German GDP down 0.1 percent; Bronfman withdraws takeover offer for Paramount
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the economy and financial markets.
The economic outlook for Germany has worsened as figures released on Tuesday confirmed a decline in second-quarter GDP and consumer sentiment collapsed.
GDP fell by 0.1 percent in the second quarter, confirming the previous estimate, the Federal Statistical Office Destatis announced. In the first quarter of 2024, GDP rose by 0.2 percent compared to the previous quarter, unchanged from the last reading.
Meanwhile, worries about the labor market weighed on German consumer sentiment. The widely followed GfK index fell to -22 points in September. This was a decline from the slightly revised previous month of -18.6 and was below the forecast of -18.2 by economists surveyed by Reuters.
Ruth Brand, Federal Statistical OfficeThe President of , said:
After a slight increase in the previous quarter, the German economy lost momentum again in the spring.
The German economy has narrowly avoided a technical recession for a year and a half, experiencing alternating periods of contraction and growth. Two consecutive quarters of contraction is a commonly used definition of a recession.
Edgar Bronfman withdraws offer for Paramount
Media veteran Edgar Bronfman has withdrawn his takeover offer Paramount Globalwhich paved the way for a $28 billion (£21 billion) deal with Heavenly Dance to continue.
Bronfman, a former CEO of Warner Music, had assembled a consortium of investors to outdo Skydance after the company agreed to a merger (described as a blockbuster, of course) with Paramount last month. The deal, if it goes through, will sever ties with the Redstone family, whose media empire has owned Paramount since 1994.
The terms of that deal included a “go-shop” period during which Paramount could consider other offers. Bronfman assembled a consortium that offered $4.3 billion and then $6 billion to Shari Redstone, who controls the company. But he failed to raise the equity to finance the deal, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.
Paramount is the company behind classic films such as The Godfather, Titanic and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It also owns the television network CBS and channels such as MTV, Nickelodeon and the British broadcaster Channel 5.
Skydance, a film production group, is run by producer David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, the technology magnate who co-founded Oracle.
The agenda
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11am BST: Index of the British trade association Confederation of British Industry (August; previous index: -43; consensus index: -11)
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14:00 BST: US S&P/Case-Shiller real estate price index (June; previous year: 6.8% compared to previous year; previous year: 6%)
Important events
The biggest gainer on the FTSE 100 this morning is Bunzl, which sells packaging, cleaning products and personal protective equipment.
The company may not be the most glamorous name in London’s benchmark index, but thanks to increased profitability, it surprised investors this morning with a significant increase in its earnings forecast.
The company also announced a buyback of shares worth £450 million. Frank van ZantenManaging Director of Bunzlsaid:
I am very pleased with the Group’s performance in the first half of 2024 and the strong growth in adjusted operating profit for this period.
London’s FTSE 100 is the darling of European stock markets this morning as investors catch up on Monday’s holiday.
Most other major indexes were relatively unchanged in opening trade. Here are the opening photos from Reuters.
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EUROPE’S STOXX 600 RISES BY 0.2%
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Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%
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FRANCE’S CAC 40 UP 0.1%; SPANISH IBEX UP
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Euro Stoxx index unchanged; Eurozone blue chips unchanged
German GDP down 0.1 percent; Bronfman withdraws takeover offer for Paramount
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the economy and financial markets.
The economic outlook for Germany has worsened as figures released on Tuesday confirmed a decline in second-quarter GDP and consumer sentiment collapsed.
GDP fell by 0.1 percent in the second quarter, confirming the previous estimate, the Federal Statistical Office Destatis announced. In the first quarter of 2024, GDP rose by 0.2 percent compared to the previous quarter, unchanged from the last reading.
Meanwhile, worries about the labor market weighed on German consumer sentiment. The widely followed GfK index fell to -22 points in September. This was a decline from the slightly revised previous month of -18.6 and was below the forecast of -18.2 by economists surveyed by Reuters.
Ruth Brand, Federal Statistical OfficeThe President of , said:
After a slight increase in the previous quarter, the German economy lost momentum again in the spring.
The German economy has narrowly avoided a technical recession for a year and a half, experiencing alternating periods of contraction and growth. Two consecutive quarters of contraction is a commonly used definition of a recession.
Edgar Bronfman withdraws offer for Paramount
Media veteran Edgar Bronfman has withdrawn his takeover offer Paramount Globalwhich paved the way for a $28 billion (£21 billion) deal with Heavenly Dance to continue.
Bronfman, a former CEO of Warner Music, had assembled a consortium of investors to outdo Skydance after the company agreed to a merger (described as a blockbuster, of course) with Paramount last month. The deal, if it goes through, will sever ties with the Redstone family, whose media empire has owned Paramount since 1994.
The terms of that deal included a “go-shop” period during which Paramount could consider other offers. Bronfman assembled a consortium that offered $4.3 billion and then $6 billion to Shari Redstone, who controls the company. But he failed to raise the equity to finance the deal, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.
Paramount is the company behind classic films such as The Godfather, Titanic and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It also owns the television network CBS and channels such as MTV, Nickelodeon and the British broadcaster Channel 5.
Skydance, a film production group, is run by producer David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, the technology magnate who co-founded Oracle.
The agenda
-
11am BST: Index of the British trade association Confederation of British Industry (August; previous index: -43; consensus index: -11)
-
14:00 BST: US S&P/Case-Shiller real estate price index (June; previous year: 6.8% compared to previous year; previous year: 6%)
