August, 2021

• 23 August

  Coach owner stockpiling handbags for holidays

  Bloomberg The owner of the Coach and Kate Spade brands is stockpiling its handbags and other accessories ahead of the holiday season to ensure it can meet consumer demand amid ongoing delays in the delivery of products from suppliers. “We find ourselves in a dynamic where the consumer demand backdrop is strong, while supply chain remains challenging,” Scott Roe, the …

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• 23 August

  Macy’s jumps on sales outlook, renews investor payouts

  

  Bloomberg Macy’s Inc surged after the department-store operator reinstated its dividend and raised its sales guidance, a sign that consumers are returning to the apparel market after a lengthy pandemic slump. Same-store sales, a key retail metric, rose 61% for the company’s owned stores in the second quarter, Macy’s said in a statement. That’s above the 43% gain expected by …

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• 23 August

  Canadian retail surges on shopping spree

  Bloomberg Retail sales in Canada rebounded as brick-and-mortar shops were allowed to reopen after months of Covid-19 shutdowns, though early data shows that momentum was short-lived. The value of receipts rose 4.2% in June, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. However, that bounce-back was quickly reversed in July with a preliminary estimate showing a 1.7% decline on the month. That brings …

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• 22 August

  Even after $1.5tn rout, China tech traders see more pain

  

  Bloomberg Even a $1.5 trillion selloff may not provide an attractive entry point for equity investors as they grapple with cascading risks in China’s technology sector. A stock rout triggered by Beijing’s widening clampdown has left Tencent Holdings Ltd. trading at a price-to-book ratio lower than during the 2008 financial crisis. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has slumped to record low …

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• 22 August

  Wall Street just as baffled about markets as it was last year

  

  Bloomberg Ask a Wall Street strategist where stocks will go and the answer will almost always be, higher. That’s not the case now. Twelve out of the 21 forecasters tracked by Bloomberg expect the S&P 500 Index to fall into the holidays. The spread between the highest and lowest target is 24%, the third-widest in nearly a decade. The uncertainty …

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• 22 August

  Oil caps longest losing streak since 2019 on Fed taper signal

  

  Bloomberg Oil capped the week with the longest losing streak since 2019 as the dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve signaled it will start tapering stimulus and the virus resurgence raises doubts about demand growth. West Texas Intermediate futures ended the session 2.2% lower, tumbling for a seventh day and extending the week’s decline to 8.9%. Other raw materials including …

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• 22 August

  HCHF concerned over crisis in Afghanistan

  ABU DHABI / WAM The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF) is following the situation in Afghanistan with great concern and hoping that the key actors there will advance the aspirations of the Afghan people to live dignified and peaceful lives. The HCHF called for protecting human rights, guaranteeing public and individual freedoms, and, in particular, safeguarding the rights of …

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• 22 August

  EU to provide additional funding of €41 million to fight pandemic

  

  BRUSSELS / WAM The EU will provide €41 million to help low and middle-income countries facing an unprecedented health, humanitarian and socio-economic crisis as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to persist, combined with the imbalance in the delivery of vaccines. To help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia tackle the consequences of the pandemic, the …

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• 22 August

  Canada’s big banks to mandate Covid-19 vaccines for workers

  

  Bloomberg Four of the top five Canadian banks are taking a stricter stance with their return-to-office policies, requiring that workers be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before coming back to company buildings, while the fifth is moving in the same direction. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Bank of Montreal joined other major financial firms in requiring …

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• 22 August

  Africa’s biggest bank looks to add 40% more clients on continent

  

  Bloomberg Standard Bank Group Ltd is aiming to grow its customer base by at least 10 million across the 20 African countries it operates in over the next four years. Africa’s biggest lender is looking to add more digitally engaged customers, forge alliances with distribution partners and expand its product offering as it plots a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. …

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