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Source: https://onlineworldnews.com/feed/

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<title>Analysis-SocGen’s CEO Krupa tightens screws on costs as bank’s turnaround plan falls flat</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/analysis-socgens-ceo-krupa-tightens-screws-on-costs-as-banks-turnaround-plan-falls-flat/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 19:34:43 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27654</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Mathieu Rosemain PARIS (Reuters) – Societe Generale’s CEO Slawomir Krupa is set to turn the screws further on costs as he presses ahead with a turnaround strategy announced a…]]></description>
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By Mathieu Rosemain
PARIS (Reuters) – Societe Generale’s CEO Slawomir Krupa is set to turn the screws further on costs as he presses ahead with a turnaround strategy announced a year ago that has so far failed to revive the French bank’s flagging share price.
SocGen is one of Europe’s cheapest listed banks, trading at less than 30% its book value despite plans to cut costs of 1.7 billion euros ($1.90 billion) by 2026 and more than 2.7 billion euros in asset sales
The sales include a stake in its business in Guinea, announced on Friday, as well as the sale of its professional equipment financing business in April which brought in $1.2 billion.
Now the bank is tightening budgets in all divisions and mid-tier managers are encouraged to go further than just meet their cost targets, a source familiar with the matter said.
Business travel is capped and the range of IT services has been cut, among other measures, the same source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly.
SocGen declined to comment for this story.
Romain Burnand, chairman of Moneta Asset Management, which has a 0.46% stake in the bank based on LSEG data, said the cost-cutting measures are starting to translate into results and he is betting on an improved performance in the third quarter.
“There were some real disappointments with the (last quarterly) results. But it’s a valuation that we think is very depreciated and the bank has strengths,” said Burnand, whose SocGen holding is around 4% of its 1.8 billion-euro main fund.
The CEO has opted to bolster the bank’s capital reserves rather than aiming for quick returns or transformative asset sales. The Guinea deal will have a positive impact of around 2 basis points on the bank’s common equity tier 1 ratio, a key measure of financial strength.
Krupa dashed investor hopes of higher returns when he postponed a key profitability target by a year, aiming for a return on tangible equity between 9% and 10% in 2026, while limiting the payout ratio to 40%-50%.
“I wouldn’t say they are not on track on the targets, but we can only know they’ll get there when we start to see the proper inflection in earnings, especially in the French retail banking business. And so far, it hasn’t happened,” said Flora Bocahut, an analyst at Barclays.
“It’s not a question of ambition,” said Olivier Casse, head of core European equity strategies at Sycomore AM, which holds a 0.4% stake in SocGen, according to LSEG data. “The new CEO wanted to tackle the issue of capital.”
That means lower share buybacks and dividends, which is weighing on the share price. SocGen shares closed at 22.9 euros on Thursday, down from around 26 euros in September last year just before the strategic review was announced.
FRENCH RETAIL
Another concern is SocGen’s retail business in France, where the bank cut a key target in August, which overshadowed the bank’s second-quarter earnings and weighed on its shares.
French banks, including SocGen, have not benefited as much from the rise in interest rates because of the high cost of deposits in France. SocGen also suffered because of a miscalculated interest rate hedging policy.
The bank’s net interest income (NII), or the difference between what a bank earns on loans and pays out for deposits, was hit, prompting it to cut its previously set target.
Casse said: “They weren’t able to reassure us about the trajectory … in the second half of the year, and in 2025 regarding this interest margin.”
Sebastiano Pirro, chief investment officer at hedge fund Algebris Investments, referring to the CEO’s plans, said: “The execution has been fair, it is the communication that has been poor.” Algebris doesn’t currently have a stake in SocGen, according to LSEG data.
SocGen’s problems, he said, were weak profitability and too little capital to cut costs dramatically.
TAKEOVER SPECULATION
UniCredit’s swoop to take a stake in Commerzbank has boosted bank stocks and analysts have speculated that SocGen could become an M&A target.
Two investment bankers who cover the European finance sector dismissed that idea, saying SocGen’s exposure to France’s low-margin retail market did not make it attractive.
The bankers said a takeover by bigger rivals BNP Paribas or Credit Agricole would create antitrust concerns and scrutiny from French authorities over jobs, among other hurdles.
