Tokyo Motor Show
The star of the Tokyo Motor Show is an electric sports vehicle designed by Toyota which has at its heart an assistant which neither Honda nor any other automaker has any chance of ever creating themselves.
Read more...Essential Products is clearly struggling with its Essential Phone which will lead to it focusing on
Essential Products is clearly struggling with its Essential Phone which we think will probably lead to it ending up focusing on the smart home only. Essential Products Inc. has used the only competitive weapon it ever really had and has cut the price of its flagship Essential smartphone by 29% from $699 to $499. Those that have already purchased the device will get a $200 credit towards purchasing other devices within the Essential ecosystem such as the 360 camera. The issue with this is it will really annoy fans of the device who paid full price and it is also an admission that there is nothing particularly special about this device leaving Essential Products in the same boat as everyone else in terms of competing on price. This is a real climb down for the company because competing directly with the Chinese and LG directly on price, it means that the user experience and ecosystem that it spent so much time creating is getting no traction with users. This fits exactly with our previous observation that Essential Products has created a great Google phone and nothing more.
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Profits forecasts stable – but no positive surprises
Stronger PMI indices not following through to profits growth
While Q3 has brought something of a renaissance in economic surprise and purchasing managers’ indices we can at present see no sign of this improved sentiment in profits forecasts for 2017. Our weighted average consensus earnings forecast index remains steady for each of the UK, US and Europe ex-UK and the equal-weighted measures have declined, if modestly, since mid-year. In prior periods, our earnings forecast index tended to move slightly ahead of PMIs and economic surprise. The more recent data has not followed this pattern and highlights that what is good for the overall economy is not by necessity good for corporate profits. Furthermore, with central banks on a tightening path the risk for equity markets is that tighter policy is not offset by stronger profits growth.
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Qatar Investment Fund proposes broader investment remit and change of name
Proposed greater flexibility to invest across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries rather than largely in Qatar
Qatar Investment Fund (QIF) has announced a proposed change in its investment policy to remove the current 15% limit on investment in GCC countries outside of Qatar. It has also put forward other proposals including: a tender offer for up to 10% of issued share capital; cancellation of the 2018 continuation vote, to be replaced by a 2021 vote and every three years thereafter; a tender offer in 2020 for up to 100% of issued share capital, subject to shareholder approval; and changing the company name to Gulf Investment Fund. All these proposals, with the exception of the 2020 tender offer, will be put forward at an upcoming extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
Read more...Fancy a Ferrari or an EV?
EV adoption impact on oil demand
Electric vehicles are a fascinating subject and not a day goes by without Tesla or a major OEM touting their latest designs and the virtues of electrification of their light vehicle fleet. That excludes Marchionne, Ferrari’s CEO, who famously retorted that ‘you’ll have to shoot me first’ before the supercar brand develops a vehicle without the roaring sound of an internal combustion engine.
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