Home Depot and Lowe are expected to post strong FQ2 results amid demand from pandemic-related DIYers
Home Improvement behemoths Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) are expected to report the same sales growth of 10.9% and 14.3%, respectively this week for fiscal Q2. The increase in demand, which surprises even veteran managers, is driven by people staying at home during the pandemic who spend time and resources on home upgrades. Foot traffic at HD has been up 35% since April.
Carmakers switching to online sales as dealer networks struggle with pandemic-related slowdowns
Encouraged by the increase in online commerce during the pandemic, certain car manufacturers are rolling out direct car sales via the internet, embracing their traditional dealer networks that have been forced to close showrooms. Peugeot parent PSA expects to deliver more than 100K cars through the direct channel. Volkswagen (OTCPK: VWAGY) follows the same strategy for their electric cars. It has plans to release 75 battery-powered models over the next 10 years. Instead of allowing its dealers to set their own prices, VW will sell its flagship ID.3 car at a standardized price in Germany, regardless of how it is purchased. Daimler (OTCPK: DDAIF), which already sells cars directly in South Africa and Sweden, plans to roll out in Austria next year.
Google talks in talks to invest in India’s share company SocialChat
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is in talks to invest in India-based social media company ShareChat, the Economic Times reports. ShareChat is looking to raise $ 150M- $ 200M to help fill the gap left by banned Chinese apps like ByteDance’s (BDNCE) TikTok and Helo; ShareChat has a short video app, Moj, as well as a social media platform that competes with now banned Helo. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) reports also held its own ShareChat investment talks.
Virgin Galactic not quite there with launch of space tourism
Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE), the brainchild of billionaire Richard Branson’s space tourism, has the date of her maiden voyage in 2021. The voyage, originally planned for this year, will carry six passengers in the lower atmosphere on the SpaceShipTwo, in which she will spend a few minutes will experience weightlessness. About 700 customers have made prepayments on the $ 225K discount flights, but this is hardly a round mistake compared to the ~ $ 108M it consumes in H1. Carefully, short sellers surrounded the company that was hungry for cash, currently valued at $ 3.9B. It is long term plan to enter the traditional air market with a supersonic jet that can travel between distant cities in just a few hours.
ByteDance is under pressure at home to oppose US demand for TikTok US operations
ByteDance (BDNCE) is literally caught in the middle of the US / China shrinkage over TikTok. Chinese users and observers realize that submitting U.S. requirements to distribute U.S. operations of the short-form mobile video platform within 90 days would be a sign that it is losing face. Last week it announced that it could seek legal action against President Trump’s executive order, but it is unclear if management’s goal is to follow through. The only realistic option of the company is, according to one observer, to ensure that it receives a reasonable price for the American company of TikTok.
China is running on medium-term loans at unusual rates
The People’s Bank of China rolled out lending medium-sized loans at unchanged rates for the fourth straight month. In a one-off for the month, however, it rolls out 700,000 yuan worth (about $ 100.7B) of one-year loans on medium-sized lending facilities; that amount is greater than the two parties MLF loans expiring in August (about 550 Yuan in total). It also injected another 50B yuan into the market through seven-day reverse repos. It is a signal that the central bank means to keep liquidity rates healthy for commercial lenders to manage upcoming sales of government bonds.
Golden bugs love rallying, but ears get harder on mine
Gold miners enjoy an expanded rally, excluding the COVID-19 sell-off in March, as the price of ore continues to climb, up ~ 28% this year. Prices above $ 2,000 per ounce before reaching profit level. The bad news is the expected long-term rise in mining costs due to the difficulties in extracting the precious metal in less hospitable places. The grade of ore that gets bad, the amount of metal per ton of rock extract, also falls, now 1.46 grams per ton, well below 10 grams in the early 1970s. Drivers, worried about the expensive overexpansion during the last resort, have used the bull market to pay off debt and increase dividends instead of starting new projects.
