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☆ India's outsourcing giants cut hiring; disheartening for economy, students
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Navamya Ganesh Acharya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

There are pockets of optimism elsewhere in the services sector - especially in accounting, where there is a surge in hiring. NLB sees a 20-25% drop in IT employee additions in the first half of the current financial year, while TeamLease Digital expects a 40% decrease for the entire year. Nasscom declined comment on the hiring slowdown. That has "surely left applicants concerned about future prospects", said staffing firm Xpheno's co-founder Kamal Karanth, who highlighted how current hiring activity was "under a third of what was recorded in the buoyant peak". Pai highlighted sectors such as financial services, consumer goods, specialised manufacturing, medicine, law, chartered accounting and other services as more viable options.

Persons: Rohit Azad, Azad, Rishad Premji, Sakshi Gupta, Sachin Alug, NLB, Nilanjan Roy, Nasscom, Gautam, Xpheno's, Kamal Karanth, LTIMindtree, Karanth, Siana, Siddharth Pai, Pai, Dhanya Skariachan, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: New, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Wipro, HDFC, Apple, Citigroup, American Express, Europe's Credit Suisse, UBS, NLB Services, TeamLease, IT, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Reuters Graphics, Sethuraman, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Punjab

☆ Here's exactly where 6 top investment firms recommend putting your money right now as US stocks start to break out
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It has a market-weight rating on six sectors: consumer discretionary, energy, industrials, information technology, materials, and real estate. Goldman SachsGoldman's favorite sectors haven't changed since late April: it's still overweight consumer staples, energy, healthcare, and communication services. Morgan StanleyMorgan Stanley's top sectors are consumer staples, healthcare, and utilities, which reflects its defensive outlook about stocks. The firm is neutral about communication services, energy, financials, industrials, materials, real estate, and tech (excluding cyclicals). It has a neutral "perform" rating on almost all other sectors, including communication services, consumer staples, energy, financials, healthcare, materials, and real estate.

Persons: — Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, Truist —, BofA, Savita Subramanian, Goldman Sachs, it's, Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley's Organizations: Investors, Bank of America, BMO Capital Markets, Tech Locations: Charlotte

☆ Walmart will offer pet telehealth in latest bid to compete with Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWalmart is jumping into the burgeoning pet telehealth market. Unlimited access to veterinary telehealth via video or text will be available to Walmart+ subscribers beginning on Tuesday, when Walmart is expected to announce the partnership publicly. Walmart's expansion into pet telehealth signals the largest U.S. retailer is ready to grow its share of the market. Traditional pet-only retailers like Chewy and Petco have already been investing in pet health care to better compete with big-box stores. Others have argued pet telehealth helps bridge the access to care as pet owners contend with a nationwide veterinary shortage and swaths of pet health deserts across rural America.

☆ Stifel raises S&P 500 target on falling inflation expectations, says buy cyclical stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stifel just got more bullish on where stocks will land at the halfway point of 2023, and encouraged investors buy cyclical stocks. However, the strategist expects investors will not have to worry about a downturn until later down the road. Given this, Bannister said he's been bullish on cyclical growth and value stocks since October. Meanwhile, he expects cyclical value stocks in basic materials, capital goods, banks, transportation and others that took a hit during the regional banking crisis are "oversold" if the economy continues to hold up. He said defensive value stocks are "last year's story," while defensive growth stocks will benefit when the U.S. reaches a recession.

☆ Goldman Sachs shares exactly how to invest right now to profit this year — even as uncertainty and a banking crisis hurt economic growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But that unusual calm in markets may be masking serious concerns about economic growth, according to David Kostin, the chief US equity strategist at Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs"Mixed economic data and uncertainty around banking stress have led the equity market to downgrade its pricing of the US economic growth outlook in recent weeks," Kostin wrote. Goldman Sachs' GDP estimate (the blue-gray columns) is higher than that of the consensus (the black dots). Another sector Goldman Sachs is bullish on is energy, even though it's economically sensitive. Goldman Sachs is also neutral on the following sectors and industries: software & services, financials, consumer discretionary (excluding autos & durables), utilities, real estate, and consumer durables & apparel.

Vahia is one among India’s young and aspirational 1.4 billion population, whose propensity for online spending has attracted global companies and digital platforms. And as private consumption underpins economic growth in India, financial investors are targetting new ways to tap into it. India's per capita consumption of food was at $314 in 2020 compared to $884 for China, while that of clothing stood at $53.9 versus $212.9 for China, data from CLSA showed. FOREIGN INVESTORS JUMP INWith private consumption accounting for 60% of India's $3.5 trillion GDP, foreign portfolio investors have been quick to latch on. To be sure, it has not been all smooth sailing for investors as they chased India's consumption boom.

