Concerns over Italy's ability to cut the budget deficit have increased Italy's 10y risk spread over German bunds
The risk spread may expand more if the ECB raises rates 25bps on Thursday. As highlighted by HolgerZ, Italian banks' €380bn of BTPs are central to the €1.6tn so-called sovereign "doom loop." Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ
Regulation: this is where Europe want to take lead globally...
the rest of the world (especially the #us) wants to lead on #innovation and #growth but Europe wants to become the champion of #regulation... Indeed, U.S. tech giants are facing stricter rules in Europe with more regulation (the Digital Markets Act or DMA) announced this week. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, named six “gatekeepers” on Wednesday — these are companies that have an annual turnover above 7.5 billion euros ($8 billion) or 45 million monthly active users inside the bloc. They are Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and ByteDance, who now have six months to comply with stricter market rules — such as not being able to prevent users from uninstalling any pre-installed software or apps, or treating their own services more favorably. Source: CNBC, politic.eu
Should German automotive executives start to panic?
While German unions request four days workweek, projections by IHS / UBS show that China automakers are likely to take substantial global market share in the years to come... Source: Michel A.Arouet
The most valuable listed company in Europe now comes from Denmark
Novo Nordisk has overtaken luxury goods group LVMH on the stock market. It is now worth >€400bn, LVMH 'only' €382bn. The Danish drugmaker on Monday introduced Wegovy in Britain after launching it in the US in June 2021. Soaring demand in the world’s largest drug market subsequently delayed marketing in Europe. The drug is already available in Norway, Denmark and Germany. The company said on Monday that the drug would be introduced to the UK “through a controlled and limited launch”. Novo Nordisk is the largest producer, by sales, in a market for diabetes and new weight-loss drugs that analysts forecast would reach $130bn to $140bn in annual sales worldwide. The company’s biggest competitor in the market, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, has applied for regulatory approval to use its diabetes drug Mounjaro to treat obesity. Source: FT
Anti-obesity drug is the new luxury...Novo is Europe's biggest company
Source: TME, Refinitiv
Disinflation pause?
Eurozone inflation remained stuck at 5.3% in Aug, higher than the 5.1% that economists expected. Core inflation, which excl volatile energy, food, alcohol & tobacco prices & closely watched by ECB as measure of underlying inflation, tumbled to 5.3% in Aug from 5.5% in July, matching expectations. Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg
Germany's inflation drops to 6.1% in Aug from 6.2% in July while Core inflation stagnates at 5.5%
BUT 6.1% headline reading was 10 basis points above market predictions as energy prices accelerated to 8.3% in Aug from 5.7% in Jul. Food price inflation slowed to 9% in Aug from 11% in July. Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg
German wages rose at a record annual pace of 6.6 per cent in the second quarter, boosting consumer spending power but fuelling concerns about inflation being pushed up by rising labour costs
The increase, which compared with wage growth of 5.6 per cent in the previous quarter, was the highest since collection of the data began in 2008. It took German annual wage growth above the country’s consumer price inflation rate — 6.5 per cent in the period — for the first time since 2021. Source: FT
