Take the money and put it aside, because the best, perhaps, is already behind you. This is the moral that can be gleaned from the collapse of the Taiwanese Tmsc (-4%) on the day in which the assembly approved the best ever accounts of the world's leading chip manufacturer, which is also engaged in a robust investment campaign, especially in Use, to overcome the current shortage of semiconductors. But the chips are by now the true thermometer of the state of health of the economy which, far from picking up speed, is slowing down the race.
TSMC -4% AFTER RECORD ACCOUNTS
And the sales on TSMC, which has announced a new factory in Texas, signal the unease, as does the continued slowdown in 1,3-year T-bonds, back to 33%, confirming that the recovery is less and less convincing. As well as the reassurances of the president of the Fed: it is useless to promise plentiful money at low cost, despite rising inflation, if the horse, that is the economy, does not want to drink. And so, despite the fact that the quarterly profits of the four most important US banks have reached the figure of XNUMX billion dollars, Wall Street is not warming up: the future may not be as rosy.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed the week lower after the Central Bank announced that it was cutting GDP growth forecasts in 2021 to +3,8%, from the previous +4%. The Nikkei, which has come to lose more than 1%, marks a drop of 0,7%.
The collapse of the Tsmc, in addition to weighing on the Taiwan index (-1,2%), is felt by the other Asian big names in the sector: the South Korean stock market drops by 0,6%. The Wall Street Journal meanwhile, he wrote that Intel is one step away from buying Global Foundries, a contract manufacturer of chips owned by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. It appears that the parties are close to closing on $30 billion.
THE OLYMPICS ARE COMING, THE BOJ CUT THE ESTIMATES
One week before the Olympics, less appreciated by the host country, worried by infections, the Bank of Japan has announced the cut of GDP growth forecasts in 2021 to +3,8%, from the previous +4%.
Goldman Sachs is also pessimistic: a report by the Investment Bank anticipates that, thanks to the delta variant, the GDP estimates of the most important economies of South East Asia should be revised downwards: Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
US FUTURES PAIR, BEZOS SOON IN ORBIT
Wall Street futures this morning were around parity: yesterday the Nasdaq closed down by 0,7%, while the Dow Jones closed slightly up (+0,15%). S&P500 – 0,3%.
Blackstone has announced the purchase of 9% of the insurance giant AIG for 2,2 billion dollars.
Jeff Bezos introduced his travel companion for the next space mission. It is an 18-year-old student, Oliver Daemen. The cost of the ticket to get on Blue Origin is not known.
CHINESE COAL EXCHANGE OPENS TODAY, GOLD SHINES
WTI oil fell overnight to its lowest in the month at $71,6 a barrel.
Among the commodities, there is the jump in the reference future of Chinese coal, which rose due to the sharp increase in electricity consumption in areas of China affected by an exceptional heat wave. Today the CO2 rights exchange begins its activity.
Conversely, construction lumber futures are at their lowest year-to-date, down 30% since early January, after +110% in 20202.
Gold remains on the highs for the period at 1.834 dollars.
EUROPE IN DOWN, MANAGERS RUN ON THE SWISS FRANC
For the second time in a row we can speak of "Black Thursday". Without a real reason to sell (but not even to buy) European operators have embraced the path of risk risk for the most varied reasons: from the green turn of the Commission to the warning of James Bullard, the Fed member who was entrusted with the task of sending the signal that "the time has come to end these emergency measures", while emphasizing that " we must proceed in such a way as not to upset the markets”. The latter, confused, take a step back and take refuge in the Zurich bunker. The euro closed at a five-month low against the Swiss franc.
MILAN -1,25%, FRANKFURT OVERWHELMED BY RAIN
Piazza Affari slips back below the 25 mark: -1,26%, to 24.875 points.
In the rest of Europe, Frankfurt dropped by 1,04%, while Germany is overwhelmed by exceptional bad weather which resulted in dozens of deaths.
Paris -1%; Amsterdam -0,74%; London -1,12%. The worst is Madrid (-1,49%), in a Spain that turns red on the weekly map of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) on the incidence of Covid, together with the Netherlands, Cyprus and Malta.
The infections, with the Delta variant, continue to grow in Europe and some official data show that the United Kingdom has reached the largest daily increase since 15 January.