($1 = 0.8959 euros)
 
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain in Paris; Additional reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Sinead Cruise in London. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Jane Merriman)
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<title>Nike veteran Hill to replace Donahoe as CEO; shares jump</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/nike-veteran-hill-to-replace-donahoe-as-ceo-shares-jump/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:47:58 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27649</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Juveria Tabassum, Nicholas P. Brown (Reuters) -Nike said on Thursday that former senior executive Elliott Hill will rejoin the company to succeed John Donahoe as president and CEO, as…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Juveria Tabassum, Nicholas P. Brown
(Reuters) -Nike said on Thursday that former senior executive Elliott Hill will rejoin the company to succeed John Donahoe as president and CEO, as the sportswear giant shakes up its leadership amid efforts to revive sales and battle rising competition.
The company’s shares rose 8% in after-hours trading.
Hill was at Nike for 32 years and held senior leadership positions across Europe and North America where he helped expand the business to more than $39 billion, the company said.
He was previously Nike’s president, consumer marketplace, leading all commercial and market operations for the Nike and Jordan brands before retiring in 2020.
Nike said in a regulatory filing that Hill’s compensation as president and CEO will include an annual base salary of $1.5 million. He will take over as CEO on Oct. 14.
Analysts cheered the move. The CEO change “gives a positive signal because it is someone that knows the brand and knows the company very well,” said Jessica Ramirez of Jane Hali & Associates.
Donahoe was tasked with bolstering Nike’s online presence and driving sales through direct-to-consumer channels.
The push initially helped the company build on the demand for athletic and leisurewear following the pandemic, resulting in Nike exceeding $50 billion in annual sales in fiscal 2023 for the first time.
However, sales have since come under pressure and growth has slowed, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. Nike’s annual sales are expected to fall to $48.84 billion for fiscal 2025 as inflation-weary customers cut back on discretionary spending and China’s market rebounds more slowly than expected.
A lack of innovative and appealing products has also recently tripped demand for Nike. Rival brands including Roger Federer-backed On and Deckers’ Hoka are attracting shoppers and retail partners with sneakers considered more fashionable and trendy.
Expectations for a change at the top were heightened after billionaire investor William Ackman disclosed a stake in Nike. His Pershing Square Capital Management has continued to buy and now owns 16.3 million shares in Nike, a person familiar with the position said. Ackman was not immediately reachable for comment.
A person familiar with Ackman’s thinking said that Hill would have been his top choice to replace Donahoe. Ackman, who announced his Nike stake via a public filing, had not been in touch with the company.
Recently the corporate boards of at least two other consumer and retail companies have moved to toss top executives before activist investors told them to act.
Hill’s background as a former steward of Nike’s valuable Jordan brand, a major profit-driver for the company, could also help the sportswear giant regain some momentum. The value of some Jordan shoes in 2023 had been slipping on the resale market as other sneaker brands, including On Running, experienced meteoric growth.
In the last couple of years, Nike had curtailed partnerships with retailers and pushed ahead with its plan to drive more sales through its own stores and websites. Those sales did not materialize and put the company on a path to seek $2 billion in cost savings over three years.
As part of the plan, Nike has so far cut jobs, reduced supply of classic shoes such as the Air Force 1 and tried to improve supply chain to boost margins.
“It clearly looks like Nike wanted to bring back somebody with a lot of experience” and “deep knowledge of Nike and its issues – unlike John Donahoe, who came in without any experience in the industry,” said David Swartz, senior analyst at Morningstar Research.
Hill will have to “work on repairing some of Nike’s relationships” with retail partners who buy Nike shoes at wholesale, Swartz added. “Nike has dropped some customers over the years and pulled back some product and that has created some ill will towards Nike” among sneaker and footwear retailers, he said.
Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital, called Hill a “great pick.” Nike now needs to “innovate and repair relationships with wholesalers,” he added. Great Hill Capital does not hold shares in Nike.
Born in Austin, Texas, Hill started his Nike career as an assistant in the Memphis, Tennessee, showroom and was soon promoted to a sales position, working out of the Dallas office and calling on mom-and-pop sporting goods stores.
