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OCBC, which is also Southeast Asia's second-biggest bank by assets, said January-March net profit rose to a record S$1.88 billion ($1.42 billion) from S$1.36 billion a year earlier. The bank reported a total net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, of 2.30% for the first quarter, up from 1.55% in the same period a year earlier. OCBC expected full-year net interest margin in the region of 2.2%. The first quarter was also strong for Singapore's other major banks, with larger peer DBS Group (DBSM.SI) reporting last week a 43% jump in first quarter net profit that was also a record. Smaller United Overseas Bank (UOBH.SI) posted last month a 74% surge in core net profit.

☆ Italian fashion group Tod's sales jump in Q1, beating expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Shoes of Italian luxury shoemaker Tod's are displayed in the window of the company's store in Zurich, Switzerland, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoMILAN, May 10 (Reuters) - Sales at Italian fashion group Tod's (TOD.MI) rose by 23% in the first quarter of the year, beating analysts' forecasts thanks to a strong performance in China and despite moderate growth in the Americas. "Considering the good sales trends we experienced in April and the excellent orders' backlog for the winter collections, I'm confident about the group's future results," said Tod's Chairman and CEO Diego Della Valle. In the United States sales rose 6.6%. Tod's CFO said he is confident of achieving the consensus sales figure for the year, currently at 1.1 billion euros.

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Coinbase, Disney & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are Monday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Deutsche Bank reiterates Apple as buy Deutsche said it's standing by its buy rating on the stock after reviewing Apple's quarterly 10-Q filing. JPMorgan upgrades American to overweight from neutral and downgrades Southwest to neutral from overweight. JPMorgan initiates Alcoa as overweight JPMorgan said in its initiation of Alcoa that it sees a "favorable aluminum metal pricing environment in the coming years." Bank of America upgrades Fortinet to buy from neutral Bank of America said the cybersecurity company has solid fundamentals. JPMorgan upgrades Scotts Miracle-Gro to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said the fertilizer company is a "reasonable investment."

☆ Adidas shares gain on earnings but CEO warns of ‘bumpy year’ after end of Yeezy deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Losing the highly profitable Yeezy line hit sales in the quarter by around 400 million euros ($441 million), Adidas said, mainly denting revenue across North America, Greater China and Europe, Middle East and Africa. CEO Bjorn Gulden told reporters Adidas has narrowed down the options for the shoes, and it is getting closer to a decision. Quarterly operating profit of 60 million euros ($66 million) beat analyst expectations of 15 million euros. North America was the worst hit by the loss of Yeezy, with currency-neutral sales down 20% from last year. The “terrace” shoe style is doing well in all markets, and Adidas has started to make more Samba, Gazelle, and Campus shoes, Gulden said.

☆ Adidas quarterly sales beat expectations despite Yeezy crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Yeezy crisis hit sales in the reported quarter by around 400 million euros ($441.56 million), Adidas said, mainly affecting revenue across the North America, Greater China and EMEA regions. North America was the worst hit by the Yeezy debacle, with currency-neutral sales down 20% from last year. Sales in Greater China fell by 9%, while EMEA sales increased 4%. Adidas reported an operating profit of 60 million euros, beating analysts' expectations of 15 million euros. Its gross margin fell to 44.8% due to the loss of Yeezy sales, higher supply chain costs and discounts.

☆ Adidas expects bumpy year despite sales beating forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Helen Reid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Shannon StapletonLONDON, May 5 (Reuters) - Adidas (ADSGn.DE) on Friday forecast "a bumpy year with disappointing numbers" ahead after a dip in first quarter sales for the German sportswear giant. Despite the 1% sales drop, operating profit of 60 million euros ($66 million) beat analyst expectations of 15 million euros for the company, which last year ended a partnership with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Losing the highly profitable Yeezy line hit sales in the quarter by around 400 million euros, Adidas said, mainly hitting revenue across North America, Greater China and EMEA. Sales were 5.274 billion euros, down from 5.302 billion euros in the first quarter of 2022. Adidas' gross margin fell to 44.8% due to the loss of Yeezy sales, higher supply chain costs and discounts.

