0953 GMT - International Consolidated Airlines shares top the FTSE 100 fallers, down 4% amid investor caution despite the airline group's swing to net profit in 2022. The stock has had a strong run and while the latest results were encouraging, there are areas of concern for investors, AJ Bell says. "As a legacy of Covid, debt is highly elevated, " Bell's investment director Russ Mould writes. "This could make the market uncomfortable, particularly if there is any indication it's preventing IAG from making necessary investments in its business. The pledge to return to pre-Covid levels of profit in the next few years gives investors something to look forward to, but also demands some patience." (philip.waller@wsj.com)
Boeing Halts 787 Dreamliner Jet Deliveries Due to Documentation Issue
Boeing Co. has halted deliveries of 787 Dreamliner jets because of a documentation issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane maker hasn't handed over a Dreamliner since Jan. 26 from the production line or from the dozens stored awaiting delivery, said aviation-data provider Ascend by Cirium. Boeing last week said it had paused assembly of new jets.
BASF to Further Cut Costs in Germany After 4Q Earnings Declined - Update
BASF SE said Friday that it is implementing further cost-saving measures and would cut jobs at its Ludwigshafen facility as the German chemical company seeks to reduce costs after a year which saw earnings fall.
The company said it was carrying out structural measures at Ludwigshafen designed to lower costs by more than 200 million euros ($211.9 million) a year by the end of 2026.
Commerce Report to Detail Consumer Spending, Inflation in January
A report Friday will offer insight into how the economy is fairing at the start of 2023, including whether consumers are spending on air travel, rent and other services, and if inflation continues to moderate.
The Commerce Department will release January figures on household spending, income and saving, alongside the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Fed Rate Policy Is Shaking Up the World of Muni Debt
The markets' bumpy start to 2023 is causing whiplash even in the historically placid realm of state and local government debt. Municipal bonds this month have erased nearly all of their January gains after fears of rate increases cooled investor appetites.
"It has been a roller coaster," said Nathan Will, head of municipal credit research at Vanguard Group.
Interest-Rate Concerns Push Investors Into Dividend-Paying Stocks
The prospect of interest rates remaining higher for longer is sending investors scrambling back to dividend-paying stocks.
Investors poured a net $272 million into U.S. mutual and exchange-traded funds that buy dividend-paying stocks in the two weeks ended Wednesday, according to data from Refinitiv Lipper. They added a record $48 billion to such funds in 2022 but pulled $835 million from them in January when shares of speculative companies propelled a market rebound.
Inflation Barely Fell Last Month, Fed's Preferred Gauge Set to Show
The Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of rising prices is expected to show decades-high inflation kept falling last month-but just barely.
Economists surveyed by FactSet project the core personal-consumption expenditures price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 4.3% year over year in January, according to FactSet. That would represent a fourth straight month of declines in the annual rate and a slight deceleration from the 4.4% growth seen in December.
Bank of Japan Governor Nominee Predicts Inflation Rate Will Fall Soon
TOKYO-Japan's core inflation rate hit a four-decade high of 4.2% in January, but the nominee to lead the Bank of Japan said he expects it to fall and doesn't think an interest-rate increase is needed.
Core consumer prices-which Japan defines as all prices excluding fresh food-rose at the fastest pace since September 1981 but came in slightly below the consensus forecast. It was the 10th consecutive month that inflation exceeded the Bank of Japan's 2% target.
German Consumer Sentiment Set to Improve Further in March as Recession Fears Ease
Consumer confidence in Germany is expected to improve again in March, posting its fifth gain in as many months, as energy prices moderate and concerns over a deep recession fade.
Germany's forward-looking consumer-sentiment index forecasts confidence to increase to minus 30.5 in March from minus 33.8 in February, the highest level since July, according to data from market-research group GfK published Friday.
U.K. Consumer Confidence Improved by More Than Expected in February
U.K. consumer confidence improved more than expected in February, a sign of strength even as households continue to feel the pinch from high inflation and climbing interest rates.
