Consumer confidence in Germany is expected to improve for the seventh consecutive month in May, as income expectations brightened on easing energy bills, despite a continued squeeze on spending.

Germany's forward-looking consumer-sentiment index forecasts confidence to tick up to minus 25.7 in May from a revised minus 29.3 in April, the strongest level since the same month of 2022, according to data from market-research group GfK published Wednesday.


Riksbank Lifts Policy Rate to 3.50% From 3.00%; Sees Further Hike Later in Year

Sweden's central bank on Wednesday lifted its key policy rate to 3.50% from 3.00%, as expected, and signaled a further smaller hike later in the year as it continues to fight stubbornly high inflation.

The Riksbank said the policy rate will probably be raised further by 0.25 percentage points in June or September, with its new rate path now implying the rate will peak at around 3.65%, from around 3.3% previously, and remaining at that level for the next couple of years.


Roche 1Q Sales Dragged by Diagnostics Division; Backs 2023 Outlook

Roche Holding AG on Wednesday posted a decline in sales for the first quarter as its diagnostics division suffered from significantly lower demand for Covid-19 tests, and backed its outlook for the year.

The Swiss pharma major reported sales of 15.32 billion euros ($16.82 billion) for the first quarter, down from CHF16.45 billion in the same quarter a year prior. Sales in the pharmaceutical division grew 9% to CHF11.70 billion, but the diagnostics division declined 28% to CF3.62 billion, the company said. Sales of Covid-19 tests dropped to CHF0.3 billion in the first quarter, from CHF1.9 billion in the same period a year ago, when the Omicron variant of the coronavirus drove demand.


GSK 1Q Profit, Sales Beat Expectations But Fell On-Year; Backs 2023 Guidance

GSK PLC on Wednesday reported net profit and sales that beat expectations but declined on-year, and backed its guidance for the full year 2023.

The British pharma giant said that first-quarter sales were hit by lower Covid-19 solutions sales compared with the same quarter of 2022. Operating profit and earnings per share were lower due to the previous year's income benefit of the Gilead settlement and higher sales of Covid-19 treatment Xevudy.


Standard Chartered's First-Quarter Profit Rose 10% as Interest Income Jumped

Standard Chartered PLC said first-quarter net profit rose 10%, driven by sharply higher interest income as global central banks continued to raise interest rates.

The Asia-focused bank on Wednesday posted net profit of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared with $1.06 billion for the same period in 2022.


SEB 1Q Net Profit Beat Forecasts as Interest Income Rose 60%

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB on Wednesday posted a better-than-expected first-quarter net profit, driven by a sharp rise in net interest income.

The Sweden-based bank posted net profit of 9.39 billion Swedish kronor ($911 million), up from SEK6.37 billion a year earlier and ahead of the SEK7.63 billion forecast from analysts polled by FactSet.


Danone Lifts Organic Sales Growth Outlook on Strong 1Q

Danone SA lifted its organic sales growth guidance for the year after reporting a rise in sales volumes in the first quarter driven by price increases.

The French food company on Wednesday said that quarterly sales came in at 6.96 billion euros ($7.66 billion) compared with EUR6.24 billion a year earlier. Sales rose 10.5% on a like-for-like basis, with a 10.3% contribution from price and a 0.2% contribution from volume/mix.


Puma Backs 2023 Views Despite Margin Squeeze in 1Q and Ahead

Puma SE on Wednesday confirmed its outlook for 2023, but warned of continued drags on profitability after first-quarter profit declined despite higher sales.

The German sporting-goods firm booked sales of 2.19 billion euros ($2.40 billion) in the first three months of the year, 14% higher on year adjusted for currency effects. This just beat analysts' expectations for sales of EUR2.16 billion, according to a poll of forecasts provided by FactSet. The company pointed to a return to growth in China and good demand in the EMEA region helping offset a decline in North America.


Orange Confirms 2023 Outlook After Rise in 1Q Revenue

Orange SA on Wednesday backed its targets for this year as revenue rose slightly in the first quarter, and said it expects to benefit in coming quarters from price increases introduced in early 2023.

The French telecommunications company said revenue for the quarter rose to 10.62 billion euros ($11.66 billion) compared with EUR10.58 billion for the year-earlier period. On a comparable basis, Orange's revenue rose 1.3%, with growth in its Africa and the Middle East operations offsetting a decline in France.


