What’s going on? Burberry is feeling so optimistic about the luxury industry that it lifted its sales forecast for Q1/2021. What does that mean? The pandemic is thought to have overwhelmed luxury retailers like Burberry. But as China and South Korea is starting to spend lavishly again, Burberry’s expecting sales to be up by nearly 1/3…
Author: Finterest
Ep 147: JD.com’s glow and China’s digital future
What’s going on? Online retail giant JD.com reported better-than-expected results, after China proved it’s leaning into a digital future. What does that mean? JD.com’s been making the most of the pandemic, reporting an expectation-beating 31% sales jump in Q4/2020. While in-house delivery is what sets JD apart from Alibaba (which relies on 3rd-party couriers), investors are…
Ep 146: Gold is not thought to be such strong protection
What’s going on? BlackRock thinks that gold might not protect investors that much. What does that mean? Gold is typically thought of as a hedge: protecting investors from inflation by rising alongside the prices of goods and services and stock market drops (given that investors usually buy gold in bear times). But BlackRock thinks there…
Ep 145: Eurozone bond yields are promised not to rise
What’s going on? The European Central Bank promised to keep eurozone bond yields from rising. What does that mean? Like the US, the eurozone’s pumped lots of money into the economy to keep things stable throughout the pandemic. Now that a recovery’s near, investors are worried that those money would lead to inflation, forcing the…
Ep 144: FED Chairman reaffirmed the easy-money policies
What’s going on? Jerome Powell believes that the US economy is still quite far from its targets of 2%-inflation and full employment. This is the core basis for the FED to continue to maintain the current easy-money policies. Easy money occurs when FED wants to stimulate the economy and lower the unemployment rate. In general,…
Ep 143: Oil price reaches its 1-year peak
What’s going on? Brent oil price has reach $71/barrel – the highest level since May 2019 on the expectation of increasing demand when the global economy reopens; along with the decreasing supply. What does that mean? The supply cut is expected in the near future as: OPEC and Russia have reached the consensus to continue cutting…
Ep 142: HSBC’s better-than-expected quarterly earnings and Asian expansion plan
What’s going on? HSBC posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings It admitted it’ll need to start expanding into Asia sooner. What does that mean? HSBC has had two big challenges lately: it’s been making less from lending due to ultra-low interest rates, while simultaneously having to set aside enough cash for bad debt allowances; Even though last quarter’s…
Ep 141: Allied wins G4S takeover
What’s going on? A bidding war for G4S – the world’s biggest security firm – came to an end, with Allied winning over GardaWorld, and G4S shares dropped by their most in a year. What does that mean? A rise in the fear of terror attacks has led to a rise in the global security market,…
Ep 140: Oil price is expected to increase substantially
What’s going on? The oil price is expected to increase substantially sooner than Goldman Sachs thought. What does that mean? Demand for oil has finally started rebounding from 2020, with price increasing by more than 20% this year. But Goldman thinks that it’s only the beginning: it will rise another 20% by Q3. Some reasons:…
Ep 139: Plant-based milk company Oatly files for IPO in secret
What’s going on? Sweden-based Oatly – the maker of vegan food and drink products – has submitted plans for an IPO with possible valuation of more than $5 billion Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse have been hired as underwriters on the offering. What does that mean? Oatly has been distributing through partnerships with cafes in…
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