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☆ Adidas shares tank after it issues warning over unsold Yeezy stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"The numbers speak for themselves. We are currently not performing the way we should", Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said in a press release. Adidas could lose around 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in revenue in 2023 if it is unable to sell its existing Yeezy stock. "The numbers speak for themselves. Adidas' revenues increased 1% in 2022, based on unaudited numbers, while operating profit dropped from almost 2 billion euros in 2021, to 669 million euros in 2022.

☆ As demand for Covid vaccines falls, AstraZeneca lines up 'blockbuster' products for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

AstraZeneca has "blockbuster" projects in development that are set to make billions of dollars, according to its CFO. Demand for Covid-19 vaccines has dropped as the pandemic enters its fourth year, but AstraZeneca says it has "blockbuster" projects in development that are set to make billions of dollars. "We expect to start 30 phase three clinical trials this year, of which we expect to hopefully land more than 10 products that will be blockbuster products, or products that will hopefully achieve more than a billion in revenue," Chief Financial Officer Aradhana Sarin told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Thursday. "Really it's the revenue growth on the top line but also the reinvestment in the business that continues to fuel innovation and continues to fuel long term growth," she added. The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company forecast growth in earnings and revenue for 2023 Thursday, with its underlying businesses helping the company to post $901 million in net profit for the fourth quarter.

☆ From Nike to Nutella: Company names you have probably been mispronouncing your whole life
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Global company names often get Anglicized or Americanized to the point where they're unrecognizable, but brands could see some benefits if their names are pronounced correctly. Allianz: al-ee-anz"Allianz " is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the German word for "alliance." It isn't pronounced like the ancient Greek herald of the gods, Hermes, unlike the U.K. delivery company of similar spelling. Moët & Chandon: mow-et ey shon-donIn contrast to typical French pronunciation, there is a hard "T" sound at the end of "Moët." Heuer is the last name of the company's founder, Edouard Heuer.

☆ Samsung exec says he wouldn't give a smartphone to his daughter until she was 11
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

More than two-fifths (42%) of children have their own phone by age 10. A top exec at South Korean tech giant Samsung said he did not give his daughter her own smartphone before she turned 11 years old. "From my personal perspective, my daughter got a smartphone when she was 11," James Kitto, vice president head of the MX Division for the U.K. and Ireland, told the BBC's "Today" radio show Friday. "I personally wouldn't have given her one early, but it is a parental decision as to when you should get your child a phone," he said. "The current evidence doesn't support a specific age at which a smartphone is or is not recommended," Morena told CNBC.

☆ British finance minister sticks to tax-hiking plans, pledges post-Brexit reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Optimism in the U.K. economy has been in "short supply" in recent months, Hunt said. The Finance Minister stressed the importance of making the U.K. a place where companies want to do business. Hunt's speech comes as the U.K. inflation rate most recently reached 10.5% in December, well above the Bank of England's target of 2%. U.S. Inflation Reduction Act concernsJeremy Hunt said the U.K. government has "some concerns" about the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act in a Q&A session that followed his speech Friday. Absolutely not," Hunt added.

☆ In hindsight, monetary policy everywhere was too expansionary: Swiss central bank chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Monetary policy was "too expansionary" in previous years and the current surge in consumer prices has not yet been brought under control, the chairman of the Swiss National Bank Thomas Jordan said Friday. "Probably with the benefit of hindsight monetary policy was all over the place a little bit too expansionary," Jordan said when asked by CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche if the current economic situation would be different if the central banking community had reacted quicker to signs of inflation. "We probably all underestimated inflationary pressure in 2021," Jordan told CNBC on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos. While inflation will likely come down in 2023, having hit a three-decade high in Switzerland in August and a record high in the euro zone in October, Jordan said that the jump from 4% to 2% will be tough.

Western forces on Friday agreed increases to their military support for Ukraine, but Germany wavered on further EU tank deliveries despite mounting calls from Kyiv and fellow allies. He stressed that he intends for Berlin to be prepared if and when a decision is taken on Leopard 2 tanks. Ukraine has repeatedly asked for battle tanks from its Western allies, with Germany's Leopard 2 units being of particular interest. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that receiving supplies of Western tanks must outpace another Russian attack. In the hours before the meeting, the Kremlin said that Western tanks for Ukraine would "change nothing" and would not stop Russia from achieving its goals, Reuters reported.

☆ The whole West is threatened if an aggressor isn't challenged, Dutch PM says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Europe needs to do more to support Ukraine, according to the Dutch prime minister. "If an aggressor is not challenged and can go about his business, it won't end with Ukraine. The whole West is threatened," Rutte told CNBC, as he discussed Europe's response to the war in Ukriane at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "People feel that this is about values, that we cannot accept one country invading another country … It is also about our collective safety," he added. Rutte also said Europe needs to do more to help Ukraine, but that the issue of sending tanks is "a sensitive decision."

