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☆ The most important thing Warren Buffett said Saturday, and it isn't good news for the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investors always look to Buffett for economic insights as his myriad of businesses are closely tied to broader spending and overall demand. If you couldn't sell them one thing, they would put another thing in their backlog," Buffett said. Still, Buffett thinks Berkshire is positioned well in terms of its investment income as higher interest rates are earning the conglomerate a substantial return. Berkshire has fared well so far despite a challenging macro environment with operating earnings jumping 12.6% in the first quarter. "Nothing is sure tomorrow, nothing is sure next year, and nothing is ever sure, either in markets or in business forecasts, or in anything else," Buffett said.

☆ As part of the ‘cocktail culture,' consumers are still splurging on dinner and drinks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Sticker shock" has taken a toll, the report found, with consumers more likely to walk away from a purchase because the price is too high. Further, when it comes to discretionary spending, adults are more likely to treat themselves to dinner out or premium spirits rather than cosmetics. Consumers in the U.S. are four times more likely to have said their latest splurge purchase was food and beverages over personal care, Deloitte found. "Despite the tough economy, consumers continued to enjoy premium spirits and fine cocktails," Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said in a statement. "Cocktail culture continues to thrive in the United States," Swonger said.

☆ Birkin bag maker Hermes sees no U.S. slowdown as sales jump 23%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A craftswoman works on a Birkin bag at the luxury goods Hermes factory in Seloncourt October 4, 2013. REUTERS/Benoit TessierPARIS, April 13 (Reuters) - Sales at Birkin bag maker Hermes (HRMS.PA) rose 23% in the first quarter, above market expectations, as wealthy shoppers in China and Europe splurged on luxury fashion and accessories despite higher prices and global market turmoil. The increase of 23%, at constant exchange rates, beat a Visible Alpha consensus for 15% growth. Hermes raised prices by around 7% at the start of the year, a higher rate than its usual 2-3% annual increase. In China, where Hermes was less affected than competitors by lockdowns that dented sales for many at the end of last year, revenues grew by 23% in the quarter.

☆ LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault's wealth soared to a record high of $210 billion on the same day protestors swarmed the company's headquarters in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

LVMH boss Bernard Arnault's fortune soared by $12 billion on Thursday to a record high of $210 billion, per Bloomberg. LVMH shares hit a record high in Thursday trade after a strong first-quarter earnings report. On Thursday, LVMH shares price on the Euronext Paris stock exchange hit a record high of 884.50 euros, or $979, before closing 5.7% higher at 883.90 euros a piece. LVMH's Arnault has featured frequently in protest slogans and chants, per Reuters on Thursday. LVMH shares are extending gains on Friday, trading 0.7% higher at 889.90 euros at 9:57 a.m. in Paris.

☆ Financial experts share their greatest money regrets — all have one thing in common
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here, CNBC Financial Advisor Council members share their greatest money mishaps, and what they do differently now. "For my first five years in financial planning, I made the same amount of money." Money mistake: Leasing 'too much' carThianchai Sitthikongsak | Moment | Getty Images"My biggest money mistake was back when I was working at Smith Barney as an early financial advisor," said Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Sun Group Wealth Partners, based in Irvine, California. So, Sun, a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council, splurged on her dream car. Money mistake: Unloading inherited stock "My wife had inherited shares of Phillip Morris stock from her father," said Lee Baker, a CFP based in Atlanta.

☆ LVMH boss Bernard Arnault's wealth soared over $200 billion, making him the third person ever after Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to reach the milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

LVMH boss Bernard Arnault's net worth surpassed $200 billion on Tuesday. Arnault is also the first person outside the US to surpass a net worth of $200 billion. His net worth gained $2.4 billion on Tuesday, bringing the Frenchman's fortune to $201 billion, per Bloomberg's index. Shoppers in China are expected to boost the luxury goods sector this year after the country lifted COVID-zero restrictions. The 73-year-old tycoon has not announced who will succeed him as LVMH CEO.

☆ SVB debacle sparks rush to defensive options on fears of contagion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A California regulator shut Silicon Valley Bank on Friday and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver, according to the agency's statement. With many stocks in the sector falling sharply on Friday, traders rushed in to defensive bets. SVB is battling cash burn due to declining deposits from startups struggling with a venture capital funding drought. While investors had largely shrugged off Silvergate’s troubles as strictly crypto-related, "(SVB Financial Group) was a giant wake-up call about the effects of rising rates and an inverted yield curve," Sosnick said. Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Sales representatives stand outside their kiosks inside a luxury residential project by Indian property developer DLF in Gurugram, India, February 28, 2023. Many people want to upgrade their homes after the COVID-19 pandemic confined them indoors, industry executives say. "I haven't seen such a mad rush in a decade," said Prashant Thakur, head of research at real estate consultant Anarock. Mercedes sold a record number of high-end cars in India last year and luxury goods are in high demand too. So far, around 160 people were invited for a viewing and 17 of 46 flats sold in the eight-storey project.