☆ Apple's quarter eases concerns about mobile device demand, with a China sales beat to boot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Revenue in Apple's fiscal second quarter of $94.84 billion dropped 3% year-over-year but beat expectations of $92.96 billion. Bottom line Apple bounced back nicely from the supply-constrained December quarter to deliver record March quarter results across a few key categories and metrics. It's hard to tell if Apple's results were enough to send shares in the near term back to all-time highs of about $176 each, set back in August. In its March quarter, Apple returned $23 billion via the repurchase of 129 million shares valued at $19.1 billion and $3.7 billion in dividends. For the current June quarter, Apple expects year-over-year revenue performance to be similar to the March quarter result, assuming no worsening macro outlook.

U.S. hotel operators who have been grappling over the past year with an uneven recovery in Chinese demand are now benefiting from pent-up-demand throughout Asia Pacific, particularly in Greater China. "While macroeconomic uncertainty persists, it has not weighed on travel demand to date. In fact, demand continued to rise across all customer segments in the quarter," Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said on a call with investors. In the Greater China region RevPAR rebounded to 95% of pre-pandemic levels during the quarter while Mainland China RevPar fully recovered to 2019 levels. "First quarter hotel performance came in a bit better than expected and will likely be the high-water mark for the year," said CoStar Group National Director of Hospitality Analytics Jan Freitag.

☆ Oil slips on weak China data and rate hike expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rowena Edwards | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday on weak economic data from China and expectations of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) this week. Brent crude fell 42 cents, or 0.53%, to to $78.89 a barrel by 1037 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 46 cents, or 0.61% to $75.20. Price pressure followed official data on Sunday showing manufacturing activity in China, the world's top crude importer, fell unexpectedly in April. Investors will look for market direction from expected interest rate hikes by inflation-fighting central banks, which could slow economic growth and dent energy demand. A poll on Monday showed that U.S. crude oil stockpiles, meanwhile, are expected to have fallen for a third consecutive week, providing some oil price support.

NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) - Fast Retailing's (9983.T) Uniqlo plans to expand its existing stores in North America by 10%, according to one of its executives. Fast Retailing reported a 16.4% rise to 220 billion yen ($1.65 billion) in first-half operating profit earlier this month. The company also raised its full-year profit forecast to 360 billion yen ($2.7 billion) from 350 billion yen ($2.63 billion). Daisuke Tsukagoshi, Uniqlo North America chief executive, said in an email to Reuters that the chain chose to launch the Ottawa and Calgary stores after seeing a "strong online presence" there. Sweden's fast fashion giant H&M has more than 738 stores in North and South America as of February 2023, according to the retailer's website.

☆ Puma expects Q2 sales growth below full-year target
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - German sportswear maker Puma (PUMG.DE) on Wednesday said it expected second-quarter sales to grow at a low- to mid-single-digit percentage rate, below its full-year target, due to high inventory levels and ongoing challenges in the market. The company said it expected its profit and margins to be under more pressure in the first half of 2023 than in the second half. Puma's revenue rose to 2.19 billion euros ($2.41 billion) in the first quarter from 1.91 billion euros in 2022, ahead of the 2.15 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. The company said strong growth globally, including Greater China, helped it offset a weaker performance in the over-inventoried U.S. market. Puma confirmed its full-year outlook for currency adjusted revenue growth in high single digits, and an operating profit of between 590 million and 670 million euros.

☆ Tim Cook is bullish on India being the new China for Apple. These 3 charts show there's a long way to go.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This first store comes 14 years after Apple first opened in China, and Cook has sometimes compared the two markets. And so I'm very, very bullish and very, very optimistic about India," Cook told investors on an earnings call in 2017. In the same year, Apple only took 6% of the market share in India compared to Android's 94%. Apple has increased iOS device sales over the years to claim 17% market share from rivals, per Counterpoint Research's data. For Cook, India could offer similar tantalizing growth.