☆ IMF chief: Growth will bottom out in 2023 and bounce back next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Managing Director of International Monetary Fund IMF Kristalina Georgieva attends a session during the World Economic Forum WEF 2022 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, May 25, 2022. The International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told CNBC Tuesday that the days of her institution giving regular global growth downgrades are nearly over. "I don't see a downgrade now, but growth in 2023 will slow down," Georgieva said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its growth forecast three times since October 2021. "The China growth rates are not going to return to the days when China delivered about 40% of global growth, this is not going to happen," Georgieva said, with the country having experienced below-average growth for the first time in 40 years in 2022.

☆ CEOs are the most pessimistic they've been in more than a decade as world faces a slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The global economy is the biggest concern for CEOs, with confidence in the international climate having plummeted in the last year. Some 73% of CEOs think global growth will decline in the next year, according to a survey by audit firm PwC, confirming the most pessimistic outlook by business leaders for 12 years. But this isn't a repeat of the economic crash of 2008 and 2009, PwC Chairman Bob Moritz told CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday. Today CEOs are "much more confident in their own abilities to manage their way through this stuff," he added. The global economy is the biggest concern for CEOs, with confidence in the international climate having plummeted in the last year.

☆ 'Green' offices in London are over 25% more expensive. But a modern workforce now expects it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Employee satisfaction is a big motivator for companies to go green, particularly as the U.K. faces its tightest labor market in decades. She's looking to grow her business but her former warehouse office building is too small and inaccessible for people with disabilities, so it's "mission critical" that the team relocates. "It's not like you're stumbling over these green buildings all over the place. "In light of the planet burning this might not seem as relevant [but] your office building is a huge reflection of your business' brand. "What is really expensive is if you have a big office building that's used one or two days a week.

☆ Scaramucci says SkyBridge can buy back FTX stake this year, alleges SBF 'committed fraud’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

FTX bought a 30% stake in SkyBridge in September, before the crypto company filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11. We'll of course have to let the legal system determine all of those things," Scaramucci told CNBC. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to eight federal charges including fraud and money laundering. Meanwhile, FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, the former co-CEO of Alameda Research, have both pleaded guilty to federal charges connected with FTX's collapse and are working with investigators. Alameda Research was the crypto hedge fund started by Bankman-Fried and affiliated to FTX.

☆ Prince Harry memoir breaks UK sales records and tops Amazon bestseller lists
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" became the fastest selling non-fiction book ever in the U.K. on its release day, its publisher said Tuesday. LONDON — Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" has become the fastest selling non-fiction book ever in the U.K., according to its publisher. After the book's official release Tuesday, 400,000 copies have been sold so far across hardback, e-book and audio formats, Transworld Penguin Random House said, citing British sales figures. "As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry (Potter)," Finlay added. The royal family has not commented on the book or any of the interviews given by Prince Harry.

☆ Sweden is facing its ‘day of reckoning’ as house prices plummet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But now property prices are tumbling. Sweden's property prices are facing a serious drop as the country's former central bank governor warns of lofty household debt levels. Central bank rate hikesIn 2022, Sweden's central bank undertook an aggressive interest rate hiking cycle that ricocheted through the property market. So basically once the interest rate is stabilised, we don't expect prices to continue declining," Brodin said. Sweden isn't the only European country experiencing a plunging property market post-pandemic, with some economists forecasting a similar downturn of between 20% and 25% in Germany.

☆ Platinum prices are soaring. These buy-rated stocks with upside could be a way to cash in
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Prices of platinum , which is used in everything from jewelry to fuel cells, are soaring. The Aberdeen Standard Platinum Shares ETF , the GraniteShares Platinum Trust and the iPath Series B Bloomberg Platinum Subindex Total Return ETN are among the funds that track the metal. The Aberdeen Standard Platinum Shares ETF, for instance, rose 10% — jumping over 20% in the last six months alone. It has the highest buy rating — from more than 75% of analysts — according to FactSet. Analysts give Glencore an average 17% upside to its current share price, according to FactSet data.

☆ The first ever orbital space launch from the UK is due to take off on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The modified Boeing 747 plane, named "Cosmic Girl", will take off from Spaceport Cornwall in southwest England. LONDON — The first orbital rocket launch in Western Europe is set to take place in the U.K. on Monday evening. Virgin Orbit had lowered its forecast for launches in 2022 to three, having initially expected to make between four and six earlier in the year. On announcing its third-quarter results for 2022 in November, Virgin Orbit also said it raised $25 million to boost its depleting cash reserve. Shares of Virgin Orbit hit a three-week high Friday, trading at $2.11.

☆ Japanese families reportedly set to receive 1 million yen per child for moving out of Tokyo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, while rural areas of Japan are suffering with ageing populations and declining birth rates. The Japanese government will give families up to 1 million yen ($7,670) per child if they opt to move out of Tokyo, according to multiple media reports. The government was already offering 300,000 yen per child for families relocating to other parts of the country. According to the Statistics Bureau of Japan, in 2021, 28.9% of Japan's total population was at least 65 years old, marking a record high for the country. There were 14.78 million 0-14-year-olds in the same year, accounting for 11.8% of the total population, the lowest level ever recorded in Japan.

