• British consumers failed to increase their spending for a record fifth month in a row in December, adding to signs of economic weakening that might prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates this month.
• Official data on Friday showed sales volumes fell by 0.6% from November, defying the median forecast for a rise of 0.5% in a Reuters poll of economists. 
• Sales in monthly terms have not risen since July, the longest such run since records began in 1996, the Office for National Statistics said, adding that food sales fell by the most in three years.
• Sterling weakened and British government bond prices rose as investors increasingly bet on the Bank of England cutting rates on Jan. 30, at the end of its next meeting.

(Source: Reuters)

• Oil prices edged higher on Friday but were set to end the week broadly steady as sluggish economic growth in China, the world’s biggest crude importer, raised concerns about fuel demand and countered optimism from the signing of a China-U.S. trade deal. 
• The world’s second-largest economy grew by 6.1% in 2019, its slowest expansion in 29 years, government data showed on Friday.
• “A well-expected fourth-quarter China GDP rate (6%) provided little clue for oil price trading on Friday morning, and mounting downward economic pressure will perhaps limit oil’s upside in the mid- to long-term,” said Margaret Yang, market analyst at CMC Markets.
• Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 44 cents at $65.06 by 1014 GMT.

(Source: Reuters)

• Despite a 3.4% contraction in revenue, Paramount reported a 5.4% increase (or $2.03Mn) in net profit to $39.54Mn (EPS: $0.026) for the first half of its financial year ending November 2019.
• The result was driven by a 9.1% (or $19.72Mn) reduction in operating expenses, which management credits to its cost containment programs.  The bottom line was also supported by a 268.7% (or $16.6Mn) surge in other operating income which was mainly due to foreign exchange gains.
• The company’s stock price has declined by 23.2% since the beginning of the year to end Wednesday’s trading session at $1.72. the stock currently trades at a P/E of 41.0x earnings which is above the junior market distribution sector of 23.1x earnings.

(Source: Paramount Financials)

• For the six-months ended November 2019, Express Catering reported a 7.9% (or US1.42Mn) increase in its bottom line to US$1.53Mn (EPS: US$0.094).
• This favourable movement was primarily driven by an 8.8% (US$634.14K) improvement in revenues. Additionally, the company reduced finance costs 5.8% (US$9.77K).
• The stock has declined 8.9% since the start of the year, and closed trading at $6.06 on Wednesday. At this price Express currently trades at a P/E of 19.5x earnings which is below the Junior Market average of 24.5x.

(Express Catering Financials)

• Puerto Rico will be allowed access to $8.2 billion in delayed disaster-aid funding by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the island’s non-voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• The approval of the funds for the U.S. territory’s recovery from Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, which killed about 3,000 people, comes at an opportune time, as hundreds of earthquakes and aftershocks have rattled the island since Dec. 28. The quakes have damaged thousands of buildings and homes.
• Access to the funds should come as a relief for Puerto Rico after ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service said on Tuesday the earthquakes posed a setback in terms of the island’s economic recovery and ability to retain residents and businesses.

(Source:  Reuters)

• Fitch forecast Chile’s real GDP growth of 1.1% y-o-y in 2020, as economic disruptions due to widespread protests and reduced investment resulting from heightened political uncertainty weigh on economic activity.
• The forecast is markedly below the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 2.1%.
• Consensus has moved downward in recent weeks and will likely continue to do so as higher frequency data prints begin to reveal the extent of the contraction caused by the social upheaval that started in October 2019.

(Source: Fitch)

• American equity futures climbed on Thursday and European shares fluctuated in the wake of the signing of the U.S.-China trade deal, an event that helped drive global stocks to record highs. Bonds were mixed and the dollar was steady.
• Contracts for all three main American gauges pointed to more gains after Wall Street hit records a day earlier. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 did slightly better after tech bellwether
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. projected quarterly revenue well above analysts’ estimates. Morgan Stanley climbed in early trading after results beat expectations. Bank of New York Mellon slipped after matching estimates.
• The formal signing of a phase one deal between the world’s two biggest economies has put the trade war on hold as far as many investors are concerned. Assuming the detente lasts, traders will be seeking fresh catalysts, most likely in economic data and the ramp-up of earnings season.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• Inflation shocks across eastern Europe have put local central-bank policy front and center for bond and currency traders, even as officials play down the uptick in price growth.
• The Czech koruna is the biggest climber among its near neighbors this year and hit a seven-year high on Wednesday as the prospect of a ninth rate hike in little more than two years lured investors. At the other extreme, the Hungarian forint is the worst performer in the period as policy makers cling to a no-change stance. Bond yields have climbed across the region.
• Higher-than-forecast inflation prints from Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania in the past week have rattled markets and served up a reminder that risks from a tight labor market haven’t abated. It’s a predicament that contrasts with the euro area, where the European Central Bank is struggling to rekindle price growth.
• Given eastern Europe’s trade links with the euro region, some policy makers are looking past spikes in inflation and maintaining loose monetary policy. Investors aren’t fully on board, however.

(Source: Bloomberg)

• For the first half of its financial year ending November 30, 2019, Knutsford Express (KEX) reported net profit of $79.08Mn, which represents a 36.2% contraction when compared to $124.00Mn earned during the same period one year prior.
• The outturn was due to a 24.8% (or $104.44Mn) increase in administrative and general expenses that outpaced the 9.4% (or $52.08Mn) growth in revenue.
• Management attributed the increase in expenses for the second quarter to its new advertising campaign, additional staffing and toll costs associated with new routes.
• The stock has declined by 5.5% since the beginning of the year and currently trades at a P/E of 40.0x earnings which is above the Junior Market average of 24.8x earnings.

(Source: KEX Financials)

• Net profit dipped 9.8% for the first three months ended November 2019 ending the period at $14.82Mn (EPS: $0.03), $1.57Mn lower than the corresponding period in 2018.
• A decline of 10.4% (or $22.32Mn) in revenue coupled with a $10.5% (or $3.14Mn) increase in expenses were the primary drivers of the dip in the net profit. In particular, administrative (up 14.2% or $2.86) and financial (+72.1% or $985.46K) were the main forces behind the upward movement in total expenses.
• The stock has declined 1.4% since the start of the year, and closed trading at $2.08 on Tuesday. The stock currently trades at a P/E of 17.3x earnings which is below the Junior Market Manufacturing average of 21.4x earnings.

(Source: AMG Financials)