This week ahead || Feb 12th - Feb 16th 2024
Here's your news for the upcoming week ahead.
As Super Bowl approaches, game-time guacamole affected by fewer avocado shipments from Mexico
As the Super Bowl approaches, a potential shortage of avocados, a beloved game-time snack in America, looms due to reduced shipments from Mexico. The state of Michoacan, a major supplier, faces challenges from a hotter, drier climate, causing water scarcity and conflicts among growers. Illegal deforestation exacerbates the issue, impacting both avocado production and environmental stability. In response, officials are developing a sustainable certification program to address water usage and forest preservation, aiming to offer greener avocados to consumers. However, concerns persist over unsustainable practices and the hidden costs of avocado consumption, prompting calls for grocery chains to adopt more sustainable sourcing policies. Meanwhile, the demand for tequila exacerbates deforestation in neighbouring regions, posing additional environmental threats. Despite efforts to mitigate the crisis, challenges remain in ensuring sustainable avocado production and preserving the ecological balance in affected areas.
Amazon’s Prime Video gets exclusive NFL playoff game next season
NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service made waves last month with an exclusive playoff NFL game that drew a whopping 23 million viewers, constituting 30% of web traffic and marking it as the most streamed U.S. event to date. While NBCU secured the rights to the game in a deal valued at least $110 million, Amazon had the opportunity but opted out, allowing NBCU to step in. However, Amazon had a clause in its "Thursday Night Football" streaming deal that enabled it to claim the game. The NFL's move to stream a playoff game stirred controversy among fans and lawmakers, who viewed it as a potential shift towards pay-per-view sports offerings. Despite this, the NFL remains focused on leveraging streaming to engage younger demographics and expand its fan base, while also diversifying its broadcasting options. Comcast hasn't disclosed Peacock's subscription numbers ahead of the game, but analytics firm Antenna reported a significant spike in sign-ups, indicating a major subscriber-acquisition moment for the streaming platform.
Top 5 things to watch in markets in the week ahead
This week, investors are closely monitoring several key events and data releases. In the U.S., Tuesday's inflation report for January will be crucial for gauging the timing of potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, especially after recent strong jobs and growth data. Market participants will also be attentive to comments from various Fed officials throughout the week. Additionally, earnings season continues with upcoming reports from companies like Shopify, Marriott, Kraft Heinz, and Cisco. Oil prices are expected to remain volatile amid ongoing concerns over supply from the Middle East and U.S. refinery downtime. In the UK, investors await important data on jobs, inflation, and growth to assess the timing of potential Bank of England rate cuts. Meanwhile, Japan is set to release preliminary GDP data, with expectations of a rebound in the fourth quarter following a previous contraction, amidst growing speculation about the Bank of Japan's monetary policy direction.
Earnings week ahead: Coca-Cola to post modest YoY growth, Airbnb upgraded
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO):
- Reporting Q4 earnings on Feb 13 before the market opens.
- Analysts expect EPS of $0.49 and revenues of $10.66 billion.
- Coca-Cola boasts 53 consecutive years of dividend raises and strong gross profit margins.
- Part of the ProPicks Best of Buffett strategy with impressive performance over the last decade.
Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB):
- Expected to announce Q4 earnings on Feb 13 after the market closes.
- Analysts anticipate EPS of $0.65 and revenues of $2.16 billion.
- Recent price target raises from Wall Street firms ahead of the report.
- Positive outlook based on constructive data checks, but a cautious stance due to potential growth deceleration in Q1.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO):
- Scheduled to report Q2 earnings on Feb 14 after the market close.
- Consensus estimates at $0.84 for EPS and $12.71 billion for revenues.
- Evercore ISI maintains an Outperform rating but expresses caution due to a slowdown in the enterprise networking market.
- Reports suggest Cisco is considering organizational changes, including workforce reductions.
Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN):
- Expected to release Q4 earnings on Feb 15 after the market closes.
- Wall Street consensus forecasts EPS of $0.0256 and revenues of $822.32 million.
- Recent analyst views are mixed, with upgrades and downgrades based on various factors, including Bitcoin ETF expectations.