☆ Mark Cuban found a car abandoned on the side of the road — and got it for free with a simple phone call
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

He even got one for free, Cuban told Bill Maher on a December episode of the Club Random Podcast. He had to hitch rides with friends until, one day, they found an abandoned car on the side of the road. "I knew from my own personal experience that someone had abandoned [the car], because they couldn't make the payment," Cuban said. At age 24, Cuban lived in a three-bedroom apartment with five roommates, he wrote in a 2009 blog post. Still, his riches didn't change his spending habits "all that much," he told Money.

☆ Wayfair Lost 5 Million Customers and $1.3 Billion Last Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Wayfair Inc.’s sales surged early in the Covid-19 pandemic as people splurged on home furnishings. Wayfair Inc. lost 5 million customers in 2022, shrinking the online furniture retailer’s shopper count to near its size before the Covid-19 pandemic triggered a consumer-spending surge. Revenue at the Boston-based company slid 4.6% in the final three months of last year from a year ago to $3.1 billion, for a net loss of $351 million.

☆ UPS's Coyote freight brokerage lays off workers as demand falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Coyote Logistics, United Parcel Service's (UPS.N) nonunion freight brokerage subsidiary, on Friday said it was laying off workers as rising interest rates, inflation and a resumption of pre-pandemic consumer spending patterns weaken demand for trucking services. A Feb. 16 report from transportation news provider FreightWaves said 200 jobs would be eliminated. That demand slowed when restaurant dining reopened, travel resumed and global economies started flashing recession warnings, and now those same companies are slashing jobs. UPS is also cut union jobs in its mainstay delivery service. Affected unionized workers with seniority have the option of leaving the company or taking a different role, which could mean that employees with less seniority lose their positions.

☆ Soccer’s new M&A binge will mostly benefit players
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Streisand Neto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Qatari consortium is set to make a $6 billion offer for Man Utd, home to stars including Marcus Rashford, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The Financial Times reported that Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi is preparing a $3.8 billion swoop on Harry Kane’s Tottenham Hotspur. The Qataris’ reported Man Utd offer of $6 billion would value the New York-listed club at 8.6 times trailing revenue. Man Utd, whose financial advisers are U.S. investment bank Raine Group, has set an initial Feb. 17 deadline for bids. The Financial Times on Feb. 15 reported that Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi was preparing a $3.8 billion offer for Tottenham Hotspur.

☆ Dell to lay off 5% of workforce amid PC slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Dell Technologies Inc (DELL.N) said on Monday it would lay off about 5% of its workforce as it struggles with a slump in the personal computer market and braces for a potential recession. PC demand has collapsed after a two-year boom during the pandemic when people working from home splurged on everything from new monitors and laptops to keyboards. The layoffs also add to the thousands of cuts in the tech industry whose outlook has been shaken by a drop in spending by consumers and businesses due to rising interest rates. Reporting by Aditya Soni; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Europe's luxury stocks have room to rise, but becoming costly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Lucy Raitano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/FilesLONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Europe's glittering luxury companies, the region's top stock-market performers in 2023, may see yet more gains driven by a rebound in Chinese spending, but for some the sector is starting to look expensive. An index of European luxury goods retailers (.dMIEU0TA00PUS) has rallied around 18% so far this year, outperforming the wider pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), which is up 6.2% in the same time frame. But the fact that luxury goods companies are not as cheap as they once were is a "concern/point of attention", said Kasper Elmgreen, Head of Equities at Amundi, Europe's largest asset manager. Jelena Sokolova, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, said that China reopening is the key issue for European luxury stocks this year, and is already at least 50% priced in. These shares have more room to run higher as Chinese consumers hit the shops again and luxury companies flex their pricing power.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Luxury group LVMH's sales defy downturn as shoppers splurge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Marco BelloPARIS, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Luxury goods group LVMH's (LVMH.PA) 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. Sales at the world's biggest luxury group reached 22.7 billion euros ($24.65 billion) in the final three months of the year, with the 9% increase on an organic basis a touch above analyst expectations for 7% growth, based on a consensus cited by UBS. LVMH has gained market share every year since 2019, its boss Bernard Arnault, the world's richest man, said. The group proposed a dividend of 12 euros per share, up from 10 euros a year ago. LVMH's shares have hit new highs this month, giving the luxury goods group a market capitalisation of 400 billion euros for the first time and cementing its lead as Europe's most valuable company.

