Watson's Daily

Tuesday 06/08/19

In MARKET, CURRENCY & MACRO NEWS, US-China developments cause a kerfuffle, Facebook's Libra gets ganged up on and a weaker £ helps the UK services industry. In RETAIL/CONSUMER NEWS, UK retail sales and car sales dive, the M&S/Ocado rationale is…

Monday 05/08/19

In RETAIL NEWS, US retailers shed jobs and Sports Direct gets closer to Jack Wills. In LEISURE-RELATED NEWS, Disney closes in on channel launch and Netflix is accused of falsifying figures. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, FiatChrysler relies on Jeep, KKR…

Friday 02/08/19

In MACRO NEWS, Trump hits more Chinese goods with a 10% tariff, Asian manufacturing suffers, Japan/Korea relations are about to get worse and the Bank of England leaves the interest rate unchanged. In FINANCIALS-RELATED NEWS, LSE buys Refinitiv, Barclays raises…

Thursday 01/08/19

In MACRO NEWS, the Fed cut interest rates, but not by as much as everyone was hoping. In TECH NEWS, Alphabet overtakes Apple, Spotify disappoints and TikTok runs into India trouble. In RETAIL-RELATED NEWS, Next bucks the gloom but Intu…

Wednesday 31/07/19

In MARKETS & CURRENCY NEWS, markets wobble as Trump chastises China and the pound hits record lows. In TECH-RELATED NEWS, Huawei sales defy the US ban, Apple sees strong revenues, Samsung's nightmare continues and the Grindr IPO gets back on…

Tuesday 30/07/19

In M&A NEWS, the Pfizer/Mylan deal goes official, the Just Eat/Takeaway.com merger delivers excitement and the LSE/Refinitiv deal puts LSE back into play. In UK HIGH STREET NEWS, Grant Thornton quits as Sports Direct's auditor while falling rents on retail/commercial…

Monday 29/07/19

In MACRO NEWS, the UK jobs market continues to look buoyant despite Brexit uncertainty. In MERGER & ACQUISITION NEWS, the amount of merger activity increases with LSE, Just Eat and Pfizer currently mulling moves. In UK RETAIL NEWS, Sports Direct…

Friday 26/07/19

In MACRO NEWS, the ECB announces stimulus, Germany weakens, Spain's PM loses the vote and South Korea's economy rebounds. In TECH NEWS, Amazon's winning streak ends, Google's continues and Apple buys into smartphone modems. In HIGH STREET NEWS, the UK…

Thursday 25/07/19

In TRADE & INVESTMENT NEWS, Hyundai Heavy Industries warns of the US-China trade war impact and tensions increase between South Korea and Japan while investors pile in to Vietnam. In CAR NEWS, Nissan cuts 9% of its workforce, Aston Martin…

Wednesday 24/07/19

In POLITICAL NEWS & TRADING IDEAS, Spain's PM Sanchez faces a tricky time and we look at industries who might benefit from BoJo as PM and the hot weather. In SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS, Facebook takes its medicine and Snap posts…

Tuesday 23/07/19

In MARKETS & OIL NEWS, China's "Nasdaq" has a stellar debut and the oil price says "meh" to Iranian actions. In TECH NEWS, Equifax pays a big settlement for a data breach, China's ByteDance builds an Indian data centre and…

Monday 22/07/19

In MACRO NEWS, expectations of both the Fed and ECB cutting interest rates increase. In RETAIL & RESTAURANT NEWS, In RETAIL & RESTAURANT NEWS, US retail gets squeezed by rents and online while restaurants are having to offer more to…

Friday 19/07/19

In RETAIL NEWS, sales rise, Waitrose cuts, Debenhams asks for more money and Asos has another profit warning. In CIGARETTES & ALCOHOL NEWS, ABInBev lines up asset sales, TDR buys Ei and Philip Morris International invests more in alternative ciggies.…

