Review of financial and company news, artificial intelligence, retail sales
Hyundai plans to introduce paid subscriptions for some vehicle features. According to the head of Hyundai Connected Mobility, Markus Welz, the company wants to introduce a Features-on-Demand system, which will make the functionality of cars more personalized.
Iraq has implemented enough voluntary oil production cuts - Iraqi government. And it will not agree to any additional cuts adopted by OPEC+ at the next meeting.
Chips: "War for Security." South Korea is preparing a $7 billion investment package for the chip industry.
In the US, utility stocks led the way, gaining more than 4% over the past five days to cap off their best week of the year.
“AI hype has many investors looking for the next big thing after the meteoric rises of companies like Nvidia (NVDA) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI),” said Adam Turnquist, chief technology strategist at LPL Financial. Energy consumption is expected to rise sharply amid a boom in data center growth.
Of the corporate reports, retailers are the most interesting. Walmart (WMT), Home Depot (HD) and Alibaba (BABA) report this week.
Reuters - US internet giant Amazon (AMZN) will announce a new investment of 1.2 billion euros in France, the French president's office said on Sunday ahead of the annual "Choose France" event.
Britain's GSK will also announce new investments, while Accenture (ACN) will announce plans to create new jobs in the artificial intelligence sector.
The Choose France event starts on Monday. Bloomberg: Pfizer Inc. and Morgan Stanley are also preparing to increase their presence in France, with new foreign investments to be announced on Monday.
According to Placer, foot traffic data for Home Depot (HD) indicates a 1.1% y/y decline in visits in the first quarter,
while visits to Walmart (WMT) rose 3.9% y/y over the same period.
Arm aims to release artificial intelligence chips in 2025. Japan's Nikkei Asia reported that Arm will create an AI chip manufacturing division and launch a prototype by next spring, with mass production through contract manufacturers beginning in fall 2025.
Bloomberg: Part of the Fed's difficulty in bringing inflation down to its 2% target has to do with the resilience of American consumers.
Retail sales rose strongly in February and March, although economists' forecasts for April suggested households were taking a breather. These data are expected on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, economists will analyze the government's report on consumer inflation.
Wall Street economists expect headline consumer price inflation to rise 0.4% in April for the third straight month. The index is expected to fall to 3.4% year-on-year in April, down from 3.5% in the previous month.
Core inflation will decline slightly to 3.6% y/y, up 0.3% m/m.
Gasoline prices are expected to weigh on the index in April. Health care costs may slow and begin a new long-term downward trend.
Other reports next week include:
Retail data on Wednesday
Home starts and industrial production for April in the US.
Thursday's unemployment claims, last week's sharp rise, were seen as skewed by a surge in claims from school support staff in New York City due to the late spring break week.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak at a foreign bankers' meeting in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
Regional Fed Presidents Loretta Mester of Cleveland and Raphael Bostic of Atlanta, who are voting on the Fed this year, are also scheduled to speak.
China will release a series of data on Friday that is expected to show the second quarter is off to a good start.
Growth in industrial production, retail sales and fixed investment accelerated compared to the previous year. But the downturn in the housing market will continue to pose risks as property investment fell more than 9%.
Growth is likely to resume in the second quarter thanks to a rebound in auto production, according to Bloomberg Economics.
The UK will be in focus with labor market data that could encourage policymakers as they watch inflation pressures ease.
Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, likely rose 5.9% year over year in the first quarter, according to the median estimate of economists.
While growth is still robust, further rate cuts will encourage Bank of England officials, two of whom voted on Thursday to immediately cut borrowing costs against seven who favored leaving them unchanged.
Japan's economy is estimated to have contracted in the first quarter due to a fall in private consumption and business investment, as well as the first negative contribution from net exports in a year. Those numbers are expected Wednesday.