Jeff Bezos doesn't like wasting time. And so next Monday, when the acquisition of the Whole Foods department store chain ($13,7 billion) goes live, Amazon will lower the prices of fruits and vegetables as well as a number of other products. Bezos' move was announced to coincide with the arrival of the most powerful central bankers on the planet (Janet Yellen, Mario Draghi and the Japanese Haruhiko Kuroda) for the traditional annual seminar that the Kansas City Fed organizes in the mountains of Jackson. At the heart of the talks will be inflation. Or rather, the absence of inflation ten years after the start of the therapies to counter the recession which led to the increase in the monetary base by 15.000 billion dollars. Without however triggering the increase in prices.
Indeed, having reached the ninth year of global growth, inflation is falling again. Perhaps due to the "fault" of technology, the powerful weapon of the digital age which has made the job of central banker much more difficult. The dilemma is: to raise rates before, as happened at the end of the last millennium, a sudden acceleration in prices forces a tightening and consequent boom in stock exchanges? On the contrary, maintain an accommodating monetary policy, so as not to choke a recovery that is still weak? It is almost obvious that the words of Draghi (speech scheduled for 21 pm in Italy) or Yellen (appointment at 16 pm) will not offer a definitive answer, but the markets hope that a key will emerge from the meeting to face the coming months. In the meantime, watch out for hurricanes: "Harvey" is about to devastate Texas (and support oil prices), Donald Trump, more dangerous, has thrown his head against the Republican leaders in Congress, threatening a budget blackout federal.
AMAZON UNLEASHES THE PRICE WAR
Awaiting the interventions of the bankers, Asia ended the week in a positive climate: Tokyo advanced +0,45, ahead of Seoul +0,2%. Everything is ready for the launch of the Galaxy 8, the new smartphone from Samsung. the CSI 300 index of the Chinese stock market gains 1,3% and is at its highest level since 2014. The clash in Washington over the debt ceiling and the difficult take-off of the healthcare reform weighed on Wall Street. Dow Jones -0.13%, S&P 500 -0,21%, Nasdaq -0,21%. The new requests for weekly unemployment benefits register a growth? to 238 thousand units from 232 thousand previously. Sales of existing homes in July in the USA were down by 1,3%, the data improves from the -2% of the previous month but is decidedly lower than expected. The announcement of Amazon's price offensive in large-scale distribution had an immediate effect on competitors: Wal-Mart -2,3%, the Kroger grocery chain -8,3%.
HURRICANE HARVEY SUPPORTS OIL, NORWAY WEIGHTS ON SAIPEM
Oil rises in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey. Wti crude oil rose by 0,7% to 47,75 dollars, Brent to 52,41 dollars. Little move Eni -0,1%. down Saipem -2,6%, the worst stock on the Stock Exchange after the bankruptcy of the Norwegian company Seadrill, plummeting on the Oslo Stock Exchange. A collapse that damages the entire sector of oil & gas service companies.
MILAN AT THE TOP. VISCO: THE RECOVERY IS NOT STRUCTURAL
Contrasted closure for the EU Stock Exchanges, down from the highs of the day on the wave of the very negative US data on the sale of existing homes. Milan closed the day of trading in positive territory, with the Ftse Mib index at +0,51%. Frankfurt managed to hold parity (+0,05%) while Paris finished in negative territory at -0,04%. In France, business confidence grew to 109 points in August from 108 in July, higher than expected and at the highest levels since 2011. Madrid +0,19%. Spanish GDP in the second quarter grew by 3,1% over the previous year, in line with expectations.
In London, the Ftse 100 gained 0,53%. The Pound is flat after nine declines in ten sessions: cross at 0,919 from 0,923, the highest in 12 months. Great Britain's GDP for the second quarter confirmed growth of 0,3%, in line with expectations. The Italian recovery "is not structural". This was stated by the governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, on the sidelines of the CL meeting in Rimini. "It is an economic recovery, it is not a structural recovery", underlined Visco, explaining that "in order for it to become structural, it is necessary to continue along the line that is already in place", or rather by continuing with "reforms and innovation". “We are coming out with difficulty even if we are emerging from the crisis”. But the reforms? “They're not finished yet: there's still a lot to do”.