“I had samples with me, and I would call, make appointments, show up at the sporting goods store and present the line,” Hill said in a December 2023 podcast interview. “I made unbelievable relationships with some of those people. Even today, I still keep in touch with a few of those retailers.” He eventually moved into helping to launch new Nike products.
Nike’s stock market value increased by $11 billion in extended trade on Thursday following the CEO announcement.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru and Nicholas P. Brown in New York; Additional reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Peter Henderson, Anna Driver and Matthew Lewis)
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<title>EU regulator backs use of Novo’s Wegovy for obesity-related heart condition</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/eu-regulator-backs-use-of-novos-wegovy-for-obesity-related-heart-condition/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:32:25 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27644</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Reuters) -The European Medicines Agency backed the use of Novo Nordisk’s popular drug Wegovy to help ease heart failure in people with obesity, the Danish drugmaker said on Thursday. This…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[(Reuters) -The European Medicines Agency backed the use of Novo Nordisk’s popular drug Wegovy to help ease heart failure in people with obesity, the Danish drugmaker said on Thursday.
This marks the regulator’s second backing for a use of Wegovy beyond weight loss and further strengthens Novo’s case that the medicine has multiple health benefits.
The agency has also backed use of Wegovy to lower major heart risks and strokes in overweight or obese adults without diabetes.
Novo expects the label update for use in patients with an obesity-related common heart condition will be implemented shortly. It would allow use of the drug in patients suffering from obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
HFpEF is a condition in which heart muscles stiffen and draw in less blood. It accounts for about half of heart failure cases, with symptoms including shortness of breath and swelling in the extremities.
Data from a late-stage study showed patients lost weight after one year on Wegovy and had a 16.6-point improvement on a 100-point health scale based on a range of heart failure-related criteria.
It also improved physical limitations and exercise function in patients with the condition, Novo said.
The drug, chemically known as semaglutide, has been authorized in the European Union to treat obesity since 2022. The blockbuster drug belongs to a class of treatments known as GLP-1 agonists, which help regulate blood sugar and suppress appetite.
Novo’s U.S. rival Eli Lilly’s drug tirzepatide is also approved for weight loss in the EU. Tirzepatide has shown to cut heart failure risk by 38% in a trial of preserved ejection fraction and obesity patients.
Novo reiterated it plans to resubmit Wegovy’s data for easing heart failure in people with obesity to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration next year.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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<title>Analysis-Extreme weather adds to fiscal strains in central Europe</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/analysis-extreme-weather-adds-to-fiscal-strains-in-central-europe/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:20:34 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27639</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Jan Lopatka, Karol Badohal and Gergely Szakacs PRAGUE/WARSAW (Reuters) – Just a week ago, before deadly floods swept through central Europe, the Czech Republic looked on track to become…]]></description>
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By Jan Lopatka, Karol Badohal and Gergely Szakacs
PRAGUE/WARSAW (Reuters) – Just a week ago, before deadly floods swept through central Europe, the Czech Republic looked on track to become the first country in the region since COVID-19 to pull its budget deficit firmly below the 3% of GDP cap set by European Union rules.
Now that small victory for public finances hangs in the balance as the Czech Republic and Poland, which have borne the brunt of the deluge, count the cost of the worst floods to hit the region in at least two decades.
Based on estimates from local officials, the damage to infrastructure could reach a combined $10 billion in these two countries alone. Poland’s finance minister said the $5.6 billion allotted from EU funds would cover some, but not all of the costs to recover from the floods.
Economic losses linked to extreme weather are adding to strains on state finances in a region still squeezed by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflation surge following Russia’s 2022 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
Since the pandemic when EU member states set aside the bloc’s stipulation that they keep annual deficits to 3% of gross domestic product, budget shortfalls in the region ballooned to as much as 9% of GDP in Romania and 7% in Poland and Hungary.
Inflation and elections in Poland, Hungary and Romania – with the inevitable promises of largesse – further hampered deficit cuts.
Higher military investment, inflation-linked spending on pensions and increased debt servicing costs are also stretching budgets.
On Thursday, the Czech finance ministry said it would allocate 30 billion crowns ($1.3 billion), or 0.4% of GDP, for flood damage in a 2024 budget amendment, 25% above an initial estimate by ING economist David Havrlant early this week.