Thursday 18/07/19

In TECH NEWS, G7 nations can't agree on digital tax, Neuralink announces some amazing stuff and South Koreans complain about 5G. In ONLINE NEWS, Netflix loses subscribers, eBay lifts profit forecasts and FaceApp is accused of dodgy data usage. In…

Wednesday 17/07/19

In TECH NEWS, Congress puts Big Tech under pressure and Amazon's faces the European Competition treatment. In PLANT-BASED PROTEIN NEWS, cheese and yoghurt substitutes rise in popularity and Blue Apron gets a Beyond Meat Boost. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, AG…

Tuesday 16/07/19

In TECH NEWS, US senators grill the tech titans with Facebook in line for Libra inquisition. In CAR-RELATED NEWS, Yandex and Uber buy Russia's #1 taxi company and Jaguar Land Rover gets a loan. In DEAL NEWS, AB InBev gets…

Monday 15/07/19

In MACRO & CURRENCY NEWS, China's economy faces challenges and Huawei-bashing sees consequences while emerging markets could be facing another currency crisis. In UK CONSUMER NEWS, high street footfall weakens and the housing market's not looking too hot either. In…

Friday 12/07/19

In BREXIT NEWS, the Bank of England warns of a No-Deal shock. In BIG TECH NEWS, a UK/US clash is in the offing on digital tax, Amazon aims to futureproof its staff, Facebook wants to go. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS,…

Thursday 11/07/19

In MACRO & MARKETS NEWS, the UK economy returns to growth and Wall Street buzzes on rate decrease hopes. In CAR NEWS, sales in both China and India weaken while JLR continues to suffer. In UK HIGH STREET NEWS, we…

Wednesday 10/07/19

In MANUFACTURING-RELATED NEWS, Airbus is on track to overtake Boeing, Switch production goes to Vietnam and BMW pulls some engine production from the UK. In STREAMING NEWS, China's DouYou aims to raise almost $1bn in a US IPO and live…

Tuesday 09/07/19

In BANKS NEWS, Deutsche suffers after the cull and banks are slow to endorse Facebook's Libra. In CONSUMER/RETAILER NEWS, spending hits the skids, online shopping is expected to overtake high street shopping in ten years, Jack Wills brings in KPMG…

Monday 08/07/19

In FINANCIALS NEWS, Deutsche Bank takes drastic action, digital banks grow up and fintech evolution continues. In CAR-RELATED NEWS, SUVs "pile up" on the sales lot, energy suppliers pledge to get EV fleets and JLR's chief says batteries are key…

Friday 05/07/19

In HIGH STREET NEWS, William Hill announces shop closures and Primark eyes US expansion. In CAR-RELATED NEWS, UK plug-in car sales disappoint and India's Ola gets a London licence. In TECH-RELATED NEWS, Samsung forecasts a big fall in operating profit…

Thursday 04/07/19

In CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS, US lawyers get medieval on Libra and the UK regulator plans a ban on crypto for retail investors. In DISRUPTOR NEWS, Spotify does an about-turn and things get interesting for corporate travel. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, Deutsche…

Wednesday 03/07/19

In MACRO & INDUSTRY NEWS, Australia cuts interest rates again, China announces good news for foreign securities companies and UK construction slows right down. In IPO NEWS, ABInBev lines up an Asian belter and the Aramco IPO looks like it's…

Tuesday 02/07/19

In MARKETS, MACRO & COMMODITIES NEWS, markets trend higher on trade war resolution hopes, UK factory output hits new lows, OPEC keeps its production limits unchanged and iron ore price soar. In FINANCIALS NEWS, Thailand's SCB sells its insurance division…

Monday 01/07/19

In MARKETS, OIL & CURRENCY NEWS, China plans its own "NASDAQ", oil prices look set to rise and we see the nature of cryptocurrencies changing. In RETAIL NEWS, supermarkets drag other retailers down and Superdrug slashes its dividend. In INDIVIDUAL…