Royal KPN Backs 2023 Guidance After 1Q Net Profit, Revenue Rose and Beat Consensus

Royal KPN NV on Wednesday reported a rise in first-quarter net income and revenue, beating consensus, and backed its guidance for the year.

The Dutch telecommunications company made a quarterly net profit of 196 million euros ($215.1 million) compared with EUR179 million for the first quarter of 2022 and a company-compiled consensus of EUR165 million.


Telia Co. Backs Guidance But Cautions on Costs

Telia Co. AB on Wednesday posted a first-quarter net profit that missed forecasts and cautioned that inflation pressure is likely to hurt its cost targets, but the company backed its full-year guidance.

The Swedish telecommunications operator said it made a first-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders of 603 million kronor ($58.5 million), compared with SEK929 million a year earlier and the SEK1.16 billion expected in a FactSet poll.


Reckitt Benckiser first quarter revenue rises to $4.9 billion; Kris Licht appointed CEO

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC UK:RKT said Wednesday that its first-quarter revenue rose, supported by a broad-based growth across its businesses, and said it has appointed Kris Licht as Chief Executive Officer to succeed Nicandro Durante.

The consumer-goods company-which houses Dettol, Harpic and Durex among its brands-said revenue for the quarter was of 3.92 billion pounds ($4.86 billion), compared with GBP3.42 billion the same period a year ago as prices/mix was up 12.4%, while volumes fell 4.5%.


CRH first quarter sales rise 5% as U.S. growth picks up

CRH PLC UK:CRH said Wednesday that like-for-like sales increased in the first quarter supported by its Americas and Europe materials businesses reported growth.

The Irish building-materials supplier said like-for-like sales rose 5% in the period, with its Americas materials division growing by 8% and its Europe materials business sales rising by 6%, both on a like-for-like basis. However, on a reported basis, Americas materials division rose 10% and Europe materials sales fell 1%.


Tobacco Company BAT Pleads Guilty to Violating U.S. Sanctions on North Korea

WASHINGTON-A U.K. tobacco company agreed to pay more than $635 million to resolve charges that it conspired to violate U.S. sanctions by selling cigarettes to North Korea in what Justice Department officials described as a brazen scheme to conceal illicit business by routing it through a third-party company in Singapore. The settlement payment was the largest penalty ever levied on a company for violating U.S. sanctions on Pyongyang.

The company, British American Tobacco PLC, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors over illegal sales that took place over more than a decade, even after the company announced that it had abandoned its North Korean business, U.S. officials said. But BAT, which makes Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Pall Mall cigarettes, continued selling tobacco products to the isolated regime through a Singaporean front company.


Media Freedom Faces Threats Even in EU, Says Press Group

BRUSSELS-The European Union, among the world's strongest proponents of media freedom, isn't doing enough to protect reporters within its own borders, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an international advocacy group.

The group, in a new report, identifies growing restrictions on media across the 27-country bloc and spotlights the murders of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 and of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018, both of whose killings were linked to their work.


Russia Urges Nations at U.N. to Reject U.S.-Led Isolation Effort Over Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS-Russia's chief diplomat is using high-profile meetings in New York this week to marshal opposition to the U.S.-led efforts aimed at isolating Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, drawing condemnation from Western diplomats.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, presiding over the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council, urged countries to reject what he described as a world order dominated by American and European priorities.


GLOBAL NEWS

House Debt Ceiling Bill Cuts Deficits by $4.8 Trillion Over 10 Years, CBO Says

WASHINGTON-House Republicans' debt-ceiling bill would cut government deficits by $4.8 trillion over 10 years, according to Congress's nonpartisan scorekeeper, as party leaders moved to gather enough support for a vote this week.

The bill is designed to unify Republicans around a position as they prepare for expected talks with the White House and congressional Democrats over spending cuts, ahead of a projected summer deadline to raise the country's borrowing limit. Unless Congress raises the ceiling, the U.S. could default on payments to borrowers and other obligations.


U.S. Treasury Looks to Curb 'De-risking' at Banks

The Biden administration is looking to address actions taken by U.S. banks to unbank certain customers and groups over their perceived connections to higher money-laundering risks.

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04-26-23 0550ET