☆ China has an inflation problem. It’s way too low
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That’s raising the specter of a tailspin of falling prices and wages from which the economy may struggle to recover. “Our core view is that China’s economy is deflationary,” wrote Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ Research, last week, soon after China released its first-quarter GDP growth figures. Instead of spending money, people are hoarding cash at a record rate. “Even with a conservative estimate, 500 billion yuan in consumption vouchers will drive one trillion yuan in overall consumption, ” Li said in a video posted on his Weibo social media account on Tuesday. In return, the government could receive at least 300 billion yuan through taxes generated by the increase in spending, he said“So it only takes 200 billion yuan in spending for the central government to drive one trillion yuan in consumption,” he said.

☆ P&G stock gets the respect it deserves after delivering a great quarter and outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Club holding Procter & Gamble (PG) reported fiscal third-quarter results that were better than expectations before the opening bell Friday. The fact that volumes were only down 3%, despite a 10% price increase, is a testament to Procter & Gamble's strong pricing power. This new target comes as management now expects all-in (non-organic) sales growth to be up 1%, an increase from the down 1% to flat range previously provided. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

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☆ Column: N America wind power sector needs cost cuts & supply chain revamp
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | 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

However, such an upbeat projection will require North America to rapidly catch up with Greater China and Europe in terms of wind power expertise. But for wind power generation to expand by the degree needed to attain emissions targets, more substantial cost cutting and streamlining is required throughout the entire supply chain. WIND PLAYING CATCH UPSince 2015, cheap components and quick installation times have driven North American utilities to increase solar power generation at more than twice the pace of wind power, data from think tank Ember shows. Since onshore wind sites cost around 4.2 cents per kWh, and fixed offshore wind farms 4.84 cents per kWh, wind power looks like the most attractive option for year-round clean power potential. In China, the top producer of several key wind power parts, the price of key industrial inputs has risen notably since mid-2020, including steel (up 22%), aluminium (up 55%) and copper (up 64%), which are all critical in wind power products.

☆ Premarket stocks: Apple is giving banks a run for their money
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Apple’s savings account is managed through Apple products and users must have Apple’s credit card, simply called Apple Card, to qualify for one. “It’s very much a loyalty play because it’s a multi-level process: To get the Apple credit card you need the phone, and to get the savings account you need the credit card. The Apple savings account through Goldman is also insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. And Apple’s savings account is hardly the best out there, either. UFB Direct offers a savings account with more than a 5% annual percentage yield.

GDP growth last year slumped to one of its worst in nearly half a century due to COVID restrictions. "The strong export growth in March also likely helped to boost GDP growth in Q1." China's rebound has so far remained uneven as its investment-fuelled growth of the past to one now reliant on consumption faces challenges. Consumption, services and infrastructure spending have perked up but factory output has lagged amid weak global growth, while slowing prices and surging bank savings are raising doubts about demand. The government has set a modest GDP growth target of around 5% for this year, after badly missing the 2022 goal.

☆ China GDP: Economy shakes off Covid legacy to grow 4.5% in Q1
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But private investment barely budged and youth unemployment surged to the second highest level on record, indicating the country’s private sector employers are still wary about longer term prospects. Retail sales jumped 10.6% in March from a year earlier, the highest level of growth since June 2021. The country’s GDP will grow 5.2% this year and 5.1% in 2024, it predicted. If adjustments are made to account for the impact of delayed economic activity, GDP growth in the first quarter could have been just 2.6%, he said. For example, private investment was extremely weak.

