Weekly News Summary for July 5-11

Friday,  July 5: German Factory Orders Register Largest Drop in May

German factory orders unexpectedly fell in May, further raising fears of a recession in Europe’s largest economy.

Factory orders plummeted by 2.2% in May, much weaker than the 0.1% decline expected, as car makers continued to lead the slump, while orders were down by 8.6% year-on-year to mark as the biggest annual drop since 2009.

Monday, July 8: Boeing Loses Almost $6B Order from flyadeal

Shares in US planemaker Boeing slipped more than 1% in pre-market trade on Monday, after Saudi Arabian airline, Flyadeal, decided not to go on with a provisional order for 30 737 MAX jets, which was worth $5.9 billion at list prices.

After reconsidering the purchase due to the two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s 737 MAX aircrafts, the low-cost airline will take delivery from 2021 of 30 Airbus A320neo planes instead.

Tuesday, July 9: Levi Strauss Shares Drop, Sees Weaker Sales Growth

US jeans maker Levi Strauss forecast sluggish sales growth in the second half of the year, which pushed its shares down by 6% on Tuesday.

The company stated that it sees a 100 basis point drop in revenue from not being able to include the profit that would be generated during Black Friday, and as weakness in the retail sector pressures its wholesale business, which lost 2% in sales.

Wednesday, July 10: Powell Suggests Willingness to Rate Cut

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the potential drawbacks in the economy remain, with trade tensions easing business investment and weak inflation, hinting at a reduction in interest rates as soon as this month.

Powell’s semi-annual testimony reinforces market’s outlook for a lower borrowing costs decision from the central bank at its July 30-31 meeting.

Thursday, July 11: US Labor and Inflation Data in Focus

As regards economic data, figures of US consumer inflation and initial jobless claims are set to be revealed later in the day, with inflation in focus, as a slower price growth could rekindle hopes for a more aggressive monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

The Labor Department will be reporting initial jobless claims for the week ended July 6, which is expected to drop to 220,000 from the previous 221,000, while inflation will be closely watched, with economists estimating core CPI to rise by 0.2% last month after climbing 0.1% in May.