Author: Cattolica Investment Club

The European Union (EU) has reached a preliminary agreement to relax its strict fiscal regulations, offering member states greater flexibility in managing debt while incentivizing investments in key areas such as climate action, industrial development, and security. The revision of the Stability and Growth Pact, in response to unprecedented debt levels amid pandemic recovery efforts and ambitious EU goals, aims to adapt to contemporary economic and geopolitical realities. Under the new rules, minimum deficit and debt reduction targets are adjusted to be less stringent, providing clarity and predictability for member states' fiscal policies. European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis highlighted the importance of these rules in enhancing the sustainability of public finances and promoting sustainable growth through investment incentives. MEP Margarida Marques emphasized the shift towards a case-by-case and medium-term approach,…

Feb 9th, 2024 - On Friday, stocks rose thanks to December’s revised inflation reading coming in lower than what was reported in the beginning, according to closely watched revisions made by the government.  As an evidence of this, the S&P 500 closed above 5000 for the first time ever at 5026.61 (+ 0.57%). The Nasdaq was up by 1.25%, while the Dow Jones registered a -0.14% performance.  Expedia shares tumbled after releasing its quarterly earnings report on Thursday after the market closed. The earnings and sales did beat though analysts’ expectations, but bookings were worse than expected. The online travel company posted an adjusted EPS of $1.72, that was better than the $1.68 EPS that analysts forecasted. Revenue of $2.89 billion in the period increased 10% compared to last year…

Feb 8th, 2024 - The S&P 500 reached the milestone of 5000 points during the day but closed at 4,997.91 with a growth of 0,06%, also the Dow Jones grew by a little, rising about 0.13%, while the Nasdaq gained 0,24%. Shares of online payments giant Adyen (ADYEN) soared on Thursday after the company reported an important growth in sales growth and better-than-expected profit for 2023. The company competes with Stripe, Paypal and announced to its shareholders that it had slowed its pace in the hiring process to counter concerns that it was spending too much on expansion of the team. Shares at the end of the day were up 20,16%. (R.Browne) Disney shares (DIS) grew 12% on Thursday, headed for the best day for the stock since December 2020,…

Feb 7th, 2024 - On Wednesday, the S&P500 increased by 0.82% to close at 4995,06. Dow Jones and Nasdaq also increased by 0.4% and 0.95% to finish at 38.677,36 and 15.756,64 respectively. After markets closed, Walt Disney (DIS) announced their first-quarter earnings that topped estimates. Estimated earnings per share was $0.99 while the actual amount was $1.22. Another piece of good news was that the company expects to cut costs by at least $7.5 billion by the end of 2024. Moreover, they declared $4.60 forecasted earnings per share for 2024 which is 20% higher than 2023. Investors also appreciated their plan to take a $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games and to start their ESPN streaming service in fall 2025. The share price of Disney increased by 7% just after…

Feb 6th, 2024 - Today, Snap Inc. (SNAP) saw its shares’ price plummeting down by around 30% at 5:00 PM EST because of the huge discrepancy between Snap’s quarterly revenue estimates produced by Wall Street  analysts and the results disclosed by the company itself on Tuesday. Going into detail, while the  forecasted revenue was $1.38 billion, the actual financial result disclosed by Snap was equal to $1.36 billion, on the basis of LSEG data. In this adverse context, Snap still struggles to compete against its  main rivals in the digital advertising industry like Meta and Alphabet. This is mainly due to the fact that  they are better at targeting ads (thanks to the vast amount of data they can rely on) and the recent large job cuts, reducing their costs…

Feb 5th, 2024 - In a recent turn of events, global fast-food giants McDonald's and Starbucks have faced a notable setback in their sales directly attributed to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict; both companies reported a dip in their stock values, reflecting the economic repercussions of said geopolitical tensions. McDonald's, witnessing a nearly 4% drop in its stock on Monday, pointed to a sales slowdown in the Middle East during the fourth quarter of the previous year. This decline was particularly pronounced in Israel, where the fast-food giant's Israeli licensee offered discounts to soldiers, triggering customer boycotts from those opposed to the Gaza offensive. While the Middle East represents around 2% of McDonald's global sales, the impact has been significant enough to prompt concerns about the recovery of sales in the…

Feb 4th, 2024 - Let’s face it, Apple (AAPL) (Purchased 0.6 units @ $183.96) has had a less than desirable 6 months. The stock has barely moved since June, and isn’t having the most positive beginning to 2024. Most investors have concerns regarding iPhone 15 and 15 pro sales, especially when it comes to the Chinese market, which has proven to be a particularly challenging demographic given the domestic competition. All those factors combined have contributed to a couple of bearish quarters that have even resulted in the company falling second to Microsoft (MSFT) (Purchased 0.1 units @ $374.44) in market valuation.  However, the company’s CEO Tim Cook hasn’t expressed concerns regarding poor iPhone sales. His focus is entirely directed toward the company as a whole, especially the Apple Vision…

Feb 3rd, 2024 - In the latest round of earnings calls from major tech companies including Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple, a common theme emerged: substantial investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are crucial for future growth.  Tech leaders highlighted the importance of introducing AI across every layer of their technology stack. Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, stressed the transition from talking about AI to applying it at scale, winning new customers and driving productivity gains. The generative AI boom, marked by sophisticated chatbots and assistants, particularly benefited Nvidia, whose GPUs power large language models created by major players in the field. To finance AI initiatives and the necessary cloud infrastructure, cost-cutting measures are being implemented across various departments. Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, highlighted 2023 as the 'year of efficiency,' emphasizing…