This could push the Czech deficit close to the 3% set under EU rules, up from an original 2.5% target, with next year’s deficit now also projected above earlier plans.
Steffen Dyck, Senior Vice President at Moody’s Ratings, said that although the region appeared better prepared than in the past to manage flooding, it was having to deal with incidents and their economic impact more regularly.
“There might still be an impact on government spending, depending on the ultimate damage, and some countries, like the Czech Republic and Poland, have already announced immediate emergency fiscal support,” Dyck said.
The unexpected pressure on Czech finances highlights the scale of the challenge facing the rest of the EU’s eastern member countries still grappling with larger deficits ranging from nearly 7% in Romania to more than 5% in Poland and Hungary.
LONG-TERM VIEW
A Reuters analysis of draft budgets and government announcements on fiscal plans shows Poland and Hungary could take most of this decade to reduce shortfalls to below 3% while Romania may not achieve this until the 2030s.
For Poland, the region’s largest economy, Moody’s predicts general government debt could rise to 60% of GDP by 2027 due to increased borrowing, which will lift debt-related expenditure.
Moody’s expects the Polish budget deficit to exceed 5% of GDP in 2025, followed by “very gradual consolidation” towards a 3% shortfall over the next four to five years.
Saddled with the cost of flood repairs, Poland will now push for some more EU leeway in shoring up its state finances.
Fitch Ratings said spending pressures in Poland were “greater than anticipated” after Warsaw unveiled its 2025 budget draft, though a solid revenue base provided support.
The floods hit a region already reeling from a weak German economy, the destination for 20-30% of central European exports, with possible long-term ramifications for state finances.
“CEE growth prospects could suffer if Germany’s economic weakness proves structural and protracted,” Karen Vartapetov, Director and Lead Analyst for CEE and CIS Sovereign Ratings at S&P Global said.
“Weaker medium-term growth in turn could pressure CEE public finances at a time when government funding costs remain high.”
Debt servicing costs surged to 4.7% of GDP in Hungary and 2% in Poland and Romania last year, with only the Czech Republic’s 1.3% of GDP interest bill running below the EU average — but still nearly twice the 0.7% level seen before COVID-19.
Romania has yet to unveil a 2025 budget, with Bucharest considering a seven-year timeframe to rein in its deficit from the EU’s highest levels, which some economists say could reach up to 8% of GDP this year due to a costly pension reform.
Hungary, whose budget deficit has averaged nearly 7% of GDP since the pandemic, has pledged to lower it to 4.5% of GDP this year, though Moody’s expects it to be a full percentage point higher even after recent attempts to curb the gap.
($1 = 22.5380 Czech crowns)
($1 = 3.8235 zlotys)
($1 = 0.8949 euros)
 
(Additional reporting by Luiza Ilie in BUCHAREST; Writing by Gergely Szakacs; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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<title>Yen slides as BOJ governor steers clear of rate hike talk</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/yen-slides-as-boj-governor-steers-clear-of-rate-hike-talk/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:15:40 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27634</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Linda Pasquini and Wayne Cole LONDON/SYDNEY (Reuters) – The yen weakened on Friday after the Bank of Japan signalled it was in no rush to raise interest rates again…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Linda Pasquini and Wayne Cole
LONDON/SYDNEY (Reuters) – The yen weakened on Friday after the Bank of Japan signalled it was in no rush to raise interest rates again after keeping them steady at 0.25% as widely expected.
The dollar rose 1.2% to 144.32 yen, reaching its highest level in a little over two weeks, as Governor Kazuo Ueda said the BoJ could afford to spend time eyeing the fallout from global economic uncertainties.
“Our decision on monetary policy will depend on economic, price and financial developments at the time. Japan’s real interest rates remain extremely low. If our economic and price forecasts are achieved, we will raise interest rates and adjust the degree of monetary support accordingly,” Ueda said at his post-meeting press conference.
“We had expected that Ueda would warm up to another rate hike,” said Niels Christensen, chief analyst at Nordea Bank.
The rise in the dollar against the yen showed relief that Governor Ueda, during his speech, did not really touch rates policy, said Shoki Omori, chief Japan desk strategist at Mizuho Securities.
