Alfred Gray

USA

Industrial Production (m-m) (November):
current value: 0.2%
market expectation: 0.3%
previous value: -0.6%

Capacity Utilisation (November):
current value: 78.8%
market expectation: 79.1%
previous value: 78.9%

Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index PMI (S&P Global) (December - preliminary):
current value: 48.2 pts.
market expectation: 49.5 pts.
previous value: 49.4 pts.

Purchasing...
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Swedish clothing retailer H&M saw sales in local currencies fall by four per cent in the fourth quarter of its financial year. That's more than analysts had estimated, and the biggest drop since the third quarter of last year. Customers are spending less, and the company has also closed branches in Russia. The world's second-largest apparel retailer made the announcement in a...
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Software company Adobe released its fourth-quarter results yesterday after the market closed. The quarterly results themselves beat market expectations, but analysts were not too happy with the annual outlook provided. The stock has gained about 85% since the beginning of the year.

Financial results

Adobe's revenue rose 12% year-over-year to $5.05 billion, beating analyst...
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BANKING

J.P. Morgan analyst Mehmet Sevim has raised the target price for Moneta to CZK 107 from CZK 97. He reiterated a recommendation of "Neutral".

J.P. Morgan analyst Mehmet Sevim raised his target price for Komerční banka to CZK 830 from CZK 820. He reiterated a "Neutral" recommendation.

J.P. Morgan analyst Mehmet Sevim cut the target price for Erste from EUR 48 to EUR 46. The...
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ZARA SAW PROFIT GROWTH, BUT REVENUE GROWTH SLOWED

Zara's profit, Inditex, rose significantly by 32.5% for the nine months, although sales growth slowed.

Inditex has invested in expanding its physical and digital stores and strengthened its logistics capabilities, which has helped it outperform competition in the fast fashion sector.

Inditex's sales grew 11%, a slight slowdown from...
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USA: State budget in November

State Budget (November):
current value: -$314.0 billion
market expectations: -$317.0 billion
previous value: -$66.6 billion

Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company of US billionaire Warren Buffett, has sold almost half of its stake in US personal computer maker HP. Buffett's firm made the announcement in a report to regulators on Monday. Berkshire owned 51.5 million shares of HP at the end of November, leaving it holding a 5.2 percent stake in the company. At the beginning of October, Buffett's...
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PINTEREST IS GAINING MOMENTUM

Impulse purchases, the instant decisions that often lead consumers to buy products they didn't originally intend to buy, are not going away. According to a recent report by analysts at RBC Capital Markets, this ongoing trend is a significant boon for specific platforms like Pinterest.

Pinterest, a well-known social media platform that allows users to...
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THIS WEEK'S DATES

US CPI

November US CPI inflation data will be released on Tuesday. According to analyst expectations, it should be unchanged month-on-month, but its core value could rise slightly month-on-month. According to Bloomberg, this could open up room for the Fed to consider cutting rates. Bloomberg also estimates that inflation could stay below 3% in the first half of...
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COMPANY RESULTS FOR THIS WEEK

Monday (December 11)

USA (after market): Oracle

Tuesday (12 December)

Europe (pre-market): Carl Zeiss Meditec

USA (pre-market): Johnson Controls International

Wednesday (13 December)

Europe (pre-market): Industria de Diseno Textil

Europe (after market): LPP

USA (after market): Adobe, Nordson

Thursday (14 December)

USA (after market): Costco Wholesale, Lennar

F...
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AI SOFTWARE GEMINI PUSHES GOOGLE SHARES UP

As fierce competition in the big tech sector and escalating investor hype make the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) an increasingly risky proposition, Google is making significant progress with its latest AI software model, Gemini. Alphabet, Google's parent company, saw its shares rise 4.8% to $136.25 early last quarter - a...
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WORSE REPORTED RESULTS FOR C3.AI

C3.ai shares fell after lower-than-expected earnings in its fiscal second quarter, although its reported net loss improved slightly from a year earlier.

C3.ai posted a loss per share of 13 cents, better than analysts' expectations, but earnings fell short of the FactSet consensus.

The move to a consumption-based pricing model has gained support...
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Eurozone: 3Q GDP unchanged yoy on expectations of 0.1% growth according to final data

GDP (seasonally adjusted) (q-q) (3Q - final):
current value: -0.1%
market expectations: -0.1%
previous value: -0.1%

GDP (y-y) (seasonally adjusted) (3Q - final):
current value: 0.0%
market expectation: 0.1%
previous value: 0.1%

Source: Bloomberg

Nvidia seeks to build AI ecosystem in Japan

Silicon Valley-based tech giant Nvidia Corp. has announced plans to collaborate with Japanese research organizations, companies and startups to build an artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem in Japan. By leveraging its expertise in manufacturing graphics chips, which are widely used for training AI services, Nvidia aims to meet the...
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Telecom company Ericsson wins $14 billion project to modernize AT&T

Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson has won a USD 14 billion project to upgrade AT&T's wireless networks.

Ericsson has won a USD 14 billion contract to upgrade AT&T's wireless networks. The Swedish telecommunications company announced Monday that AT&T will be able to select more suppliers for antennas...
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