☆ No fears on Friday the 13th
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Anshuman DagaIs there anything spooky about Friday the 13th? Well, certainly not for global equity investors as they cheered U.S. inflation data that showed the Fed's aggressive rate increases are having the desired effect. European equities, perched at nine-month highs, are poised to open on a strong footing on Friday. Fed policymakers expressed relief that inflation continued easing in December and signalled that a rate-hike slowdown was coming. Four American banking giants are forecast to report lower quarterly profits as lenders stockpile rainy-day funds to prepare for an economic slowdown that is battering investment banking.

☆ Tom Ford Buys $51 Million Palm Beach Mansion After Selling Fashion Brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Katherine Clarke | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Following the sale of his fashion label in November, Tom Ford splurged on a Palm Beach mansion. Be the first to know about the biggest and best luxury home sales and listings by signing up for our Mansion Deals email alert. Fashion mogul Tom Ford has purchased a modern Palm Beach mansion for $51 million in an off-market deal, according to people familiar with the deal.

☆ I splurged my miles to fly Emirates' luxe business class. I ate a multi-course meal, lounged at the in-flight bar, and learned the seat upgrade is worth it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Tonya Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Writer Tonya Russell traveled to the Maldives and tried out Emirates' business and economy class. "While economy class proved to be just fine, upgrading is worth it at least once," she writes. How to upgrade to business class on an Emirates flightIf you use the same airline family, you may be able to transfer miles from another airline to your Emirates flight. The meat alternative was a chicken TV dinner with rice, which wasn't as appetizing as the salmon that circulated through business class. While economy class proved to be just fine, if upgrading is within your means, it is worth it at least once.

☆ The 'world's coolest dictator' rounded up 60,000 people in a crackdown on MS-13. A shrimp farming community is fighting back.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Danielle Mackey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

SISIGUAYO, EL SALVADOR — On the morning that Walber Rodriguez was arrested last May, he was just two minutes from his home in Sisiguayo, El Salvador. Outside El Salvador, Bukele is best known for adopting Bitcoin as a national currency. All around them in Sisiguayo and the surrounding Bajo Lempa valley, people were arrested with no satisfactory explanation. Residents of the Bajo Lempa who'd been touched by the arrests had begun meeting weekly at a nearby retreat center. A meeting of the Bajo Lempa families on June 17, 2022.

☆ The 'world's coolest dictator' rounded up 60,000 people in a supposed crackdown on MS-13. A shrimp farming community is fighting back.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Danielle Mackey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

☆ A weak economy will test consumers' wanderlust, but these stocks could prove resilient in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The U.S. Travel Association anticipates domestic leisure travel demand will hold up, although growth may be a bit slower in 2023. The stock has an average analyst rating of buy and 47% upside to the average price target, according to FactSet. Marriott has an average analyst rating of overweight and 13.5% upside to the average analyst price target, per FactSet. Norwegian has an average analyst rating of overweight and nearly 27% upside to the average analyst price target, while Royal Caribbean has an average analyst rating of overweight and about 24% upside to its average price target. However, Carnival has an average analyst rating of hold and 24% upside to the average price target.

HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The pandemic has helped Chinese authorities to keep a lot of money at home. With expectations rising for a full reopening of the country, including its international borders, capital outflows could be Beijing’s next headache. The People’s Republic supposedly has strict controls with cross-border cash transfers for citizens capped at $50,000 per year. Even so, jet-setting travellers splurged $255 billion abroad in 2019, boosting hotel revenue in Thailand and designer handbag sales in Paris. With pent up demand for spending overseas likely to be high, China might be tempted to look for benefits from keeping its borders shut.

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The world is going to need another 50,000 tonnes of tin per year by 2030 to meet a looming surge in demand, according to the International Tin Association (ITA). The country exported 75,000 tonnes of refined tin last year with shipments running 8% higher through the first 10 months of this year. State producer PT Timah needs around two years to develop its existing tin chemical facility and longer to secure markets, Alwin Albar, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tin Exporters, told a parliamentary hearing. China imported 22,600 tonnes of refined tin in the first 10 months of the year with Indonesian metal accounting for 19,000 tonnes. After peaking at 5,160 tonnes in September, headline LME tin stocks have fallen to 3,075 tonnes with 535 tonnes awaiting physical load-out.

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