Today's big stories

Walmart reported increased sales as consumers stockpiled lockdown essentials, but the future's still murky
Our analysts explore why two obscure indexes might be showing early signs of a global economic recovery – Read Now
France and Germany agreed to a $550 billion aid package to help the EU recover from its worst recession in history

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Yoink!

What’s Going On Here?

As Americans stockpiled anything and everything they could to outlast coronavirus, Walmart's quarterly results brought home a couple of essentials of their own on Tuesday: soaring sales and better-than-expected profits.

What Does This Mean?

As shoppers prepped for lockdown life with toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and, um, hair clippers, sales at Walmart’s US stores that have been open for at least a year jumped 10% – their biggest gain in almost two decades (tweet this). That helped the retail giant report better-than-expected profit and revenue, and its shares initially climb 3%.

The gain was particularly impressive given Walmart’s stock had already rallied 7% this year, even as the wider US market dropped 9%. There were caveats, mind you: Walmart’s already-meager profit margins were squeezed by the focus on less profitable everyday essentials, and its costs – including the 200,000-odd staff hired to keep stores clean and shelves full – rose too. And with so many piles now positively stocked, the retailer said there’s just too much uncertainty to make an annual forecast.

Why Should I Care?

For markets: Playing catch-up.
Ecommerce in the world’s biggest economy has long lagged behind its European cousins, but shelter-in-place orders and non-essential store shutdowns have given the US a boost. Walmart’s online sales grew by 74% in the quarter, though it's still a distant second in the race for Americans’ internet dollars overall: the retailer only took 7% of the market last year, compared with Amazon’s massive 44% share.

The bigger picture: Don’t get too excited.
It might seem like US consumers are spending freely, but the real picture is bleaker. While staples like food and soap are more in demand than ever, higher-margin discretionary items – the things people want but don’t need – aren’t. In fact, a report on Monday predicted US retail sales may drop more than 6% in 2020 – three times further than at the peak of the last crisis in 2009. No need to tell Home Depot or Kohl’s: they both issued disappointing results on Tuesday.

New Pack: How you can benefit from the surge in online shopping.

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We Will Rock You

What’s Going On Here?

Between a recently introduced economic index and a little-known measure of raw material prices, there may be signs that global growth is starting to wipe the mud off its face.

Get the full story with Finimize Premium

⛱ You deserve a break

It’s been a long lockdown, but restrictions are finally starting to lift all over the world. And you know what that means: vacation!

Yep, vacations are going to change, and so is the way you approach them. But that’s where the final part of our eight-part guide – created in partnership with Klarna for their Mindful Money initiative – comes into play.

Our blog will help you get more bang for your overseas buck, so there’s one less thing to worry about. You’ll find a few money-saving hacks to look out for when you’re heading abroad: those little tips that could take you from the Costa Del Sol to the Costa Less Del Sol.

Read Our Guide

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I’ll Be There For EU

What’s Going On Here?

So no one told Europe life was gonna be this way – clap clap clap clap – but at least France and Germany agreed to help their friends recover from the bloc's worst ever recession with a $550 billion aid package.

What Does This Mean?

Under the proposal, the European Commission would raise the $550 billion by issuing bonds that would be repaid over time from the European Union (EU) budget – the lion’s share of which is covered by Germany. And crucially, all the funds will be distributed as grants – rather than loans – to the regions and sectors worst affected by coronavirus. That should help restore some balance to the EU, where deep-pocketed countries like Germany have handed firms generous subsidies while others, like Italy, have struggled. That could be why Italian government bonds jumped the most since March on the news…

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: There’s no “I” in ECB.
If the proposal goes through, it could take some of the pressure off the European Central Bank (ECB), which has so far led the response to the bloc’s worst recession in history. The ECB has been pushing member countries to do more to support their economies, while pledging to buy more than a trillion dollars’ worth of European bonds in an effort to stabilize markets. That’s partly because it’s concerned that if it doesn’t absorb some of the massive amounts of debt needed to combat the pandemic, the continent could tip into another debt crisis.

For markets: Pick a side, any side.
Coinciding nicely with the announcement was data out on Tuesday that showed German investor confidence jumping to its highest level in five years as the country started easing its lockdown restrictions. But investors who are skeptical about the recovery got some good news too: six European countries lifted their temporary bans on short-selling stocks, allowing investors to once again bet against individual shares.

Learn more: How central banks steer the global economy – and your investments.

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💬 Quote of the day

“Puns are the highest form of literature.”

– Alfred Hitchcock (an English film director and producer)

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😭 This isn’t goodbye

Klarna know a thing or two about making your money go further: it’s why we worked with them to put together an eight-part guide for their Mindful Money initiative. And now, that guide is coming to an end.

Still, we’re going out on a high. In our latest blog, you’ll find out how to save money when you’re abroad. And you can bet that when you do take a trip, you’ll want all the little money-saving hacks you can get.

All our old guides – on everything from investing to credit scores to business loans – are available with Klarna too. Check them out, and find your feet in this weird time.

Read Our Guide

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🌏 Finimize Community

⛺️ Explore the great indoors

No one’s happier than us that lots of Finimizers are starting to get out and about again. But let’s not forget about all the fun things that you can still do indoors too: building pillow forts, arranging peanuts from biggest to smallest, and, of course, heading to a range of Finimize virtual events.

🇺🇸 USA: Raising Capital During a Pandemic – 1pm EST, May 20th
🇸🇬 Singapore: COVID-19’s Impact on Global M&A – 6.30pm SGT, May 21st
🇺🇸 USA: How to Organize Your Own Finimize Virtual Event – 12pm NY Time, May 21st
🇦🇪 UAE: Making Sense of Oil Market Dynamics – 5.00pm Dubai time, May 27th
🇫🇷 France: The Future of Blockchain & Cryptocurrency – 6.30pm CET, June 17th

📚 What we're reading

Check out this behavior-altering bacteria (Science)
How to be a leader in times of crisis (The Atlantic)
Are you making passive income for the soul? (One Hundred Percent)

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Finimize - 📈 Walmart loves stockpiling

Today's big stories

Yoink!

What’s Going On Here?

What Does This Mean?

Why Should I Care?

We Will Rock You

⛱ You deserve a break

I’ll Be There For EU

What’s Going On Here?

What Does This Mean?

Why Should I Care?

😭 This isn’t goodbye

⛺️ Explore the great indoors

Older messages

😓 SoftBank's 18 billion dollar regret

🤬 Recession, recession everywhere

📉 Aramco takes a huge hit

👎 WeWork won’t pay

🤮 20 million jobs lost

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