Before an hour
Volkswagen announces five-year, $193 billion investment plan as electrification gathers momentum
The all-electric VW ID Buzz on a production line at a Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles plant in Hanover, Germany, 16 June 2022.
Fabian Bimmer Reuters
Volkswagen on Tuesday announced plans to invest 180 billion euros ($192.6 billion) between 2023 and 2027, with more than two-thirds targeting “electrification and digitalization.”
The German auto giant earlier this month reported full-year 2022 operating profit of 22.5 billion euros, up 13% year-on-year, with battery and electric vehicle shipments up 26%.
Arno Antlitz, CFO and COO of the Volkswagen Group, said the strong financial position should enable the company to continue investing in electrification and digitization even in a “challenging economic environment”.
Read the whole story here.
– Eliot Smith
Before an hour
European equity markets open higher
European stock markets opened cautiously higher on Tuesday as the aftershocks from the collapse of the Silicon Valley bank continue to ripple through financial markets.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index opened 0.2% higher, with sectors and major exchanges posting a diversification of modest gains and losses. The banking sector led losses, falling 0.7% after a turbulent day for bank stocks on Monday. Utilities and technology stocks led gains, rising 0.7%.
– Hannah Ward-Glenton
2 hours ago
European banks are better protected from SVB contagion, Professor says
Richard Portes, a professor of economics at London Business School, told CNBC that while we cannot predict contagion in the banking sector, European banks are better protected than those in the US
Portes’ comments come as investors weigh the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
– Hannah Ward-Glenton
2 hours ago
UK job vacancies fall for eighth straight month
The number of job vacancies in the UK has fallen for the eighth straight month, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
Vacancies fell to 1.124 million between December 2022 and February 2023, down 51,000.
The data also showed that between November 2022 and January 2023 real wage growth (excluding bonuses) among workers was 6.5% as wages cannot keep up with high inflation, which currently stands at 10.1%.
– Hannah Ward-Glenton
7 hours ago
Oil prices fall as concerns arise over SVB fallout spreads
Oil prices fell as the collapse of the Silicon Valley bank continues to resonate in global markets.
Brent crude futures were last traded 0.49% lower to $80.32 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were down 0.6% to $74.35 a barrel.
The National Australia Bank expects prices to fall further after stronger-than-expected US inflation data, due to be released later.
“Oil prices fall on the market fallout from the collapse of the US Silicon Valley bank. A stronger-than-expected US CPI data report tonight will continue to weigh on near-term prices,” NAB wrote in a daily note.
While energy prices have eased somewhat on easing scarcity concerns, upside risks remain, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said.
“We see upside risks to our outlook stemming from a continued decline in Russian oil and diesel exports,” CBA said.
– Lee Ying Shan
9 hours ago
Asia-Pacific banks continue to see losses from SVB fallout
Banks in Asia-Pacific continued to fall sharply in Tuesday morning’s trading.
Japan’s soft bank was down more than 3% in the first hour of Tokyo trading as investors continued to harbor concerns about Japan’s investment powerhouse.
Banks also posted sharp losses, with Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Group down 6.92%, SMFG down more than 7%, Mizuho Financial down 7.34% and Nomura down 4.6%.
9 hours ago
US inflation will cool in February, Dow Jones estimates
The US CPI for February is expected to come in at 0.4% on a monthly basis or 6% on an annual basis, according to Dow Jones estimates.
This is only slightly lower than January inflation data of 0.5% and 6% respectively.
CPI will be the next data point that could provide insight into the Federal Reserve’s moves ahead of its March 21-22 meeting.
A hot inflation report will spark expectations that the Fed could hike rates by 50 basis points from the 25 points it introduced in February.
—Lim Hui Jie, Patti Dormitory
9 hours ago
CNBC Pro: SVB crisis shows how tough higher rates can be – but these 3 stocks are resilient, says strategist
Many companies will find it very difficult to operate in an environment of higher interest rates, as the Silicon Valley Bank crisis demonstrated, said Anthony Doyle, head of investment strategy at Firetrail Investments.
“There will be winners and losers, and part of the challenge for investors today is figuring out which companies will find this environment much more difficult than in a zero interest rate world,” he said.
Still, he identified three stocks that he thinks appear resilient in this new market environment.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Wheat Tan
6 hours ago
CNBC Pro: As technology continues to strengthen, strategists say these stocks represent a buying opportunity
The collapse of the Silicon Valley bank has compounded the problems in the tech sector and follows expectations that interest rates are likely to remain high for some time.
But some strategists are doubling the sector.
“We believe that for intermediate and long-term investors, the recent bout of volatility that you’ve seen represents a buying opportunity,” Anthony Doyle, head of investment strategy at Firetrail Investments, told CNBC on Monday.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Zavier Ong
4 hours ago
Collapse of SVB: No other lender “steps in to fill those shoes,” investment firm says
Startups will soon feel the secondary effects of the Silicon Valley bank collapse in “very important ways,” said Matt Higgins, CEO and co-founder of private investment firm RSE Ventures.
Speaking to CNBC’s Street Signs Asia, Higgins explained that SVB is “very paternalistic” to the sector, providing founders not only with payslips and loans but most importantly lines of credit.
“Many of these companies have already had problems raising equity. And they were counting on these lines to extend their runway to get out [their] Cash burning beyond the recession we’re all expecting,” Higgins said.
However, with SVB’s closure, “that evaporated overnight and there’s no other lender that’s going to step in to fill those shoes,” he says.
— Lim Hui Jie
Mon, March 13, 2023 1:00 am EDT
European Markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are heading for a higher open day even as the aftershocks from the collapse of the Silicon Valley bank continue to ripple through financial markets.
According to data from IG, the UK FTSE 100 index is expected to open 13 points higher at 7,566, Germany’s DAX 36 points higher at 15,024, France’s CAC up 22 points at 7,036 and Italy’s FTSE MIB up 52 points at 26,280.
Earnings are expected from VW, Circle and Porsche as well as UK unemployment figures for January.
— Holly Ellyatt
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