Research firm GfK said its consumer-confidence barometer rose to minus 38 in February from minus 45 in January, the highest reading since April and more than reversing a dip last month.
Economy Showing Strength in Early 2023 After Last Quarter's GDP Gain Revised Modestly Lower
The U.S. economy appears to be exhibiting strength early this year, after posting solid, but slightly weaker, growth at the end of 2022.
Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the goods and services produced across the U.S., rose at a 2.7% annual rate in the fourth quarter, adjusted for seasonality and inflation, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was down from a previous estimate of 2.9% growth, and slower than the third quarter's 3.2% growth.
West Starts Issuing Fresh Sanctions Against Russia
The West started rolling out its latest package of coordinated sanctions against Russia, marking the first anniversary of the invasion and setting up for a long-haul effort to squeeze Russia's economy.
U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly kicked off a series of new Western government measures early Friday, saying Britain would place export bans on all items Ukraine has found Russia using on the battlefield. The U.K. also added close to 100 Russian individuals and entities, including officials from state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, to its sanctions list.
North Korean Cruise Missiles Fly in Figure-Eight Patterns as U.S., Allies Hold Exercises
SEOUL-North Korea launched four cruise missiles, flying in figure-eight patterns and landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan as military exercises raise tensions in the region.
North Korea fired four Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles from the North Hamgyong province, a northeastern region of North Korea, to demonstrate its nuclear counterattack capability, Pyongyang's state media said on Friday.
China Urges End to Ukraine War, Calls for Peace Talks
China made a fresh call for a cease-fire and peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, seeking to cast itself as a neutral mediator in a one-year-old conflict during which Beijing has struggled to maintain its close partnership with Moscow while not further inflaming tensions with the West.
In a 12-point document issued Friday morning in Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry outlined what it called "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis," using its preferred label for the war that Russia launched a year ago.
Republicans Choose Milwaukee for First GOP Presidential Primary Debate
The Republican National Committee has selected Milwaukee as the location for its first presidential primary debate in August, according to a letter from the chair to members.
The debate is the first of what is expected to be several candidate showdowns as Republican voters choose their 2024 presidential nominee. Wisconsin has become a perennial swing state that can become crucial to winning the White House in the general election.
Ukraine Marks Successes, Mourns Losses as War Enters Second Year
KYIV, Ukraine-Ukraine on Friday marked the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, celebrating the nation's resilience against a much more powerful enemy as it prepared for a spring offensive to reclaim lands still occupied by Moscow.
The mood in the Ukrainian capital was of pride and defiance, with the national opera theater holding a concert called "Ukraine: Free and Unbreakable." The Polish prime minister and other high-level foreign delegations flocked to the city, on the heels of this week's visits by President Biden and by the prime ministers of Italy and Spain.
Train-Car Wheel Bearing Overheated Before Ohio Train Derailment, NTSB Finds
An overheated component on a railcar carrying plastic pellets was the likely cause of a Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailment earlier this month, federal transportation officials said Thursday, an incident that created an environmental mess in a small Ohio town and that the railroad and state and federal officials are still trying to clean up.
Before the train carrying several cars of hazardous chemicals derailed Feb. 3, the crew received a warning in the train cab telling them to immediately slow and stop the train to conduct an inspection, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. It was during the deceleration that the railcar wheel bearing failed, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said during a press briefing.
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Earnings:
Boralex 4Q
Can. Imp Bnk of Cmm 1Q
CI Fincl 4Q
Fiera Capital 4Q
Economic Indicators (ET):
Nothing major scheduled
Stocks to Watch:
Advantage Energy 4Q Basic EPS C$0.63 Vs. C$1.90; 2022 Basic EPS C$1.81 Vs. C$2.17
Lundin Gold 4Q Rev $211.0M Vs. $186.4M; 4Q Adj EPS 14c Vs. Adj EPS 33c; 2022 Rev $815.7M Vs. $733.3M; 2022 Adj EPS 53c Vs. Adj EPS $1.07
Northland Power 4Q Sales C$641M; 2022 Sales C$2.45B Vs. C$2.09B
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
02-24-23 0635ET
