Squawk Box Europe Express

President-elect Donald Trump makes a shocking pick for Attorney General, tapping controversial Florida Representative Matt Gaetz for the role. This as NBC News projects Republicans will maintain control of the House in a ‘red sweep’. Meanwhile the Trump trade eases as fresh U.S. inflation data that supports expectations for a December Fed cut. Hedge fund billionaire David Einhorn warns of further price pressure volatility at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha Investor summit. But the crypto rally gathers pace, with Bitcoin briefly topping $93,000 for the first time, and the Dogecoin doubled its price following Trump’s election victory. In Germany, expert advisors to Chancellor Olaf Scholz cut their growth forecast for next year, delivering another blow to the beleaguer economy as political parties shift into campaign mode ahead of the February elections.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

President-elect Donald Trump taps X owner and Tesla CEO Elon to take leadership of the new ‘department of government efficiency’, alongside taking his pick of the new defence and intelligence heads. U.S. market majors snap their post-election winning streak, while Treasury yields spike and the dollar index hits a 6-months high as investors brace for another Trump administration. Meanwhile, Siemens Energy raises its mid-term outlook after reporting a record order backlog of €123 billion, boosted by a turnaround at turbine unite Gamesa. In Lisbon, global tech leaders gather at the annual Web Summit with the prospect of looser regulations and heightened trade tensions under President-elect Trump. There, Microsoft President Brad Smith tells CNBC that Europe remains key for the company. Germany prepares for a snap election on February 23rd after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition – with Economy minister Robert Habeck saying Berlin still remains a reliable partner.See Privacy Policy a

Donald Trump’s election victory continues to rally markets, with the S&P 500 topping $6,000 for the first time, and the Dow soaring by more than 300 points to close above the $44,000 mark. Momentum doesn’t stop there as investors jump on the crypto trade, with Bitcoin closing in on the $90,000 mark and Coinbase popping nearly 20%. Meanwhile, sources tell NBC that Senator Marco Rubio is the likely candidate to become Donald Trump’s top diplomat, with the President-elect also said to have tapped China hawk Mike Waltz as his National Security Adviser. In Asia, chipmaker stocks dip over mounting concerns of looming U.S. protectionist measures, prompting South Korea to release its own stimulus measures for domestic producers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The S&P 500 and the Dow are clinching their best week of the year in the wake of former President Trump’s secured return to the White House, and the prospect of looser regulation and tax cuts. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin follows suit, soaring above $80,000 as the Trump trade takes hold. This as the President-elect is confirmed to have won Arizona, completing a clean sweep of all the battleground states, with Republicans now closing in on control of the House. Meanwhile, Chinese consumer inflation hits its lowest level in four months as factory gate deflation deepens, despite China’s new set of stepped-up stimulus measures. In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he’s open to moving up a parliamentary confidence vote, potentially paving the way for snap elections sooner rather than later, following the collapse of the nation’s three-way coalition.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The S&P and Nasdaq attain fresh record highs after the Fed cuts rates for a second consecutive time. However, Fed chair Jerome Powell’s press conference was dominated by questions about his position at the central bank following the re-election of President Donald Trump. Trump rewards his campaign manager Susie Wiles with the position of chief-of-staff, the first key appointment to his White House team. Outgoing President Joe Biden promises to ensure a smooth transition of power. In the UK, the Bank of England cuts rates by 25bps while hiking the inflation forecast following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ new budget. Governor Andrew Bailey says developments Stateside are being closely monitored. Following the collapse of the German coalition government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under pressure to hold snap elections. Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Siemens Energy Joe Kaeser tells CNBC that the German economy is crying out for political stability.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californ