“It seems like he focused on economic data and tried to avoid answering market comments. He was hiding his hawkishness,” Omori said, adding that the dollar’s rise against the yen was likely temporary.
Markets were also digesting data on Japanese consumer prices, out on Friday, which showed core inflation ticked up to 2.8% in August, while overall inflation hit 3.0%.
It has been a tough week for the Japanese currency, with the euro gaining 3.2% to 161.05 as speculators booked profits on recent long yen positions.
The euro also firmed to $1.1154, up 0.7% on the dollar for the week and within striking distance of the August peak of $1.1201. A break there would target a July 2023 top of $1.1275.
DOLLAR DECLINE
Much of the rest of the world is heading in the other direction to Japan, although a much-anticipated rate cut by China’s central bank has proved elusive. China unexpectedly left benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing on Friday.
China has been hinting at other stimulus measures, enabled in part by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s aggressive easing that shoved the dollar to a 16-month low on the yuan.
Major state-owned banks were seen buying dollars in the onshore spot foreign exchange market on Friday to prevent the yuan from appreciating too fast, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The big event of the week remained the Federal Reserve’s 50 basis points rate cut on Wednesday.
Markets imply a near 44% chance the Fed will cut by another 50 bps in November and have 72 bps priced in by year-end. Rates are seen at 2.85% by the end of 2025, which is now thought to be the Fed’s estimate of neutral.
That dovish outlook has bolstered hopes for continued U.S. economic growth and sparked a major rally in risk assets. Currencies leveraged to global growth and commodity prices also benefited, with the Aussie surpassing $0.6800.
The U.S. dollar index gained slightly at 100.84 and just above a one-year low.
Sterling was another gainer after the Bank of England kept rates unchanged on Thursday, while its governor said it had to be “careful not to cut too fast or by too much”.
The pound was up 1.25% for the week so far at $1.32885, supported by Friday’s solid retail sales figures, having hit its highest since March 2022.
It also hit its strongest against the euro in more than two years, with the common currency dropping to as low as 83.81 pence.
 
(Reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney and Linda Pasquini in London; Additional reporting by Vidya Ranganathan in Singapore and Kevin Buckland in Tokyo,; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Kim Coghill, Michael Perry)
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<title>Nike’s next CEO Hill brings a bootstraps mentality</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/nikes-next-ceo-hill-brings-a-bootstraps-mentality/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:05:55 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27628</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Nicholas P. Brown (Reuters) – Elliott Hill started at Nike as an intern in 1988 but steadily scaled its ranks, banking on values of grit and hard work ingrained…]]></description>
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By Nicholas P. Brown
(Reuters) – Elliott Hill started at Nike as an intern in 1988 but steadily scaled its ranks, banking on values of grit and hard work ingrained in him as the son of a single mom in a working class Texas neighborhood.
Those qualities may be useful again when Hill becomes the global sneaker and sportswear brand’s top boss next month, helping revive the company where he has spent his whole career.
Nike announced on Thursday Hill will become its next chief executive officer on Oct. 14, replacing the retiring John Donahoe.
Its sales have faltered in recent months, as nimbler, more innovative brands such as On and Deckers’ Hoka have gained market share. Nike is in the midst of what it says will be a three-year endeavor to cut $2 billion in costs.
Where Donahoe was an outsider – brought in in 2020 after CEO stints at eBay, Bain & Company and the cloud company ServiceNow – Hill is Nike to the bone. He joined it out of graduate school at Ohio University in 1988, lobbying a company rep who had spoken at his sports marketing class.
“I bothered him for six months until he finally hired me,” Hill said on the FORTitude podcast in December. “I told him ‘everybody in my class has a job except me.’”
His blue-collar bona fides go back even further than that. Born in Austin in 1963, Hill’s father left the family when he was three. His mother set an “unbelievable example in terms of commitment and work ethic,” he told the podcast. Sports, he added, became a key piece of his childhood.
At Nike, he held stints in sales, including in the Dallas office. “I did 60,000 miles a year, two years in a row, in an old Chrysler minivan,” he said, describing his early years selling shoes to mom-and-pop retailers.
After myriad other roles – including directing Nike’s team sports division, and serving as its vice president of global retail – Hill became President of Consumer & Marketplace in 2018. He retired in 2020.