☆ German producer prices rise more than expected in February
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - German producer prices rose more than expected in February, though the rate of increase eased for the fifth month in a row, signalling that inflation in Europe's largest economy could be starting to wane, according to data released on Monday. Producer prices of industrial products were up 15.8% on the same month last year, the Federal Statistical Office reported, compared with analysts' expectations for the rate of increase to ease to 14.5%. Compared to January, prices fell 0.3%. Apart from energy costs, which were up 27.6% year-on-year, producer prices also rose on the back of price increases for consumer goods, intermediate goods, consumer durables and capital goods, the office said. Reporting by Friederike Heine, Editing by Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: It's all about inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A slew of strong U.S. economic data has reinforced the view that interest rates will stay higher-for-longer. Over in Europe, preliminary February inflation data is due from Germany, France, Spain and Portugal on Monday and Tuesday, followed by the euro bloc flash number on Thursday. Though headline euro area inflation is easing, there is mounting realisation that it could proving more stubborn than earlier expected. Traders are now pricing in another 75 basis points of moves in the 20-nation euro zone before the end of the summer. This week, European investors will also digest results from the likes of Lufthansa, fund manager Abrdn, London Stock Exchange and Telefonica.

☆ FPI selling in Indian stock hits 7-month high on rich valuations, Adani rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded Indian equities worth 288.52 billion rupees ($3.51 billion) in January, the most since June, data from National Securities Depository Ltd. showed. Reuters GraphicsThe selling coincided with a slide in equity benchmarks, with Nifty 50 (.NSEI) falling 2.45% in the first month of 2023. WHAT FOREIGN INVESTORS SOLD & BOUGHTForeign investors sold the most in financials, offloading 152.04 billion rupees of shares, followed by 75.96 billion rupees in oil and gas and 27.77 bln rupees in consumer durables. Reuters GraphicsMetals was the only major sector that saw renewed interest from foreign investors, who bought 43.69 billion rupees worth of equities. ($1 = 82.3130 Indian rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iron ore prices could rally as one leading producer remains reluctant to share, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"Indian iron ore exports … have really come off in the last few months. India's exports of iron ore plunged by 90% year on year in October last year, and recorded an year-on-year decline as steep as 96% in September. Udit Kulshrestha | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAccording to Refinitiv, around 60% of global iron ore exports are destined for China. Iron ore exports from India were affected by a 50% tax on low-grade iron ore exports, which was reversed in late November. India's iron ore exports won't be the biggest factor in price volatility, however.

☆ Dow posts dour quarterly results, says will slash 2,000 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dow said it plans to achieve $1 billion in cost savings in 2023 by reducing operating expense by $500 million. The company would record a charge of $550 million to $725 million in the first quarter of 2023 for costs associated with these activities. Shares of the company fell nearly 4% in premarket trade to $55.80. Net sales in the fourth quarter fell 17% to $11.86 billion, pressured by customer destocking, missing the average estimate of $12 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Packaging and Specialty Plastics segment net sales in the quarter were $6.1 billion, down 16% compared with a year earlier.

☆ Dow posts dour quarterly results, plans to slash 2,000 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

☆ U.S. dollar weakens as risk appetite rises with data showing slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.1% last month after climbing 0.4% in October. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE index gained 0.2% after increasing 0.3% in October. The so-called core PCE price index rose 4.7% on a year-on-year basis in November after increasing 5.0% in October. The Canadian dollar also benefited from data showing that the Canadian economy grew by 0.1% in October versus September, with another 0.1% increase in GDP seen likely in November, Statistics Canada data showed. Against the yen, however, the dollar rose 0.4% to 132.82 yen .

☆ Analysis: India's post-COVID spending boom drives two-speed economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Ira Dugal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The world's fifth-largest economy is expected grow 6% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, according to a survey by the Indian central bank this month. Importantly, conditions are better than not just the crippling slump during India's devastating COVID surge last year but also the anemic growth of the debt-saddled last decade. "If India does everything right, we could see significant foreign inflows in the next one to two years," said Sridhar Sivaram, investment director at Enam Holdings, a privately managed investment group. India's weight in the MSCI emerging market index has already risen from 8% in 2019 to 16% as of October 2022, said Sivaram. There is also hope that global corporations will diversify supply chains away from China, which would benefit India.