Wall Street closes at record highs following Donald Trump’s historic win to become the 47th U.S. President. The Dow rallies by 1,500 points thanks to bank stocks after Democratic nominee Kamala Harris concedes the election. In Germany the fragile governing ‘traffic light’ coalition collapses as Chancellor Olaf Scholz fires Finance Minister Christian Lindner over major economic policy disagreements. The move paves the way for a January confidence vote and a likely snap election in March. The race for the U.S. House of Representatives’ majority remains finely poised. The GOP are just nine seats short of a clean sweep of Congressional power. And investors await rate decisions from the Fed, BoE, Riksbank and Norges Bank all due later today.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris make their final pitches to the U.S. electorate with rallies in the key battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Wall Street braces itself with global stocks flat while yields slip and the greenback wavers ahead of today’s poll. Boeing workers end their seven-week strike after accepting an improved pay deal. In energy news, Saudi Aramco sees a 15 per cent dip in the third quarter due to weak prices and decreased refining markets. The oil giant does, however, still top expectations and maintains its $31bn dividend. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The dollar dips with futures relatively flat as a surprise poll puts Kamala Harris ahead in the Republican-leading state of Iowa. National polling still places both candidates neck-and-neck. Berkshire Hathaway continues to dial down its stakes in Apple and BofA, boosting its cash pile to $325bn. The German ruling coalition is in disarray after finance minister Christian Lindner’s economic manifesto causes major rifts with coalition partners, prompting Chancellor Olaf Scholz to summon talks late last night. Oil surges on the news that Opec+ nations agree to delay output hikes by a month. We hear from TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné who says industry margins are under pressure.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Apple shares dip following cautious guidance ahead of Christmas. The company also reveals little about demand for its new iPhone 16. Amazon posts a beat on quarterly earnings causing shares to pop in extended trade. The e-commerce giant’s CEO Andy Jassy pledges to significantly ramp up spending on the company’s A.I. technologies. On Wall Street the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq suffer their worst day in more than a month following disappointing Big Tech results. And in the UK, the gilt sell-off increases and sterling endures a volatile session as investors fear Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget could force inflation back up while piling up debt.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Microsoft enjoys an A.I. boom but there are concerns over capex and a slowing cloud division which pulls the share price lower in extended trade. Meta posts a top and bottom line beat but shares also fall in after-hours trade as investors remain anxious over greater A.I. infrastructure expenditure at the social media giant. BNP Paribas notches a near-six per cent quarterly rise in net income and confirms its forecast. CFO Lars Machenil tells CNBC he remains bullish about the trend. There’s a surprise expansion in Chinese manufacturing activity in October as recent stimulus measures help to end five consecutive months of contraction. And in the UK, investors digest the first Labour budget in 15 years following one of the largest increases in taxation, spending and borrowing on record.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

UBS posts $1.4bn in Q3 net profit as the lender accelerated the integration of former rival Credit Suisse. Standard Chartered almost doubles its quarterly pre-tax profit which prompts the London-based bank to hike guidance and pledges to lift its dividend payout. Meanwhile in the U.S., Alphabet’s cloud arm delivers stellar results which help push the company’s annual revenues up by 15 per cent in the third quarter, this despite a slowdown in its search and YouTube services. In the UK, gilt yields hit a post-election high ahead of Labour’s much anticipated first budget in 15 years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Novartis posts Q3 earnings with 10 per cent sales growth and 20 per cent core income growth. The drug maker has also hiked its FY guidance. HSBC sees Q3 profits jump by 10 per cent. The lender has also launched a $3bn buyback scheme on the back of slower-than-expected rate cuts. Wall Street begins the week in the green ahead of key inflation data and earnings from the tech sector. In autos news, Volkswagen is warning of unprecedented plant closures and mass lay-offs as the German giant struggles against Chinese rivals and poor demand for EVs.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The ruling LDP in Japan loses its parliamentary majority in its worst defeat more than a decade. The yen slumps to a three-month low as a result. We hear from German finance minister Christian Lindner at the IMF annual meeting in Washington who says Europe must be prepared for a second Trump administration. Moody’s cuts its forecast for France to negative for worse-than-expected fiscal deterioration. The credit ratings agency also cast doubt over the current government’s ability to tackle wider deficits. And in the U.S., campaigning enters its final full week with both candidates targeting purple swing states. In energy news, Brent and WTI are both sharply down after IDF airstrikes avoided key Iranian oil installations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tesla shares rocket by 21.9 percent – the company’s largest one-day gain in more than a decade – as U.S. markets hope to avoid their first negative week in six. The IMF warns that the growth gap between the EU and U.S. will only widen further. We hear from ECB board member and governor of the National Bank of Belgium, Pierre Wunsch, who says he would consider a 50 basis point rate cut should data move in the wrong direction. Japanese voters head to the polls this weekend with the ruling LDP facing the prospect of a heavy defeat and the first possible loss of parliamentary majority since 2012. And in the U.S. a court blocks a merger between Coach owner Tapestry and the owner of Michael Kors, Capri Holdings.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tesla share surge in extended trade after the EV maker posted a better-than-expected earnings beat in Q3. CEO Elon Musk says the company’s sales targets of 20-30 per cent are achievable next year. The U.S. Treasury yield hits a three-month high and the dollar rallies as jitters over fiscal spending and the U.S. election surface. IMF First Deputy MD Gita Gopinath tells CNBC the macro environment is beginning to stabilise. South Korean semi-conductor supplier SK Hynix notches a record quarterly profit and shrugs off fears of an A.I. supply glut. French luxury giant Kering slashes its FY operating profit outlook by half after sales at Gucci continue to slump. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The IMF hikes its U.S. forecast for 2024 but Germany weighs on the European outlook. The IMF’s Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets department, Tobias Adrian tells CNBC there are reasons for optimism. The S&P 500 suffers its first back-to-back session loss since September as investor attention turns to the dollar. Markets are now increasingly pricing in the outcome of a Trump victory in the U.S. election next month. Speaking to CNBC, IIF CEO Tim Adams believes the fight against inflation could be compromised as a result. French cosmetics giant L’Oréal misses Q3 sales targets as consumer demand in China wanes but the company pins its hopes on the market and on further stimulus from Beijing. Asian markets warmly welcome new listings Tokyo Metro – Japan’s largest in 6 years, while China Resources Beverages also gains on its debut in Hong Kong. And in banking news, Deutsche Bank notches a €2.3bn Q3 profit beat, thanks partly to the release of Postbank-related litigation provisions.   &n