Hill recalls a time when Nike epitomized innovation. He was in the room when the company unveiled its iconic “Just do it” ad in 1988. Employees watching the internal presentation erupted in cheers, he said on FORTitude, a podcast featuring people like Hill who lived and worked in Dallas-Fort Worth. “If you can inspire people inside of your company, you know you’re going to inspire people outside the company,” he said.
Hill did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment. But Nike said Hill was well-regarded internally, and believes his hire will be popular with employees.
MICHAEL JORDAN’S SHOE
The Texas Christian University graduate helped lead Nike’s Dream Crazy campaign, narrated by NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, in 2018. He also built relationships with key athletes, including Michael Jordan.
When Hill wanted to take the Jordan brand global, the basketball star was nervous about the move, and said he was going to leave one of his size-13 shoes on Hill’s desk. “I want you to think about that shoe, and if our revenue goes back, I’m going to come and stuff that up your rear,” Hill remembered Jordan saying.
Hill laughed while describing the moment on the podcast. “It was mainly said in jest,” he said, “but you know I got the point that he believed in us and was going to take a risk.”
Hill and his wife, Gina, created a scholarship at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon, where the couple’s children attended school. Hill raised money for the scholarship by auctioning the sports memorabilia collection he had accumulated in three decades at Nike.
Laundry – a Portland clothing store that sells mostly vintage sports team apparel – partnered with Hill on the 2022 auction, its owner Chris Yen told Reuters on Thursday.
Yen had no idea who Hill was when he received a cold call from him. Hill told Yen he had learned of the store through his son, and wanted to work with him. The auction raised $2.1 million between memorabilia sales and private donations, Yen said.
“Elliott is the best possible person for the job and to help get Nike back to winning again,” he said.
Wall Street analysts hope Hill can bring excitement back to the Nike brand.
“Product innovation at the company is still lacking,” said Brian Nagel, an analyst at Oppenheimer, adding that “management has been loath” to restore partnerships with key retailers.
Jessica Ramirez, an analyst with Jane Hali and Associates, put it bluntly: At Nike, she said, “the culture has fallen apart.”
 
(This story has been corrected to say that Donahoe was CEO of Bain & Company, not Bain Capital, in paragraph 5)
 
(Reporting by Nicholas P. Brown. Additional reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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<title>Sterling rises vs dollar, euro boosted by strong UK retail sale data</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/sterling-rises-vs-dollar-euro-boosted-by-strong-uk-retail-sale-data/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 14:52:48 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27623</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Linda Pasquini (Reuters) – Sterling edged up against the dollar and the euro on Friday, as strong UK retail sale data provided an extra boost to the currency’s upbeat…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Linda Pasquini
(Reuters) – Sterling edged up against the dollar and the euro on Friday, as strong UK retail sale data provided an extra boost to the currency’s upbeat trend.
The pound briefly hit $1.33405, touching March 2022 highs for the third consecutive day, but pared earlier gains to $1.32975.
It gained 1.23% on the week.
Nordea Bank chief analyst Niels Christensen pointed to a strong UK retail sales report on Friday, as well as this week’s inflation data and Bank of England rate decision, as reasons for the upward trend.
British retail sales rose by a stronger-than-expected 1% in August and growth in July was revised up, official figures showed.
Looking ahead, data for Britain is “not that soft” and rate cut expectation has moved a further out in the future, Christensen added.
“That’s also a reason why we see a stronger sterling, not only against the yen, but also against the dollar, and also against the euro,” he said.
The euro fell 0.10% to 83.97 pence, recovering slightly from an earlier drop to its lowest level in two years.
Sterling had risen on Wednesday as data showed that British inflation held steady in August but rose in the services sector, which is closely watched by the BoE, to 5.6% from 5.2% in July.
It got a further boost after a cautious BoE kept interest rates at 5.0% on Thursday, with its rate setter Catherine Mann saying earlier on Friday that she took a guarded view on the prospect of multiple rate cuts in the months ahead and stressing the need for policy to remain restrictive.
Money markets priced in a 71% chance of a 25 basis points rate cut from the BoE on its next meeting in November.
