As we do every Sunday, here are the top news stories from the past week and the highlights for the coming week.
The highlights for the coming week are also available as a video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/uNIsOOcy9J8?feature=share
Monday:
Production data from China 🇨🇳 came in slightly better than expected, with a PMI of 49.3 instead of 49.2. However, the figure has fallen for the fourth consecutive month. The services PMI has fallen to its lowest level this year. The Chinese economy is cooling off, but everyone is keeping an eye on the announced economic stimulus package.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/07/31/china-manufacturing-pmi-july-2023.html
Inflation in Europe continues to fall to 5.3%. This increases the likelihood that key interest rates in the eurozone have peaked. Experts had expected an inflation rate of 5.2%.
https://app.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/geldpolitik/verbraucherpreise-inflationsrate-im-euro-raum-sinkt-auf-5-3-prozent/29287546.html
Tuesday:
DHL Group’s figures disappointed the markets. Revenue plummeted by 16.4%. Quarterly earnings per share slumped to 0.80 cents. The markets had anticipated 0.84 cents. Nevertheless, Deutsche Post raised its full-year profit forecast slightly.
https://app.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/logistik-gewinn-der-dhl-group-bricht-um-ein-viertel-ein-/29289040.html
Teamviewer continues to deliver strong results. The company is posting double-digit growth and is right on track to meet its full-year forecast. The return on sales dipped slightly to 41%, but this was expected.
https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/der_boersen_tag/Teamviewer-waechst-prozentual-zweistellig-article24297300.html
Unemployment figures in Germany are rising again. This comes as little surprise, as economic sentiment was already poor. Overall, there are 147,000 more unemployed people than a year ago. The unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 5.7%. At the same time, however, the number of employees subject to social security contributions also rose to 34.7 million (+253,000). The increase is solely attributable to skilled workers from abroad. There are still 772,000 job openings, though that’s 108,000 fewer than a year ago.
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/konjunktur/nachrichten/arbeitsmarkt-zahl-der-arbeitslosen-steigt-auf-mehr-als-2-6-millionen/29289752.html
Wednesday:
Another forecast upgrade for $BOSS (+1.44%) Hugo Boss. The company is currently delivering strong results and remains our top performer in the Value Portfolio. Revenue is expected to rise to as much as 4.2 billion EUR as early as 2023. Originally, revenue of 4 billion EUR was projected by 2025!
https://app.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/-geschaeftszahlen-im-newsblog-hugo-boss-wird-erneut-optimistischer-fuer-das-gesamtjahr/24098412.html
Also, $FRE (+0.78%) Fresenius is performing better than expected. Revenue is up 3 percent, with a slightly smaller-than-expected decline in earnings. However, restructuring costs continue to mount.
https://app.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/gesundheitskonzern-fresenius-kommt-im-kerngeschaeft-gut-voran-doch-die-kleinste-sparte-macht-probleme/29291552.html
Overall, though, the markets are trending downward this morning. The reason is that the U.S. has lost its top credit rating. The rating agency Fitch has #usa assigned the country a new credit rating of AA+. The reasons are high debt levels and recurring disputes over the debt ceiling.
This is bad news for the stock markets, as the U.S. might cut spending, which would naturally also affect companies. It also creates general uncertainty.
https://amp.focus.de/finanzen/news/finanzen-fitch-entzieht-usa-top-kreditrating_id_200676789.html
A breakthrough for 1&1, or rather $UTDI (+1.32%) United Internet. A partnership with Vodafone is in the works. In the future, customers will be able to use Vodafone’s network as well. Until now, there was a similar framework agreement with Telefónica. However, that agreement lacked access to 5G. Since the company’s own expansion had stalled, a new solution was needed. Founder Dommermuth has now delivered that solution.
https://app.handelsblatt.com/technik/it-internet/telekommunikation-5g-deal-mit-vodafone-1und1-gelingt-befreiungsschlag/29292468.html
Thursday:
$ZAL (+1.73%) Zalando was able to significantly increase its second-quarter profit through cost cuts. Revenue declined slightly, but adjusted EBIT was well above expectations.
Dow Jones
Lufthansa $LHA (-0.26%) Lufthansa has posted record profits. Earnings have never been this high in a second quarter. The company has raised its forecast and now expects earnings before taxes, interest, and one-time gains of 2.6 billion EUR. High ticket prices are filling Lufthansa’s coffers.
https://app.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/airlines-lufthansa-erzielt-bei-hoeheren-ticketpreisen-rekordgewinn/29290714.html
Beiersdorf $BEI (+1.45%) Beiersdorf has raised its forecast. Things are going particularly well in the consumer segment. The EBIT margin improved to 17.3% as early as the second quarter.
Dow Jones
Following in the footsteps of the ECB and the Fed, the #BoE has also raised interest rates further. Interest rates were also raised by a quarter of a percentage point. The vote was interesting: 6 voted for a quarter-point increase, 2 for a half-point increase, and 1 vote was for a pause.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/08/03/economy/bank-of-england-uk-interest-rate/index.html
$AMZN (-0.38%) Amazon reported strong numbers: on Prime Day alone, it generated $12.7 billion in revenue, and in the second quarter, revenue totaled $134.4 billion. The cloud segment’s performance was particularly impressive. Net income of $6.7 billion was 100% above expectations.
https://amp2.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/e-commerce-amazon-mit-starken-zahlen-und-optimistischem-ausblick/29297384.html
Also, $AAPL (-0.76%) Apple also exceeded expectations. Revenue came in at $81.4 billion. The decline was smaller than anticipated.
https://app.handelsblatt.com/technik/it-internet/tech-konzern-apple-trotz-schwachem-iphone-absatz-mit-zahlen-ueber-erwartungen/29297404.html
Friday:
$VNA (+0.12%) Vonovia had to write down less on real estate than in the first quarter. The bottom line was a loss of 2 billion EUR. Operating profit from leasing rose by 10.3% year-over-year.
https://app.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/immobilien/geschaeftszahlen-vonovia-muss-immobilien-weiter-abwerten/29298170.html
German industry surprised with a sharp rise in orders. A further decline had actually been expected, but there was instead a 7% increase compared to the previous month.
https://app.handelsblatt.com/politik/konjunktur/konjunktur-deutsche-industrie-ueberrascht-mit-staerkstem-auftragsplus-seit-drei-jahren/29298444.html
Key dates for the coming week:
Monday: 8:00 a.m. Industrial production (Germany)
Tuesday: 5:00 a.m. Trade balance (China)
Wednesday: 3:30 a.m. Inflation data (China)
Thursday: 2:30 p.m. Inflation data (U.S.)
Friday: 2:30 p.m. Producer prices (U.S.)
