4 minutes ago
UK taxes will be cut “as soon as we can afford it,” says the Chancellor of the Exchequer
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said on Friday the government will try to cut taxes “as soon as we can afford it”, following pressure from some lawmakers in his own party to reduce the country’s tax burden.
Hunt will present its first full budget on March 15 as the country continues to grapple with high food and energy costs, widespread industrial action, the fallout from Brexit and the worst growth prospects among the major G-20 economies.
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—Elliot Smith
29 minutes ago
German fourth-quarter GDP downgraded
In the early morning, a subway train enters Landungsbrücken station.
Photo Alliance | Photo Alliance | Getty Images
Germany’s economy contracted 0.4% in the last quarter of 2022, the country’s statistics office said on Friday, despite an initial estimate suggesting a 0.2% drop in GDP.
The economy grew by 0.8%, 0.1% and 0.5% in the previous three quarters, while overall annual growth was confirmed at 1.8%.
ING analyst Carsten Brzeski said in a note that while the economy had held up thanks to fiscal support and a warm winter, this was “absolutely no guarantee of a strong upswing in the near future”.
Signs of weakness include two consecutive drops in a measure of current business confidence, weak consumer confidence and declines in the Purchasing Managers’ Index, he said, leading the Dutch bank to forecast another economic contraction in the first quarter.
“Celebrating resilience was a bit premature. A tech recession is in the making,” he wrote.
The German DAX index fell 0.4% in Berlin around noon.
—Jenni Reid
An hour ago
Holcim sees record sales, CEO says ‘no recession’ at company
Materials company Holcim reported record net sales of 29.1 billion Swiss francs ($31.3 billion) and a 44% increase in net income to 3.3 billion francs, beating expectations.
CEO Jan Jenisch told CNBC it had been a “very strong year in operating cash flow,” but that the company faced challenges because of input cost inflation, which he says has peaked.
“There is no recession at Holcim,” he said. “We have very good order books, we are going into the year strong, while in Europe there has been a weakening since the first half of last year.”
The Swiss company also announced that Jenisch will become the next chairman once his successor is named.
Shares of the company were down 0.6% at 11am in London.
See chart…
The price of the Holcim share.
An hour ago
Saint-Gobain CFO: We are confident to deliver ‘very strong’ results in 2023
Sreedhar N., chief financial officer at Saint-Gobain, discusses the company’s annual results.
2 hours ago
Stocks in motion: Elekta up 9%, BASF down 5.5%
Swedish medical company Elekta led the stock in morning trading, up 9.1% after its third-quarter results showed higher sales and profits.
Compagnie de Saint-Gobain and Rolls-Royce also continued to gain after beating analysts’ expectations yesterday.
At the low end of European stocks, chemical giant BASF fell 5.5% following an announcement that it will cut 2,600 jobs and halt share buybacks amid profit declines.
—Jenni Reid
3 hours ago
European markets open higher
European markets got off to a good start on Friday, with the Stoxx 600 index up 0.4% shortly after opening.
The French CAC 40 was up 0.6%, while the German DAX and UK FTSE 100 were both up around 0.3%. Construction stocks led industry gains, up 0.9%.
4 hours ago
European markets open higher
European markets opened slightly higher on Friday.
The FTSE 100 would score 15 points, the French CAC 40 29.7 points, the German DAX 28 points and the Italian MIB 142.5 points.
After struggling earlier this week, the Stoxx 600 index closed 0.1% higher on Thursday.
—Jenni Reid
5 hours ago
‘Hands down our favorite mega cap’: investor calls the stock to buy for the next 10 years
Mark Hawtin, director of investment at Zurich-based GAM Investments, said a Big Tech company’s dominant position and critical role in the enterprise software ecosystem makes it ideal for getting through a recession in the global economy.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesha Rao
6 hours ago
Asia tech is back, says Bernstein, citing Alibaba and 5 more top picks
China’s reopening is seen as a major tailwind for stock markets this year, and Bernstein has shared a list of stock picks to raise money – which he says also offer downside protection.
“We’re working with our industry analysts to highlight 30 stocks that look well positioned to handle the tailwind of China’s reopening, benefiting from risk-on-sentiment without losing sight of looming global recession risk,” they wrote. the Bernstein analysts, led by Jay Huang, in a note on Feb. 20.
The bank said it prefers “stragglers” – stocks from last year – as the “best exposure” this quarter in Asia. But it also urged investors to have some “defensive exposure” by holding high-yield stocks to protect the downside in case the market becomes more risk-averse.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Zavier Ong
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