The pound rose 0.90% versus the yen at 191.16, as the yen weakened after Bank of Japan’s governor steered clear of rate hike talk following the BoJ’s decision to hold interest rates.
“A softer yen just makes sterling firmer across the board,” Christensen said.
 
(Reporting by Linda Pasquini; Editing by Louise Heavens)
 
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<title>Oil prices set to end week higher after US rate cut</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/oil-prices-set-to-end-week-higher-after-us-rate-cut/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 14:04:02 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27617</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Arunima Kumar (Reuters) -Oil prices eased on Friday, but were on track to register gains for a second straight week following a large cut in U.S. interest rates and…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Arunima Kumar
(Reuters) -Oil prices eased on Friday, but were on track to register gains for a second straight week following a large cut in U.S. interest rates and declining global stockpiles.
Brent futures were down 50 cents, or 0.67%, at $74.38 a barrel at 1004 GMT while U.S. WTI crude futures fell 48 cents, or 0.65%, at $71.47.
Still, both benchmarks were up 3.7% and 4% respectively on the week.
Prices have been recovering after Brent fell below $69 for the first time in nearly three years on Sept. 10.
“U.S. interest cuts have supported risk sentiment, weakened the dollar and supported crude this week,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
“However, it takes time until rate cuts support economic activity and oil demand growth,” he added, regarding crude’s more muted performance so far on Friday.
Prices rose more than 1% on Thursday following the U.S. central bank’s decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point on Wednesday.
Interest rate cuts typically boost economic activity and energy demand, but some also see it as a sign of a weak U.S. labour market.
The Fed also projected a further half-point rate cut by year-end, a full point next year and a half-point trim in 2026.
“Easing monetary policy helped reinforce expectations that the U.S. economy will avoid a downturn,” ANZ Research analysts said.
Also supporting prices were a decline in U.S. crude inventories, which fell to a one-year low last week. [EIA/S]
A counter-seasonal oil market deficit of around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) will support Brent crude prices in the $70 to $75 a barrel range during the next quarter, Citi analysts said on Thursday, but added prices could plunge in 2025.
Crude prices were also being supported by rising tensions in the Middle East. Walkie-talkies used by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah exploded on Wednesday following similar explosions of pagers the previous day.
Security sources have said the Israeli spy agency Mossad was responsible, but Israeli officials have not commented on the attacks.
China’s slowing economy also weighed on market sentiment, with refinery output in China slowing for a fifth month in August and industrial output growth hitting a five-month low.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru and Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore; editing by Sharon Singleton, Jason Neely and David Evans)
 
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<title>Stocks pinned near all-time highs, yen slips after Ueda’s comments</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/stocks-pinned-near-all-time-highs-yen-slips-after-uedas-comments/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 13:53:11 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27612</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Sruthi Shankar and Stella Qiu (Reuters) – World stocks hovered near record highs on Friday, underpinned by a big interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve earlier this week,…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Sruthi Shankar and Stella Qiu
(Reuters) – World stocks hovered near record highs on Friday, underpinned by a big interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve earlier this week, while the yen eased after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda tempered expectations around imminent rate hikes.
The dollar climbed 0.8% on the Japanese currency to 143.75 on the back of Ueda’s remarks having earlier fallen around 0.6% to 141.74 earlier after the BOJ kept interest rates steady in a widely expected move.
The yen lost ground as Ueda gave few hints on when the central bank could raise rates again and said uncertainty around the U.S. economy and market volatility could impact its policy moves.
The dollar steadied broadly after suffering losses earlier this week after the Fed delivered a 50 basis point rate cut and assured investors the jumbo-sized reduction was a measure to safeguard a resilient economy, rather than an emergency response to recent weakness in the labour market. [FRX/]
“It’s effectively Fed put. What Chairman Powell said was that they’re carefully watching the labour market, and if it slows too much they’re prepared to act,” said Marija Veitmane, head of equity research at State Street Global Markets.
“Powell also said that he doesn’t see the labour market as inflationary – that’s a positive message for risky assets.”
The MSCI index of world stocks edged up 0.1% after Thursday’s 1.6% jump took it to a record high. It was headed for a 1.5% weekly rise.