Friday 28/06/19

In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY & BITCOIN NEWS, Apple loses Jony Ive, Nike announces strong sales and Bitcoin drops. In RETAIL NEWS, we see H&M cutting back on new stores, our changing high streets and weakening online fashion. In CAR NEWS, Ford…

Thursday 27/06/19

In MACRO AND BITCOIN NEWS, China manages to skirt US tariffs, foreign investment in the UK hits a new low and Bitcoin breaks $13,000. In UK RETAIL NEWS, Bathstore goes down the plughole, Bonmarche eats humble pie, Pizza Express gets…

Tuesday 25/06/19

In MACRO AND BITCOIN NEWS, Trump slaps Iran, German business confidence falls and Bitcoin breaks $11,000. In M&A NEWS, Eldorado buys Caesars and Capgemini merges with Altran. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, Daimler goes into reverse, Monsoon eyes store closures and…

Monday 24/06/19

In MARKETS AND COMMODITIES NEWS, global markets brace for turmoil and the falling cobalt price damages DRC. In RETAIL/MAIN STREET-RELATED NEWS, Carrefour looks to reverse out of China and restaurants put pressure on delivery prices. In CIGARETTE-RELATED NEWS, San Francisco…

Friday 21/06/19

In MACRO & INVESTMENT NEWS, the Bank of England leaves interest rates unchanged and Neil Woodford gets ready for more redemptions. In UK RETAIL NEWS, sales are hit by cold weather but Dunelm surprises on the upside while Dixons, Monsoon…

Thursday 20/06/19

In MACRO & INVESTMENT NEWS, the US keeps rates on hold, UK manufacturing orders fall, the Hargreaves/Woodford thing takes another turn and Vanguard cuts prices. In TECH NEWS, Oracle unveils strong revenues, YouTube considers changes on kids' content and Slack…

Wednesday 19/06/19

In MARKETS & CURRENCIES NEWS, the prospect of Xi-Trump talks buoys markets, UK flotations look thin on the ground and Facebook launches Libra. In TECH NEWS, Niantic buys Sensible Object and Twitch buys Bebo. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, UBS' pig…

Tuesday 18/06/19

In CONSUMER/RETAIL-RELATED NEWS, Eurozone wages are up, UK consumer confidence remains steady, H&M falls behind Inditex and Black Sheep raises new funding. In SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS, Facebook launches its cryptocurrency and TikTok aims for advertisers. In PLANE-RELATED NEWS, Airbus trumps…

Monday 17/06/19

In MACRO NEWS, the US/Iran situation hots up while UK growth looks set to fall. In RETAIL NEWS, Walmart outpaces Amazon, we take stock of the impact of CVAs and Patisserie Valerie gets a revamp. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, Deutsche…

Friday 14/06/19

In TECH NEWS, both Broadcom and Huawei suffer from the US ban while Facebook's cryptocurrency gets closer to launch and Alilbaba gets closer to its Hong Kong listing. In UK RETAIL NEWS, Morrisons rolls out fast delivery, Tesco's sales growth…

Thursday 13/06/19

In TRANSPORT-RELATED NEWS, I bring you stories on sales, batteries and experiments. In RETAIL NEWS, Inditex, Lululemon and Boohoo smash it, Lidl makes moves in London and Majestic gets another bidder. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, BAT is let down by…

Wednesday 12/06/19

In MACRO NEWS, UK pay rises and unemployment falls. In RETAIL NEWS, it's crunch time for Arcadia and Ted Baker has another profit warning. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, VW breaks off its relationship with Aurora, Marcus links up with Saga…

Tuesday 11/06/19

In TECH-RELATED NEWS, Salesforce buys Tableau in a $15.7bn deal and Tencent's PUBG Mobile becomes the world's top-earning game. In CAR-RELATED NEWS, we see that UK output is hit by car factory shutdowns, that our EV charging network has a…

Monday 10/06/19

In INDUSTRY NEWS, Big Tech could be about to get a tax surprise and UK high street visits hit new lows. In NEWS ON CARS, makers continue to target China and we see the knock-on effects of our shrinking car…

