Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
European solar - >>> Losing hope of rescue, some European solar firms head to US
Reuters
by Sarah McFarlane and Riham Alkousaa
4-15-24
https://www.yahoo.com/news/losing-hope-rescue-european-solar-060514885.html
FRIEBERG, Germany (Reuters) - European governments due to move to support their solar power manufacturers this week will be too late to stop solar panel maker Meyer Burger packing up a German factory to send production to the United States.
The plant in Freiberg in eastern Germany closed in mid-March with the loss of 500 jobs, as the Swiss-listed firm joined a growing list of European renewable energy manufacturing factories shutting down or moving. In the past year, at least 10 have said they are in financial difficulties.
On a recent visit to the site, giant white robotic arms hung dormant over empty wooden pallets as workers prepared the last production line for shutdown. Talks with the German federal government to try to secure a future for the factory ended without success in late March, a company spokesperson told Reuters.
Germany's economy ministry said it was aware of the "very serious situation" of German companies and has been examining funding options with the industry for over a year. It agreed to give Meyer Burger an export credit guarantee for equipment produced in Germany to be used at the U.S. factories, which will help a site nearby but won't save the Freiberg one.
The closure, which in one sweep reduced European solar panel production by 10%, comes despite a boom in wind and solar energy in Europe. Additions to renewable energy capacity, including solar panels, are running at record pace, according to data from the International Energy Agency.
But Europe-based manufacturers that supply those panels are being crushed by competition from China and the U.S., whose governments give more support to their producers.
The situation poses a dilemma for European governments keen to fight climate change: Either offer more support to ensure local production can stay competitive, or allow the unfettered flow of imports to keep up the pace of installations. A meeting in Brussels between European energy ministers on Monday will make a gesture of support for the struggling industry.
China is expanding solar output and now accounts for 80% of the world's solar manufacturing capacity. The cost of producing panels there is around 12 cents per watt of energy generated, compared with 22 cents in Europe, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie.
U.S. subsidies announced as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allow some renewable energy manufacturers and project developers to claim tax credits, which are attracting businesses from within the European Union and beyond.
Meyer Burger says its plans include a solar panel factory in Arizona and a solar cell factory in Colorado.
"We made a bold move in the absence of any industry policy support in Europe and shifted a solar cell expansion project from Germany to the U.S.," its chief executive Gunter Erfurt told Reuters in an interview.
Similarly, battery company Freyr which operates mostly in Norway, has stopped work at a half-finished plant near the Arctic Circle and is focusing on plans for a plant in the U.S. state of Georgia after Washington announced the policy.
Freyr said in February it had changed its registration to the U.S. from Luxembourg.
"We did spend quite a bit of time trying to really make sure that we weren't committing a mistake," said Birger Steen, chief executive of Freyr: The company first hunted for support from Norwegian or European governments.
"We got to the point where we concluded that that form of policy level response was not forthcoming."
Asked to comment, Norway's ministry of trade and industry said that it had launched an industrial policy framework targeting energy transition technologies including solar and batteries, but did not directly address questions about additional funding for the companies in this story.
CHARTER
At Monday's meeting, the European Commission will launch a voluntary charter for governments and companies to sign in support of solar manufacturing plants. Industry association Solar Power Europe will coordinate company signatories. But the charter, which says that buyers of solar panels should include some domestic production in what they buy, is not enforceable, Solar Power Europe said.
Michael Bloss, EU parliament member for Greens, launched a petition earlier this month calling for action at a European level to rescue panel manufacturers.
Bloss says he is pushing for the European Commission to set up a 200 million euro ($213 million) fund to buy up unused European-made solar panels, but Europe has been unwilling to pursue that. The European Commission declined to comment.
"We are -- in headlines and Sunday speeches -- very much in favour of creating our own solar industry, but then in action, nothing happens," Bloss told Reuters.
"The charter will be more like a political declaration signed by member states, solar companies and the Commission, it's more long term, it has no immediate effect."
In February, European policymakers adopted the Net-Zero Industry Act, a set of measures including a target to produce 40% of the region's clean tech needs by 2030.
The previous month, the EU also approved almost $1 billion of German state aid for a Swedish battery producer, Northvolt, to help it set up a production plant in Germany after Northvolt threatened to take its business to the United States. It was the first time the bloc made use of an exceptional measure allowing member countries to step in with aid when there's a risk of investment leaving Europe.
But aid for ongoing operations has not been forthcoming, amid political disagreement over how much public funds should go to struggling businesses.
Decisions about supporting industries or firms like Meyer Burger are down to member states, a spokesperson for the European Commission told Reuters. Germany's economy and climate ministry believes aid to maintain an existing company like Meyer Burger would not be legal "if there is a lack of market prospects from the company's perspective," a spokesperson told Reuters.
Potential customers -- renewable energy installers that depend heavily on cheap Chinese imports -- have also pushed back against any new subsidies for local panels, arguing such moves could hurt them by causing consumers to postpone orders as they wait for the subsidies to kick in.
INTERTWINED
More than a year's worth of low-price imported panels sit in European warehouses awaiting installation, according to consultancy Rystad Energy and solar panel makers. Reuters could not independently verify that estimate.
That backlog could grow as Chinese capacity continues to expand, Rystad says: If all the plans Chinese firms have announced go ahead, China's industry will be able to make twice as many panels as are expected to be installed worldwide in 2024, said Marius Mordal Bakke, senior analyst at Rystad.
Dresden-based Solarwatt is carrying six to nine months of stocks, up from around six weeks, its chief executive Detlef Neuhaus told Reuters in March.
The company laid off around 10% of its employees last year and says its local panel production is running at roughly one-third of capacity.
"This industry is so important for the future, we cannot allow that we are losing all our competence," said Neuhaus.
Analysts say it's not clear what support could actually help, because firms like Meyer Burger produce a fraction of the volumes made by those in China, or planned in the U.S.
"They are tiny, so they will always struggle with volume, not just to compete with Chinese producers but also with U.S. producers," said Eugen Perger, senior analyst at Research Partners AG.
And local clean technology industries are so globally intertwined it's hard for European manufacturers to imagine a fully independent supply chain.
Norway-based NorSun, which produces solar wafers – thin silicon film used in panels – said Chinese equipment is crucial to both its plant in Norway and a proposed facility in the U.S. The company has halted production at the Norway plant while it decides whether to upgrade it.
Most of the equipment for either project would have to come from China. "There's essentially no other option," said Carsten Rohr, chief commercial officer at NorSun.
DEJA VU
Freiberg has been here before. Since the 1990s, companies setting up operations in the region have benefited from federal funding programmes to rebuild east Germany and help it close the gap with western Germany's prosperity.
New industries sprang up, including in solar and semiconductors. But Freiberg took a big hit in the 2010s after China's solar industry boosted production and undercut competitors.
In 2020, the German government removed a cap on subsidies for solar power installations which helped lift demand. In 2021, the EU's Green Deal signalled political support for future demand, and Russia's full invasion of Ukraine also helped solar deployment.
Meyer Burger, which is headquartered in Gwatt, Switzerland, only set up production in Freiberg in 2021 as the industry started coming back to life. It refurbished a bankrupt solar company's plant that had stood unused for almost three years.
For a while it became one of the town's largest employers, mayor Sven Krueger confirmed.
"This is the second time the German solar industry is at risk. They failed once already," said apprentice Max Lange, 19, greeting colleagues with a silent nod as they cleaned idled machinery on the factory floor.
"If it fails again, I doubt that I will be able to pursue a career in the European solar industry, because I don't think it will come back," he said, wondering aloud if he might instead find work in the U.S. solar industry.
<<<
---
>>> Why the death of North Sea oil is a disaster for Britain
The Telegraph
by Jonathan Leake
April 7, 2024
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-death-north-sea-oil-050000216.html
Decommissioning is the new name of the game – despite an estimated 25 billion barrels of untapped oil
Far out in the North Sea a deserted but massive oil platform awaits its fate. Brent Charlie is the last remainder of the Brent field – a resource so big it once provided a third of the UK’s daily oil needs.
Discovered in the 1970s, the Brent field at one point produced 184 million barrels of oil a year, earning billions for Shell, its owner, plus £20bn in tax revenues for the Exchequer. It was so big it needed four massive platforms to extract its riches – Brent Charlie, Alpha, Bravo and Delta.