European stocks eased 0.6% from two-week highs, with automakers leading the slide after Mercedes-Benz cut its full-year profit margin target for the second time in less than two months, on the back of weakness in China. [.EU]
Wall Street futures were also slightly lower, after the S&P 500 surged to a record close on Thursday. [.N]
CHINA WOES
In China, the central bank kept its benchmark lending rates on hold, countering expectations for a move lower. Chinese blue chips edged up 0.2% but remained close to a seven-month low touched earlier in the week.
“Markets were really hoping that the policy action taken by Chinese authorities will work. They’ve done a lot of little things but unfortunately not enough to turn around the slowdown in economic activities,” said State Street’s Veitmane.
“It’s a big source of weakness globally.”
The onshore yuan strengthened to the highest in nearly 16 months after the People’s Bank of China’s surprise move, leading to intervention by state banks to prevent it from appreciating too fast.
Overnight, Wall Street finally had the time to digest the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut. With more easing to come, investors are wagering on continued U.S. economic growth and better-than-expected jobless claims data added to the view that the labour market remained healthy.
Markets imply a 40% chance the Fed will cut by another 50 basis points in November and have 73 basis points priced in by year-end. Rates are seen at 2.83% by the end of 2025, which is now thought to be the Fed’s estimate of neutral.
The British pound was buoyant at $1.3300, earlier rallying to the highest since March 2022.
Data on Friday showed British retail sales rose by a stronger-than-expected 1% in August and growth in July was revised up. The Bank of England held rates steady on Thursday.
Commodities also held onto their weekly gains. Gold touched a fresh record high at $2,610.10 an ounce and oil prices are set for their second straight week of gain.
Brent futures slipped 0.3% to $74.67 a barrel, but are still up 4.6% this week. [O/R]
 
(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Sruthi Shankar; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed, Sam Holmes and Gareth Jones)
 
]]></content:encoded>
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<item>
<title>European shares slip but set for weekly gains; Mercedes drops</title>
<link>https://onlineworldnews.com/european-shares-slip-but-set-for-weekly-gains-mercedes-drops/</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jessica Weisman-Pitts]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Sep 2024 13:43:49 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Finance]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://onlineworldnews.com/?p=27607</guid>
<description><![CDATA[By Shubham Batra (Reuters) -European shares slipped on Friday after a rally in the previous session spurred by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s outsized interest rate cut, while shares of Mercedes…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[By Shubham Batra
(Reuters) -European shares slipped on Friday after a rally in the previous session spurred by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s outsized interest rate cut, while shares of Mercedes were set for their worst day in 15 months after the automaker cut its core profit outlook.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.4% to 519.76 points as of 0805 GMT but was on track for a second straight week of gains.
All major European markets were trading lower, except Spain’s that edged up 0.1%.
Automobile shares led sectoral losses with a 2.9% fall, hurt by a 7.6% drop in Mercedes-Benz after the carmaker cut its full-year profit margin for the second time in less than two months, as overall sales volume fell in China.
Mercedes also dragged the German benchmark index, which declined 0.8%. German producer prices fell less than expected in August, decreasing by 0.8% on the year versus expectations of a 1% decline.
Europe’s luxury goods sector slid more than 2% after Jefferies said it does not see appreciable improvement for the luxury market in the second half of the year.
Technology shares were down 1.1%, while personal goods shares dropped 1.5%.
Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.5%, after a survey showed consumer confidence dropped sharply to a six-month low.
“Consumers were less confident about their own personal financial position in September compared to August, and they reported that they are less likely to make a large purchase, compared to the previous month,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director for XTB.
“Worryingly for the government, consumers’ view of the economic outlook also deteriorated sharply in September.”
British retail sales rose by a stronger-than-expected 1% in August, compared with forecast of a 0.4% monthly rise in sales volumes from July, boosting the pound.
Investors now shift focus to euro zone’s consumer confidence data for September, due at 1400 GMT, for more clues on the health of the region’s economy.
Among other movers, Novo Nordisk advanced 0.5% after the European Medicines Agency backed the use of the Danish drugmaker’s popular drug Wegovy to help ease heart failure in people with obesity.
UK’s Burberry was down 4.6% as Jefferies cut rating on the stock to “underperform” from “hold” and lowered the target price to 490p from 800p.
(Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 
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