WIND OUT OF CONTROL, SIEMENS ENERGY AND VESTAS OVERWHELMED
Siemens Energy slips 9,4% after canceling its fiscal target, as Siemens Gamesa. The group's wind power division was hit by higher-than-expected increases in product and raw material costs.
Siemens Gamesa plunges 14,2%, heading into its worst session since July 2019, while wind turbine maker Vestas shares are down 5,1%.
The landslide of Asos continues in Paris (-13,6%): the higher costs have not translated into an increase in prices for consumers.
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY IN CYBERSECURITY, AVAST +14,3%
Maxi deal arriving in the cybersecurity segment. The NortonLifeLock group (-4%) and the Czech competitor Avast (+14,3%) have announced that they are in "advanced negotiations" for a merger, which could take the form of a takeover bid launched on Avast, to be presented possibly by August 11th. Headquartered in Prague and founded in 1988, Avast is one of the world's largest security software groups, offering a range of products to protect against viruses and other cyber-attacks. NortonLifeLock (formerly Symantec) has focused on this area after the 2018 sale of the company's security division. It is likely that the antitrust authorities will put the operation under investigation.
The auto sector is down in Europe: a UBS report recedes the sector despite the good performance in the second quarter. The chip crisis will weigh on both profits and turnover. Renault leaves 2,16% on the ground.
UP THE SPREAD. VISCO: BCE STILL SOFT
Italian government bonds also archived a negative session, with purchases favoring Bunds and T-Bonds. The spread between the 110-year Italian bond and the German bond thus rises to 3,64 basis points (+0,74%) and the BTP yield grows to +0,71, from +XNUMX% yesterday.
According to an operator, Powell's reference to higher-than-expected inflation influenced the worsening of the BTP and the consequent widening of the spread, which triggered an aversion to risk which penalized the Italian bond.
Attention is now focused on next week's ECB directory, which should confirm a "dovish" approach, also given the recent tone. Today Ignazio Visco, governor of the Bank of Italy, said he expects an accommodating attitude from Frankfurt for a long time to come.
AMPLIFON AND DIASORIN ARE SAVED IN PIAZZA AFAI
On a Thursday of widespread losses throughout the Ftse Mib, there are only three stocks bucking the trend that manage to close trading in positive territory. Standing out among these is Amplifon (+1,13%), which continues to benefit from the recent acquisition in Australia, followed by Diasorin (+0,43%), rewarded by various buys following the completion of the acquisition of Luminex Corporation for 1,8 billions of dollars. The Hera patrol closes (+0,15%).
BLACK THURSDAY FOR BUZZI AND FERRARI
Conversely, losses of more than 2% were recorded by Buzzi (-2,7%), Nexi (-2,54%), Ferrari (-2,36%), Exor (-2,3%) and Stm (-2,14. XNUMX%).
Oil companies are also bad: Saipem -1,76%, Tenaris -1,61% and Eni -1,25%.
CUCINELLI SELLS 1% OF THE CAPITAL
Heavy losses then for Brunello Cucinelli (-4,25%): the absolute majority shareholder Fedone completed the sale of 0,95% of the share capital at a price per share of 47,20 euros through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure .
WEAK BANKS, UNICREDIT ITALIA IS BORN
It's not much better for the banks. Unicredit leaves 1,02% on the ground. Andrea Orcel continues his work to redesign the bank by launching the new Unicredit Italy, with our country "becoming an autonomous geography", on a par with Germany, Eastern Europe and Central Europe, "confirming the crucial importance of the country where the roots, essence and spirit from which the Unicredit Group".
Intesa Sanpaolo loses 1,42%, Mediobanca 0,81%, Bper 0,73%.
AIM, FLY COMER, MULTINATIONAL AGRICULTURAL COMPANY
The flight of Comer Industries (+21%) should be noted in the Aim. The company which operates in the agricultural, industrial and energy machinery sectors has signed an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of WPG Holdco, the parent company of the Walterscheid Powertrain Group, a leader in the Off-Highway (components and drive systems for the agricultural, industrial, construction and mining equipment sectors), present in 75 countries with a turnover of 396 million euros. Upon completion of the operation, one of the world's leading mechanical engineering groups will be created agriculture, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange.
