Nike Posts Q4 Earnings, Revenues Saw Double-Digit Increase

After closing at 12’408,33 yesterday, the DAX continued its downwards spiral this morning, opening at 12’395 points. This development is strongly influenced by the increase in the EURUSD climbing up to 1,14. Yesterday the markets in the U.S. got off to a weak start and moved sharply in the afternoon. At the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 168 points; the S&P 500 Index was off 21 points; and the NASDAQ was lower by 90 points. From a sector perspective, the technology names declined considerably, while the energy and financial issues managed to display some relative strength.

Meanwhile some U.S. economic Data was released. The U.S. GDP rose at an annualized rate of 1,4%during the third quarter, which was a little better than expected. Meanwhile, the U.S. initial jobless claims came in at 244’000 for the week of June 24^th, also meeting the consensus view.

Today Delivery Hero, a German-based food delivery start-up and Rocket Internet’s offspring will go public. Delivery Hero AG is set to complete Germany’s biggest tech listing in three years, after pricing the highly awaited 996 million euro initial public offering. Delivery Hero set a final offer price of 25,50 euro per share, the Berlin-based company said Thursday, at the ceiling of a range projected as low as 22 euros last week.

Nike released its fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 results, posting earnings of 0,60 USD per share and revenues of 8,68 billion USD, a 5% year over year increase. The company reported earnings of $0.60 per share, up 22.4% year-over-year. Revenues increased by double-digits in Western Europe, Greater China and other emerging markets due to extensive growth in Sportswear and Running. Sales and administrative expenses decreased by 4% to $2.7 billion, while overhead expenses decreased by 1% to $1.9 billion.Net income for the quarter increased 19% to $1.0 billion, which was mostly due to a global revenue increase, decreased sales and administrative expenses, as well as a smaller tax rate.

Economic Data for today:

1. Personal Income and Outlays
2. Chicago PMI
3. Consumer Sentiment

Covestro Vows to Cash Out Shareholders

The DAX was able to recover after its 6 week low. In the early morning hours the DAX increased by 0,52 % reaching the 12713 point mark. The recovery follows a heated day in the U.S. For the first time after the financial crisis all the Banks, a total of 34, were able to pass the annual stress test imposed by the Feds. As a follow-up Regulators have given US banks the go-ahead to pay out almost all their earnings to shareholders this year in a signal of their confidence in the health of the financial system.

BMW plans to introduce an electric version of its popular 3-Series line of cars at IAA in September. This is BMW’s direct response to the Model 3. The German carmaker already has a line of electric and hybrid vehicles, but this is the direct response to the impending debut of Tesla’s $35,000 Model 3 sedan, said Handelsblatt. The BMW is said to have a reach of 400 kilometers.

Covestro, the German plastics and chemicals group, has pledged to pay out massive special-dividends in case it cannot find a suitable takeover target within the next two years. The total amount of total operating cash flow is 5 billion Euros. CEO Patrick Thomas has also announced that the normal dividends will increase.

The Economic Calendar for today:

U.S. GDP

U.S. Jobless Claims

Corporate Profits

Bloomberg Comfort Index

EIA Natural Gas Report

FED Balance Sheet

Money Supply

 

 

Eu antitrust regulators hit Google with a record 2,42 billion euro fine

Good Morning dear Readers.

 

The miserable Wall Street performance yesterday and the strong Euro have been the main stimulants for the weak DAX performance this morning. Yesterday the DOW Jones closed with a loss of 0,5% and the Nasdaq closed with an even bigger loss of 1,6%. Tech-stocks had recovered as of lately, but talks of over-valuation have never seized. During the Dodd-Franck act talk addressing the easing of regulations on financial Markets, Janet Yellen took a hard stance towards over-valuation, saying many stocks were over-priced and that the planned de-regulation would not be advisable. The DAX has followed up on its downward movement by losing 0,86 percent hitting the 12’561 points mark.

The Euro set a new 52 week high by reaching the 1,1379 EURUSD mark. Mario Draghi´s speech in Portugal, with the narrative of a healthy and wealthy European Union was the main Catalyst for the Euro outbreak. During his speech Draghi confirmed that the ECB would be able to reach the 2% inflation target.

According to Bloomberg reports Deutsche Bank is on the verge of realizing a loss of 60 million USD. This loss is related to derivate-trading. These derivates were used to gamble on the US inflation. The reports states that all risk limits were exceeded by the Managers. This deal is under internal investigation as of now.

EU antitrust regulators hit Alphabet unit Google with a record 2,42 billion Euro fie on Tuesday. It is the biggest fine the EU has ever imposed on a single company in an antitrust case, exceeding a 1,06 billion euro sanction handed down to U.S. chipmaker Intel in 2009.

The Economic Calendar for today:

International Trade in Goods

Pending Home Sales Index

EIA Petroleum Sales

 

Schaeffler goes crashing down.

