European stocks open lower at the end of a winning week

British luxury retailer Burberry mentioned An 18% increase in sales revenue for the quarter ended July 1, as earnings season begins.

Sales in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa increased by 17%. But its biggest successes came in Asia, with mainland China up 46%, South Asia and the Pacific up 39%, and Japan up 44%. Sales in the Americas decreased by 8%.

The company reiterated its guidance for the full year and announced a £400m share buyback to be completed by the end of the calendar year.

The fund manager behind the fixed-income fund that offers 10% dividends has predicted a “credit deterioration” for the broader economy in the near future.

However, the portfolio manager expects the fund to be well positioned for such a scenario while generating income that beats the market.

It is among only a handful of funds available to retail investors across Europe that currently offer double-digit returns.

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– Ganesh Rao

S&P Global Market Intelligence data showed that financing for fintech startups decreased by 49% globally to $23 billion in the first half of 2023 compared to last year.

The total number of deals in the first six months of 2023 was 1,178 – down 64% from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, massive financing rounds of more than $100 million were rare, with only nine rounds in the second quarter of 2023, when it was 23 in the first quarter of 2023 and 55 in the second quarter of 2022, according to it. Standard & Poor’s Agency.

S&P said the Silicon Valley bank failure in March “reduced investors’ appetite for risk.”

said Sampath Sharma Narayanuri, fintech research analyst at S&P Global Market Information.

However, Naryanuri expects “a recovery in general market valuations of technology stocks, stabilization in interest rates, and a pickup in M&A activity” to fuel the second half of 2023.

– Sheila Chiang

The International Monetary Fund said growth in China was slowing due to weak private investment as well as sluggish exports and lower domestic demand.

The official spokesperson for the organization Julie Cusack said in a news briefing“Growth momentum has slowed recently in China, largely due to weaker-than-expected private investment,” indicating exports have fallen recently after seeing strong first-quarter performance.

“The overall growth picture in China is one of a slowing economy, and that is consistent with the projections we had in April,” he said, noting that the “updated outlook” for China will be reflected in the IMF’s next World Economic Outlook.

– Jihe Lee

The producer price index, a measure of what wholesalers pay for goods, rose 0.1% in June. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a 0.2% increase. The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.1% – also less than expected.

– Fred Imbert

The Australian Treasury announced on Friday that RBA Deputy Governor Michael Bullock has been appointed as the new head of the central bank.

He succeeds Philip Lowe, whose term ends Aug. 17 — which is close to 43 years at the bank. Treasurer Jim Chalmers called Pollock’s appointment “the perfect balance between offering exceptional experience and expertise and offering a fresh leadership perspective.”

Pollock’s appointment means the RBA will fill the position of deputy governor, which the government has said it will fill in the coming months.

– Lim Hwi Ji

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller has expressed the need to raise interest rates twice more in order to bring inflation down to its target.

“I see two additional 25 basis point increases in target range over the remaining four meetings this year as necessary to keep inflation moving toward our target,” he said in a speech at a New York University event on Thursday.

He described the latest CPI reading showing declining inflation as “welcome” news, adding that “a single data point does not constitute a trend.”

“I will need to see this improvement sustained before I can be confident that inflation has slowed,” he said.

– Jihe Lee

Bank of America described the opportunity for AI in the software industry as “undoubtedly enormous” and rated European companies in the sector.

“We see artificial general intelligence as an opportunity for the software industry to reap a potential increase in revenue through an enhanced value proposition and data monetization, along with improved productivity,” the bank said.

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– Lucy Handley

In another bullish sign for the market, the S&P 500 is now up 3.3% since the Fed began raising interest rates in March 2022. The move comes as traders glee at prospects for the central bank to tame inflation without tipping the economy into recession.

“For the first time in 2023, many clients are currently asking us if we think the S&P 500 is now on track to record ATH before year-end. I agree,” Goldman Sachs’ John Flood wrote. Note Wed.

– Fred Imbert