Today Alpha, Bravo and Delta have gone, cut from their supports and taken to the scrapyards.
Later this year Brent Charlie will also have its legs cut from under it and be lifted on to Pioneering Spirit – a giant ship specially designed to rip apart decaying oil and gas installations.
Pioneering Spirit and the growing fleet of similar oil rig-slaughtering vessels are set for some busy years. In the waters around the UK, hundreds more oil and gas installations are falling silent. Fifty years after the North Sea bonanza began, the final decline is upon us.
As well as hauling the retired rigs to shore, nearly 8,000 wells that were drilled deep into the seabed must also be plugged.
The decline of the North Sea has implications not just for energy policy and tax income, but public finances more broadly.
We face a huge bill – potentially up to £60bn – to clean up the North Sea.
The energy companies are responsible for decommissioning, but tax breaks mean much of that money will be reclaimed from the Exchequer - and ultimately taxpayers.
Last year alone more than 200 oil and gas wells were plugged, eight platforms were removed and 8,000 tonnes of subsea structures were taken out of the ocean – with another 250km of seabed pipelines being decommissioned. Another 180 of the UK’s 284 oil and gas fields will close down by the end of the decade.
Mass closures are not the result of eco-protests, nor because of a lack of demand.
Supply isn’t dwindling either. Over the last five decades oil and gas equivalent to 47 billion barrels of oil have been extracted, but seismic surveys suggest another 25 billion remain.
Instead, operators blame punitive taxes for the rapid pullback, with some facing levies of more than 100pc on their profits.
Production is now in rapid decline.
Data from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the government’s regulator, shows UK oil production peaked at 150 million tonnes of oil a year in 2000 – roughly double the nation’s consumption. We also produced about 108 billion cubic metres of gas – about 20 billion more than we consumed.
Exports, jobs and taxes were all booming. The oil and gas industry was employing 500,000 people directly or in its supply chains and its products were the essential fuels powering not just our homes and vehicles but the whole UK economy.
Over the five decades to 2020 the offshore industry poured around £400bn of taxes into the Treasury’s coffers.
The contrast with now could hardly be greater. Last year the UK produced just 38 million tonnes of oil, down by 74pc from its peak and about 20 million tonnes less than we need. Gas production was 30 billion cubic metres – less than half our needs.
Employment has fallen to 130,000. So too has the tax take, to around £3bn.
Meanwhile, the UK’s reliance on oil and gas has hardly changed. We still get 75pc of our total energy from oil and gas – just like two decades ago.
Fossil fuels may be warming the climate but they are also essential to heating the 27 million homes reliant on gas or oil-powered boilers. Around 30 million vehicles still run on diesel or petrol and gas-fired power stations provide over a third of our electricity.
We still consume 77 billion cubic metres of gas a year or 1,100 cubic metres per person, the volume of 14 double-decker buses. We also consume about 60 million tonnes of oil – nearly a tonne per person. Imagine several wheelie bins of oil for each citizen, including children.
Whatever the green lobby claims and whatever politicians promise, the fact is that the UK remains a fossil-fuelled nation.
Will that change? Fossil fuel consumption has declined a little and should fall faster if the Government can persuade us to install heat pumps, buy electric cars and change our lives in all the other ways required by net zero.
But what’s becoming all too clear is that our consumption of fossil fuels will never fall as fast as the decline in our North Sea supplies.
It means that for at least the next few decades the UK will be increasingly reliant on imports – with all the vulnerability to global markets, price shocks and the whims of dictators such as Putin that this implies.
Two decades ago we were producing enough oil and gas for the nation and exporting some. Now we face energy poverty and reliance on other nations to keep our homes warm, our lights on and our vehicles moving.
How did it come to this?
Black gold
“Dear God, give us another oil boom. Next time we won’t p*** it up against the wall”.
The words of an anonymous graffiti artist scrawled on a wall some years ago in Aberdeen still resonate today.
The city’s roots as the UK’s oil and gas capital can be traced back to the mid-1960s when BP discovered the West Sole gas field, the first confirmation that more fossil fuel riches were waiting to be found in the North Sea.
Other companies soon came looking, with Philips Petroleum discovering Norway’s mighty Ekofisk field in 1969, followed by the UK’s colossal Brent field in 1971 and the Piper field in 1973.
These giant oilfields and others like them offered the potential to transform the UK’s economic landscape.
Tony Benn welcomed the first delivery from the Argyll field. A famous picture shows the then-Labour energy secretary opening a valve to release the first consignment of oil into the BP refinery on the Isle of Grain in Kent.
Tax receipts also started flowing in, hitting a record high of £12bn in the mid-1980s.
At its peak, roughly one in every £12 that the UK Government took in tax revenues came from the sector.
Today, that figure is less than £1 in every £100.
The oil boom sparked huge shifts in Britain’s economy as the pound soared in value, rendering huge swathes of British industry uncompetitive and destroying thousands of jobs.
It also helped to bankroll Thatcher’s tax-cutting drive in the late 1980s, cementing her legacy as a big reformer.
Politicians knew at the time they had a cash cow, and successive chancellors have been milking it ever since.
First came the petroleum revenue tax (PRT), introduced alongside the discovery of oil and gas. A new 20pc tax on North Sea oil was introduced in 1981 by Tory chancellor Geoffrey Howe.
Labour’s Gordon Brown introduced a 10pc “supplementary charge” on North Sea profits in 2002, effectively raising tax on the region’s production to 40pc from 30pc. He launched a second raid on profits in 2005 by doubling the supplementary charge in what the SNP branded a £2bn “smash and grab”.
George Osborne tinkered with North Sea taxes further, launching a £2bn raid in 2011 to pay for a one penny cut in fuel duty as oil prices soared above $100 a barrel.
Jeremy Hunt’s windfall levy in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine helped to plug a hole in the public finances.
Countries such as Norway have taken a very different approach to managing their oil and gas wealth.
In 1990, when the UK was using its North Sea income to fund battles against the unions and prop up day-to-day finances, Norway set up a giant savings account – now known as a sovereign wealth fund.
That fund today controls assets worth £1.5 trillion, including a stake in 113 buildings on London’s Regent Street ranging from Apple’s flagship store to Hamleys toy shop.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund today holds the equivalent of about £250,000 for each citizen – enough to make the nation comfortable for many decades to come, including long after the oil and gas runs out.
There were people advocating for a similar UK North Sea wealth fund at the time of the industry’s beginnings. Labour’s Tony Benn was one of them, as was Bruce Millan, the former Scottish secretary of state. But they were overruled by the rest of the cabinet, who were becoming wary of the growing calls for Scottish independence.
Denis Healey, the former Labour chancellor, admitted in one of his final interviews that the government did “underplay the value of the oil to the country because of the threat of nationalism”.
Sukhdev Johal, accountancy professor at Queen Mary University, London, estimates that if the UK had set up a similar fund to the Norwegian it would be worth £850bn. Given the UK’s much larger population, that would work out to £13,000 per person – a smaller haul, but still significant.
Ultimately, the North Sea income helped support tax cuts for the better-off when the Tories ousted Labour. Nigel Lawson, chancellor under Margaret Thatcher, had cut the top rate of tax from 60p to 40p by 1988.
Healey told Holyrood magazine: “Thatcher wouldn’t have been able to carry out any of her policies without that additional 5pc on GDP from oil. Incredible good luck she had from that.”
Today the North Sea isn’t the cash cow that it used to be and the money is swiftly running out.
Operators’ revenues were £10bn in 2022-23, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates, but this is projected to fall to £4bn this financial year and just £2bn by 2028-29.
Production costs are also mounting. Decades of extraction mean all the easily accessible oil has already been drilled out.
The UK’s mature fields are now one of the most expensive places in the world to extract oil from. It costs $26.20 to produce a barrel of the stuff today, compared with $5.50 in Saudi Arabia and $7.30 in Norway, according to Rystad Energy.
Scrapheap challenge
The big challenge today is decommissioning.
