It’s only early in the financial-reporting season for European companies. But macro bears will already be able to find all the doom and gloom they could ever want. Three consumer-facing groups plunged in value on Thursday after disappointing announcements.
The surprise is that investors weren’t braced for the news. Granted, ubiquitous rate hikes in Western economies haven’t translated into soaring unemployment. But pricey recipe kits and premium toilet paper are relatively easy ways for pinched consumers to save money. Before the results, all three companies were priced at a premium to the STOXX Europe 600 Index
using 12-month forward price to earnings multiples, suggesting possible shareholder complacency. After Thursday’s bruising falls, investors are unlikely to get caught napping again.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Breakingviews - Meme investors could spoil AMC’s next actAfter raising $1.8 billion from retail investor-fueled share sales in 2021, AMC Entertainment’s boss Adam Aron pushed unorthodox governance workarounds to keep the movie theater chain afloat. Now, those meme-stock traders are holding his feet to the fire.
Read more »
Breakingviews - BlackRock’s Aramco embrace makes sense in a vacuumBlackRock is embracing the world’s largest oil company. The $109 billion asset manager run by Larry Fink said on Monday it would add Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser to its 16-strong board. Cozying up to the boss of the state-controlled energy giant could invite a political firestorm at home. But judged through an investment lens the appointment makes sense.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Morgan Stanley and MUFG’s next act is well-timedA Wall Street stalwart and Japan’s biggest bank by market value on Tuesday unveiled the second act of a 15-year alliance that has established itself as the envy of its peers. Morgan Stanley and the $94 billion Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are tapping deeper into a good thing at the right time.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Next Gucci CEO may have toughest job in luxuryGucci is getting a new look. Owner Kering late on Tuesday announced that the label’s CEO Marco Bizzarri is stepping down, while the French parent group’s managing director Jean-François Palus will take the brand’s reins in Milan for a transitional period. The Italian fashion house brought in 60% of the 64 billion euro company's EBITDA last year. Kering’s Paris-listed shares rose 6% on Wednesday.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Britain upgrades to also-ran in EV battery raceTata Group is dragging the UK car industry off the hard shoulder. Helped by as yet undisclosed financial subsidies, the Indian conglomerate will build a 40 gigawatt hour (GWh) factory in Somerset, the country’s first of such a scale. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is joining the global arms race to secure future industries, but he has a long way to go.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Post-it maker 3M is in danger of coming unstuck3M’s pollution prevention pride came long before its looming fall. The sprawling industrial conglomerate in 1975 helped pioneer corporate sustainability by aiming to stop harmful contaminants in its manufacturing processes, an initiative showcased on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website even today, nearly five decades later. Billions of dollars in touted cost savings from the efforts, however, won’t be enough to cover the legal liabilities related to long-lasting chemicals that now threaten the company’s sacrosanct dividend and may eventually exact an even steeper cost.
Read more »