Articles by: Miroslav Marinoff

Spot Gold eases as investors look for more Fed rate clues

Spot Gold was a notch weaker on Monday, with market focus setting on more macro data out of the US this week, including the key Non-Farm Payrolls report. The latest US PCE inflation figures still supported expectations that the Federal Reserve would likely cut interest rates later in 2024. Data showed last Friday that annual […] Read more

Switzerland’s retail sales rise the most since February 2022

Retail sales in Switzerland were reported to have risen at the sharpest annual rate since February 2022 in April. Retail sales went up 2.7% year-on-year in April, while rebounding from a 0.2% drop in March, the data showed. The latest figure far exceeded market consensus of a 0.2% rise. In April, sales of non-food products […] Read more

Spain posts €3.285 billion current account surplus in March

Spain has reported a surplus of EUR 3.285 billion on its current account in March, which compared with a EUR 5.911 billion surplus in March of 2023. The nation’s goods and services surplus shrank to EUR 5.244 billion in March from EUR 6.741 billion a year earlier. Spain’s tourism account registered a EUR 5.100 billion […] Read more

Singapore’s bank lending eases from 15-month high in April

Total bank lending in Singapore came in at SGD 804.3 billion in April, data by the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed. That figure compared with a 15-month high of SGD 807.8 billion in March. Lending to corporate sector decreased to SGD 491.8 billion in April from SGD 495.3 billion in March, the data showed. In […] Read more

Germany’s retail sales contract 1.2% in April

Retail sales in Germany were reported to have contracted at a monthly rate of 1.2% in April, or much more compared to market expectations of a 0.2% drop. That followed a revised up 2.6% surge in March. Sales in the German food retail sector shrank considerably in April, by 3.7%, while non-food sales edged up […] Read more

TowneBank announces $0.25 quarterly dividend

TowneBank (NASDAQ: TOWN) said this week its Board of Directors had authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share of common stock. The dividend will be paid on July 12th to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 28th 2024, the company said. The dividend was kept unchanged from the […] Read more

France’s CPI inflation rate holds steady at 2.2% in May

Annual consumer price inflation in France has remained stable at 2.2% in May, a preliminary figure showed on Friday. A consensus of analyst estimates had pointed to an acceleration to 2.4%. It has been the lowest inflation rate since September 2021. In May, prices increased at a faster rate for food (1.3% YoY compared to […] Read more

Guggenheim downgrades Generac Holdings to “Sell”

Guggenheim Securities has downgraded Generac Holdings Inc (NYSE: GNRC) to “Sell” from a prior investment rating of “Neutral”, as the financial services firm cited overvaluation. Generac Holdings’ stock has risen over 31% since the beginning of March. “The market is reacting to reports that 2024 is likely to see an active hurricane season,” Guggenheim Securities […] Read more

SARB leaves key policy rate intact at 8.25%

The South African Reserve Bank left its benchmark repo rate at a 15-year high of 8.25% at its May policy meeting, in line with market consensus. The central bank left borrowing costs on hold for the sixth meeting in a row after its rate-hiking campaign. Despite that inflation outlook risks were seen as broadly balanced, […] Read more

Sweden’s consumer morale highest since February 2022

Consumer confidence in Sweden has reached its highest level since February 2022 in May, the latest data by the National Institute of Economic Research showed. The consumer confidence indicator in the country was reported at a reading of 91.3 in May, up from 88.8 in the preceding month. In the meantime, consumers’ optimism about the […] Read more