Friday 07/06/19

In RETAIL NEWS, UK retail jobs fall, Monsoon delays its CVA but Joules and Loungers buck the gloom while Auto Trader cruises in the fast lane. In TECH NEWS, Amazon drones on and Google Stadia gets a sceptical reception. In…

Thursday 06/06/19

In CAR NEWS, Fiat Chrysler pulls the merger with Renault, JLR and BMW team up on EVs, Ford announces the closure of its Bridgend plant and UK new car sales continue to weaken. In RETAIL NEWS, Arcadia is forced to…

Wednesday 05/06/19

In MACRO NEWS, talk of US rate cuts cheers markets while Australia actually cuts them. In NEIL WOODFORD NEWS, the star fund manager gets a pasting for poor performance and banning redemptions. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, Salesforce announces a positive…

Tuesday 04/06/19

In MACRO NEWS, we look at a UK/Trump trade deal, why the oil price is weakening & disappointing UK retail sales. In NEW DEVELOPMENTS, top banks make their own digital coins, new regulations are to cover flying taxis and ecommerce…

Monday 03/06/19

In TRADE WARS & BREXIT NEWS, China and Mexico continue US negotiation efforts while global airlines, Huawei and FedEx get caught in the crossfire and Brexit dents manufacturers. In RETAIL NEWS, we see the case for US retailer weakness as…

Friday 31/05/19

In TECH NEWS, Dell's revenue growth slows, Huawei cuts out US employees and EE launches 5G in the UK. In RETAIL NEWS, Costco's sales rise, Gap suffers and Majestic looks more likely to sell all of its stores. In TRANSPORT-RELATED…

Thursday 30/05/19

In TECH NEWS, Huawei warns its ban will hit US suppliers, China increases uptake of its own chips while Nokia and Ericsson fight over replacing Huawei as suppliers. In RETAIL/HIGH STREET NEWS, Abercrombie & Fitch sales disappoint, Aldi and Lidl…

Wednesday 29/05/19

In CONSUMER/HIGH STREET-RELATED NEWS, UK mortgage approvals hit new highs, higher costs get passed on to shoppers, Gordon Ramsay bucks the gloomy restaurant trend and Boots announces closures. In FINANCE-RELATED NEWS, Global Payments buys TSYS for $21.5bn and Aviva announces…

Tuesday 28/05/19

In MACRO, MARKETS AND CRYPTO NEWS, we see the impact of the European elections, market relief as populists falter and Bitcoin's comeback. In CAR-RELATED NEWS, Fiat Chrysler proposes a merger with Renault, insurance costs rise as complex cars raise repair…

Friday 24/05/19

In MARKETS & POLITICS NEWS, trade war fears give investors the jitters and May looks "Mexit" in the face. In LEISURE-RELATED NEWS, Mitchells & Butler toasts solid profits, Hollywood Bowl eyes crazy golf expansion, Thomas Cook gets an offer and…

Thursday 23/05/19

In TECH NEWS, Huawei's headaches get worse, Hikvision looks like it might get the Huawei treatment and Qualcomm gets a big slap. In CONSUMER, RETAIL AND COSMETICS NEWS, Lowe's has a profit warning, UK inflation goes up, M&S and Arcadia's…

Wednesday 22/05/19

In RETAIL & UK HIGH STREET NEWS, US retailers brace themselves for tariff fallout, Home Depot posts solid results, Urban Outfitters looks at clothing rentals, Sephora ramps up openings and we look at Jamie Oliver's restaurant collapse and Halfords' woes.…

Tuesday 21/05/19

In TECH NEWS, Huawei gets an Android-shaped kick in the teeth. In CAR NEWS, Ford details job cuts, JLR unveils a record loss and Tesla's shares hit new lows. In INDIVIDUAL COMPANY NEWS, Ryanair suffers Brexit blues while Goldman buys…