US companies plan share buybacks on a historic scalewhich is a sign of the American economy's confidence in the economy. Nvidia Corp is the latest company to join the long list of buyback plans.

The announced buybacks exceeded the 1 trillion US dollars reaching this level in a very short time, according to data from Birinyi Associates. The previous record was set in October last year.

In recent months, corporate giants - particularly in the areas of finance and technology - have given the green light for extensive share buyback programs.

$AAPL (-0.36%)

$GOOGL (+0.99%)

$NVDA (+3.58%)

$JPM (+0.22%)

$GS (+1.31%)

$WFC (+0.67%)

$BAC (+0.99%)

$V (-0.91%)

$C (+0.64%)

$BKNG (-1.93%)

Source: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/markets/us-firms-racing-through-1trn-buyback-spree-in-record-time/

$MS (+1.44%)

I am currently still looking for a good stock in the financial sector / banking sector that has good growth and also a dividend of over 2% and is a sensible addition to my portfolio. I am more interested in stocks outside Germany.

Currently on my watchlist: $ISP (+0.45%) , $WFC (+0.67%) , $D05 (-0.95%) , $LLBN (+0.86%)

I'd love to hear your opinions and any other suggestions.

Thank you in advance!!!

Washington Post reports around 20% universal tariffs + Wells Fargo expresses skepticism about Tesla + Reorganization of Varta completed + Tradegate AG achieves new sales record + Tui set for recovery

Washington Post reports around 20% universal tariffs

• Wall Street has some pressure because of the reciprocal tariffs that are due on Wednesday.
• No one knows exactly how extensive and high the tariffs will be.
• However, the Washington Post reports that Trump will impose a universal tariff of around 20%.
• That would be higher than most Wall Street strategists expect, with a correspondingly high risk of coordinated countermeasures.
• 21:00 US: US President Trump, announcement of reciprocal tariffs

Wells Fargo $WFC (+0.67%)expresses skepticism about Tesla $TSLA (-0.17%)

• They point to declining delivery numbers in all key markets as well as diminishing effects of price cuts, which are likely to lead to a deterioration in the automotive margin in 2025.
• The bank remains particularly critical of the planned CyberCab launch in Austin and the announced lower-priced model, for which few details are yet available.
• Sales of new Tesla cars in Denmark fell by 65.6 percent year-on-year to 593 vehicles in March, according to data from Mobility Denmark.

Reorganization of Varta $VAR1completed

• The months-long reorganization of battery manufacturer Varta has been completed.
• "Following the now effective structural and accounting measures of the restructuring concept, its operational implementation will continue as planned until the end of 2027," the company announced.
• Solvency has been strengthened by the proceedings.
• The new owners of the battery manufacturer are the former majority shareholder, Austrian entrepreneur Michael Tojner, and sports car manufacturer Porsche AG.
• Both paid 30 million euros each and now each hold 50 percent of the shares in Varta AG.
• The Group has also received a loan of 60 million euros.
• However, according to earlier information, a larger part of the fresh money has already been earmarked for restructuring costs.
• At the same time, a haircut reduced Varta's liabilities from almost half a billion euros to 230 million euros.

Tradegate AG $T2G (+0%)achieves new sales record

• Tradegate AG, the market specialist for shares and ETFs on the Tradegate Exchange, achieves a monthly turnover record of 51.34 billion euros in March.
• The previous turnover record of EUR 43.55 billion was set in January 2021.
• In the entire first quarter of the current financial year, turnover amounted to around EUR 127 billion, which corresponds to an increase in turnover of 52.8% compared to the same period of the previous year (EUR 83 billion).
• The number of transactions in the first quarter amounted to 18,405,500, which corresponds to an average transaction volume of EUR 6,900 per individual transaction.
• The significant increase in turnover among private investors in the first quarter is attributable to the high volatility on the capital markets in light of the political uncertainties in Germany, Europe and the USA.
• Investor interest in the first quarter focused in particular on the few German "defense stocks", which reached new price highs with very high turnover.

Tui $TUI1 (+1.86%)set to recover, Hauck Aufhäuser advises to buy

• Tui shares, which were recently punished with the travel sector, started a recovery attempt on Tuesday.
• Following a buy recommendation from the private bank Hauck Aufhäuser Investment Banking, the share price rose by 4.1 percent.
• However, not much has been gained after a setback of more than 17 percent within a week.
• Recently, a gloomy mood in the sector had contributed to the Tui slump.
• Airlines in particular had suffered heavy losses in recent days due to concerns about demand on transatlantic routes, which is weakening in the face of economic uncertainty, especially among US consumers.
• The previous day, the Travel & Leisure sector index reached its lowest level since August under the impact of US President Donald Trump's policies.
• Marie-Therese Gruebner from Hauck Aufhäuser Investment Banking now praised Tui's "unique and broad-based business model".
• With a high price target of 10 euros, the expert sees a good half of the share price potential.
• The Group differentiates itself with economies of scale and a brand that is a "highly valued seal of quality".
• The expert assumes that the structural demand for travel will clearly overshadow global economic growth with an increase of 5.1 percent.
• Travel remains a priority for consumers and, in her opinion, increasing cost awareness should tend to boost demand for package tours.
• Gruebner gave Tui a "buy" rating on Tuesday.
• She is thus one of the optimists in the dpa-AFX analyst's database.
• It was only in March that JPMorgan started the valuation of Tui shares with "Overweight".
• Deutsche Bank also recommends buying.
• In addition to neutral assessments from UBS, Bernstein and Jefferies, Barclays has issued an underweight recommendation.

Wednesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

• ex-dividend of individual stocks
• Fortum EUR 1.40
• Comcast USD 0.33

• Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia
• 15:00 Tesla deliveries and production Q1/25
• 22:00 Amgen quarterly figures
• Untimed: Nintendo presents details of the new Switch 2

• Quarterly figures / Company dates Europe
• 07:30 Auto1 annual results
• 09:00 DHL Capital Markets Day Day 1 of 2
• 15:00 Volvo AB AGM

• Economic data

08:00 DE: Business notifications (business start-ups) 2024

12:30 FR: ECB Director Schnabel, keynote at Masterclass of SciencesPo

14:00 ES: Governing Council member Escriva, speech at event of the Entrepreneurs Association

14:15 US: ADP Labor Market Report March Private Sector Employment PROGNOSIS: +120,000 jobs previously: +77,000 jobs

15:30 UK: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, discusses the Spring Statement to the Treasury Committee

16:00 US: Industrial orders February FORECAST: +0.5% yoy previous: +1.7% yoy

16:30 US: Crude oil inventory data (week) from the government Energy Information Administration (EIA) previous week

21:00 US: US President Trump, announcement of reciprocal tariffs

21:45 EU: ECB President Lagarde, speech at the Sutherland Leadership Award

22:30 US: Fed Governor Kugler, speech on inflation expectations and monetary policy

Wells Fargo $WFC (+0.67%) has filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan $JPM (+0.22%) over a $481 million real estate loan. According to the complaint, which was made public on Monday, JPMorgan allegedly turned a blind eye to fraudulently inflated financial metrics during due diligence. Wells Fargo, as trustee for the affected investors, alleges that JPMorgan knew of the inflated historical net operating income, which was actually 25% higher than the realistic figure. Despite this alarming information, JPMorgan approved the loan, causing substantial losses to the investors who relied on the exposure to this loan.

At the center of this conflict is the loan that JPMorgan granted to the Chetrit Group. This group had acquired a total of 43 residential properties in several states in 2019. But the adventure took a turn: The borrower defaulted in 2022 and still owes more than USD 285 million today. Wells Fargo is now demanding that the loan be repaid or at least compensation for breach of contract. Surprisingly, both JPMorgan and the Chetrit Group have so far remained silent about the allegations, which only makes the situation even more tense.

In the US, credit risk ratios are at an all-time high this year, further fueling concerns about the economic situation. The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade Index has widened by 4.11 basis points and is on the verge of its highest close since August. These uncertainties, compounded by future spending, potential tariff changes and job cuts, are causing the bond market to decline. The Nasdaq 100 Index experienced a decline of almost 4%, the largest since 2022, and experts are warning of a looming recession that could be exacerbated by a drop in consumer spending. The situation remains tense and it remains to be seen how things will develop.

Sources:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wells-fargo-sues-jpmorgan-over-174511407.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-credit-risk-rises-tariffs-125354998.html

Dear community,

I have been investing for almost exactly 3 years now and pursue a dividend strategy with a "core" of 3 monthly saved ETFs.

After a personally difficult year in 2024, I am trying to keep my savings rate at € 200-300 per month in 2025.

This will be divided as follows:

50-100€ FTSE

30-50€ Europe

20-30€ EM IMI

The remaining approx. 100€ goes into my dividend share portfolio. I don't usually make any really strategic choices there to continue saving... I just save the ones I want... As I want to keep all the shares, I perhaps don't see any real reason to make a critical selection.

Maybe you can still give me some tips.

I would like to add 6 more dividend payers to my dividend portfolio in the future.

$CAT (+3.34%) , $CL (-0.49%) , $BATS (-1.48%) , $CSCO (+0.94%) , $SIE (+1.21%) , $WFC (+0.67%)

Thank you for your attention.

From the $HEI (+1.87%) and $WFC (+0.67%) sales, some cash goes into the clearing account and most of it into a small position $ADBE (+1.52%) . Although the stock has actually been performing well for a long time, an attractive opportunity could now present itself.

Dusted off perfectly and cheaply in the Corona Crash, a small partial position in Wells Fargo goes. As with $HEI (+1.87%) also sold with a massive plus today to take some risk out of the position and put it into a new investment.