European Midday Briefing : Mood Hit By Shift in -2-

Pipe corrosion found at around 10 of EDF's 56 nuclear reactors led it to shut down more than half of them over the summer. As a result, EDF was forced to buy electricity on Europe's wholesale power market, where prices had soared because of Russia's decision to cut shipments of natural gas to the continent.

Uniper 2022 Loss Widened; Sees Earnings Improve in 2023

Uniper SE reported a widened loss for 2022 as a result of high replacement procurement costs due to the curtailment of Russian gas volumes, but said it expects adjusted earnings to improve in the current year.

The German gas importer on Friday confirmed that it booked a net loss of 19.1 billion euros ($20.4 billion) in the full year compared with a loss of EUR4.2 billion in the prior year, as announced during preliminary results.

Mercedes-Benz to Hand Around $6 Bln to Shareholders After Revenue, Profit Jumped

Mercedes-Benz Group AG is planning to distribute 5.6 billion euros ($5.98 billion) to shareholders after revenue and net profit surged in the fourth quarter and the whole of 2022, though the company warned that sales should be flat this year as supply snags remain.

The German luxury-car maker on Friday posted quarterly revenue of EUR41.00 billion, up from EUR35.24 billion the previous year.

Allianz Swung to 4Q Profit on Life-Health Business

Allianz SE said Friday that it swung to a fourth-quarter profit on a strong performance in its life-health segment, but that profits fell at its nonlife and asset-management operations.

Europe's largest insurer said net profit in the three months to the end of December was 2.01 billion euros ($2.14 billion), compared with a net loss of EUR292 million in the same period of 2021, which was affected by provisions for its U.S. Structured Alpha funds.

Abu Dhabi to Sell 4% of Natural-Gas Business in IPO

DUBAI-The United Arab Emirates' national energy company plans to sell a stake of about 4% of its natural-gas business in an initial public offering that it hopes will raise $2 billion, as Middle East petrostates increase plans to supply Europe.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or Adnoc, will sell more than 3 billion shares in Adnoc Gas, one of the world's largest gas-processing entities, on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Feb 23. Shares are expected to begin trading on March 13.

GLOBAL NEWS

After hot economic data, the big question is whether the Fed will return to 50 basis point rate hikes

The economic data coming in over the last week has by and large been characterized by one word: hot.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls employment surged by 517,000. Retail sales jumped by 3%. Consumer and producer prices did decelerate on a year-over-year basis, but not by as much as forecast. After the PPI data, economists at Goldman Sachs added another quarter-point rate hike to their forecasts, so that they now see 25 basis point hikes in March, May and June, which would take the fed funds rate between 5.25% and 5.5%.

Growth Stocks Are Trumping Value Once Again

Shares of fast-growing companies are leading the 2023 stock rally, but some investors say they don't have much more room to run.

The Russell 3000 Growth Index has climbed 10% this year, outpacing the Russell 3000 Value's 4.5% advance. The rally marks a sharp reversal from last year when value stocks, or those that trade at low multiples of their book value, or net worth, stood out in a down market.

It's a Richcession, Not a Recession. Here's Your Investing Playbook.

Big companies are announcing layoffs, home and stock prices are wobbling, inflation is squeezing household budgets and the Federal Reserve is still raising interest rates. Not surprisingly, Americans have been hearing the "R" word a lot. It's the wrong one.

The U.S. could still skirt a recession, but it is already in a richcession. That's when, amid economic uncertainty, the well-off feel more of the bite.

Lack of Crypto Audit Regulation Raises Questions About PCAOB Authority

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is facing calls to be the regulator that brings supervision to bear on auditors of cryptocurrency companies, even as the majority of crypto businesses fall outside its jurisdiction.

Cryptocurrencies in the U.S. are largely unregulated, leaving investors at risk of market manipulation and fraud, and most crypto exchanges are privately held, so they aren't required to produce audited financial statements or file the reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Biden 'Remains Fit for Duty,' White House Doctor Says

WASHINGTON-President Biden's doctor said Thursday the 80-year old "remains fit for duty" following his most recent physical examination and ahead of an expected re-election campaign.

Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the president's physician, wrote that Mr. Biden takes medication for non-valvular atrial fibrillation, high cholesterol, gastroesophageal reflux and seasonal allergies, according to a statement released by the White House.

Democrats Renew Push for Gun-Control Legislation

WASHINGTON-Democrats are renewing their push for tougher gun control, seeking to expand background checks and build on the passage of a compromise firearms package last year.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), a longtime proponent of gun control in the Senate, reintroduced the Background Check Expansion Act on Thursday, a bill that would expand federal background checks to all gun sales and private transfers between individuals. Bipartisan legislation last year expanded checks for buyers under 21 years old.

Earthquakes Weigh on Turkey's Already Struggling Economy

KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey-The earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria last week are heaping new stresses on the Turkish economy, posing a challenge for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is facing an election this year.

The quakes cut a path of destruction through a core industrial region in Turkey around the cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, home to factories exporting everything from clothing for Western brands, jewelry, pots and pans, and iron. It also devastated some of the country's agricultural infrastructure producing fruit, vegetables, grains and seeds. Now, the region is littered with damaged and destroyed industrial facilities.

U.S. Watchdogs Want to Deploy Staff to Ukraine War Zone to Track Arms, Aid Up Close

WASHINGTON-Top oversight officials responsible for tracking over $110 billion in U.S. military and economic aid to Ukraine said they would press to deploy auditors and investigators directly into the war zone to beef up monitoring as the scale and scope of American assistance expands.

Inspectors general from the Pentagon, State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development said in a joint interview with The Wall Street Journal that, thus far, they have been able to conduct critical oversight tasks remotely using personnel based in Washington, Poland and Germany.

Teens' Mental-Health Distress Could Be Worse Than CDC Data Suggest

America's teenagers are distressed coming out of the pandemic, reporting record levels of sadness and suicide risk, according to a report released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A closer look at how these numbers come together suggests that the data might be a little bit off: If anything, teens' distress levels could be higher than reported.

Biden Says Unidentified Flying Objects Not Linked to Chinese Spy Activity

WASHINGTON-President Biden said the three highflying objects taken down over North America following the shooting down of an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon were likely tied to private companies or related to recreation or scientific research, saying they were removed out of an abundance of caution.

Following days of questions about the administration's response, Mr. Biden said of the three objects that "nothing right now suggests they're related to China's spy balloon program." He said he has directed his team to develop sharper rules for distinguishing objects that present safety risks and require action.

Justice Department to Increase Scrutiny of Technology Exports, Investments

A senior Justice Department official on Thursday said the agency would intensify its efforts to block foreign adversaries such as China and Russia from obtaining sensitive data and technologies, including by launching a new partnership with the U.S. Commerce Department.

The partnership, dubbed the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, will pair federal prosecutors with Commerce Department agents to investigate and prosecute criminal violations of U.S. export controls laws, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech in London.

Emails Reveal Deep Ties Between Jeffrey Epstein, Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley

Former Barclays PLC chief Jes Staley exchanged more than a thousand emails with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, some of which included photos of young women in seductive poses, according to court documents released this week.

The emails, revealed by the U.S. Virgin Islands government in a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co., where Mr. Staley was once a top executive, shed new light on the relationship between the banker and the late financier who was charged with sex trafficking before his apparent suicide in 2019.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-17-23 0607ET