Six years ago the NSTA estimated that the cost of dealing with all the rusting remains of the UK’s North Sea ventures was £60bn. Its scrapheap challenge includes 320 fixed installations, 250 “subsea systems” – meaning wellheads and other kit on the seafloor – plus 20,000 miles of pipelines snaking between wells, platforms and the shore.
But the costliest challenge is dealing with the 7,800 wells, which often stretch over a mile into the bedrock. Each needs to have sections of its steel casings stripped out and plugged with cement, a process likely to consume half the entire decommissioning budget.
“Each unplugged well is a threat to the future, potentially leaking pollutant oils or methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the ocean above for decades or centuries,” says one of the industry’s most experienced engineers.
For the Treasury, however, the problem is not future pollution but cost.
The UK treats decommissioning as a business expense, meaning it can be offset against profits made in previous years to lower tax bills. Shell’s Brent clean-up alone has cost the Treasury £600m in tax rebates since 2018.
Just how much the end of the North Sea will ultimately cost taxpayers is a bone of contention.
The National Audit Office (NAO) estimated the Treasury faced a £24bn bill for such rebates in a 2019 report.
“Taxpayers are ultimately liable for the total cost of decommissioning assets that operators cannot decommission,” the NAO said.
The warning prompted the Treasury to put pressure on the NSTA to cut the cost of decommissioning. Its latest predictions show an astonishing reduction in the total cost from £60bn to £40bn, which combined with increases in oil prices and profits has reduced the Treasury’s predicted liability to £4.5bn.
Some critics suspect a politically inspired accountancy exercise, but the NSTA says the savings are genuine. It insists that knowledge-sharing and “more sophisticated” forecasting have helped, adding: “Setting cost reduction targets sharpened industry’s focus on the need to improve.”
Industry insiders beg to differ, questioning how any sector could slash costs by a third in an era of rampant inflation.
Gilad Myerson, executive director of Ithaca Energy, one of the UK’s largest offshore operators, said the NSTA’s estimates took too little account of the impact of the UK windfall tax, which has restricted investment and “will bring forward the timing of decommissioning programmes whilst reducing production from existing UK fields”.
Myerson says: “These changes to fiscal policies were designed to boost taxes, but in reality will cost the economy more as fields shut early, reducing tax payments and driving up decommissioning costs.”
More than 250 decommissioning plans have been lodged so far. Each sets out in detail what will be removed but also what will be left in place, including pipelines, concrete mattresses (used to protect pipelines) and other redundant metalwork or concrete.
In theory all such dumping is banned under the Ospar Convention on maritime pollution, an agreement between the UK and 14 other European governments, plus the EU, aimed at protecting the north-east Atlantic.
In practice, however, a relaxed approach from the regulator means the UK’s seabeds will never be put back to their natural state – a saving that will benefit companies and the Treasury, but infuriate environmentalists.
More cost savings may come from derogations, where Ospar signatories permit companies to leave massive installations in the sea forever despite official rules.
The UK has approved 10 such derogations and Ospar warns many more are likely: “There are currently 59 steel installations weighing more than 10,000 tonnes and 22 gravity-based concrete installations, for which [more] derogations from the dumping ban may yet be considered.”
Protests at Shell Brent field in the North Sea
Ageing oil rig structures left to rust in the North Sea have infuriated environmental groups - Greenpeace
Shell in particular wants derogations for the 165-metre tall legs that once supported three of its Brent platforms, claiming leaving them in place is the cleanest and safest option.
These “gravity-based structures” were built from concrete reinforced with steel bars at a time when the main thought was how to survive the 200mph winds and 80-foot waves found in the Atlantic seas north east of Shetland.
No-one thought about their eventual removal. The resulting structures each weigh 300,000 tonnes, the same as New York’s Empire State Building.
They also served as oil storage tanks and so contain thousands of tonnes of toxic oily sludge.
Shell believes leaving them in place was the best option: “Our recommendations are the result of 10 years of research, involving more than 300 scientific and technical studies.”
Others disagree. Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, an NGO that campaigns to shut down UK fossil fuel production, said: “Oil and gas companies that have profited from the basin for decades, and which are sitting on huge windfall profits today, should obviously be made to clean up after themselves, like any other business.
“It’s even more scandalous that the Government has caved to industry lobbying such that taxpayers now pick up a chunk of the clean-up bill.”
Energy insecurity
What does the future hold? For offshore contractors, pulling apart oil and gas installations is becoming the most reliable source of income.
Spending on decommissions has risen from £1.39bn in 2019 to £2bn this year and there will be far more spent in future especially if, as expected, the NSTA’s £40bn predicted total proves too optimistic.
Increased spending on decommissioning comes as investment in exploration for new oil and gas fields tumbles - from £800m in 2019 to just £330m this year.
Only a handful of new wells have gone into production in the last five years compared with the many hundreds that have shut down.
Some believe there is still money to be made in the North Sea. The NSTA has approved 51 new exploration licences in the last year with up to 60 more pending. Energy secretary Claire Coutinho has argued for more, saying the domestic oil and gas industry is vital to the UK’s energy security and economy.
However, energy companies are not impressed by such blandishments. Few are investing and some are walking away – for reasons that have nothing to do with geology and everything to do with politics.
The current government’s windfall tax has raised the levy on oil and gas production profits from 40pc to 75pc. The vagaries of the tax system mean some operators have in fact faced tax rates in excess of 100pc.
Harbour Energy, the UK’s largest oil and gas producer, blamed the tax burden for halting its investment in the UK.
The likely next government has only added to the uncertainty. Labour has pledged to halt all new licensing, add another 3pc to the windfall tax and potentially even backdate it.
The impacts of those policy swings from the UK’s two main political parties are proving disastrous for both the industry and the country, argues Chris Wheaton, an analyst with Stifel who specialises in the offshore industry.
In a recent note, he estimated that the UK Government would lose out on £20bn of tax income if investment is “effectively being shut down by higher taxes or stopping any future developments”.
Energy security would also suffer, he argues. “UK gas production would see an accelerated decline, forcing more gas to be imported… with impacts on energy costs for consumers. We estimate the UK would be importing 80pc of its gas demand as early as 2030.”
Mike Tholen, policy director at Offshore Energies UK, the oil, gas and wind industries trade body, said shutting down UK oil and gas without first building the low-carbon systems to replace them, would leave the UK exposed to global price spikes and the whims of dictators.
“Over 23 million homes rely on gas boilers for heat and hot water and gas provides 40pc to 60pc of our electricity depending on wind strength,” he says.
“We can choose an energy transition where [oil and gas] infrastructure continues to offer opportunities for UK companies and workers. Or we can choose increasing reliance on energy from other countries.”
These arguments appear to be falling on deaf ears in Westminster, with no meaningful proposals to reduce the tax burden. Instead, decommissioning is the new name of the game.
This year’s general election will roughly coincide with Brent Charlie being cut away and melted down for scrap.
<<<
---
>>> nVent Electric plc (NVT), together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, installs, and services electrical connection and protection solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Enclosures, Electrical & Fastening Solutions, and Thermal Management.
The Enclosures segment provides solutions to protect electronics and data in mission critical applications, including data solutions. This segment also offers digital and automation solutions, system integrations, and global services.
The Electrical & Fastening Solutions segment provides solutions that connect and protect power and data infrastructure. This segment also offers power connections, fastening solutions, cable management solutions, grounding and bonding systems, and tools and test instruments.
The Thermal Management segment offers heat management solutions that protect people and assets. This segment includes heat tracing for freeze protection and process temperature maintenance and control; pipe freeze protection, surface deicing, hot water temperature maintenance, floor heating, fire-rated wiring, and leak detection; and heat trace systems, connected controls, remote monitoring, and annual service programs.
The company markets its products through electrical distributors, contractors, and original equipment manufacturers under the CADDY, ERICO, GARDNER BENDER, HOFFMAN, ILSCO, RAYCHEM, SCHROFF, and TRACER brand names. Its products are used for various applications, such as industrial, commercial and residential, infrastructure, and energy. nVent Electric plc was founded in 1903 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.
<<<
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NVT/profile
---
>>> Microsoft investing billions in Spain for AI, cloud in latest EU spending spree
TechRadar
by Craig Hale
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/microsoft-investing-billions-in-spain-for-ai-cloud-in-latest-eu-spending-spree/ar-BB1izmG6?OCID=ansmsnnews11
Microsoft has confirmed plans to bolster its artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure in Spain with a substantial $2.1 billion investment over the next two years.
