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Goldman Sachs held an investor day, the first in three years, amid complaints from shareholders about the bank’s direction after last year’s slump in profits. David Solomon, its chief executive, pointed out that it is possible to sell parts of the lost customer services after he has finished bringing back the division. It has become clear that “we didn’t have any distinct competitive advantages” in the industry, he said. The markets were not very popular with the show. Goldman’s share price fell after the event.
Tesla held its first investor day, where Elon Musk explained part three of his “Master Plan” for the company. Senior executives also chimed in and said a mass-market electric car was in the works, which is essential to Tesla’s sales ambitions. But the lack of details about the new model disappointed investors.
Tesla also confirmed that they are building its first factory Mexico, in Monterrey. It is the latest automaker to invest in making electric vehicles in Mexico; in February BMW he said he would expand production and build a factory to assemble batteries. Mexico is benefiting from the large green subsidies in the American Inflation Reduction Act, $34bn of which is earmarked for smoothing the supply chain. EVs.
The annual zone of the euro inflation the February rate was almost unchanged at 8.5%, although the reading was higher than the 8.2% expected by economists. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, increased to 5.6%. Inflation also rose in the currency bloc’s two largest economies, Germany and France, adding to pressure on the European Central Bank to continue raising interest rates.
Measure of factory operations in China grew at the fastest rate in a decade, suggesting the economy is bouncing back from covid-19 lockdowns and other restrictions. The official purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing registered 52.6 for February, up from 50.1 in January (a reading above 50 means manufacturing is growing). The news started a rally in the Hong Kong stock market.
The three main Americas stock markets decline in February. The S&P 500 down 2.6% and the NASDAQ a relative 1.1%. Both indices are still up for the year. Dow Jones industrial average fell 4.2% in February; it has fallen more than 1% so far this year.
Sorting out the greenwashing
The European Commission announced that an agreement had been reached on the level proposed for EU gray bonds. Companies that want to promote their bonds as environmentally friendly must ensure that the investments meet strict sustainability requirements. It is not yet clear what the penalties will be if company bonds do not meet the new standards.
the Swedish economy changed so far +0.9% compared to yesterday. The country is expected to fall into recession this year as rising prices and higher interest rates curb consumer spending. House prices are falling dramatically. the Finnish economy it fell into decline in the fourth quarter, contracting by 0.6% after a 0.1% decline in the third quarter.
Accounting expense on stock-based compensation caused Sum to report its first quarterly loss since 2018. The video conferencing company’s revenue grew just 4%, year over year. A year before sales were still growing 20%.
A share price of Beyond Meat fell back, having rallied after issuing better-than-expected forecasts for the year. Its stock is up 38% since the start of 2023, even though revenue fell 20% in the fourth quarter, year over year, and it posted another net loss. Sales for the alternative meat industry were butchered last year, in part because fake meat hasn’t been as good as the real thing.
Ocado report another big annual loss. Revenue from its online grocery business in Britain fell. They had more customers but put fewer items in their baskets: 46 on average, down from 52 in 2021.
International Airlines Group, with its owner British Airways, made its first annual operating profit since the start of the pandemic: €1.3bn ($1.4bn). Passenger revenue increased to €19.5bn from €5.8bn in 2021. IAG expect profit to climb.
Come fly with me
Cathay Pacific began offering free return flights to Hong Kong residents of Southeast Asia as part of the city’s drive to attract tourists back after the lockdown. The government is providing 500,000 tickets. Cathay provides 80,000. Hong Kong’s flagship airline has had a turbulent few years, from being caught up in pro-democracy politics to coming close to collapse amid covid restrictions. But business is starting again. Cathay flew 1m passengers in January, up 4,000%, year on year.