Good Morning dear Readers.

The DAX started downwards today, with the Index losing 0,5% and falling back to 12706 points.

As of today, Vapiano will be trading on the markets. With its IPO Vapiano will raise a total of EUR 184 Million. The price will be EUR 23 per share.

The Stada acquisition has officially failed. The investors Bain and Cinven missed the quota by 2% reaching a total approval of 66,5%. Bain had offered to buy the shares at EUR 66. This would have made the acquisition an expense of EUR 5,3 billion. Stada shares decrease by 6% after the failure of the acquisition became known.

Schaeffler Group has lowered its budgeted results and issued earnings-warnings for the FY2017. The EBIT-margin is prognosed to have fallen to 11-12%. The Free Cash Flow is said to fall by EUR 600 million. Since the market, the stock has fallen by 12,63%.Schaeffler Technologies AG & CO. KG, also known as Schaeffler Group, is a manufacturer of rolling element bearings for automotive, aerospace and industrial use.

General Motor has missed its Sales-Numbers. The US Behemoth had projected a total of 17,5 Mio sold cars. General Motors has missed its target by half a million only reaching a total of 17 million sold cars.

The Google case could come to an end today. Google is accused of privileging its own products and business in its search engine . The fine being unclear yet could set a new record for the biggest fine issued by the European Commission. The fine is based on the turnover and could reach a theoretical cap of EUR 9 billion.

Economic Calendar for today:

1. Consumer Confidence
2. Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
3. Janet Yellen Speak

EU citizens allowed to stay in the UK?

Good Morning Dear Readers.

The DAX started into the last trading day, with a minimal decrease. At opening the DAX started trading at 12780 points which is a slight decrease comparing to the 12794 point mark. The stabilization of the oil prices has had a positive effect on the DAX. The Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) reaches the 59,3 mark which beats the expectation of the prognosed 59 point mark.

The pharmacy concern Stada will be in focus today. Stock holder of Stada will have their last opportunity today to accept to accept the Bain and Cinven acquisition. At least 67,5% of the shareholders will have to agree to the takeover. The outlook looks groom as the reported percentage has been in the 20% range.

Allianz, Europe’s biggest Insurer, has announced the release of 700 employees over the next 3 years. This firing is part of a bigger process to reduce costs, which might include the firing of additional 600 employees.

In Brussels the EU-Summit will resume today. Yesterday the economic sanctions against Russia were extended to 6 more months. On the side of Brexit talks Theresa May has suggested that all 3,2 million European citizen currently living in the UK, would not be forced to leave the country. Angela Merkel said May’s offer on EU-Citizens is a good start.

The Fed disclosed on Thursday-night that all 34 big US banks had passed the first round of the stress-test. The Credit Quality has increased in most industries. Even in an extreme scenario and a fast increase in unemployment, the Banks would still have enough capital to sustain themselves.

The Economic Calendar for today is:

PMI Composite Flash

New Home Sales

I am excited for today and I hope you are as well.

Apple changes narrative in Qualcomm lawsuit.

Good Morning Dear Readers.

Yesterday, the DAX had a not so convincing performance. After the massive Oil-losses, investors seem to become risk-averse. This can also be interpreted by monitoring the VDAX, which shows signs of increase in volatility. This sentiment was reflected by the bad opening of the Dax in the morning, falling down to 12740 points.

As mentioned the Oil Prices fell sharply yesterday, which begs the question if the politics applied by the OPEC are to be seen as sane. In the morning hours the Brent Price seems to have stabilized itself. The price for Brent this morning was 44,79 USD and WTI was 42,52 USD. The falling Oil Prices will also have a negative effect for Central Banks as it will stain the Inflations Target. While the Fed is on way to tightening up interest rates, a possible deflation is bad news.

The Bank Industry and its stocks have been suffering as of the past weeks. As there is no sign of Inflation in the Eurozone, no change in the monetary policy is in sight. Banks have been suffering under the current conditions. The imposed monetary policies have been pressurizing banks a lot as their operating margins have become smaller.

Italy’s second biggest Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo has communicated that it would support two little Italian banks. Under a set of conditions imposed by Intesa, they would be willing to take over Banco Popolare die Vicenza and Veneto Banca. According to several sources these acquisitions should not decrease or affect dividends. Meanwhile the Italian government has opened a criminal investigation against five Italian Banks, one of them Intesa Sanpaolo. Allegations state that there have been irregularities in the diamond sales.

Apple is taking a new narrative in the patent lawsuit against Qualcomm. Apple has been talking about an increasing amount of proves that Qualcomm is on fact using an illegal business model. Qualcomm is accused of cashing in twice on its patents for certain technologies and computer chips. Qualcomm has denied the accusations.

DAX on record-setting pace.