TREASURY AUCTIONS START AGAIN: 6 BILLION BOTS IN SIX MONTHS
Minor balance around previous closing levels in a context dominated by anticipation of the Jackson Hole symposium. The 2,10-year bond traded at 171%. The spread is at 175 (against 0,38). The German Bund yield nearly unchanged at +6% hit an eight-week low on Wednesday. The Ministry of the Economy has announced the offer of 28 billion euro of six-month BOTs, maturing on February 2018, 29, in the auction on Tuesday August 28. 1,5-2 billion euros of the May 2019 Ctz will be offered on Monday 30 August. Today, however, there will be the announcement on the medium-long term placements of XNUMX August.
The market seems to have digested the statements that Silvio Berlusconi made on Sunday to 'Libero', in which he signaled his support for the idea of a dual currency in order to stimulate domestic demand. When asked by Reuters about the departure of the Forza Italia leader, a Brussels spokesman recalled that on the basis of article 128 of the EU Treaties, the euro is the only legal tender in the countries belonging to the monetary union.
FCA LEADS THE CAR RACE, A HISTORICAL RECORD ALSO FOR EXOR
The Fiat Chrysler race continues +2,97 to 12,49 euros. The stock closed the fourth consecutive session with a strong increase, albeit downsized towards the end. During the session, it reached a new high in the last 20 years at 12,94 euros. According to Bloomberg, FCA is evaluating various options, including a project that involves the spin-off of the Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands and its components business. The group's goal would be to refocus FCA on mass-market cars by making it more attractive for a possible combination with a competitor. The hypothesis of a sale of Jeep seems to be ruled out, but a final decision is not expected before the beginning of 2018, while the timing of the implementation remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones agency has revealed that talks are underway between the FCA group and Volkswagen +0,79% to jointly produce some light commercial vehicles. The collaboration could include the joint construction of future versions of the Amarok pickup and the van Caddy of the Wolfsburg house. The talks between the two partners are at an initial level, the sources add, indicating that the contacts between FCA and Volkswagen include only a joint production of commercial vehicles. In fact, Volkswagen is not interested in Jeep or the entire FCA group.
Ferrari brakes -1.22% to 114,21 euros. La Rossa reversed the trend after coming close to yet another historic record. Weak and bucking session ending. The first images of the "Portofino" (list price around 200 thousand euros) have been released, the heir to the legendary California which will be presented at the next Frankfurt Motor Show scheduled from 14 to 21 September. The Portofino is Ferrari's new entry level with convertible roof, 8hp V600 engine and top speeds exceeding 320km/h. Exor rises by 2,8%, new historical record.
BREMBO, PIAGGIO AND LANDI RENZO ACCELERATE
In the automotive sector, Brembo also shines +3,5% at 13,40 euros. “The half-year report just published was good, I hope that the second half will be the same as the first: we've already climbed a little bit, I'm relatively optimistic” stated the president, Alberto Bombassei, on the sidelines of a meeting at the Rimini Meeting. Landi Renzo also rises +5,78%. Great euphoria also for two-wheelers: Piaggio rose by 5,5% to 2,56 euros, the highest for two years. Yesterday Fidentiis analysts promoted the title by changing the recommendation from Sell to Hold. Negative session only for Cnh -1,74%.
BANKS, DBRS PROMOTE MPS
In the rest of the list: positive news for the Italian banking sector. The Canadian rating agency Dbrs has raised the rating on long-term debt of MPS to 'B' (high) from 'B' (low) with a stable trend. Intesa Sanpaolo +0,2%. UniCredit +1,7%. In luxury: Ferragamo +0,8%, Ynap suffers -1% in the wake of UK consumption data. Morgan Stanley cut its target to 60 euros from Luxottica's 65 euros.