☆ Brands look to China's tropical duty free island paradise for consumer comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAIKOU, China, April 14 (Reuters) - Representatives of over 3,000 brands including Burberry and Estee Lauder descended on China's Hainan this week to show off their latest wares, hoping to cash in on a post-COVID consumer rebound that has kicked off on the island known for its duty free shopping. It especially boomed during COVID, attracting Chinese shoppers unable to travel abroad due to closed borders. And China further plans to elevate its status: by 2025, it plans to make the whole island duty free, essentially expanding the 10% to 40% cheaper prices on goods from beauty, to alcohol and luxury products from 12 existing duty free malls to the entire province. That has made high-end global consumer firms keen to attend the expo as a way of demonstrating their commitment to China, industry executives said. ($1 = 6.8677 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Young people in Greater China are blowing their paychecks every month — even if they don't have to
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"Yue guang zu" ("moonlight clan") refers young singles in Greater China who go broke at the end of each month, or live paycheck to paycheck. Hsu belongs to a group of people in Taiwan, typically young and single workers, called the "yue guang zu" — the so-called "moonlight clan." Eric Hsu Civil engineerBut when a serious knee injury took him out of work for two weeks without pay, Hsu realized he was unable to support himself. "Young people would rather give up that dream and spend money on things they are guaranteed to get today." After his experience, he canceled his credit cards two years ago and committed to saving one third of his salary each month.

☆ Column: Industrial heat set for major energy source overhaul by 2050
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While all manufacturing bases are equally reliant on heat during industrial processes, the source of energy used to generate that required heat varies greatly by region. Hydrogen will also become more widespread in industrial heating in China, and grow from less than 1% by 2025 to 10% of total industrial heat generation by 2050. Electricity's share of Europe's industrial heat generation is set to grow from around 4% in 2025 to 17.5% by 2050, DNV data shows. Made from an array of natural matter ranging from wood chips and crops to municipal waste and forestry residue, biomass currently generates around a quarter of Europe's industrial heat, but will generate 57% of industrial heat by 2050. In all, industries in every major economy will make significant changes to their fuel sources for industrial heat over the coming decades.

☆ Nomura names Rudolf Hitsch North Asia head of wealth management
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, April 3 (Reuters) - Japanese investment bank Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) on Monday said it has appointed Dr. Rudolf Hitsch as head of North Asia for its international wealth management business. Hitsch, former head of North Asia at Citi Private Bank, will be based in Hong Kong and run client relationship management teams covering North Asia in the newly created post. He will report to Ravi Raju, head of the wealth unit, Nomura said. Nomura has hired around 50 private bankers for the unit over the past two-and-a-half years as it focuses on its core markets of Greater China, South and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, it said. Reporting by Xie Yu; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In turn, transmission lines that can ferry large power loads over long distances with minimal load loss will be key arteries that will enable transition efforts. Roughly 66% of current UHV capacity is in Greater China (36%) and the Indian subcontinent (30%), and around 10% is in North America. Ultra high voltage (UHV) line capacity by regionLatin America looks also set to rapidly increase UHV capacity, especially after 2035, to connect the region's planned solar and wind installations across Brazil, Chile, Peru and Mexico. MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA AND PACIFICWhile currently overshadowed in terms of capacity development by China, India, Europe and North America, other regions will step up their construction of transmission line capacity after 2030. In turn, that extra grid capacity should provide a powerful boost to energy transition efforts in every region, and allow global energy systems to capitalize on growing volumes of renewable energy generation.

☆ Top analysts are bullish on these five long-term picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are five stocks chosen by Wall Street's top analysts, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. Rakesh holds the 94th position among more than 8,000 analysts followed on TipRanks. The analyst ranks 439th among more than 8,000 analysts followed on TipRanks. The analyst remains bullish on the stock and raised his price target to $134 from $128, as he continues to see a "meaningful upside." Santarelli holds the 27th position among more than 8,000 analysts on TipRanks.

☆ Bank relief and Alibaba plans nudge stocks higher
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) gained for a third day in a row, rising 0.3%. It is eyeing two consecutive quarters in the green for the first time since the middle of 2021. The yen last traded at 132.75 to the dollar. Two-year yields are down 30 basis points for the quarter, the first quarterly fall since March 2020. Investors are hoping the plans signal authorities' tacit approval for growth and profit ahead.

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