Good Morning dear Readers,

The DAX closed yesterday with a plus of 1,07 percent and reached the 12’888,95 point mark. This leaves the possibility open for the DAX to reach the 12’921,17 all-time high. The increase in the DAX is mainly due to rise of the Tech-Stocks. The Dow-Jones on his hand already broke the 21’500 point mark, which put it at an all-time high.

According to some Bloomberg reports Tesla could soon be opening factories in China. Elon Musk seems to be close to reach an agreement with the Shanghai authorities. The report says that a decision about a possible Mega-Factory in Shanghai could be reached this week.

Commerzbank announced the establishment of a new branch called “Big Date & Advanced Analytics”. This branches main mission will be Digitalization and all that comes with it. Commerzbank plans to open up to 100 positions in this branch.

The main political topic yesterday, was the start of the Brexit talks in Brussels. The main point of concern for Michael Barnier is the well-being of EU-citizens living in the UK and vice-versa. The other main topics on the agenda are the European receivables and the question if it finally will be a hard or a soft Brexit. Barnier stated that his intent is not to work against the UK, but to work for the people of the UK and the EU.

The German Producer Price Index rose by 2,8 percent. Analysts had expected an increase of 2,9.

I am excited for today and I hope you are as well.

Amazon acquires Whole Food.

Emmanuel Macrons party summed up a total of 350 mandates, out of 577, in the second round. The Ministry of Interior Affairs declared on Monday morning that “En Marche” had won the absolute majority. Forecasts had prognosed a much stronger outcome nonetheless. The Right-wing and the French socialist had to take some massive hits, whilst losing many mandates. The conservative republicans summed up a total of 137 and the socialists a total of 45 seats. With the outcome of this election it feels like the first half of the year is over for investors. In fact we still have two weeks to go. What we should be looking for this week is:

1. Brexit-Talks
2. New Macron Deals
3. US Mortgage Data
4. PMIs for the Eurozone

Amazon declared the acquisition of Whole Foods. On Friday Whole Foods stocks soared to a level of 42 USD, an increase of 27%. This corresponds to the price which Amazon agreed upon with Whole Foods. Whole Food is valued at 13,7 Billion USD. This is the biggest acquisition Amazon has filed since its existence.

The Economic Calendar for today:

1. The William Dudley Speak
2. The Charles Evan Speak

Economy in upwards trend?

Good morning dear Readers,

The DAX had a good start in the Day with an increase of 0,45 percent. This is after a slow Thursday and a record-breaking Wednesday. On Wednesday the DAX broke the 12’921, 17 mark out of nowhere. Yesterday it lost all of its Momentum from the previous trading day. A reason for concern were the high tech stock prices, in the end the DAX has had a sidewards movement this week.

Nike has declared reducing the number of staff by 2%. In absolute this means a reduction of 1400 jobs. This might be a reaction to Nikes lack of competitiveness to Adidas and its continuous loss of market share.

In the Month of May, 1,4 million new cars have been registered. This is a YOY increase of 7,6 percent according to ACEA. This reaches the highs of 2007, before the crisis.

The European finance ministers have agreed on new loans for the Greek population. The IMF lead by Christine Lagarde stated their commitment to the re-financing deal for the Greek population. Miss Lagarde announced the need to help the Greek population ,but no numbers are known about the sum the monetary fund will dedicate.

Today´s economic calendar:

1. The Housing start and permits report
2. Consumer sentiment

I am excited for today and I hope you are as well.

Soft Brexit talks?

Good Morning dear Readers.

As of yesterday the DAX was able to recover from it losses it had incurred. At Close the Dax had increased by 0,59% to reach 12’765 Points. The Index will try to break the 12’800 mark today. Possible reasons for this prognosed growth are Chinas lacking growth dynamics. The Highlight will without any doubt be the FED-Meeting scheduled for today.

Theresa May announced her will to start the Brexit negotiations next week to Emmanuel Macron.  This after some rumours about a soft Brexit appeared in the Telegraph. The piece of news stated that the conservatives and the liberals were discussing the possibility of a soft Brexit. In the case of a soft Brexit the U.K. would still have a trade agreement and would not have to rely on the WTO trade agreement.

Apple announced the emission of Green Bonds with a maturity of 2027 , with a Volume of one Billion USD.  Cook also declared that Apple is focusing on its car Business segment. He said that the car segment which is heavily AI oriented, would be a core technology.

The European Commission has declared the will to strongly regulate the Clearing Process. This could force some institutions to choose a Clearing Partner outside the U.K. after the Brexit.

The Price Producer Index showed no sign of marginal growth, with a change of 0,5%. The same faith occurred to the NFIB Small Business Index. The NFIB was prognosed to increase to the 105,2 mark but decrease by 0,1 points to 104,5 points.

Today’s Economic Calendar is as follows:

I) MBA Mortgage Applications

II) Consumer Price Index

III) Retail Sales

IV) FOMC Meeting Announcement

I am excited for today and I hope you are as well.