☆ Online shoppers spent a record amount on Thanksgiving
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Melissa Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Thanksgiving Day online spending hit a record of $5.29 billion, an increase of 2.9% year over year, according to Adobe, which tracks sales on retailers' websites. Typically, shoppers spend about $2 billion to $3 billion online in a day, according to Adobe. Read more: Walmart overtakes Amazon in shoppers' search for Black Friday bargainsSo far, shoppers have been snapping up items. Online sales growth on Thanksgiving Day was more modest, however. Bigger holiday shopping days are yet to come.

☆ Goldman’s official 2023 outlook is here: Where it thinks the market is headed and what to buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman Sachs is predicting zero earnings growth in 2023, with stocks ending the next year essentially flat. The firm is pegging 2023 S & P 500 earnings-per-share flat at $224 and the index ending next year at 4,000, just over 1% from Monday's close. The bank's EPS yield for the next 12 months is 14%, while its estimated EPS will decline by 12% in 2023, according to Goldman. Walgreens's EPS yield for the next 12 months is 11% and its estimated 2023 earnings growth is 2%, Goldman found. Its next-12-month EPS yield is 7% and its estimated EPS growth for 2023 is 4%, according to Goldman.

☆ An economic nightmare is a near certainty as inflation stays hot while a recession nears. UBS says to forget the normal defensive playbook and instead invest your money in these 3 industries.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

While it's unclear if there will be a severe recession, there is one outcome that investors can bank on, Parker wrote: stagflation. The market is implying a nearly 100% chance of weak economic growth paired with rampant inflation, which is a nightmarish economic scenario. UBSHowever, Parker wrote that the market selloff still has room to go as tighter financial conditions hurt estimates for earnings and economic growth. Besides interest rates, economic activity is the biggest driver of stocks right now, Parker wrote. More broadly, sectors for quality growth include consumer discretionary, healthcare, and technology, Parker wrote.

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☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares may open higher, tracking Asia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Indian shares are poised to open higher on Thursday, tracking strength in Asian markets in the backdrop of growing expectation the U.S. Federal Reserve may tone down its aggressive stance on rate hikes. India's NSE stock futures, listed on the Singapore exchange , were 0.55% higher as of 0159 GMT, while the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), climbed 1.74%. India is the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil, and a rise in crude prices have a direct impact on inflation. Foreign institutional investors sold a net 2.47 billion Indian rupees ($30.12 million) worth of equities on Tuesday, while domestic investors bought net 8.73 billion rupees worth of shares, as per provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange. ($1 = 82.0040 Indian rupees)Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Neha AroraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Goldman Sachs shares exactly how to position your stock portfolio as a make-or-break Q3 earnings season kicks into high gear
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Goldman Sachs shared the investing playbook it recommends following right now. Since 1974, those three groups have had the best relative performance to the S&P 500 during periods of weak economic growth, Kostin wrote. "Our economists expect GDP to decelerate further, and risks to their forecast are tilted downward," Kostin wrote in the note. Goldman SachsFinally, Goldman Sachs recommends that investors avoid the following sectors and industries: technology hardware, industrials, media & entertainment, semiconductors, automobiles & components, and materials. Those parts of the market are economically sensitive and will be disproportionately hurt if the economic slowdown worsens, Kostin wrote.

☆ Goldman Sachs details how to invest in each stock-market sector to protect your portfolio from the serious risks of inflation and higher rates — and cash in on the remaining upside
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Reserve officials have grown increasingly more aggressive in their battle against inflation by raising interest rates in large 75-basis-point increments. In an October 18 note, Kostin outlined how to invest in each S&P 500 sector and cash in on the remaining upside amid inflation risks. "Our overweight sector recommendations are generally defensive and reflect the significant risks to earnings and valuation in an environment of elevated inflation and interest rates," Kostin wrote. Thanks in part to higher oil prices, energy is the only S&P 500 sector in the green year-to-date. Finally, an investment in Consumer Durables and Apparel "offers counter-balance of exposure to a group within a cyclical sector," Kostin wrote.

☆ Reactions: US Sept CPI fortifies hawkish case in Fed inflation battle
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

FOREX: The dollar index turned 0.44% higherCOMMENTS:KEN POLCARI, MANAGING PARTNER, KACE CAPITAL ADVISORS, BOCA RATON, FLORIDA“Not good, hello – market collapsing. With a 3.5% unemployment rate, there's no way the Fed is going to stop raising rates until after the end of the year." The Fed has got to get a handle on inflation right now. RYAN DETRICK, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, CARSON GROUP, OMAHA“This is a yet another disappointing sign that inflation continues to stay stubbornly high. There are still two more CPI prints before the December meeting with the Fed, but for now, the pivot is on pause.

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