What’s Going On Here? PepsiCo reported better-than-expected second-quarter sales and profit – but its shares didn’t fizz. What Does This Mean? Last quarter, Pepsi’s “organic” revenue growth (excluding the impact of bought businesses and currency swings – rising US dollar’s value) was 4.5%, beating investors’ forecasts. Compared to the same time last year, Pepsi sold more actual products, and,…
Category: Daily News
Ep 43: We The People
What’s Going On Here? A new report from investment bank Morgan Stanley advises clients to shy away from stocks – but WeWork may have a workaround for that… What Does This Mean? Global stock markets are up 16% this year. But with economic conditions worsening worldwide, Morgan Stanley thinks that company profit forecasts look overly optimistic – and so…
Ep 42: Wait Up, America
What’s Going On Here? It’s official: European stocks have entered a “bull market”. And poor recent economic data may actually be helping. Bull market is a market in which share prices are rising, encouraging buying. What Does This Mean? The stock prices of Europe’s largest companies had risen 20% above their December doldrums. That entry into a bull…
Ep 41: Deutsche Blank
What’s Going On Here? The $1 billion of profit Deutsche Bank‘s investors were expecting this year will probably be a loss instead. What Does This Mean? Deutsche Bank’s been struggling for a while: losing market share and getting embroiled in money laundering scandals. Money laundering is the process of concealing the origins of money obtained illegally by passing it through a…
Ep 40: Consumer confidence drops more than expected
What’s going on here? A key measure of the American economy – consumer confidence index – declined to 121.5 in June (more than the expected decline to 131.1) after three consecutive months of increases as consumers saw the trade war with China as an increased risk. What does that mean? “The escalation in trade and tariff tensions earlier…
Ep 39: Department stores need more than touch-ups
What’s going on here? A slew of retail earnings the past two weeks makes clear that while Americans continue to shop, they increasingly aren’t ringing registers at department stores. Department stores turned in disappointing first-quarter results: Sales at Kohl’s fell 3.4% (far steeper than the expected 0.2% drop); Penney’s same-store sales dropped 5.5% (worse than the expected…
Ep 38: Taco Bell will not be adding fake meat to its menu
What’s going on here? Taco Bell has long had a reputation as vegetarian-friendly, but it’s not planning on adding any plant-based meat substitutes from Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods to its menu. What does it mean? At the beginning of 2019, Taco Bell said it would begin testing a vegetarian menu, which came around the same…
Ep 37: PepsiCo testing canned water
What’s going on here? PepsiCo on Thursday said it’s testing sales of its Aquafina water in aluminum cans as the company moves to reduce its use of virgin plastic, which hasn’t been recycled. Though being a relatively new trend in retail, PepsiCo isn’t the first; earlier this month, the makers of Vita Coco launched its…
Ep 36: What FedEx Isn’t…
What’s going on here? The shipping company filed against the U.S. Commerce Department, calling it a “law enforcement agency” What inspired such soul-searching? FedEx claims it shouldn’t be held liable for unknowingly shipping products that violate the Trump administration’s ban on U.S. exports to certain Chinese companies. Driving the news: some mischief, some earnings Mischief first. Though many thought this suit…
Ep 35: Take It To The Bank
What’s Going On Here? The Bank of England (BoE) followed its US counterpart in keeping the UK’s interest rates unchanged. But despite lowering its economic growth forecast, it may still increase rates later this year. What Does This Mean? The UK’s central bank now think the country’s economy won’t grow at all this quarter (compared with its 0.2% growth prediction in March). A still-uncertain Brexit…
with HT 