Alfred Gray

Amazon.com $AMZN used an algorithm code-named "Project Nessie" to test how much it could raise prices so that competitors would follow suit, according to redacted portions of the Federal Trade Commission's monopoly lawsuit against the company.

According to people familiar with the allegations in the complaint, the algorithm helped Amazon increase profits on items across shopping...
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Labour market in the USA

This week's most closely watched macroeconomic indicators will be the labour market in the United States. According to Bloomberg, it is expected to cool down slowly, especially after the end of Taylor Swift and Beyonce's summer concerts. The agency expects that the ratio of newly opened positions to the number of unemployed people should fall to 1.4....
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A major milestone awaits RENK, a company known for its production of high-quality components for military vehicles, fighter jets and the automotive industry. On 5 October 2023, RENK will take centre stage when it goes public on the German stock exchange in Frankfurt. This IPO promises to become the largest in the German financial world this year and strengthen RENK's position...
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British-American cruise company Carnival Corp. has released its third quarter 2023 financial results.

Results

Carnival Corp.'s revenue grew 59% year-over-year.

Adjusted EBITDA reached USD 2.22 billion against analyst estimates of USD 2.1 billion.

The company carried 3.6 million passengers in the third quarter, up 40% year-on-year. Analysts had expected 3.78 million passengers.

Carni...
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This week marks the end of second quarter results and the slow arrival of third quarter 2023 results. Among the US companies reporting will be food company McCormick & Co and beer, wine and spirits producer Constellation Brands. In Europe, for example, retail chain Tesco.

An overview of selected companies reporting their results this week (source: Twitter Earnings Whispers)

Tuesd...
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MillerKnoll, an American manufacturer of office and home furnishings, has released its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Results

MillerKnoll's revenue decreased by 15% year-on-year. Organic sales declined 6.9%.

Gross margin increased to 39% from 34.5%, first quarter last year. Analysts had expected 37%.

Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 83.9 million. USD.

Outlook

The...
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The market for initial public offerings has been surprisingly normal over the past two weeks, at least on the surface.

British chipmaker Arm Holdings, food delivery company Instacart and Klaviyo represented a chance to revive an IPO market that has long been in tatters. But the results have not been convincing.

Arm, Instacart and Klaviyo priced their offerings at or above recent...
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Dividend stocks are a multi-purpose instrument of the markets. They offer investors a dual route to profitable returns, including some defence against challenging market conditions along with a stable source of passive income. This is an attractive combination.

The best dividend stocks will provide inflation-beating income based solely on the dividend and backed by a long-term...
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This week's macroeconomic indicators include the CNB's repo rate decision, Czech, German and US GDP, and German and eurozone inflation.

CNB board meeting on Wednesday and GDP on Friday

Before Thursday's public holiday, the domestic central bank will hold a monetary policy meeting of its board, after which a possible change in the repo rate will be announced. The market expects...
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FactSet $FDS, which operates a digital platform and software for analyzing economic and financial data, reported its results for the 4Q fiscal year 2023, which ended August 31, 2023, at yesterday's after-market close. On an adjusted earnings per share basis for the 4Q, FactSet missed the average analyst estimate. The outlook for the upcoming year is also below analyst consensus...
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US logistics and delivery company FedEx $FDX has released its quarterly results. Investors were pleased with the year-on-year growth in operating profit, which rose mainly due to lower fuel costs.

Financial results

The company generated revenue of $21.681 billion in 1Q fiscal 2024. This is a year-on-year decrease of 7%. The company's revenue is contributed by 3 segments, namely...
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The world's top ten stocks by market value have more influence on capital markets than ever before, and that may be a bad thing, says Ned Davis Research.

The top 10 names by market capitalization in the All Country World Index (ACWI) now account for nearly a fifth, or 19%, of the benchmark's value, a record high in terms of concentration, according to a report Monday from the...
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Shares of Intel Corp. $INTC led the Dow lower Tuesday as concerns about data center inventories overshadowed the announcement of new computer chips with artificial intelligence capabilities in time for the holidays.

Shares of Intel (INTC), which had been declining as CEO Pat Gelsinger began his keynote address at the Intel Innovation 2023 developer conference, began to fall...
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today's conference call with the management of Colt was held in the spirit of expectations of acceleration of the financial performance in the second half of this year, satisfaction with the recently completed acquisition of the Swiss ammunition manufacturer swissAA Holding or significant fulfillment of the contract with the Czech army.

This year is marked by a strengthening of...
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Apple's stock has not seen a new iPhone. This could help

Apple shares $AAPL plunged after the release of the iPhone 15 as analysts were skeptical about whether it would boost sales. But new data could change that view.

According to Daniel Ives of Wedbush, the start of iPhone 15 pre-orders brings good news for Apple (AAPL). In his research report, he wrote that based on Wedbush's...
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