

[1/3] Euro currency bills are pictured at the Croatian National Bank in Zagreb, Croatia, May 21, 2019. The services component sank to 48.3 from 50.9, its first time below the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction this year. The single currency weakened after the German data, hitting its lowest level against the dollar since June 15 at $1.0805. "The decline in services activity was a sharp move and we've seen a soft euro environment," said Niels Christensen, chief analyst at Nordea. The spot yuan opened at 7.2870 per dollar on Wednesday and was last changing hands at 7.2899.

Persons: Antonio Bronic, Niels Christensen, Martin Beck, Jerome Powell's, Powell, Nordea's Christensen, Colin Asher, Samuel Indyk, Ankur Banerjee, Kim Coghill, Mark Potter, Chizu Organizations: Croatian National Bank, REUTERS, P, European Central Bank, PMI, Bank of England, Reuters, Federal, Japan's Ministry of Finance, Mizuho, Thomson Locations: Zagreb, Croatia, Britain, July's, U.S, Europe, tenterhooks, Tokyo, London, Singapore

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The dollar scaled a four-week peak against major peers on Thursday after upbeat labour market data a day earlier, while sterling edged lower ahead of an expected rate hike from the Bank of England. "Rate differentials continue to move in favour of the dollar as U.S. rates have been firmer than European rates," Christensen added. Against a stronger dollar, sterling fell 0.1% to $1.27. "An outside bet of a 50-basis-point hike would be a surprise and would lead to a stronger pound," Christensen added. "The U.S. dollar actually strengthened against most other currencies (and) there were risk-aversion trades across all the asset classes."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Niels Christensen, Christensen, nonfarm, Fitch, BOE, Nordea's Christensen, Tina Teng, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of England, U.S . Treasury, Treasury, Bank of Japan, New Zealand, CMC Markets, U.S, Thomson Locations: U.S, Asia, Beijing

☆ Danske Bank hikes guidance, resumes dividends
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Nikolaj Skydsgaard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COPENHAGEN, July 21 (Reuters) - Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO) on Friday raised its full-year profit guidance and said it would resume paying dividends to its shareholders after posting forecast-beating earnings in the second quarter. Denmark's largest lender now expects net profit for 2023 to land in the range of 18.5 billion to 20.5 billion Danish crowns ($2.77 billion-$3.06 billion), up from an earlier estimate of between 16.5 billion and 18.5 billion crowns. Danske's net profit for the April-June quarter rose to 5 billion Danish crowns from 1.7 billion a year earlier, above analysts' expectations in a company-compiled poll of around 4.6 billion crowns. The better-than-expected results mirror those of rival Nordic banks Nordea (NDAFI.HE), SEB, DNB (DNB.OL) and Swedbank (SWEDa.ST), which beat analysts expectations when they published second-quarter results earlier this week. "The losses are lower than expected, and 1.5 billion crowns in loan loss provisions for the whole year acts as a built-in buffer for a further positive guidance change," Nordnet analyst Per Hansen said in a note.

Persons: Carsten Egeriis, Egeriis, SEB, Per Hansen, Nikolaj Skydsgaard, Tom Hogue Organizations: Danske Bank, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, U.S, Denmark

The latest drubbing in the world's biggest bond markets, which last year suffered a record rout, does not yet point to any dysfunction in the markets themselves, investors said. But in echoes of the volatile conditions seen during March's banking crisis, trading in euro zone benchmark German government bond futures were briefly interrupted on Thursday when bond yields spiked. U.S. and British 10-year yields were also set to end the week more than 20 bps higher , . ING said earlier on Friday that this week's data was strong enough to push yields higher even if jobs numbers interrupt the moves. "It won't be as bad as that, but higher rates and higher yields could lead to negative returns and pressure returns on equity markets."

Persons: Mike Riddell, Jan von Gerich, Mark Dowding, Gael Fichan, Fichan, BlueBay's Dowding, Yoruk Bahceli, Samuel Indyk, Harry Robertson, Hugh Lawson Organizations: U.S, Federal, Allianz Global Investors, Fed, of, European Central Bank, BlueBay Asset Management, Syz, ING, Global, Thomson Locations: Europe, United States, Australia, British, Germany, Britain, U.S, of England

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - World stocks rose to a two-week peak on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei closing at its highest level in 33 years, drawing support from signs that cooling inflation might temper central banks' appetite to further hike rates. U.S. data on Friday, which hinted towards cooling inflation, helped bolster gains in the tech sector and underpinned sentiment in world stocks. MSCI's world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) rose 0.25% to its highest level in just over two weeks, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index also hit a two-week peak (.STOXX). Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) shed 5% last quarter while much of the developed world rallied. Key U.S. data this week include closely watched surveys on manufacturing and services, job openings and the June payrolls report.

Persons: Seema Shah, Jan von Gerich, May's, Michael Feroli, Brent, Dhara Ranasinghe, Wayne Cole, Karin Strohecker, Amanda Cooper, David Evans, Mark Potter Organizations: Japan's Nikkei, Bank of Japan, Nasdaq, Apple, Frankfurt, Bank of, Key, JPMorgan, Fed, Thomson Locations: Asia, London, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Sydney

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