A late rally from Big Tech stocks pushes the Nasdaq to the brink of a fresh record high as earnings season begins in earnest. German computing giant SAP hikes its FY guidance following a top and bottom-line Q3 beat on the back of strong cloud revenues. Maersk raises its FY outlook for the fourth time this year. In autos news, monthly new car sales decline as demand for plug-in hybrid wanes, dropping more than 20 per cent across all major markets. Hyundai Motor India stock plunges 5 per cent as the retail sector response to the Bombay Sensex listing – the country’s largest ever IPO - is muted.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The PBOC cuts its benchmark lending rate to provide more support for the economy. The Shenzhen Composite moves higher as a result. In the U.S., Wall Street posts its longest streak of weekly gains so far this year on the back of lower rates and earnings optimism. Fitch confirms Italy’s credit rating and boosts its outlook to ‘positive’ in a sign the euro zone’s third largest economy is on the right track. And overnight in Lebanon, Israel targets Hezbollah-linked banks.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Asian markets remain sanguine on China’s slowest GDP growth in more than a year as the PBOC’s raft of stimulus measures kick in. Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio tells our colleagues in Singapore that the central bank’s support needs to be more focused. We hear from IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva who says that while governments need to head off high levels of debt, she is optimistic about reining in inflation. The ECB delivers a back-to-back rate cut for the first time in 13 years. The move is due to weak economic data and slow progress in tackling inflation within the euro zone with ECB president Christine Lagarde indicating more cuts will be needed. Netflix posts its most successful quarter ever, beating expectations and adding 5 million new customers. In Gaza, Israeli troops kill Hamas leader and the October 7th attacks mastermind Yahya Sinwar. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed his death as ‘the beginning of the end’ for the conflict.   See Privacy Policy

Chinese developer stocks sink despite the housing ministry briefing outlining further measures to help prop up the troubled property sector. We are live in Brdo, Slovenia where the ECB’s governing council is holding its annual external meeting ahead of its widely expected second consecutive rate cut later today. Stateside the Dow hits a fresh record high thanks to Morgan Stanley reporting quarterly beats on both the top and bottom lines. CEO Ted Pick tells our U.S. colleagues that he no longer expects a slew of companies to come to market. Swiss robotics company ABB hikes its margin guidance despite failing to hit Q3 profit and revenue forecastsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.