As every Sunday, the most important news from the past week, as well as the most important dates for the coming week.
The dates are also available as a video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/mhtPIi_3HOM?si=MYSt1-W3-5VirPYv
Monday:
$BAYN (+3,44%) Bayer was ordered to pay EUR 1.5 billion in the glyphosate litigation. In addition, the phase III trial of a new drug had to be terminated due to a lack of efficacy. Potential sales of EUR 5 billion have already been estimated for the drug.
China is not changing its key interest rates. Interest rates for the one-year rate thus remain at 3.45%. Well below the ECB's key interest rate of 4.5%.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-keeps-benchmark-lending-rates-steady-f961fb44
Exciting developments in Argentina 🇦🇷. The left-wing government was voted out of office. Javier Milei, who describes himself as an 'anarcho-capitalist', came to power. Milei wants to significantly streamline the state. Argentina is heavily indebted, has already slipped into national bankruptcy several times and is struggling with high inflation.
Tuesday:
Also at $TMV (+0,36%) Teamviewer also had another negative announcement. Major shareholder Permira sells 7% of Teamviewer. In total, the PE investor still owned 20% of Teamviewer.
https://stock3.com/news/teamviewer-permira-platziert-aktien-13626255
Lagarde emphasized at an event held by the German Federal Ministry of Finance that the ECB will probably keep the key interest rate constant for the time being. This means that there will be no rapid cuts. This is why growth and real estate stocks are losing out. Lagarde also left open the possibility of further interest rate hikes.
Major blow to the next CEO of a crypto company. The CEO of Binance Zhao Changpeng must leave Binance for at least 3 years. Binance must also pay a fine of USD 4.3 billion and admit to violating money laundering laws. It is the highest fine ever imposed by the US Treasury Department. Among other things, Binance has supported transactions for child sexual abuse, illegal drug trafficking and terrorism in more than 100,000 cases. The crypto industry is reacting with mixed feelings. Some even expect that the way would now be clear for Blackrock's crypto ETFs.
It is clear from the FOMC minutes that the FED is taking a cautious approach. All participants agreed to proceed 'cautiously'. Traders expect the first easing of a restrictive monetary policy as early as May 2024.
Wednesday:
$TKA (+3,88%) Thyssen-Krupp fails to present a balanced annual financial statement as planned. The company slips into the red due to write-downs. The bottom line is a loss of around two billion euros in the 2022/23 financial year. Shareholders are nevertheless to receive a dividend of 0.15 cents per share, which is of course due to the fact that the write-downs are not cash flow effective.
Surprisingly weak economic data from the USA. Orders for durable goods slumped by 5.4 %, while experts had expected a decline of just 3.1 %. At the same time, however, it was reported that initial jobless claims continued to fall.
Thursday:
$VUL (+1,01%) Vulcan Energy opened a lithium production plant today. This plant is a preliminary stage before the construction of the commercial plant by 2026. The aim is to extract CO2-neutral lithium from the thermal water.
The lira has depreciated significantly over the years. The main reason for this was a key interest rate that was far too low, which was politically desirable. However, the Turkish central bank has now reacted and raised the key interest rate significantly to 40%.
The Abu Dhabi company Adnoc is probably considering a takeover of Wintershall Dea. The sale of the subsidiary would put money in the coffers of $BAS (+2,29%) BASF's coffers. At the same time, BASF would become less dependent on 'fossil revenues' and could invest more in future technologies.
Friday:
While the inflation rate tends to fall elsewhere, it is rising in Japan. The central bank there has not yet raised key interest rates. At 2.9%, however, inflation was below expectations of 3.0%.
$VOW3 (+0,29%) VW is already planning a low-cost entry-level electric model for the Chinese market for 2026. Four models with prices between EUR 18,000 and EUR 22,000 are to be launched on the market.
The most important dates for the coming week:
Monday: 16:00 House sales (USA)
Tuesday: 08:00 Consumer Confidence (DE)
Wednesday: 14:00 Inflation data (DE)
Thursday: 11:00 Inflation data (EU)
Friday: 02:45 Manufacturing data (China)