The news came as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez took to X to announce Microsoft’s decision to quadruple its investment in the country.
The investment follows closely on the heels of other commitments by the company, such as its $3.45 billion investment in Germany, emphasizing Redmond’s plans to expand AI and cloud services across Europe.
Microsoft continues to invest in European AI
In December, Microsoft revealed a similar $3.2 billion spend in the UK, aimed at expanding its AI datacenter infrastructure, increasing skills, and improving security.
Spain’s Sánchez commented on X: “I want to thank [Microsoft’s] president, Brad Smith, for his trust in the Spanish economy and in our roadmap for an inclusive and secure digital transformation.”
He added that the investment would help the country strengthen cybersecurity and promote artificial intelligence in public administration.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Braad Smith commented: “Our investment is beyond just building data centers, it’s a testament to our 37-year commitment to Spain, its security, and development and digital transformation of its government, businesses, and people.”
Specific details about the company’s investment in Spain are yet to be confirmed, but it’s reasonable to suspect it will be on similar grounds to other cash injections announced by Microsoft in recent months.
Besides giving the country’s business sector access to better technologies, with the hope of boosting its economy, Microsoft also looks to be increasing its presence across Europe, an area that it’s previously had plenty of trouble with in relation to antitrust allegations, including its own cloud platform.
<<<
---
>>> RELX PLC (RELX), together with its subsidiaries, provides information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Risk; Scientific, Technical & Medical; Legal; and Exhibitions.
The Risk segment offers information-based analytics and decision tools that combine public and industry specific content with technology and algorithms to assist clients in evaluating and predicting risk.
The Scientific, Technical & Medical segment provides information and analytics that help institutions and professionals to progress in science and advance healthcare.
The Legal segment provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers in decision-making, as well as increases the productivity.
The Exhibitions segment is involved in the business that combines face-to-face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products, and complete transactions. The company was formerly known as Reed Elsevier PLC and changed its name to RELX PLC in July 2015. RELX PLC was incorporated in 1903 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
<<<
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/RELX/profile?p=RELX
---
>>> Nestlé S.A. (NSRGY), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and beverage company. The company operates through Zone North America; Zone Europe; Zone Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Zone Latin America; Zone Greater China; Nespresso; and Nestlé Health Science segments. It offers baby foods under the Cerelac, Gerber, Nido, and NaturNes brands; bottled water under the Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, Vittel, Buxton, Erikli, and S.Pellegrino brands; cereals under the Fitness, Nesquik, cheerios, and Lion Cereals brands; and chocolate and confectionery products under the KitKat, Smarties, Aero, Nestle L'atelier, Milkybar, Baci Perugina, Quality Street, and Fitness brands. The company also provides coffee products under the Nescafé, Nespresso, Nescafé Dolce Gusto, Starbucks Coffee At Home, and Blue Bottle Coffee brands; culinary, chilled, and frozen foods under the Maggi, DiGiorno, MEZEAST, Thomy, Garden Gourmet, Sweet Earth, Hot Pockets, Stouffer's, Buitoni, Lean, and Life Cuisine brands; dairy products under the Carnation, Nido, Bear, Coffee-Mate, and La Laitière brands; and drinks under the Nesquik, Nestea, Nescafé, and Milo brands. In addition, it offers food service products under the Milo, Nescafé, Maggi, Chef, Nestea, Stouffer's, Chef-Mate, Sjora, Minor's, and Lean Cuisine brand names; healthcare nutrition products under the Boost, Garden of Life, Nature's Bounty, Persona, Vital Proteins, Solgar, Peptamen, Resource, Vitaflo, Impact, and Compleat brands; ice cream products under the Dreyer's, Movenpick, Häagen-Dazs, Nestlé Ice Cream, and Extrême brands; and pet care products under the Purina, ONE, Alpo, Felix, Pro Plan, Cat Chow, Fancy Feast, Bakers, Friskies, Dog Chow, Beneful, and Gourmet brands. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland.
<<<
---
>>> Bundesbank denies it may need recapitalisation on bond-buying losses
Reuters
June 26, 2023
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/bundesbank-may-need-recapitalisation-cover-bond-buying-losses-ft-2023-06-26/
FRANKFURT, June 26 (Reuters) - Germany's Bundesbank denied on Monday a report that it might need a bailout to cover losses arising from the European Central Bank's bond-buying scheme.
Earlier, the Financial Times had cited a report by Germany's federal audit office as saying possible Bundesbank losses were substantial and could required recapitalisation of the bank with budgetary funds.
The Bundesbank said its balance sheet would probably be considerably burdened in the future by the rapid and strong rise in interest rates in connection with large bond holdings.
In 2023, the financial buffers would probably still be sufficient, it said. After that, the burdens could temporarily exceed the buffers.
However, it said that would not necessarily cause a need for recapitalisation by the federal government. Instead, the Bundesbank would report losses carried forward, which it could offset with future profits.
Even in the case of a loss carry-forward, the Bundesbank's balance sheet would be sound, it said, adding it had considerable own funds, including valuation reserves.
Last year the Bundesbank recorded its first loss in more than four decades as a string of ECB rate hikes cut the value of its bond holdings and generated a loss on ultra cheap loans to commercial banks.
It said at the time that further losses were likely as interest rates keep rising, reducing the value of bonds accumulated during the years when inflation was very low.
The German federal audit office declined to comment on the FT report.
<<<
---
>>> Eurozone sinks into recession as cost of living crisis takes toll
GDP shrank 0.1% in first quarter of 2023 and final three months of 2022 after revisions to earlier estimates
The Guardian
by Richard Partington
Jun 8, 2023
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/08/eurozone-sinks-into-recession-as-cost-of-living-crisis-takes-toll#:~:text=Figures%20from%20Eurostat%2C%20the%20EU's,consecutive%20quarters%20of%20negative%20growth.
The eurozone slipped into recession in the first three months of the year, after official figures were revised to show the bloc’s economy shrank as the rising cost of living weighed on consumer spending.
Figures from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, showed gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2023 and the final three months of 2022 after revisions to earlier estimates. A technical recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
Previous estimates suggested the single-currency bloc had narrowly avoided recession with zero growth in both quarters.
The updated figures showed the wider EU swerved a recession after GDP rose by 0.1% in the first three months of the year, after a contraction of 0.2% in the final quarter of 2022.
The UK avoided entering a recession at the start of the year, while growth in the US also remained positive. However, GDP volumes in the eurozone and the EU are more than 2% higher than the level recorded in the final quarter of 2019 before the Covid pandemic struck – unlike in the UK, where the economy remains 0.5% smaller.
Households across the eurozone have come under pressure from rising living costs after the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered a sharp increase in gas prices, fuelling the highest rates of inflation since the foundation of the single-currency bloc.
With consumers under pressure from the higher energy and food prices, household final consumption dragged down GDP across the euro area by 0.1 percentage points, after a larger 1 percentage-point drop in the previous quarter.
Several eurozone economies were in recession or came close to recording two consecutive quarters of decline, including Germany, the EU’s largest economy. France recorded close to zero growth, with flatlining growth in the fourth quarter and a modest increase of 0.2% in the first three months of 2023.
Growth across the 20-country single currency area was, however, also dragged down by Ireland, where GDP fell by 4.6% in the first quarter of this year. However, economists have questioned whether the country’s GDP figures reflect the performance of the Irish economy.
Inflation across the eurozone has fallen sharply in recent months, with the annual rate cooling from a peak of 10.6% last autumn to reach 6.1% in May – fueling speculation that the European Central Bank could be near the end of its cycle of interest rate increases to tame rapid growth in prices.
Diego Iscaro, the head of European economics at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said evidence of a technical recession was unlikely to dissuade the ECB from raising interest rates at its policy meeting next week.
“We see rates rising by 25 basis points. However, the figures reinforce our view that, while policy rates will rise further in the short term, they are nearing their peak,” he said. “With the effect of higher interest rates still to be fully felt, we project economic activity to remain sluggish during the rest of 2023.”