☆ Precious metal platinum set for best quarter since 2008 on supply concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Platinum rose another 5% Thursday to trade at $1,054.86 per troy ounce Friday, up around 22% compared to the start of the quarter. The price of platinum is up over 20% since late September, and the metal is set to experience its best quarter since 2009. The Council anticipates a platinum deficit in 2023, with demand growing by 19% while supply increasing by just 2%. Demand for platinum in the automotive industry will also continue to grow next year, while jewelry-based demand for platinum is forecasted to remain constant throughout 2023. The platinum market posted a deficit in 2020 after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic brought industry to a standstill.

☆ Meat bans, soaring gold prices and ‘un-Brexit’? One bank's ‘outrageous’ predictions for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Meat bans, soaring gold prices and Britain voting to 'un–Brexit' could be on the cards for 2023, according to Saxo's Outrageous Predictions. Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty ImagesSaxo Bank's "outrageous predictions" for 2023 include a ban on meat production, skyrocketing gold prices and Britain voting to "un-Brexit." "I think gold is going to fly," he added. Meat production to be banned Meat is responsible for 57% of emissions from food production, according to research published by Nature Food, and with countries across the world having made net-zero commitments, Saxo says it is possible at least one country could cut out meat production entirely. Meat is responsible for 57% of emissions from food production, according to research published by Nature Food.

☆ Demand for rural homes in Britain drops as pandemic effect fades, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Demand for rural homes in Britain dropped as the pandemic trend of relocating to the countryside faded, according to real estate website Zoopla. In the wider Lake District national park area, demand dipped 5% compared to the same period, and in mid-Wales it fell 10%. In April 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, 46.6% of people in employment did some work from home, according to the Office for National Statistics. The U.K. mortgage market fell into crisis in September following drastic policy shifts by then-Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng. Some market watchers are now predicting a major downturn in the U.K. property market as a result of the country's weakened economy and sticky high inflation rate.

☆ New British banknotes featuring portrait of King Charles III revealed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Bank of England has released images of the new banknotes that will featured King Charles III's portrait. The Bank of England released images of the first bank notes to feature the portrait of King Charles III Tuesday. The new £5, £10, £20 and £50 polymer notes include a portrait of the king in the notes' see-through security panel. The first coins featuring the king's portrait were issued by the Royal Mint on Dec. 8. The coins and banknotes featuring the late queen's portrait will continue to be legal tender in the U.K.

☆ Historic biodiversity agreement reached at UN conference
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Negotiators reached a historic deal to protect the world's lands and oceans at a United Nations biodiversity conference Monday. The agreement includes a commitment to protect 30% of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030, and has been coined "30 by 30." The deal was reached on the final day of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, also known as COP15, in Montreal, Canada. We have an agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, to work on restoration, to reduce the use of pesticides," Guilbeault said. 'A floor, not a ceiling'While many see the agreement as progress, some argue "30 by 30" isn't enough in itself to tackle the global biodiversity crisis.

☆ No signs of crypto spilling over into traditional assets – yet, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Billions of dollars were lost when the exchange FTX collapsed, raising questions about whether movements in the crypto sphere could ricochet through to other financial systems. There are "no signs of spillover" from cryptocurrency into more traditional assets, according to an investment analyst from AJ Bell. A 'highly volatile' assetKhalaf was reluctant to make predictions as to where cryptocurrency will go next because it's so changeable as an asset. And while there are questions as to the long-term adoption of cryptocurrency, Khalaf made one point with a lot of certainty. "For the foreseeable, [cryptocurrency] remains highly volatile and speculative asset," he said.

☆ Swiss central bank hikes interest rates by 50 basis points to counter 'further spread of inflation'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Swiss National Bank increased its benchmark interest rate Thursday for the third time this year, taking it to 1%. The central bank said it was looking to counter "increased inflationary pressure and a further spread of inflation" with the move. Inflation in the country remains well above the Swiss National Bank's target of 0-2%, but is noticeably below the soaring rates of neighboring European countries. Switzerland's inflation rate remained steady at 3% last month, having dropped from a three-decade high of 3.5% in August. In the medium term, however, the bank expects inflation to settle at more moderate levels as countries continue to tighten monetary policy.

☆ Decade ahead will be great for investing but we'll need to wait 12 months first, CIO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Smead looks ahead to the best stock picks in 2023 and beyond. Investors will need to wait out the next year to reap the financial rewards of the next decade, according to Bill Smead, chief investment officer at Smead Capital Management. Smead said capital and labor-intensive businesses were winners as the value of their income streams for the next decade "is way more viable than those stocks are representing." Smead Capital Management has oil and gas, land and Canadian lumber producers under its belt, which should all be bolstered thanks to the current property market in the U.S., Smead said. "We know that we've got to build a lot of houses in the next 10 years," he said.

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