important events
Spain's economy expands by 0.7%, faster than expected
JUST IN: Spain's economy grew faster than expected.
Spanish GDP rose 0.7% in the first quarter of this year, new data from statistical agency INS Indicated.
This is significantly faster than the 0.4% growth that economists had expected, and is an encouraging sign, especially after France grew faster than expected (see previous post).
INS also revised Spain's growth rate upward for the fourth quarter of 2023 from 0.6% to 0.7%.
Spain's economy grew by 2.4% on an annual basis, but this was mainly due to “domestic demand,” with “external demand” contributing 0.2 points.
This better-than-expected growth should cheer Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Prime Minister Sánchez announced yesterday that he would remain in office despite a “campaign of harassment and bullying” against him and his wife by political opponents and the media.
Volkswagen posts 20% drop in first-quarter profit
german car manufacturer Volkswagen It was revealed that operating profit for the first quarter of this year fell by one-fifth.
Europe's top carmaker has suffered declining sales and rising costs, but remains firm on its 2024 sales and profit margin targets.
Arno Antlitz, volkswagen's The CFO and COO says the results “indicate a slow start to the year,” but he insists the new model will help the company this year:
A strong March, solid orders from banks and the improvement in orders over the past few months are encouraging and should already have a positive impact on the second quarter.
With over 30 new model launches across all brands, we expect further momentum throughout the year.
volkswagen's Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell by 20% to EUR 4.6 billion, and sales fell by 2%.
France's inflation rate is falling
Inflation in France has slowed despite a pick-up in energy prices.
France's consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 2.2% in April, down from 2.3% in March, according to estimates by statistics agency INSEE.
This decline was due to slower price increases for food (1.2%) and tobacco (9%), as well as a slight decline in manufactured goods costs (-0.1%).
However, while energy inflation rose to 3.8% from 3.4% in March, service inflation remained at 3%.
🇫🇷 Due to rising energy prices, French inflation remained largely stable in April, but more importantly, services inflation appears to be hovering around 3% so far. Core products decreased slightly (-0.1% compared to the previous year). Le Dernier Kilometer. pic.twitter.com/VNCboYUcPI
— Frédéric Ducrozet (@fwred) April 30, 2024
French Minister: The facts are stubborn. France is growing.
The French Economy Minister welcomed today's news that the French economy performed better than expected in the first quarter.
bruno le Maile The government declared that the government's strategy is working after GDP rose 0.2% in the January-March period.
le Maile say:
“To everyone who wants you to believe that our economy is stagnant: the facts are stubborn. France is growing.
“This is another sign of the solidity of our economy…[the] The government's strategy is working. ”
This is the second piece of good news to arrive in Lemaire's inbox in the past week. Two major credit rating agencies, Moody's and Fitch, left France's rating unchanged last Friday, despite the country's large national debt and concerns about fiscal deterioration.
Hungary returned to growth, a positive sign for Eastern European economies.
Hungary's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of this year, but stagnated at 0% in the final quarter of 2023, new data shows.
While the industrial sector shrank, market services such as real estate activities and information and communications drove growth.
Whitbread cuts 1,500 jobs in UK, increases returns to shareholders
Hotel company Whitbread, which operates in the UK and Germany, is cutting 1,500 jobs in a cost-cutting plan. We will strengthen the return of profits to shareholders.
whitbread has today announced a new efficiency program that will deliver cost savings of £150m over the next three years.
It is written like this.
The plans we are announcing today will result in the reduction of approximately 1,500 roles out of a total UK workforce of 37,000.
While these plans are still subject to consultation, we will seek to find alternative opportunities where possible through the roles created by these plans and through our existing recruitment process, which employs approximately 15,000 people each year.
We expect a significant proportion of those affected to remain with us and will provide dedicated support to our team.
whitbread announced the plan alongside its latest financial results showing a 13% increase in revenue and a 21% increase in pre-tax profit in the last financial year.
The company's Premier Inn Germany division saw sales rise by 62% and losses narrowed from £50m to £36m.
whitbread Investors can expect higher returns. The company's board has recommended a 26% increase in the final dividend to 62.9p per share.
We're also planning to begin a new £150m share buyback by the first half of this year (exactly what we're saving by cutting costs!).
France's growth rate rises to 0.2%
Newsflash: France's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of this year, beating expectations.
In an encouraging start to the Eurozone GDP release day, France's GDP increased by 0.2% in the January-March period, outpacing the 0.1% growth recorded in October-December.
This could boost hopes that the eurozone is back to growth, as economists had expected growth to remain at 0.1%.
Household spending is the driver of French economy, statistics agency says Incy Domestic final demand recovered, contributing 0.4 percentage points to growth, it said.
However, the contribution of foreign trade to GDP growth was zero, with imports increasing by 0.2% and exports increasing by 0.5%.