<<<
---
>>> Business dangers loom as the U.S. and EU converge on ‘de-risking’ from China
Fortune
by Peter Vanham, Chloe Taylor
May 26, 2023
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/business-dangers-loom-u-eu-101911864.html
Good morning, Peter Vanham here in Geneva, filling in for Alan.
It’s the chronicle of a death foretold: Germany, Europe’s largest economy, entered a recession yesterday. The recession was widely expected, but beneath its surface lies a major dilemma for the German economy: to “de-risk” or depend on China, that’s the question.
The question became acute because Germany’s engine sputtered partially due to faltering exports to China. German companies saw an 11.3% drop in their exports to the world’s second-largest economy so far, whereas most other European economies exported more. What happened?
Part of it can be brought back to conventional factors. Cars typically represent a large share of German exports, but Chinese consumers are increasingly buying Chinese brands, and government subsidies which pushed German car sales higher last year, ended.
Since a few months, though, there is another major factor, and it is one that represents a seismic shift: German politicians are steering their companies away from China.
The country’s political leaders won’t go as far as some in the U.S. have, pursuing a policy of “decoupling”. But Europe’s largest economy is increasingly aligning with the U.S., anyway.
“The U.S. and the European Union have converged on using the term 'de-risking' [from China], and Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized the term in his [G7] speech as well,” Costanze Stelzenmueller, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings told me.
A few months ago, leaked documents also indicated “Germany’s foreign ministry wants to take a tougher line on China and push companies to reduce their dependency on Beijing”, Politico reported.
It means German executives still depending on China, and wanting to expand their market share there, such as Siemens, are facing an uphill battle. “I will defend my market share, and if I can, I will expand it,” Siemens CEO Roland Busch told the Financial Times this week.
Back in the U.S., Nvidia chief Jensen Huang also warned about the consequences of the G7’s desire to de-risk from China. “There is no other China, there is only one China,” he said this week, warning of “enormous damage to American companies” if the trade in chips stopped.
But if exports falter, and the notion of “economic dependency” becomes a political problem on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s hard to see how this wouldn’t have any long-term effects.
CEO Daily is off on Monday for Memorial Day. We'll see you back here Tuesday. More news below.
Peter Vanham
Executive Editor
peter.vanham@fortune.com
@petervanham
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
<<<
---
>>> Aptiv PLC (APTV) engages in design, manufacture, and sale of vehicle components worldwide. The company provides electrical, electronic, and safety technology solutions to the automotive and commercial vehicle markets. It operates in two segments, Signal and Power Solutions, and Advanced Safety and User Experience. The Signal and Power Solutions segment designs, manufactures, and assembles vehicle's electrical architecture, including engineered component products, connectors, wiring assemblies and harnesses, cable management products, electrical centers, and hybrid high voltage and safety distribution systems. The Advanced Safety and User Experience segment provides critical technologies and services for vehicle safety, security, comfort, and convenience, such as sensing and perception systems, electronic control units, multi-domain controllers, vehicle connectivity systems, application software, autonomous driving technologies, and end-to-end DevOps tools. The company was formerly known as Delphi Automotive PLC and changed its name to Aptiv PLC in December 2017. Aptiv PLC was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.
<<<
---
>>> L'Oréal S.A. (LRLCY), through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic products for women and men worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Consumer Products, L'oréal Luxe, Professional Products, and Active Cosmetics. It offers shampoos, hair care products, shower gels, skin care products, cleansers, hair colors, styling products, deodorants, sun care products, make-up, perfumes, etc. The company provides its products under the L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, NYX Professional Makeup, Essie, Niely, Dark and Lovely, Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent Beauté, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Kiehl's, Urban Decay, Biotherm, Ralph Lauren, IT Cosmetics, L'Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Redken, Matrix, Biolage, Pureology, Decléor, Carita, Vichy, La Roche-Posay, SkinCeuticals, Roger&Gallet, CeraVe, Stylenanda, Mixa, Magic Mask, Prada, Helena Rubinstein, Valentino, Mugler, Shu Uemura, Viktor&Rolf, Azzaro, Diesel, Atelier Cologne, Cacharel, and Yue Sai brands. It sells its products through distribution channels, such as hair salons, mass-market retail channels, perfumeries, department stores, pharmacies, drugstores, medispas, branded retail, travel retail, and e-commerce. L'Oréal S.A. was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Clichy, France.
<<<
---
Qiagen - >>> Strong core growth offsets dwindling COVID-19 demand for Qiagen
Reuters
February 7, 2023
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/strong-core-growth-offsets-dwindling-210500265.html
BERLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Medical diagnostics company Qiagen offset a sharp fall in demand for COVID-19 products at the end of the year with a strong performance in its core businesses, the company said, announcing its full-year and fourth quarter results on Tuesday.
Fourth quarter revenues came in at $498 million, a 14% fall compared with the same period last year. Revenues from COVID products fell 64% to $66 million, but this was offset by strong growth in non-COVID products, where revenues rose 8% to $432 million.
For 2023, the molecular diagnostics test maker expects revenues of $2.05 billion, compared with $2.14 billion for 2022, and an adjusted profit per share of $2.10.
"We have positioned Qiagen well to successfully navigate 2023's volatile macroeconomic environment," said Chief Executive Thierry Bernard.
<<<
---
>>> Central Bank’s $143 Billion Record Loss Costs Swiss Government Usual Payout
Bloomberg
by Bastian Benrath
January 9, 2023
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/central-bank-132-billion-record-063017399.html
Central Bank’s $143 Billion Record Loss Costs Swiss Government Usual Payout
(Bloomberg) -- Switzerland’s government will not receive a payout from the Swiss National Bank for 2022, as the central bank projects the biggest loss in its 116-year history.
The SNB expects an annual loss of about 132 billion francs ($143 billion), more than five times the previous record, it said Monday in preliminary results. The largest part of this, 131 billion francs, stems from collapsed valuations of its large pile of holdings in foreign currencies, accrued as a result of decade-long purchases to weaken the franc.
The value of the SNB’s foreign-exchange reserves fell some 17% last year. As of December, it held 784 billion francs, down from 945 billion francs a year earlier. Still, the year-end number exceeds the gross domestic product of Saudi Arabia.
Positions in Swiss francs saw a valuation loss of around 1 billion francs, while the SNB earned about 400 million francs on its gold holdings.
It is only the second time since the SNB was established in 1906 that it has to skip its yearly payment to the federal government and Swiss cantons, forcing many of the 26 administrative districts to adjust their spending plans. For 2021, the institution had paid out 6 billion francs.
The conference of cantonal finance chiefs told SDA that while the loss is “regrettable,” interim earnings had suggested such an outcome. “It’s an established fact that SNB profits fluctuate widely and distributions cannot be taken for granted,” the body was cited as saying.
Broader Trend
The 2022 loss in Switzerland is one of the most startling examples of how the global environment of rising interest rates has shifted the financial backdrop for central banks with associated fiscal consequences.
In the neighboring euro zone, national central bank governors face increasing pressure to explain why contributions to domestic public finances from their activities are ceasing. In the UK, the Bank of England is no longer paying into the public purse and instead is receiving transfers from the Treasury to cover projected losses in its bond-buying program.
The SNB’s private shareholders will not receive a dividend for 2022 either. Unlike other central banks, the Swiss institution is a publicly traded joint-stock company, with about half the shares held by the public sector and the rest by companies and private individuals.
Earnings from the SNB’s operations don’t influence monetary policy. Final results are due on March 6.
<<<
---
Steris - >>> Buy These 2 Evergreen Growth Stocks Today to Beat the Bear Market Blues
Motley Fool
By Alex Carchidi
Oct 30, 2022
https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/10/30/buy-these-2-evergreen-growth-stocks-today-to-beat/?source=eptyholnk0000202&utm_source=yahoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article
KEY POINTS
Steris isn't going to be out of business unless hospitals stop sterilizing their spaces.
Costco's warehouses are popular destinations, especially in difficult economic times.
Thin margins aren't scary for companies that can count on massive sales volume.
Both have loyal and long-term customers, as well as plenty of accessible growth for years to come.
Regardless of the market's daily gyrations, the downtrend over the last year is enough to rattle many investors. It can get pretty discouraging to see your portfolio falling week after week, and it's even harder to see this happen without knowing for how long the market can fall.
