Germany's Dax closed at fresh all-time-high just as hedge fund Qube built a $1bn short bet against top German stocks
Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank, Rheinmetall, Siemens Energy, Hellofresh, and Morphosys are among those being wagered against. Source: Bloomberg
German manufacturing had been in crisis well before Russia invaded Ukraine
Putin's invasion only made this structural decline worse. Europe has an easy offset to this: a weaker currency. Euro needs to fall well below parity to offset the crisis in European manufacturing... Source: Robin Brooks
German inflation has accelerated again, at least the headline rate
CPI rose to 3.7% in December from 3.2% in November due to base effect. But Core CPI has fallen further to 3.5% in Dec from 3.8% in November. This means that core inflation is once again below headline inflation. Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg
German federal government is set to trim federal debt sales next year following the German top court's 'debt brake' ruling. Berlin plans to issue ~€440bn in debt
That compares with a record volume of ~€500bn in 2023 Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg
Times are tough for European industry, which is having to adapt to climate-friendly regulations, higher energy costs and increased competition from Chinese producers
German industry has seen production fall by -2.3% this year; worst of the four biggest eurozone economies. Source: Gavekal
Most of this year's Dax rally is driven by higher EPS expectations, not P/E expansion. Dax has gained 18% year-to-date while Dax P/E has expanded only 6% from 11.5 to 12.2
Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ
The German labor market is now sending out alarm signals despite the shortage of skilled workers
Germany’s unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 5.9% in November, the highest level in 2.5 years. Joblessness increased by 22k. Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ
German inflation sinks more than expected as energy retreats & costs of fuels & travel fell sharply from prior mth
Headline CPI slows to 3.2% YoY in Nov from 3.8% in Oct & vs 3.5% exp. Food inflation slows to 5,5% from 6.1%, Core CPI dropped from 4.3% to 3.8%, so a long way to go to 2% goal. Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ
