Adidas reported a 93% plunge in first-quarter profit and sales off 19%, missing forecasts, and warned of a deeper hit to second-quarter revenue as lockdowns forced the German sportswear maker and other retailers to close stores. Adidas said it had taken a hit of around 250 million euros on unsold stock in greater China, purchase order cancellations and higher bad debt provisions. Adidas shares were down 1.2% in early trade and have fallen more than a third since the coronavirus pandemic started....
(Bloomberg) -- Global stocks started the week with gains amid signs of positive developments in the fight against the coronavirus and a boost to stimulus measures from the Bank of Japan. The dollar retreated.Asian shares climbed, U.S. futures reversed earlier losses to trade higher and European contracts pushed up. Trading volumes remained subdued amid the risk-on move. In currencies, the Australian dollar outperformed, while the yen strengthened. Treasury yields advanced. Coronavirus deaths slowed the most in more than a month in Spain, Italy and France while fatalities reported in the U.K. and New York were the lowest since the end of March.The Federal Reserve joins the BOJ and the European Central Bank announcing policy decisions this week as the battle against the pandemic continues with some countries proceeding with steps to relax lockdown measures. Several major economies will release GDP numbers, while corporate earnings will keep flooding in, including from Amazon.com...
Deutsche Bank (DB) has surprised investors with an ad hoc pre-release of its first quarter earnings results, three days before the scheduled date.The bank expects to report group profit before tax of 206 million euros and net income of 66 million euros, above market expectations.Revenues are expected to be 6.4 billion euros (easily beating the 5.7 billion euro consensus) and including contributions to the Single Resolution Fund of 0.5 billion euros. Provisions for credit losses are expected to be 0.5 billion euros, or 44 basis points of loansMeanwhile Deutsche Bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio was 12.8% at quarter end, down from 13.6% at year end. According to the report, the decline included a 30 basis points negative impact from the revised securitization framework, and 40 basis points of items caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.Looking ahead, the bank updated its financial targets- writing “Management has made the clear decision to...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Anyone up for a beach holiday right now? The answer is probably a resounding yes, anything to escape lockdown and incessant worrying about the coronavirus outbreak and imminent global recession.But would you actually book one for this summer or even the fall? There the answer is more complicated, as it becomes painfully clear that our next vacations will be close to home and overshadowed by concerns about health precautions.There are the optimists: Almost three-quarters of the people who were due to sail in May, but had their dream cruise canceled by British operator Saga Plc, chose to rebook at a later date. The pessimists: More than half of Americans surveyed by Destination Analysts agreed their next vacation would be a “staycation.” Those organized souls who planned their July Fourth escapes before Covid-19 was upon us are playing wait-and-see. French hotel giant Accor SA has seen less than 10% of reservations for July...
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock index futures gained for a second day after the Bank of Japan expanded stimulus and investors looked out for further signs of progress in the global fight against the coronavirus.Contracts on the S&P 500 rose 1% as of 6:42 a.m. in London, while futures climbed 1.2% on the Nasdaq 100 Index and 1.1% on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The BOJ scrapped a limitation on buying government bonds and ramped up its purchases of corporate debt, joining global counterparts in their unprecedented expansion of stimulus. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 2%.“The BOJ announcement of unlimited JGB buying and more and longer corporate debt purchasing appears to have lifted the region,” said Michael McCarthy, the chief market strategist at CMC Markets Asia Pacific in Sydney. “Some are interpreting it as one step closer to direct purchasing of equities by central banks.”The Federal Reserve joins the BOJ and...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Call it teething problems, disorganization or plain Luddism: the first few weeks of working from home were, for many, far from smooth.Set aside for a second the impact of hunkering down with children, paramours and housemates. The coronavirus lockdowns revealed a deep division even between white-collar workers: those employed by companies that have invested in what it takes for employees to switch truly seamlessly between the office and working from home, and those employed by companies that haven’t. Many people discovered it was a myth they could do their job just as easily from the dining room table. What might be de rigueur in Silicon Valley is far from normal elsewhere.Among firms with more than $1 billion of revenue, a surprisingly small portion — perhaps 10% — is used to having much of its workforce regularly work remotely, Gartner Inc. analyst Brian Kropp estimates. Another 40% has established work-from-home practices, but didn’t necessarily have the adequate infrastructure for the current crisis. The remaining 50% was unprepared...