Nonetheless, right now's the time when the fortunes of 2030 are being made. With the right investments in businesses that have long-term appreciation potential, you could at least feel a bit better about what's happening in the present.
There are a couple of stocks that are particularly alluring right now, so let's dive into a discussion of each.
1. Steris
Steris (STE -0.03%) makes the sterilization products that your doctor's office uses to keep its clinical areas safe, clean, and ready for patients, which is what makes it a prime candidate for a long-term investment.
Indeed, 80% of its revenue, which totaled more than $3.1 billion in 2021, is from recurring sales of things that healthcare companies will always need more of, like antiseptic wipes and disinfectants. The rest is from sales of its capital equipment, which includes products like autoclaves that are designed for customers to use to sterilize their tools and to render biohazard waste safely disposable.
Furthermore, because hospitals need to sterilize practically everything, the more people who utilize healthcare and the more procedures that hospitals perform, the more demand there will be for Steris' goods and services. That means population growth is a driver of future returns, as is the advancement of medical technologies that enable more conditions to be treated.
Importantly, healthcare systems need Steris' offerings regardless of how dire economic conditions are, as they can't provide their services to patients otherwise. So when management estimates that the company's total revenue will grow at between 5% and 9% every year for the long term, it's a pretty safe bet that they're right.
And over the years, that'll add up into tidy returns for shareholders, especially thanks to the stock's dividend. It grew 147% over the last 10 years and currently has a forward yield of around 1.1%.
2. Costco
Costco Wholesale (COST 0.45%) is another growth stock that could be a source of portfolio optimism during this bear market if you invest. The company's network of 838 warehouses are favorites among consumers as they're where you can find cheap but decent-quality goods sold in bulk. Costco charges a membership fee of $60 per year for the privilege of shopping at its locations, and 92.6% of its members renew every year, so it has a customer base that's quite loyal on average.
Part of its pitch to investors is that it's always going to be selling the groceries, gasoline, clothing, medicines, and practically everything else that consumers are going to need, and it can always pad its profit margin by hiking the membership fee. In its 2021 fiscal year, Costco brought in more than $192 billion in sales, making it among the largest companies in the world.
What's more, despite its razor-thin profit margin, it has a long history of growing its earnings year after year. In the last 10 years, its trailing-12-month net income rose by 224%, and thanks to constantly adding new product and service offerings, it should be able to do roughly the same in the next 10 years without changing anything significant about its business model.
With such steady earnings growth, it's no surprise the company opts to pay a dividend, which it hikes frequently. While its forward yield of around only 0.7% won't make investors rich quickly, Costco occasionally pays special dividends when it has extra cash, such as most recently in late 2020.
Even if its shares dip during this bear market, this business isn't going anywhere, and in the long run, its ongoing expansion into Canada and other international locales only furthers its prospects -- making this a good growth stock to bet on today.
<<<
---
>>> Linde Inaugurates World's First Hydrogen Refueling System for Passenger Trains
Accesswire
Linde plc
August 24, 2022
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/linde-inaugurates-worlds-first-hydrogen-085000823.html
WOKING, UK / ACCESSWIRE / August 24, 2022 / Linde (NYSE: LIN; FWB: LIN) today announced it has inaugurated the world's first hydrogen refueling system for passenger trains in Bremervörde, Germany.
Linde's hydrogen refueling system, which it built, owns and operates, will refuel 14 hydrogen-powered passenger trains, enabling each train to run for 1,000 km emission-free on a single refueling. It has a total capacity of around 1,600 kg of hydrogen per day, making it one of the largest hydrogen refueling systems ever built. Linde's future-ready hydrogen refueling system has been designed and constructed with the ability to integrate future on-site green hydrogen generation. The new hydrogen trains will replace existing diesel-powered trains.
"Linde is committed to making a significant contribution towards decarbonizing transport in Europe," said Veerle Slenders, President Region Europe West, Linde. "We are proud that Linde's innovative technology plays a key role in supporting this project and establishing a blueprint for cleaner public transport systems around the world."
"The world's first hydrogen train, the Coradia iLint, demonstrates a clear commitment to green mobility combined with the latest technology," said Müslüm Yakisan, President of Alstom in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. "We are very proud to see the first series operation in action together with our partners Linde, LNVG and evb."
Linde is a global leader in the production, processing, storage and distribution of hydrogen. It has the largest liquid hydrogen capacity and distribution system in the world. The company operates the world's first high-purity hydrogen storage cavern plus pipeline networks totaling approximately 1,000 kilometers globally, to reliably supply its customers. Linde is at the forefront in the transition to clean hydrogen and has installed over 200 hydrogen fueling stations and 80 hydrogen electrolysis plants worldwide. The company offers the latest hydrogen technologies through its world class engineering organization, key alliances and partnerships.
About Linde
Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2021 sales of $31 billion (€26 billion). We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain and protect our planet.
The company serves a variety of end markets including chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde's industrial gases are used in countless applications, from life-saving oxygen for hospitals to high-purity & specialty gases for electronics manufacturing, hydrogen for clean fuels and much more. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.
<<<
---
>>> ECB ends bond buys, signals rate hikes; yields rise
Reuters
June 9, 2022
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/instant-view-ecb-ends-bond-122739772.html
LONDON (Reuters) - The European Central Bank confirmed on Thursday it will end a long-running bond buying scheme on July 1 and signaled a string of interest rate hikes from July as it battles stubbornly high inflation.
With price growth surging last month to a record-high 8.1% and broadening quickly, the ECB is rolling back stimulus measures it has had in place for most of the last decade.
It aims to stop rapid price growth from seeping into the broader economy and becoming perpetuated via a hard-to-break wage-price spiral.
MARKET REACTION:
The euro is volatile after the rate decision while money markets have ramped up bets of more policy tightening from the central bank by the end of 2022. Benchmark 10-year German bond yields climbed to fresh eight-year highs at 1.41%.
REACTION:
BILL PAPADAKIS, MACRO STRATEGIST, LOMBARD ODIER:
"The possibility of a larger increase from September raises the risk of an ECB policy mistake."
“Markets currently point to an ECB policy rate peaking above 2%. We think this would make monetary policy restrictive, and doubt that the euro region’s economy could sustain such tight conditions, given its present challenges."
SANDRA HOLDSWORTH, HEAD OF UK RATES, AGEON ASSET MANAGEMENT:
“It gave a strong signal that more increases are to come in the future – in its words, ‘a gradual and sustained path of increases in interest rates’. It also highlighted the possibility of a larger increase in rates in September, making this meeting its most hawkish to date by far.
MARCHEL ALEXANDROVICH, EUROPEAN ECONOMIST, SALTMARSH ECONOMICS, LONDON:
"It is a hawkish pivot, what they are delivering now is not just one or two rate hikes but a clear message that they will have to get rates a lot higher over the coming quarters. She talks about gradualism but in reality there is not a lot in here that backs it up - the forecasts speak for themselves and that suggests a series of rate hikes.
Markets were used to the ECB being consistently dovish so it won't be one and done but that's not the message she's sending with the forecasts."
TD SECURITIES:
"ECB institutionalized dovishness wins out by essentially saying that it "intends to" hike by 25bp in July. The ECB did throw a bone to the hawks by opening the door to a 50bp hike in September if high inflation is sustained."
ANDREW KENNIGHAM, CHIEF EUROPE ECONOMIST, CAPITAL ECONOMICS:
"The failure to provide any new details about a possible backstop QE programme means peripheral bonds will remain vulnerable to a sell-off."
"The most significant thing about the statement is what it does not say. There is no new detail whatsoever about the putative “spread-fighting tool” which is intended to prevent peripheral spreads widening too far."
"All eyes now turn to the press conference, beginning at 13:30 BST (14.30 CET). We suspect she will be unable to provide more detail about a possible backstop programme which in turn means that investors are likely eventually to test the ECB’s resolve."
BAS VAN GEFFEN, SENIOR MACRO STRATEGIST, RABOBANK:
"They did add an explicit caveat that they may consider a bigger hike to be warranted in September, depending on the inflation outlook by then. So basically they are putting more weight on the updated projections in a three months from now."
