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On January 7th, UBS analysts noted in a report that European oil giants may slow their quarterly share buyback pace. Analysts believe that companies may use this opportunity to reassess their capital frameworks in conjunction with updated earnings outlooks. Shell, listed in London, is expected to see the most significant reduction, with its quarterly buybacks falling from $3.5 billion to $3 billion. BP should be able to maintain its buyback levels using cash proceeds from asset divestitures; the British oil giant had previously cut its quarterly buybacks from $1.75 billion to $750 million early last year. Furthermore, Total Energy of France is expected to reduce its buybacks from $1.5 billion to $750 million. Analysts also indicated that Eni of Italy and Statoil of Norway may announce reductions in their buyback amounts on their respective capital markets days.January 7th - Since the imposition of sanctions on Venezuela, U.S. refineries have increased their crude oil imports from Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and the Middle East. This increased U.S. imports from Venezuela will replace some of these crude oil supplies, primarily from Canada. Canada aims to increase oil production to record levels by 2025 and export approximately 90% of its crude oil to the United States. A refining industry source stated, "At a time when Venezuela is struggling, Canadian heavy crude oil has filled the market gap. Now, different grades of crude oil will compete, which is beneficial for the U.S. refining industry but detrimental to Canada." Randy Olenburg, Managing Director of Barmos Capital Markets, stated that the long-term growth in Venezuelan oil production will put pressure on Canadian oil prices and further highlight the need to build a new Canadian export pipeline to the Pacific coast.The UKs December construction PMI came in at 40.1, below the expected 42.5 and the previous reading of 39.4.On January 7th, Futures reported that driven by the continued rise in prices of upstream polysilicon, silicon wafers, and solar cells, some leading companies raised their N-type module prices, sending a clear signal of price support. However, actual transactions did not follow suit. Currently, it is the traditional off-season at the end of the year, with most large-scale domestic projects nearing completion and overseas shipments slowing due to the Spring Festival and holidays. End-users have extremely low acceptance of price increases. Most buyers are choosing to wait and see or suppress prices to fulfill previous low-priced orders, making it difficult to implement new quotes, resulting in a "high price but no sales" market. Low-priced goods below 0.68 yuan/watt are still circulating in some channels, further suppressing the potential for price increases. In the short term, while the module segment has cost support, it lacks effective demand. If end-user projects fail to start as scheduled after the Spring Festival, high prices may be unsustainable. The core contradiction in the current market remains the resolute price increases from upstream suppliers and weak downstream demand. Whether prices can truly stabilize depends on the pace of demand recovery at the end of the first quarter.On January 7th, Alibabas (09988.HK) Gaode Maps announced an upgrade to its "Street View Ranking," launching a "Flying Street View" feature based on its self-developed world model technology and expanding the rankings coverage from food to more scenarios. For small and micro-sized merchants, Gaode announced a support plan, stating that the platform will cover the computing costs to provide free access to the aforementioned "Flying Street View" feature for 1 million small and micro-sized merchants. In addition, Gaode plans to cooperate with 100 cities nationwide, lowering the entry threshold for merchants while providing resources such as data analysis and travel subsidies. Currently, Shanghai, Sichuan, Jinan, and other cities have already launched related cooperation.

Costco Margins Are Impacted by Growing Freight And Labor Expenses, And The Stock Price Falls

Charlie Brooks

May 27, 2022 09:50

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Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) announced a decline in gross margins on Thursday, impacted by rising freight and labor expenses across the United States. The news sent shares of the membership-only retailer down 2% and overshadowed an otherwise positive quarterly report.


Fresh COVID-19 lockdowns in China and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have compounded the problem for U.S. businesses.


Costco announced that it would increase prices in certain food categories in order to battle inflation.


Retailers such as Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Inc and Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) have warned that decades-high inflation will have a negative impact on their earnings, as shoppers hesitate from purchasing non-essential and high-margin goods.


The average Costco buyer earns more than the average Walmart and Target shopper, allowing Costco to generate quarterly earnings and revenue that easily exceeds expectations.


Memberships and sales have been boosted by the company's efforts to keep gas prices several cents below the national average.


Costco, in contrast to Walmart, reported that there has not been a significant shift from branded products to its private label product, Kirkland Signature.


"We aren't really observing a decline in commerce. This year, more money is being spent on tickets, dining out, travel, tires, and gasoline "In a post-earnings conference call, Robert Nelson, senior vice president of finance and investor relations, said.


Costco's gross margins decreased by 99 basis points in the third quarter.


According to data from Refinitiv IBES, Costco's total sales for the quarter ending May 8 increased by 16 percent to $52.60 billion, surpassing analysts' projections of $51.71 billion.


Excluding adjustments, Costco's earnings per share were $3.17, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.03.