HSBC CEO Noel Quinn steps down after 'five intense years'
There was big news in the banking industry this morning. HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn will unexpectedly resign after nearly five years in the role.
The board has started a formal process to find a successor, firing the starting gun to find a replacement at Europe's largest bank.
quinn HSBC exits after leading a series of strategic reviews, increasing investment in HSBC's Asian operations while reducing investment in other markets such as France and the United States.
Looking ahead, quinn He explained his reasons for resigning as follows:
“After five intense years, now is the perfect time to strike a better balance between personal and business life. I plan to pursue a portfolio career in the future.”
Mr. Quinn was appointed CEO in March 2020 after serving as interim chief executive officer, leading the bank through the coronavirus pandemic. He also faced pressure to separate the company's Asian operations from major shareholder Ping An.
Inflation slows in UK stores as clothing and footwear prices drop
larry elliott
Good news for UK shoppers this morning. This month's price growth is the slowest since late 2021, and non-food items are actually cheaper than a year ago.
Deep discounts by clothing and footwear retailers are putting the brakes on inflation, the latest snapshot of spending trends on the streets shows.
Prices in non-food stores were lower this month than last year as store owners scrambled to unload summer stock in cold, wet weather, according to a monthly report from industry lobbying group British Retail Consortium (BRC). It is said that it has gone down. .
BRC announced the cost of non-food items. fell The inflation rate in April was at an annualized rate of 0.6%, while the rate of increase in food prices slowed to 3.4% from 3.7% in March. Overall, food and non-food inflation was 0.8% in April and 1.3% in the year to March, the lowest level since December 2021.
Click here for details:
Introduction: Today is Eurozone GDP (and inflation) day
good morning. Welcome to our regular coverage of business, financial markets and the global economy.
The Eurozone economy is in the spotlight today with new growth and inflation data being released across the single currency area.
Economists expect the euro zone to return to growth in the first quarter of this year, with growth constrained by high interest rates and pressure on living costs.
Analysts expect eurozone GDP to grow by 0.1% in the January-March period. That would help the region emerge from a shallow recession, which shrank by 0.1% in the third and fourth quarters of last year.
analyst of investec We hope to see some growth in the euro area.
The outlook for inflation in the euro area will also be in focus as the HICP preliminary report for April is released on Tuesday. This will be released at the same time as Q1 GDP. The latest revisions meant the eurozone was in a technical recession in the second half of the year, albeit by a small margin.
Given the more favorable economic indicators at the beginning of 2024, the euro area is expected to emerge from recession in the first quarter, with quarterly output expanding by 0.1%.
Inflation is expected to be flat in April at 2.4%, while core inflation could fall to 2.6% from 2.9%.
If inflationary pressures ease, the European Central Bank could be free to start cutting rates in June – especially if growth disappoints.
Will appear again today
Frankly, today could be a great day for news.
Firstly, a new post-Brexit levy on imports of EU food and plant products into the UK begins today. Fees of up to £145 will apply to small imports of animal products and plants, such as sausages, cheese and yoghurt, entering the UK from the EU through the Port of Dover and the Eurotunnel at Folkestone.
Many famous companies are announcing their financial results today.I will hear from whitbread, glencore, prudential, st james place and hordensMeanwhile, HSBC just reported a modest (1.5%) drop in profit last quarter to $12.7 billion.
In Europe, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, adidas and Lufthansa German Airlines Reporting from Wall Street mcdonalds, coca cola and Amazon Update the market.
major mining company anglo American The company is holding its annual general meeting days after fending off a takeover offer from a rival. BHP group, Anyone currently considering whether to improve their offer…
And in Parliament this morning, members of the Finance Committee are conducting an inquiry into financial sanctions against Russia, and in the afternoon the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee will examine supermarket managers on food price inflation, profits and relationships with producers. I plan to ask questions.
agenda
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6:30am (BST): French GDP for Q1 2024
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7am BST: German retail sales for March.
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7:30am (BST): Hungary GDP for Q1 2024
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7:45am BST: French inflation report for April
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8am (BST): Austria GDP report for Q1 2024
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8am BST: Czech Republic GDP report for Q1 2024
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8am BST: Spain GDP report for Q1 2024
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9am BST: Germany GDP report for Q1 2024
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9am (BST): Italy Q1 2024 GDP report
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9:30am BST: Portugal Q1 2024 GDP report
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9:30am BST: UK mortgage approvals and consumer credit data for March.
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10am BST: Eurozone GDP report for Q1 2024
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10am (BST): April Eurozone Inflation Report
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10:15am BST: UK Treasury Committee holds inquiry opening meeting into Russia financial sanctions
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1pm (BST): Mexico GDP report for Q1 2024
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1:30pm (BST): Canada's February GDP report
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2pm (BST): February US House Price Index
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2.30pm (BST): Supermarket chiefs attend Efra Select Committee hearing on food supply chain