"So in the longer term, that does make it look a bit more hawkish perhaps, which I would say explains that seesaw in market."
HETAL MEHTA, SENIOR EUROPEAN ECONOMIST, LEGAL & GENERAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT:
“The central bank will hope that it will not need to construct another programme to support Italy. Persistently low yields over the last eight years have allowed the Italian Treasury to refinance existing debt at lower funding costs, significantly reducing its debt servicing costs and making its high debt burden more manageable. Higher ECB interest rates and Italian borrowing costs call into question Italian debt sustainability.”
ANNA STUPNYTSKA, GLOBAL ECONOMIST, FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL:
"We believe it will be difficult for the ECB to execute a rapid return of policy rates into positive territory given the growth and fragmentation constraints and the tightening path will be less steep and shorter than what is currently implied by market pricing. While a new spread management tool might help prevent spread fragmentation, it will not be a silver bullet as will likely bring a new set of issues for the ECB, including moral hazard.”
ROBERT ALSTER, CEO, CLOSE BROTHERS ASSET MANAGEMENT CIO:
“Holding rates at minus 0.5% despite record inflation, the ECB looks late to the party compared to the Fed. The ECB does appear to be joining the 'hike-brigade' but we do not expect Europe to attempt to overtake the Fed. Rather, the ECB is simply following the US lead, and we do not expect more aggressive tightening whilst the war in Ukraine continues to weight on sentiment.”
SAM COOPER, VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKET RISK SOLUTIONS, SILICON VALLEY BANK:
“Euro direction will be dictated by the timing and the pace of future interest rate hikes beyond July, in particular any hints that we could observe increases in 0.50% installments rather than 0.25%. Focus will now turn to ECB President Lagarde at the upcoming press conference, any deviation from market expectations could send further shockwaves to the euro and the wider FX market.”
ARNE PETIMEZAS, SENIOR ANALYSTS, AFS GROUP, AMSTERDAM:
"I think it is pretty weak. I don't understand why they don't end negative rates at one go in July. Instead they fix July at 25bps. They also make the same mistake of lowballing inflation in their new forecasts. 50bps in September is thus very likely. The 'sustained' and 'gradual' language suggest they see more hikes in 2023 than is currently priced in by OIS. It would be better if they acted more forcefully in the near term instead of pushing things out to the future, which as we all know is very uncertain."
<<<
---
>>> Here's Why You Should Hold STERIS (STE) Stock in Your Portfolio
Zacks Equity Research
May 17, 2022
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-why-hold-steris-ste-134101330.html
STERIS plc STE has been gaining from a robust performance across three of its reporting segments in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. A significant revenue contribution from acquisitions in the quarter buoys optimism. However, mounting operating expenses and stiff competition are concerning.
Over the past year, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 11.2% against the industry’s 15.4% rise. The S&P 500 fell 3.2% in the same period.
The renowned provider of infection prevention as well as other procedural products and services has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion. Its earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%.
Let’s delve deeper
Factors at Play
Impressive Q4 Results: STERIS exited fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 with better-than-expected earnings and revenues. Year-over-year growth in revenues and earnings appears promising. Robust performances across three of STERIS’ reporting segments contributed to top-line growth. A significant revenue contribution from acquisitions in the quarter buoys optimism. The expansion in the gross margin is an added advantage. The bullish guidance for fiscal 2023 is indicative that the growth momentum will continue.
STERIS' Infection Prevention and Sterilization Wing Grows Globally: With the acquisition of the U.K.-based outsourced sterilization services provider Synergy Health, STERIS has become the new global leader in infection prevention and sterilization. The company is currently providing improved healthcare services to medical device companies, pharma companies, hospitals and other healthcare facilities across the globe.
The company continues to benefit from the acquisition of Synergy Health. The consolidation has boosted STERIS' presence in the international markets since its inception, as it combines STERIS’ strong presence in North America with Synergy's solid footprint across Europe, which is encouraging. It has also provided STERIS an opportunity to better serve the emerging markets of the Asia-Pacific and Latin America.
Overall Strong Solvency Position: STERIS exited fiscal 2022 with cash and cash equivalents of $348.3 million compared with $220.5 million at the end of fiscal 2021. Total debt (short and long term) at the end of 2022 was $2.95 billion compared with $1.65 billion a year ago. However, the company has no short-term debt on its balance sheet at the end of fiscal 2022. This is good news for its solvency level, at least during the pandemic when companies have been majorly facing manufacturing and supply halts.
Downsides
Mounting Expenses: In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, SG&A expenses climbed 105.2% year over year, whereas R&D expenses rose 49% year over year. These escalating operating expenses led to an 858-basis-points (bps) contraction in the operating margin, building pressure on the bottom line.
Competitive Landscape: STERIS competes for pharmaceutical, research and industrial customers against several large companies that have robust product portfolios and global reach, and a number of small companies with limited product offerings and operations in one or a few countries. In the Healthcare segment, STERIS’ notable competitors are 3M, Belimed, Ecolab, Getinge, Go Jo, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Skytron and Stryker.
Estimate Trend
STERIS has been witnessing a positive estimate revision trend for fiscal 2023. In the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for STERIS’ earnings has moved 0.1% north to $8.79.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2023 revenues is pegged at $4.89 billion, suggesting 6.7% growth from the fiscal 2022 reported number.
<<<
---
>>> Accenture Gains on New Guidance, Cloud Driving Record Bookings
Investing.com
March 17, 2022
By Dhirendra Tripathi
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/accenture-gains-guidance-cloud-driving-081030394.html
Investing.com – Accenture (NYSE:ACN) stock jumped 4.5% in premarket trading Thursday as the company raised its annual guidance one more time after grabbing market share in the second quarter.
The company now sees annual revenue rising 24-26% in local currency and profit per share between $10.61-$10.81. At the time of the last revision in December, revenue growth was seen at 19-22% and EPS at $10.32-$10.60.
The company saw record quarterly bookings in both consulting and outsourcing of $10.9 billion and $8.7 billion, respectively, riding on increasing appetite among clients for spending on technology as they pivot to digital. Demand for cloud and security-related services, Accenture’s forte, was strong in the recent quarter through February.
The company’s clients include more than three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500 companies across communications, media, and technology as well as financial services industries.
Geographically, U.S. grew the most, at 26%, followed by Europe at 24%. Growth markets also rose a strong 22%.
Revenue in the second quarter topped $15 billion, rising 24% in U.S. dollars and around $300 million above the top end of the company’s guided range of $14.30 billion-$14.75 billion.
Operating margin was unchanged from last year at 13.7%. Profit per share rose 25% to $2.54, reflecting a mix of higher revenue and lower non-operating expenses.
<<<
>>> Accenture Boosts Revenue Forecast. The Stock Is Rising.
Barron's
By Joe Woelfel
March 17, 2022
https://www.barrons.com/articles/accenture-acn-stock-earnings-revenue-forecast-51647506664?siteid=yhoof2
Accenture shares were rising in premarket trading Thursday after the management consulting company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts and boosted its fiscal-year revenue outlook.
Accenture (ticker: ACN) stock was up 5% to $340.99.
Accenture reported second-quarter earnings of $2.54 a share on revenue of $15.05 billion.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected Accenture to report fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.37 a share on revenue of $14.65 billion. A year earlier, Accenture earned $2.23 a share on revenue of $12.09 billion.
New bookings in the second quarter were a record $19.6 billion.
The company said it expects fiscal-year revenue to rise 24% to 26%, higher than its previous forecast of up 19% to 22%. It expects earnings of $10.61 to $10.81 a share, an increase of 21% to 23% from adjusted profit in fiscal 2021 of $8.80; Accenture previously expected fiscal 2022 earnings of between $10.32 to $10.60.
