European Press Roundup: Germany's Mittelstand Outshines Large-Cap Rivals, Siemens UK CEO's Brexit Letter
April 01 2019 - 6:48AM
Dow Jones News
In Europe today, markets have gotten off to a healthy
second-quarter start following a rebound in Chinese manufacturing
activity, while new data shows Eurozone inflation remains below the
ECB's target. The top business story: Saudi Aramco supplants Apple
as the world's most profitable company. Read about the above topics
on Dow Jones Newswires or WSJ.com.
In Other Media...
Germany's small- and medium-sized Mittelstand firms generated
record-breaking levels of revenue and pre-tax profit in 2018,
according to new research from the German Savings Banks
Association. By contrast, pretax income at large German firms fell
4% on year in 2018, while one-third of listed companies have cut
their profit forecasts over the past year. -Handelsblatt
Siemens U.K. CEO Juergen Maier warns that continuing Brexit
uncertainty is turning the country into a "laughing stock" and
urges members of parliament to vote for a customs union with the EU
in an open letter published in Politico. "Our reputation as a
country for stable and sound business investments could be in
tatters by the end of the week if you fail," he said. -Politico
AIB said Monday that it has agreed to sell a EUR1 billion
portfolio of non-performing loans, consisting of mostly buy-to-let
properties, to U.S. private equity group Cerberus. The portfolio is
predominantly made up of investment properties, with limited
agriculture exposure and an average balance of EUR500,000 across
5,000 assets. -The Irish Times
Osram Licht CEO Olaf Berlien says he expects global car
production to fall to 90 million vehicles this year, rebuffing auto
makers' production forecasts of 96 million cars. He cites this
slump as one reason behind the lighting company's recent profit
warning and its decision to intensify its savings program by
cutting or cancelling investments. -FAZ
The British arms of the "Big Four" accounting firms spent
GBP700,000 on client hospitality for FTSE 350 companies in the past
two years, according to figures given to a parliamentary committee
investigating the audit market. -Times of London
Private-equity firms are taking on too much debt in order to
fund buyout deals, according to Jonathan Lavine, a co-managing
partner at Bain. Mr. Lavine says buyers are aggressively projecting
future metrics in order to mask the scale of borrowing. -Financial
Times
Italian hearing-aid company Amplifon's Chief Executive Enrico
Vita is targeting China, France and Germany as markets for growth.
-Corriere della Sera
Write to Barcelona editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2019 07:33 ET (11:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Amplifon (BIT:AMP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Oct 2024 to Nov 2024
Amplifon (BIT:AMP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2023 to Nov 2024