<<<
>>> Chubb Limited (CB) provides insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. The company's North America Commercial P&C Insurance segment offers commercial property, casualty, workers' compensation, package policies, risk management, financial lines, marine, construction, environmental, medical, cyber risk, surety, and excess casualty; and group accident and health insurance to large, middle market, and small commercial businesses. Its North America Personal P&C Insurance segment provides affluent and high net worth individuals and families with homeowners, automobile and collector cars, valuable articles, personal and excess liability, travel insurance, and recreational marine insurance and services. The company's North America Agricultural Insurance segment offers multiple peril crop and crop-hail insurance; and coverage for farm and ranch property, and commercial agriculture products. Its Overseas General Insurance segment provides coverage for traditional commercial property and casualty; specialty categories, such as financial lines, marine, energy, aviation, political risk, and construction risk; and group accident and health, and traditional and specialty personal lines for corporations, middle markets, and small customers through retail brokers, agents, and other channels. The company's Global Reinsurance segment offers traditional and specialty reinsurance under the Chubb Tempest Re brand to property and casualty companies. Its Life Insurance segment provides protection and savings products comprising whole life, endowment plans, individual term life, group term life, medical and health, personal accident, credit life, universal life, and unit linked contracts. The company markets its products primarily through insurance and reinsurance brokers. The company was formerly known as ACE Limited and changed its name to Chubb Limited in January 2016. Chubb Limited was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
<<<
>>> Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO), a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity care, and Biopharm. The Diabetes and Obesity care segment provides products in the areas of insulins, GLP-1 and related delivery systems, oral antidiabetic products, obesity, and other chronic diseases. The Biopharmaceuticals segment offers products in the areas of haemophilia, growth disorders, and hormone replacement therapy. The company collaboration agreements with Gilead Sciences, Inc. Novo Nordisk A/S also has a research collaboration with Lumen Bioscience, Inc. to explore strategies for delivering oral biologics for cardiometabolic disease. The company was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.
<<<
>>> AstraZeneca PLC (AZN), a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
<<<
>>> STERIS plc (STE) provides infection prevention and other procedural products and services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, and Life Sciences. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; accessories for gastrointestinal (GI) procedures, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services. It also provides capital equipment installation, maintenance, upgradation, repair, and troubleshooting services; preventive maintenance programs and repair services; instrument and endoscope repair and maintenance services; and custom process improvement consulting and outsourced instrument sterile processing services. This segment offers its products and services to acute care hospitals and other healthcare settings. The Applied Sterilization Technologies segment provides contract sterilization and testing services for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers through a network of approximately 50 contract sterilization and laboratory facilities. The Life Sciences segment designs, manufactures and sells consumable products, such as formulated cleaning chemistries, barrier and sterility assurance products, steam and vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilizers, and washer disinfectors. This segment also offers equipment installation, maintenance, upgradation, repair, and troubleshooting services; and preventive maintenance programs and repair services. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.
<<<
>>> ICON PLC (ICLR), a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. It offers clinical development services, including early development, patient recruitment and retention, strategy and analytics, late phase research, data and technology solution, and consulting and analytics services. The company's clinical development services also comprise medical imaging, clinical research and laboratory services, project management, site monitoring and management services, data management, biostatistics and programming, medical writing and publishing, medical affair, endpoint adjudication/data monitoring committees, pharmacovigilance, interactive response technologies, clinical supplies management, strategic regulatory, medical communication, and consulting and advisory services. It serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, as well as government and public health organizations. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
<<<
>>> Symrise AG (SYIEY) supplies fragrances, flavorings, cosmetic active ingredients and raw materials, and functional ingredients. It operates through two segments, Taste, Nutrition & Health, and Scent & Care. The Taste, Nutrition & Health segment provides functional ingredients and flavor solutions used in the production of food and beverages; savory flavors; natural and sustainable ingredients for food and beverage manufacturers, baby food, and dietary supplements; product solutions and services for pet food manufacturers; sustainable ingredients and services for aqua feed manufacturers to develop solutions for fish and shrimp farms; and probiotics for food supplements and functional foods. The Scent & Care segment develops, produces, and sells fragrance ingredients and compositions, aroma molecules, cosmetic ingredients, and mint flavors, as well as specific application processes for such substances. This segment's products are used by manufacturers of perfumes, personal care and cosmetic products, cleaning products, detergents, air fresheners, and oral care products. It operates in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Symrise AG was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Holzminden, Germany.
<<<
>>> Givaudan SA (GVDNY), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, supplies, and sells fragrance, beauty, taste, and wellbeing products to the consumer goods industry. The company operates through in divisions, Fragrance & Beauty, and Taste & Wellbeing. The Fragrance & Beauty division offers fine fragrances, consumer products, and fragrance ingredients and active beauty products. The Taste & Wellbeing division provides beverages, such as carbonated soft drinks, juices, bottled waters, ready-to-drink products, alcoholic beverages, hot drinks, and others; dairy and cheese products, including dairy drinks, yoghurt, ice cream, chilled desserts, cream cheese, and spreads; snacks comprising rice crackers and cassava chips; savory and nutraceutical products; and biscuits, crackers, and cereals, as well as confectionery products, such as chewing gums, chocolates, and sweets. It operates in Switzerland, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1796 and is headquartered in Vernier, Switzerland.
<<<
>>> Accenture plc (ACN), a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, interactive, and technology and operations services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management, intelligent automation comprises robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents, and liquid application management services, as well as program, project, and service management services; strategy consulting services; critical data elements, data management and governance, data platform and architecture, product-based organization and skills, business adoption, and value realization services; engineering, and research and development digitization; smart connected product design and development; product platform engineering and modernization; product as-a-service enablement; products related to production and operations; autonomous robotics systems; the digital transformation of capital projects; and digital industrial workforce solutions. It also provides data-enabled operating models; technology consulting and artificial intelligence services; services related to talent and organization/human potential; digital commerce; infrastructure services, such as hybrid cloud, network, digital workplace and collaboration, service and experience management, infrastructure as code, and managed edge and IoT devices; cyber defense, applied cybersecurity, managed security, OT security, security strategy and risk, and industry security products; services related to technology innovation; and intelligent automation services. In addition, the company offers cloud, ecosystem, marketing, supply chain management, zero-based budgeting, customer experience, finance consulting, mergers and acquisitions, and sustainability services. Accenture plc was founded in 1951 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.
<<<
>>> Nestle S.A. (NSRGY), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and beverage company. The company operates through Zone Europe, Middle East and North Africa; Zone Americas; and Zone Asia, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa segments. It offers baby foods under the Cerelac, Gerber, Nido, and NaturNes brands; bottled water under the Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, and S.Pellegrino brands; cereals under the Fitness, Nesquik, cheerios, and Lion Cereals brands; and chocolate and confectionery products under the KitKat, Nestle L'atelier, Nestle Toll House, Milkybar, Smarties, Quality Street, Aero, Garoto, Orion, and Cailler brands. The company also provides coffee products under the Nescafé, Nespresso, Nescafé Dolce Gusto, Starbucks Coffee At Home, and Blue Bottle Coffee brands; culinary, chilled, and frozen foods under the Maggi, Hot Pockets, Stouffer's, Thomy, Jacks, TombStone, Herta, Buitoni, DiGiorno, and Lean Cuisine brands; dairy products under the Carnation, Nido, Coffee-Mate, and La Laitière brands; and drinks under the Nesquik, Nestea, Nescafé, and Milo brands. In addition, it offers food service products under the Milo, Nescafé, Maggi, Chef, Nestea, Stouffer's, Chef-Mate, Sjora, Minor's, and Lean Cuisine brand names; healthcare nutrition products under the Boost, Peptamen, Resource, Optifast, and Nutren Junior brands; ice cream products under the Dreyer's, Mövenpick, Häagen-Dazs, Nestlé Ice Cream, and Extrême brands; and pet care products under the Purina, ONE, Alpo, Felix, Pro Plan, Cat Chow, Fancy Feast, Bakers, Friskies, Dog Chow, Beneful, and Gourmet brands. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland.
<<<
Name | Symbol | Assets |
---|---|---|
Nestle SA | NESN | 2.82% |
ASML Holding NV | ASML | 2.20% |
Roche Holding AG | ROG | 2.13% |
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE | MC.PA | 1.58% |
Novartis AG | NOVN | 1.55% |
AstraZeneca PLC | AZN.L | 1.27% |
SAP SE | SAP.DE | 1.25% |
Unilever PLC | ULVR.L | 1.23% |
Novo Nordisk A/S B | NOVO B | 1.09% |
Siemens AG | SIE.DE | 0.96% |
Volume | |
Day Range: | |
Bid Price | |
Ask Price | |
Last Trade Time: |